Blender is a free 3D creation suite based on an open-source that allows users to do anything from modeling, rigging, animation, rendering, simulation, and more.
While Blender can be helpful if you’re on a budget or don’t have any other tool installed, there are plenty of alternatives that might make a better choice, and here’s why.
Blender isn’t considered an industry standard. It doesn’t specifically focus on providing a specialized set of in-depth features. It also comes with a steep learning curve that can make it harder to learn.
Best Blender Alternatives
Each of these alternatives provides at least one better feature or aspect of the tool, so check out each alternative carefully, as at least one of these will be a much better fit for your needs than Blender.
1. Maya
Maya is a solid alternative to Blender because it fits the commercial standard much more, and it has been a standard for modeling and animation for years now, while Blender is not at the same level as Maya.
Since it brings professional features, Maya provides much more realistic effects and is much more thorough at shaping 3D objects. Its animation tool is so accurate that it can bring believable characters to life.
Compared to Blender, Maya is professionally used across film, TV, and games industries since its features can match blockbuster-level effects. On top of that, Maya includes other features that aren’t included in Blender or are very basic, including rigging, motion graphics, shading, pipeline integration, etc.
Of course, Maya is a paid software, but it’s very well worth every dollar it costs because it opposes no limits on the work you can create.
2. ZBrush
ZBrush is another good alternative to Blender because it continues to innovate features in the field to provide ways to enhance work, get things done quicker and smoother, and also fully help you to explore inspiration and creativity.
Therefore, with ZBrush, you can design everything from your mind and put it into digital art with the help of features such as bas relief, bevel pro plugin, dual alphas, and textures for blends, detail spreading, and others.
Another difference is that ZBrush also introduces new ways to slice and dice with knife brushes and offers more than just one way to interpolate blends and color patterns.
With the most frequent updates and plenty of additional and unique features, ZBrush makes a better Blender alternative for more skilled users.
3. Cinema 4D
Cinema 4D is an all-in-one alternative to Blender since it includes all possible tools and features that can help you create cinematic 4D videos.
That being said, Cinema 4D can help you with 3D animation, modeling, simulation, and even rendering, so you won’t have to look elsewhere or outsource any part of the process since all comes included in one workflow.
Compared to Blender, Cinema 4D also includes advanced features such as Redshift, the world’s first fully GPU-accelerated renderer, so you can only expect flawless results.
And since Cinema 4D is built by a well-known company that produces additional tools such as ZBrush, Universe, and Red Giant Complete set of tools, you can easily integrate these into Cinema 4D.
4. Animaker
If you’re only interested in looking for a Blender alternative that focuses on animation, Animaker makes the best substitute.
Animaker is a cloud tool that is available for free, and it relies on an advanced technology that’s super easy to use, even by beginners who are just getting into animations, video production, and editing.
In comparison to Blender, Animaker comes with an easier-to-use editor that helps you make and edit videos quicker. However, the best feature of Animaker includes the ability to capture live videos and record them with Animaker settings, which is not available in Blender.
Animaker also includes over a hundred million stock photos and videos you can use in your video production, so making a video from scratch is super simple.
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5. Adobe Premiere Pro
Adobe has been one of the most professional tool developers in the world of video, graphics, and photography. Premiere Pro is the right choice if you’re looking for a Blender alternative that is much more scalable, is a better fit at a commercial and professional level, and has a lot more to offer.
With Premiere Pro, you can edit anything from a simple social media video to editing and making cinema-ready movies. It comes packed with smart features, but it is also easy to integrate with other Adobe tools so that you can do everything from one tool.
Features such as automatic caption generation from voice, automatic video reformatting, AI color matching, and others can save you time and improve your results. These are also some of the features you won’t be able to find in Blender.
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6. Adobe After Effects
Blender lacks one thing and that is effects, so if you’re looking for a Blender alternative that comes with a full set of effects that can help you create a cinematic-like experience in your videos, there’s no better alternative than Adobe After Effects.
After Effects is another tool by Adobe that allows you to create any effect in a video. This includes titles, intros, and transitions, or you can even make anything from starting a fire or making it rain in your video.
Of course, all effects from this tool are very realistic and match a professional and commercial level, which is another advantage compared to Blender.
With After Effects, you can also do animations, and even though it specifically focuses on effects, it is easy to integrate with other Adobe tools, so you can get all your work done from one tool.
7. Unity
Unity is a versatile editing platform that offers a lot more than Blender since it allows you to work in 2D, 3D, VR, and even AR content. With such features where quality comes first, Unity can help you create endless video possibilities with video improvements that are a level up compared to Blender.
On top of all these versatile features, Unity provides Learn, Store, Documentation, and Gaming Services within the tool to quickly get the most out of the tool with proper help and add-ons.
With that being said, Unity is often used for games, automotive, manufacturing, film, animations, cinematics, architecture, engineering, and even construction, among other industries.
8. 3ds Max
3ds Max is a tool from Autocad that strictly focuses on creating high-quality designs that are used for architecture, professional modeling, and animation to create expansive worlds and premium designs.
These are some things that Blender lacks and can’t provide as efficiency as 3ds Max can, especially at such a professional and even commercial level.
Therefore, 3ds Max is a much better substitute, especially if you’re looking for a tool that can help you create photorealistic designs and boost productivity by using a set of tools that can improve how you work with videos and animations.
9. Modo
Modo provides the most needed editing features such as 3D modeling, animation, texturing, and rendering, but it’s also about customizing the experience, improving the workflow, and offering better efficiency.
Modo is a lot more advanced in certain aspects that make work much easier, smoother, and more efficient.
Modo excels with its modeling feature that can quickly help you take your thoughts and turn them into concepts and designs with helpful and intelligent procedural modeling systems in place.
All you need to take a thought to a full 3D concept is provided within the Modo, which won’t only help you be more productive but also be more creative.
10. Wings 3D
Wings 3D is an open-source alternative, just like Blender, yet it is slightly more advanced than Blender in some aspects.
With Wings 3D, you can use a wide range of easily customizable and intuitive interface modeling tools and even provide better light and material support.
The biggest difference between Wings 3D and Blender is that Wings 3D offers a built-in AutoUV facility for mapping while Blender doesn’t. However, keep in mind that Wings 3D mostly focuses on polygon modeling, which might not be a great fit for everyone’s needs when it comes to versatility.
11. Natron
Natron is an open-source two-in-one tool with a lot more to offer than Blender since it combines a compositor and a cross-platform where you can work with visual effects and motion graphics.
By being a more advanced substitute to Blender, Natron includes features that can improve results and change how you edit and prepare your videos.
These features include rotoscoping, tracker, keying, curve and dope-sheet editing, and GPU and network rendering.
Shading is also a possibility, and it includes G’Mic OFX plugins so you can expand Natron’s functionality and fully match your needs.
12. Bforartists
Bforartists is the tool most similar to Blender since it’s based on open-source code. It is also free to use and it utilizes similar tools that help with editing and creating 3D content.
This tool comes with a cleaned-up interface for easier use, improved defaults, a customizable toolbar with a set of tools, and its keymap, which can be used with only a mouse.
It gets frequent updates which is great for a free tool, especially considering it gets more updates than Blender. But with all tools and features, it includes, Bforartists can help you prerender movies or stills, create game graphics, and do anything from modeling and sculpting to texturing animation and rendering.
13. VRoid Studio
If you’re looking for a Blender alternative that’s easier to use, offers a much more intuitive user interface, and is easy to learn even for a beginner, VRoid Studio is a great pick.
VRoid Studio is available for both Windows and macOS systems, and it can even be downloaded via the Steam client. With powerful presets, you won’t ever have to create anything from scratch, but you will still be able to express yourself by fully customizing these presets.
Therefore, with VRoid Studio, you can do anything from unique character creation to advanced 3D modeling.
14. Shapr3D
Shapr3D is an advanced substitute to Blender for everyone who wants the ability to create concepts from thoughts to reality with industry-standard precision.
That being said, Shapr3D reimagined 3D modeling without clunky tools and features but with an intuitive and easy-to-use interface with increased mobility to get your work done even on the go.
Therefore, Shapr3D changes the way you model your concepts, and since it’s compatible with iOS devices such as Apple iPad, you can make your concepts freely with a pen, as if you were creating them on paper.
Combine this with mathematical precision, and you will be able to prepare your models, deal with technical drawings, print them out in three dimensions, and even have your designs cut out on CNC machines to make prototypes directly from your Shapr3D concept.
15. Armory 3D
If you want an advanced version of Blender without spending a fortune and still be able to have features that will help you perform and do 3D modeling, Armory 3D is a great choice on a budget.
Armory 3D is based on an open-source code that still gets frequent updates, yet it is highly portable with a very decent workflow process from start to finish.
With Armory 3D, you can develop games from scratch or, even better yet, integrate Armory 3D into Blender as an extension. If there are some features or things you still like about Blender and you’d like to improve its functionality, Armory 3D integration can give you both of the best tools in one interface.
However, Armory 3D also includes other addons from Armory, such as ArmorPaint and ArmorLab, expanding the set of tools and possibilities you can do with this light yet powerful tool.
16. HitFilm Express
HitFilm Express is a free video editing tool that includes visual effects to match professional-grade editing needs, making it a better tool than Blender for a couple of reasons.
It is ideal for beginners since it’s based on an intuitive user interface, but it also fits many different needs of gamers, YouTubers, creative professionals, and various content creators, thanks to its professional editing tools.
HitFilm Express is considered to provide the biggest free VFX toolkit on the market with advanced features such as motion tracking, animation tools, 4K exports, and professional formats.
Even though HitFilm Express has a quick learning curve, it still provides hundreds of hours of free video tutorials that can teach you how to get the most out of this tool which can also help you improve your editing skills.
17. Rhino
Rhino can help you design, model, present, analyze, and even realize all your digital artwork.
With Rhino, you can render, animate, translate NURBS curves, do subdivision geometry, and most importantly, have no limit on complexity, degree, or size, as long as it matches your hardware.
Some of the top features include accuracy, compatibility, ability to read challenging files, quick process, and compatibility.
With a short learning curve, Rhino still has a lot more to offer than Blender, and even though it mostly focuses on designs, it is a lot easier to use.
18. Daz 3D
Daz 3D is one of the rare tools that match the professional-grade level that can help you develop a whole 3D world without going through a steep learning curve.
This tool includes everything you’d need to create any 3D work you need, including a library of free and premium content from top artists worldwide that you can use in your work.
However, the unique thing about Daz 3D is that it features a section meant to inspire all creators who lack inspiration. You can browse interests and combinations that will help you get started in no time.
19. Flowblade
If you’re looking for a video editor that is faster, stable, and precise, Flowblade is a great choice. It is free, just like Blender, but it also supports all formats globally, so you won’t ever have to worry about working with a certain format type.
Compared to Blender, Flowblade provides an advanced workflow timeline that helps you composite, mix, edit, and animate videos faster and more accurately.
Flowblade also introduces the G’Mic tool, a technology that can recognize and filter highly convenient images, especially for a free tool.
20. Dust3D
Dust3D is another free modeling tool that can easily replace Blender since it includes additional features that improve how you can model, animate, and work with videos.
That being said, Dust3D comes with auto UV unwrapping, auto rigging, PBR material support, pose and motion authoring, and other standard modeling features in one tool.
It is a lot more advanced, but it is also a lot more efficient and can even improve productivity thanks to its watertight workflow process.
Conclusion
The best Blender alternative is Maya, and even though it’s not a free alternative, it’s worth every penny it costs because it takes modeling to another level.
With Maya, you can get commercial-grade modeling and editing standards, blockbuster-type realistic effects, and additional features you can’t find in Blender, such as pipeline integration, rigging, motion graphics, and shading, among others.
On top of that, Maya is a lot more thorough at shaping 3D objects, which can make a huge difference in the final result.
