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3D & CAD · head to head

Alibre Design vs Mari

Alibre Design logo

Alibre Design

3D & CAD

Affordable professional CAD

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Mari logo

Mari

3D & CAD

3D painting for film and games

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Alibre Design perpetual licences do not include updates; maintenance is a separate yearly plan starting at $50 per year for CAD support and updates; Mari the full annual licence is $1,289 paid annually, and a short term quarterly rental is $949 per quarter
  • They diverge on capability: Alibre Design covers Parametric modeling, Mari covers High-resolution painting.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Alibre Design and Mari actually diverge.

Attributes where Alibre Design and Mari differ
AttributeAlibre DesignMari
Pricing modelone-timesubscription
PlatformsWindowsWindows, MacOS, Linux
Founded19971996

Identical on both: starting price ($29/month), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (3D & CAD).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Alibre Design

  • Parametric modeling
  • Assemblies
  • Sheet metal
  • 2D drawings
  • BOM
  • Rendering
  • CAM software
  • PDM

Only in Mari

  • High-resolution painting
  • UDIM support
  • Procedural layers
  • Baking
  • Node graph
  • Color management
  • Maya
  • Nuke

Both cover

  • Windows support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Alibre Design

  • Parametric 3D solid modelling for mechanical partsnot Mari
  • Producing 2D manufacturing drawings from 3D modelsnot Mari
  • Designing parts for 3D printing and small shop machiningnot Mari

Mari

  • Painting textures directly onto high complexity 3D assets for film and gamesnot Alibre Design
  • Handling very large multi-UDIM texture sets in a look development pipelinenot Alibre Design

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Alibre Design

  • Perpetual licences do not include updates; maintenance is a separate yearly plan starting at $50 per year for CAD support and updates
  • Sheet metal, PDM data management and rendering are Design Expert only at $1,999
  • Scripting is excluded from the $199 Atom3D edition
  • CAM capability is sold as separate EZ-Mill, EZ-Turn and EZ-EDM products costing up to $2,999
  • A dedicated account manager is excluded from Atom3D

Mari

  • The full annual licence is $1,289 paid annually, and a short term quarterly rental is $949 per quarter
  • The cheap $299 per year or $35 per month subscription is restricted to a single licence for people working alone or in small companies
  • Node-locked and floating are separate licence types you must choose between
  • All listed prices are before applicable taxes
  • A separate non-commercial licence exists, so commercial use requires a paid tier

Pricing, plan by plan

Alibre Design

$29/month
  • Atom3D$199/month
    • Basic modeling
  • Design$999/month
    • Professional CAD
  • Expert$1999/month
    • Full features

Mari

$29/month
  • Mari$1906/month
    • Full features

Which should you pick?

Choose Alibre Design if

  • You need parametric modeling.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want assemblies.
Alibre Design review

Choose Mari if

  • You need high-resolution painting.
  • You work on Windows, MacOS, Linux.
  • You also want udim support.
Mari review

Questions people ask

Is Alibre Design or Mari better?
Neither clearly leads. Alibre Design starts at $29/month and Mari at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Alibre Design or Mari?
Alibre Design starts at $29/month and Mari at $29/month.
Does Alibre Design or Mari run on more platforms?
Alibre Design runs on Windows. Mari runs on Windows, MacOS, Linux.
What is Alibre Design best used for?
Alibre Design is most often used for parametric 3d solid modelling for mechanical parts, producing 2d manufacturing drawings from 3d models, designing parts for 3d printing and small shop machining. Of those, parametric 3d solid modelling for mechanical parts and producing 2d manufacturing drawings from 3d models are not what Mari is typically brought in for.
What can Alibre Design do that Mari cannot?
Alibre Design covers Parametric modeling, Assemblies, Sheet metal, 2D drawings. Mari covers High-resolution painting, UDIM support, Procedural layers, Baking. Both handle Windows support.
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