Software · head to head
Arnold vs Mari
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Arnold the Internet Archive's capture of Autodesk's Arnold overview page on 30 December 2022 stated a subscription can be installed on up to 3 computers or devices, though only the named user may run it on one machine at a time, and includes access to the 3 previous major versions.; Mari the full annual licence is $1,289 paid annually, and a short term quarterly rental is $949 per quarter
- They diverge on capability: Arnold covers Ray tracing, Mari covers High-resolution painting.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Arnold and Mari actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price ($29/month), pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), platforms (Windows, MacOS, Linux), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
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 Arnold
- Ray tracing
- GPU rendering
- Production shading
- OSL
- Denoising
- 3ds Max
- Cinema 4D
- Houdini
Only in Mari
- High-resolution painting
- UDIM support
- Procedural layers
- Baking
- Node graph
- Color management
- Nuke
- Floating licenses
Both cover
- Maya
- Katana
- Windows support
- MacOS support
- Linux support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Arnold
- Film productionnot Mari
- Animationnot Mari
- VFXnot Mari
Mari
- Painting textures directly onto high complexity 3D assets for film and gamesnot Arnold
- Handling very large multi-UDIM texture sets in a look development pipelinenot Arnold
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Arnold
- The Internet Archive's capture of Autodesk's Arnold overview page on 30 December 2022 stated a subscription can be installed on up to 3 computers or devices, though only the named user may run it on one machine at a time, and includes access to the 3 previous major versions.
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
Arnold
$29/month- Arnold$360/month
- Standalone renderer
Mari
$29/month- Mari$1906/month
- Full features
Which should you pick?
Choose Arnold if
- You need ray tracing.
- You work on Windows, MacOS, Linux.
- You also want gpu rendering.
Choose Mari if
- You need high-resolution painting.
- You work on Windows, MacOS, Linux.
- You also want udim support.
Questions people ask
- Is Arnold or Mari better?
- Neither clearly leads. Arnold 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, Arnold or Mari?
- Arnold starts at $29/month and Mari at $29/month.
- Does Arnold or Mari run on more platforms?
- Both run on Windows, MacOS, Linux, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- What is Arnold best used for?
- Arnold is most often used for film production, animation, vfx. Of those, film production and animation are not what Mari is typically brought in for.
- What can Arnold do that Mari cannot?
- Arnold covers Ray tracing, GPU rendering, Production shading, OSL. Mari covers High-resolution painting, UDIM support, Procedural layers, Baking. Both handle Maya, Katana, Windows support, MacOS support.