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Arnold vs Toon Boom Harmony

Arnold logo

Arnold

3D & CAD

Advanced Monte Carlo ray tracing renderer

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Toon Boom Harmony logo

Toon Boom Harmony

Animation

Creating worlds of Animation

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

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.; Toon Boom Harmony licensing is subscription only across Essentials, Advanced and Premium tiers, with no perpetual license option offered on the pricing page

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Arnold and Toon Boom Harmony actually diverge.

Attributes where Arnold and Toon Boom Harmony differ
AttributeArnoldToon Boom Harmony
Starting price$29/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionone-time
PlatformsWindows, MacOS, LinuxWeb
Category3D & CADAnimation
Founded1998Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

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
  • Maya
  • 3ds Max
  • Cinema 4D

Only in Toon Boom Harmony

Nothing recorded that Arnold does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Arnold

  • Film productionnot Toon Boom Harmony
  • Animationnot Toon Boom Harmony
  • VFXnot Toon Boom Harmony

Toon Boom Harmony

No use cases recorded yet. See the Toon Boom Harmony review.

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.

Toon Boom Harmony

  • Licensing is subscription only across Essentials, Advanced and Premium tiers, with no perpetual license option offered on the pricing page
  • Access beyond the 14 day free trial requires purchasing a subscription through the shop

Pricing, plan by plan

Arnold

$29/month
  • Arnold$360/month
    • Standalone renderer

Toon Boom Harmony

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Toon Boom Harmony review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Arnold if

  • You need ray tracing.
  • You work on Windows, MacOS, Linux.
  • You also want gpu rendering.
Arnold review

Choose Toon Boom Harmony if

Nothing in the data separates Toon Boom Harmony from Arnold on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Toon Boom Harmony review

Questions people ask

Is Arnold or Toon Boom Harmony better?
Neither clearly leads. Arnold starts at $29/month and Toon Boom Harmony at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Arnold or Toon Boom Harmony?
Arnold starts at $29/month and Toon Boom Harmony at On request.
Does Arnold or Toon Boom Harmony run on more platforms?
Arnold runs on Windows, MacOS, Linux. Toon Boom Harmony runs on Web.
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 Toon Boom Harmony is typically brought in for.
What can Arnold do that Toon Boom Harmony cannot?
Arnold covers Ray tracing, GPU rendering, Production shading, OSL.
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