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Mudbox vs Alibre Design

Mudbox logo

Mudbox

Software

Digital painting and sculpting software

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Alibre Design logo

Alibre Design

Software

Affordable professional CAD

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Mudbox a Mudbox subscription license may be installed on up to 3 computers (Internet Archive capture, 12 November 2023); Alibre Design perpetual licences do not include updates; maintenance is a separate yearly plan starting at $50 per year for CAD support and updates
  • They diverge on capability: Mudbox covers Digital sculpting, Alibre Design covers Parametric modeling.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Mudbox and Alibre Design differ
AttributeMudboxAlibre Design
Pricing modelsubscriptionone-time
PlatformsWindows, MacOS, LinuxWindows
Founded19821997

Identical on both: starting price ($29/month), free tier (No), 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 Mudbox

  • Digital sculpting
  • Texture painting
  • Retopology
  • PTEX support
  • Layer system
  • Stencils
  • Stamps
  • GPU tessellation

Only in Alibre Design

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

Both cover

  • Windows support

What people use each for

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

Mudbox

  • Character sculptingnot Alibre Design
  • Texture creationnot Alibre Design
  • Asset detailingnot Alibre Design

Alibre Design

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

Where each one falls short

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

Mudbox

  • A Mudbox subscription license may be installed on up to 3 computers (Internet Archive capture, 12 November 2023)
  • Sold as monthly, annual or 3-year subscription terms with no perpetual license option offered on the pricing page (Internet Archive capture, 12 November 2023)

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

Pricing, plan by plan

Mudbox

$29/month
  • Mudbox$85/month
    • Full sculpting
    • Texture painting
  • M&E Collection$2390/month
    • Mudbox + Maya + 3ds Max + more

Alibre Design

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Mudbox if

  • You need digital sculpting.
  • You work on Windows, MacOS, Linux.
  • You also want texture painting.
Mudbox review

Choose Alibre Design if

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

Questions people ask

Is Mudbox or Alibre Design better?
Neither clearly leads. Mudbox starts at $29/month and Alibre Design at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Mudbox or Alibre Design?
Mudbox starts at $29/month and Alibre Design at $29/month.
Does Mudbox or Alibre Design run on more platforms?
Mudbox runs on Windows, MacOS, Linux. Alibre Design runs on Windows.
What is Mudbox best used for?
Mudbox is most often used for character sculpting, texture creation, asset detailing. Of those, character sculpting and texture creation are not what Alibre Design is typically brought in for.
What can Mudbox do that Alibre Design cannot?
Mudbox covers Digital sculpting, Texture painting, Retopology, PTEX support. Alibre Design covers Parametric modeling, Assemblies, Sheet metal, 2D drawings. Both handle Windows support.
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