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Software · head to head

Mudbox vs Mari

Mudbox logo

Mudbox

Software

Digital painting and sculpting software

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Mari logo

Mari

Software

3D painting for film and games

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); Mari the full annual licence is $1,289 paid annually, and a short term quarterly rental is $949 per quarter
  • They diverge on capability: Mudbox covers Digital sculpting, Mari covers High-resolution painting.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Mudbox and Mari actually diverge.

Attributes where Mudbox and Mari differ
AttributeMudboxMari
Founded19821996

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 Mudbox

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

Only in Mari

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

Both cover

  • Maya
  • Windows support
  • MacOS support
  • Linux support

What people use each for

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

Mudbox

  • Character sculptingnot Mari
  • Texture creationnot Mari
  • Asset detailingnot Mari

Mari

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

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

Mudbox

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

Mari

$29/month
  • Mari$1906/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 Mari if

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

Questions people ask

Is Mudbox or Mari better?
Neither clearly leads. Mudbox 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, Mudbox or Mari?
Mudbox starts at $29/month and Mari at $29/month.
Does Mudbox or Mari run on more platforms?
Both run on Windows, MacOS, Linux, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
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 Mari is typically brought in for.
What can Mudbox do that Mari cannot?
Mudbox covers Digital sculpting, Texture painting, Retopology, PTEX support. Mari covers High-resolution painting, UDIM support, Procedural layers, Baking. Both handle Maya, Windows support, MacOS support, Linux support.
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