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Software · head to head

Mudbox vs Plasticity

Mudbox logo

Mudbox

Software

Digital painting and sculpting software

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Plasticity logo

Plasticity

Software

CAD for artists

From
On request
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); Plasticity limited plugin ecosystem compared to Rhino; fewer third-party extensions available
  • They diverge on capability: Mudbox covers Digital sculpting, Plasticity covers Smooth surface modeling.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Mudbox and Plasticity actually diverge.

Attributes where Mudbox and Plasticity differ
AttributeMudboxPlasticity
Starting price$29/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
PlatformsWindows, MacOS, LinuxWindows, macOS, Linux, Ubuntu
Founded19822023

Identical on both: 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 Plasticity

  • Smooth surface modeling
  • Fillet operations
  • Boolean operations
  • Mesh export
  • Fast workflow
  • Artist-friendly
  • Blender
  • Game engines

Both cover

  • 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 Plasticity
  • Texture creationnot Plasticity
  • Asset detailingnot Plasticity

Plasticity

  • Concept designnot Mudbox
  • Hard surface modelingnot 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)

Plasticity

  • Limited plugin ecosystem compared to Rhino; fewer third-party extensions available
  • Young product with shorter track record; fewer industry case studies and community resources
  • No parametric history tree; may require different workflow for some users accustomed to feature-based modeling
  • Premium pricing for Indie users despite being positioned as affordable alternative

Pricing, plan by plan

Mudbox

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

Plasticity

On request
  • Indie$149/one-time

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 Plasticity if

  • You need smooth surface modeling.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux, Ubuntu.
  • You also want fillet operations.
Plasticity review

Questions people ask

Is Mudbox or Plasticity better?
Neither clearly leads. Mudbox starts at $29/month and Plasticity at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Mudbox or Plasticity?
Mudbox starts at $29/month and Plasticity at On request.
Does Mudbox or Plasticity run on more platforms?
Mudbox runs on Windows, MacOS, Linux. Plasticity runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, Ubuntu.
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 Plasticity is typically brought in for.
What can Mudbox do that Plasticity cannot?
Mudbox covers Digital sculpting, Texture painting, Retopology, PTEX support. Plasticity covers Smooth surface modeling, Fillet operations, Boolean operations, Mesh export. Both handle Windows support, MacOS support, Linux support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Plasticity: What is Plasticity designed for?

Plasticity is a NURBS-based 3D modeler designed for concept and product design, prioritizing an artist-friendly workflow over parametric history-based modeling.

Source
Plasticity: What platforms does Plasticity support?

Plasticity runs on Windows, macOS (Intel and M-Series), Linux, and Ubuntu using Parasolid's geometric modeling kernel.

Source
Plasticity: What is the pricing model for Plasticity?

Plasticity is a one-time purchase: Indie tier costs $149 and Studio tier is available at a higher price point. A 30-day free trial is available.

Source
Plasticity: Does Plasticity integrate with Blender?

Yes. Plasticity includes a Blender Bridge add-on that enables live-linking between Plasticity and Blender, allowing you to preview Plasticity models inside Blender with proper materials and lighting.

Source
Plasticity: What key features distinguish Plasticity from other CAD tools?

Plasticity features streamlined UI with context-sensitive widgets, chordal fillets, key bindings familiar to Blender users, radial menus, Dimension and Measure commands for absolute constraints, and handles complex Boolean operations on dense geometry.

Source
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