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CAD · head to head

Bambu Studio vs Mari

Bambu Studio logo

Bambu Studio

CAD

Free slicer for Bambu Lab 3D printers, funded entirely by hardware sales

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Mari logo

Mari

CAD

3D painting for film and games

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Bambu Studio profiles and tuning are aimed at Bambu Lab machines, so using it as a general slicer for other printers means building and maintaining your own profiles, which is exactly the work a slicer is meant to save.; Mari the full annual licence is $1,289 paid annually, and a short term quarterly rental is $949 per quarter
  • They diverge on capability: Bambu Studio covers Multi-material slicing, Mari covers High-resolution painting.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bambu Studio and Mari actually diverge.

Attributes where Bambu Studio and Mari differ
AttributeBambu StudioMari
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feesubscription
FoundedUnknown1996

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), platforms (Windows, macOS, Linux), user rating (Not yet rated), category (CAD).

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 Bambu Studio

  • Multi-material slicing
  • Per-object process settings
  • Auto arrange and plate management
  • Tree and normal supports
  • Print preview and toolpath inspection
  • Network and cloud printing
  • Calibration tools

Only in Mari

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

What people use each for

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

Bambu Studio

  • Running a small farm of Bambu Lab printers where multi-colour AMS jobs need per-object material assignmentnot Mari
  • A design team that needs to check printability and support strategy before committing a part to a printnot Mari
  • Prototyping in a workshop where paying per seat for a slicer cannot be justifiednot Mari
  • Reusing PrusaSlicer knowledge and profile conventions on Bambu hardware without relearning a slicernot Mari

Mari

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

Where each one falls short

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

Bambu Studio

  • Profiles and tuning are aimed at Bambu Lab machines, so using it as a general slicer for other printers means building and maintaining your own profiles, which is exactly the work a slicer is meant to save.
  • The networking component is a proprietary closed binary loaded at runtime, so you cannot audit, self-host or script printer communication the way the AGPL licence of the rest of the code would suggest.
  • The Software Freedom Conservancy publicly stated in 2026 that Bambu Lab is violating the AGPLv3, and Bambu Lab has issued a cease-and-desist to a third-party fork developer, which is a live legal question for any organisation with an open-source compliance policy.
  • Cloud features require a Bambu account and route job data through Bambu servers, which is a data governance problem for anyone printing commercially sensitive geometry.
  • The software is free because the hardware is not, so there is no way to buy support or a maintenance commitment; if a release breaks your workflow your only recourse is the community forum and waiting.

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

Bambu Studio

Free
  • Bambu StudioFree
    • Free download, no account required for local printing
    • AGPL-3.0 licensed slicing engine
    • Unlimited printers and users

Mari

Free
  • Individual Subscription$86/month
    • Solo artists or small companies
    • $689 per year alternative billing
  • Team Subscription$null/year
    • Node-locked or floating licenses
    • Annual payment
  • Team Rental$949/quarter
    • Short-term access
    • Node-locked or floating licenses

Which should you pick?

Choose Bambu Studio if

  • You need multi-material slicing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux.
  • You also want per-object process settings.
Bambu Studio review

Choose Mari if

  • You need high-resolution painting.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, MacOS, Linux.
  • You also want udim support.
Mari review

Questions people ask

Is Bambu Studio or Mari better?
Neither clearly leads. Bambu Studio starts at Free and Mari at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bambu Studio or Mari?
Bambu Studio starts at Free and Mari at Free.
Does Bambu Studio or Mari run on more platforms?
Bambu Studio runs on Windows, macOS, Linux. Mari runs on Windows, MacOS, Linux.
Can I use Bambu Studio for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Bambu Studio best used for?
Bambu Studio is most often used for running a small farm of bambu lab printers where multi-colour ams jobs need per-object material assignment, a design team that needs to check printability and support strategy before committing a part to a print, prototyping in a workshop where paying per seat for a slicer cannot be justified, reusing prusaslicer knowledge and profile conventions on bambu hardware without relearning a slicer. Of those, running a small farm of bambu lab printers where multi-colour ams jobs need per-object material assignment and a design team that needs to check printability and support strategy before committing a part to a print are not what Mari is typically brought in for.
What can Bambu Studio do that Mari cannot?
Bambu Studio covers Multi-material slicing, Per-object process settings, Auto arrange and plate management, Tree and normal supports. Mari covers High-resolution painting, UDIM support, Procedural layers, Baking.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Bambu Studio: Does Bambu Studio cost anything?

No. It is free with no paid tier. Bambu Lab monetises the printers and filament, not the slicer.

Mari: What is Mari's pricing?

Individual Subscription costs $689 per year or $86 per month. Team Subscription costs $1,289 per year. Team Rental costs $949 per quarter for short-term access. Both subscriptions support node-locked or floating licenses.

Source
Bambu Studio: Is it open source?

Mostly. The slicing application is AGPL-3.0 by inheritance from PrusaSlicer, but the networking plugin is proprietary and closed, and that combination is the subject of the Software Freedom Conservancy dispute.

Mari: Does Mari offer a free trial?

Mari offers a free 30-day trial with unrestricted access to help users evaluate the software before purchasing.

Source
Bambu Studio: Can I use it with a non-Bambu printer?

Technically yes, since it is a PrusaSlicer fork, but the shipped profiles target Bambu machines and you would be maintaining your own configuration.

Mari: Does Mari offer student pricing?

Yes, Mari offers free or discounted access to all Foundry products for students, as well as free non-commercial licenses for learning and exploration.

Source
Bambu Studio: Can I print without a Bambu cloud account?

Yes, over the local network in LAN mode. Cloud printing, remote monitoring and MakerWorld require an account.

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