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Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler vs Mari

Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler logo

Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler

CAD

Photogrammetry engine formerly sold as ContextCapture, now inside Bentley's iTwin line

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Mari logo

Mari

CAD

3D painting for film and games

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Mari has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler the rename from ContextCapture is more than cosmetic: licensing moved into Bentley's subscription and consumption model, and existing perpetual users should confirm what a renewal converts to before assuming continuity of cost.; Mari the full annual licence is $1,289 paid annually, and a short term quarterly rental is $949 per quarter
  • They diverge on capability: Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler covers Aerial triangulation, Mari covers High-resolution painting.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler and Mari actually diverge.

Attributes where Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler and Mari differ
AttributeBentley iTwin Capture ModelerMari
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotesubscription
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWindows, CloudWindows, MacOS, Linux
FoundedUnknown1996

Identical on both: 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 Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler

  • Aerial triangulation
  • Dense mesh reconstruction
  • Point cloud fusion
  • Orthophoto and DSM output
  • 3D Tiles and 3MX export
  • Distributed processing
  • Retouching and editing
  • Georeferencing and control

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.

Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler

  • A highway authority reconstructing a corridor from drone imagery for design work in OpenRoadsnot Mari
  • A survey firm delivering city-scale textured meshes to a municipal client for planning and visualisationnot Mari
  • An engineering consultancy fusing terrestrial laser scans with drone photography of a bridge for condition assessmentnot Mari
  • A team publishing streamable 3D Tiles of a construction site so stakeholders can view it in a browsernot Mari

Mari

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

Where each one falls short

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

Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler

  • The rename from ContextCapture is more than cosmetic: licensing moved into Bentley's subscription and consumption model, and existing perpetual users should confirm what a renewal converts to before assuming continuity of cost.
  • Consumption-based entitlements make the cost of a large reconstruction hard to predict in advance, which is awkward when you are quoting a fixed-price deliverable to a client.
  • The desktop engine is Windows only and reconstruction is compute-hungry, so meaningful throughput needs either serious workstation hardware or paid cloud processing.
  • Bentley does not publish a plain rate card and pricing varies by region, reseller and existing agreement, so two firms buying the same thing can pay very different amounts.
  • Value compounds inside the Bentley ecosystem, and a firm whose design work happens in Autodesk or Esri tools pays for a positioning it will not use while getting the same mesh a cheaper standalone photogrammetry package would produce.

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

Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler

On request
  • iTwin Capture Modeler$undefined/year
    • Subscription entitlement through Bentley licensing
    • Consumption charged against Bentley Keys on some agreements
    • Reality Modeling WorkSuite bundles Modeler with reality data management

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 Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler if

  • You need aerial triangulation.
  • You work on Windows, Cloud.
  • You also want dense mesh reconstruction.
Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler 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 Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler or Mari better?
Neither clearly leads. Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler starts at On request and Mari at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler or Mari?
Mari has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler and Free for Mari.
Does Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler or Mari run on more platforms?
Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler runs on Windows, Cloud. Mari runs on Windows, MacOS, Linux.
Can I use Mari for free?
Yes. Mari has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler starts at On request.
What is Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler best used for?
Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler is most often used for a highway authority reconstructing a corridor from drone imagery for design work in openroads, a survey firm delivering city-scale textured meshes to a municipal client for planning and visualisation, an engineering consultancy fusing terrestrial laser scans with drone photography of a bridge for condition assessment, a team publishing streamable 3d tiles of a construction site so stakeholders can view it in a browser. Of those, a highway authority reconstructing a corridor from drone imagery for design work in openroads and a survey firm delivering city-scale textured meshes to a municipal client for planning and visualisation are not what Mari is typically brought in for.
What can Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler do that Mari cannot?
Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler covers Aerial triangulation, Dense mesh reconstruction, Point cloud fusion, Orthophoto and DSM output. Mari covers High-resolution painting, UDIM support, Procedural layers, Baking.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler: Is ContextCapture discontinued?

The name is. The product continues as iTwin Capture Modeler within Bentley's iTwin family.

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
Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler: Does it still support a perpetual licence?

New buyers should expect subscription or consumption-based entitlements. Confirm the exact conversion path if you hold an older perpetual licence.

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
Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler: Can it process laser scan data as well as photographs?

Yes. It fuses point clouds with imagery in a single reconstruction.

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
Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler: Do I need other Bentley software to use it?

No, output formats are usable elsewhere, but the commercial and workflow case is strongest if you already run MicroStation or OpenRoads.

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