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CAD · head to head

Bentley MicroStation vs Mari

Bentley MicroStation logo

Bentley MicroStation

CAD

CAD and modelling platform for infrastructure design, and the file format the rest of Bentley runs on

From
$2284/year
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 MicroStation bentley licensing has a history of usage-based true-ups, where running the software beyond your entitlement is permitted at the time and invoiced later, so finance teams get bills nobody in the design office authorised.; 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 MicroStation covers DGN modelling, Mari covers High-resolution painting.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bentley MicroStation and Mari actually diverge.

Attributes where Bentley MicroStation and Mari differ
AttributeBentley MicroStationMari
Starting price$2284/yearFree
Pricing modelPer user per yearsubscription
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWindowsWindows, 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 MicroStation

  • DGN modelling
  • DWG editing
  • Reality modelling
  • Parametric components
  • Drawing composition
  • Visualisation
  • MDL and .NET APIs
  • iTwin publishing

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 MicroStation

  • A civil consultancy bidding on state DOT or national highways work that mandates DGN deliverables and issues a MicroStation workspacenot Mari
  • A rail or utility owner-operator maintaining decades of legacy DGN drawings that would lose data in a DWG round tripnot Mari
  • An engineering firm standardising on OpenRoads or OpenBuildings, which require the MicroStation platform underneathnot Mari
  • A survey or asset team draping design geometry over point clouds and reality meshes for existing-conditions worknot Mari

Mari

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

Where each one falls short

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

Bentley MicroStation

  • Bentley licensing has a history of usage-based true-ups, where running the software beyond your entitlement is permitted at the time and invoiced later, so finance teams get bills nobody in the design office authorised.
  • It is Windows only, with no macOS or Linux build and no browser client, which rules it out for studios that have standardised on Mac hardware.
  • The user base is far smaller than AutoCAD's, so hiring a MicroStation operator is harder and slower in most markets and contract staff command a premium.
  • Value depends almost entirely on whether your clients mandate DGN; outside infrastructure and government work you are paying several times the price of mainstream CAD for a format nobody asks you for.
  • Agency workspaces, seed files and configuration variables make deployment a specialist job, and a firm working for several agencies ends up maintaining multiple incompatible configurations.

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 MicroStation

$2284/year
  • Virtuoso Subscription$2284/year
    • Single-user MicroStation licence
    • Bentley Keys redeemable for training, mentoring or consulting
    • Bought through Bentley's eStore with a card
  • Practitioner or Enterprise licence$undefined/year
    • Term or perpetual licence sold direct by Bentley
    • Perpetual purchase requires an ongoing SELECT maintenance subscription
    • Volume and enterprise agreements with pooled licence usage

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 MicroStation if

  • You need dgn modelling.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want dwg editing.
Bentley MicroStation 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 MicroStation or Mari better?
Neither clearly leads. Bentley MicroStation starts at $2284/year and Mari at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bentley MicroStation or Mari?
Mari has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $2284/year for Bentley MicroStation and Free for Mari.
Does Bentley MicroStation or Mari run on more platforms?
Bentley MicroStation runs on Windows. 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 MicroStation starts at $2284/year.
What is Bentley MicroStation best used for?
Bentley MicroStation is most often used for a civil consultancy bidding on state dot or national highways work that mandates dgn deliverables and issues a microstation workspace, a rail or utility owner-operator maintaining decades of legacy dgn drawings that would lose data in a dwg round trip, an engineering firm standardising on openroads or openbuildings, which require the microstation platform underneath, a survey or asset team draping design geometry over point clouds and reality meshes for existing-conditions work. Of those, a civil consultancy bidding on state dot or national highways work that mandates dgn deliverables and issues a microstation workspace and a rail or utility owner-operator maintaining decades of legacy dgn drawings that would lose data in a dwg round trip are not what Mari is typically brought in for.
What can Bentley MicroStation do that Mari cannot?
Bentley MicroStation covers DGN modelling, DWG editing, Reality modelling, Parametric components. Mari covers High-resolution painting, UDIM support, Procedural layers, Baking.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Bentley MicroStation: Can MicroStation open and save DWG files?

Yes, it edits DWG natively rather than importing it. Fidelity is good but not perfect on complex dynamic blocks and some annotation styles, so a DWG-mandated deliverable is still safer produced in AutoCAD.

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 MicroStation: Is there still a perpetual licence?

Yes, Bentley still sells perpetual licences alongside term and Virtuoso subscriptions, but a perpetual licence needs an annual SELECT subscription to receive updates and support, so it is not a one-off cost.

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 MicroStation: Do I need MicroStation if I have OpenRoads Designer?

No. The Open products include the MicroStation platform, so buying both separately is duplicate spend.

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 MicroStation: What is a Bentley Key?

A prepaid token bundled with a Virtuoso subscription that you redeem for training, mentoring or consulting hours. Unused keys are a real cost if nobody in the team books the sessions.

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