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Mari vs Mudbox

Mari logo

Mari

Software

3D painting for film and games

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Mudbox logo

Mudbox

Software

Digital painting and sculpting software

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Mari the full annual licence is $1,289 paid annually, and a short term quarterly rental is $949 per quarter; Mudbox a Mudbox subscription license may be installed on up to 3 computers (Internet Archive capture, 12 November 2023)
  • They diverge on capability: Mari covers High-resolution painting, Mudbox covers Digital sculpting.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Mari and Mudbox actually diverge.

Attributes where Mari and Mudbox differ
AttributeMariMudbox
Founded19961982

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 Mari

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

Only in Mudbox

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

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.

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

Mudbox

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

Where each one falls short

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

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

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)

Pricing, plan by plan

Mari

$29/month
  • Mari$1906/month
    • Full features

Mudbox

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Mari if

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

Choose Mudbox if

  • You need digital sculpting.
  • You work on Windows, MacOS, Linux.
  • You also want texture painting.
Mudbox review

Questions people ask

Is Mari or Mudbox better?
Neither clearly leads. Mari starts at $29/month and Mudbox at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Mari or Mudbox?
Mari starts at $29/month and Mudbox at $29/month.
Does Mari or Mudbox run on more platforms?
Both run on Windows, MacOS, Linux, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Mari best used for?
Mari is most often used for painting textures directly onto high complexity 3d assets for film and games, handling very large multi-udim texture sets in a look development pipeline. Of those, painting textures directly onto high complexity 3d assets for film and games and handling very large multi-udim texture sets in a look development pipeline are not what Mudbox is typically brought in for.
What can Mari do that Mudbox cannot?
Mari covers High-resolution painting, UDIM support, Procedural layers, Baking. Mudbox covers Digital sculpting, Texture painting, Retopology, PTEX support. Both handle Maya, Windows support, MacOS support, Linux support.
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