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3D & CAD · head to head

Mari vs Houdini

Mari logo

Mari

3D & CAD

3D painting for film and games

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Houdini logo

Houdini

3D & CAD

Procedural 3D animation and VFX

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Houdini has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • 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; Houdini houdini Indie at $299 per year requires annual gross revenue under $100K USD
  • They diverge on capability: Mari covers High-resolution painting, Houdini covers Procedural modeling.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Mari and Houdini actually diverge.

Attributes where Mari and Houdini differ
AttributeMariHoudini
Starting price$29/monthFree
Free tierNoYes
Founded19961987

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), platforms (Windows, MacOS, Linux), user rating (Not yet rated), category (3D & 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 Mari

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

Only in Houdini

  • Procedural modeling
  • VFX
  • Simulations
  • Particle systems
  • Pyro FX
  • Ocean tools
  • Rigging
  • Rendering

Both cover

  • Maya
  • Nuke
  • Floating licenses
  • 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 Houdini
  • Handling very large multi-UDIM texture sets in a look development pipelinenot Houdini

Houdini

  • Procedural 3D modelling and environment generationnot Mari
  • Visual effects simulation for pyro, fluids, cloth and rigid bodiesnot Mari
  • Building reusable procedural assets for a studio pipelinenot 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

Houdini

  • Houdini Indie at $299 per year requires annual gross revenue under $100K USD
  • Houdini Indie cannot be used in the same pipeline as commercial versions of Houdini
  • Houdini Indie and Apprentice save to their own .hipnc file format, which commercial Houdini pipelines do not share
  • The free Apprentice edition is non commercial, caps render resolution at 1920x1080 and watermarks output images
  • Houdini Indie ships with only 2 render tokens
  • Full DOP level simulation node access requires Houdini FX at $4,495 per workstation; Core at $1,995 exposes only SOP level pre built simulation assets
  • Extra render tokens cost $195

Pricing, plan by plan

Mari

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

Houdini

Free
  • ApprenticeFree
    • Learning version
    • Non-commercial
  • Indie$269/month
    • Revenue limit $100K
  • Core$1995/month
    • Full commercial
  • FX$4495/month
    • Full + simulations

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 Houdini if

  • You need procedural modeling.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, MacOS, Linux.
  • You also want vfx.
Houdini review

Questions people ask

Is Mari or Houdini better?
Neither clearly leads. Mari starts at $29/month and Houdini at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Mari or Houdini?
Houdini has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $29/month for Mari and Free for Houdini.
Does Mari or Houdini run on more platforms?
Both run on Windows, MacOS, Linux, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Houdini for free?
Yes. Houdini has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Mari starts at $29/month.
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 Houdini is typically brought in for.
What can Mari do that Houdini cannot?
Mari covers High-resolution painting, UDIM support, Procedural layers, Baking. Houdini covers Procedural modeling, VFX, Simulations, Particle systems. Both handle Maya, Nuke, Floating licenses, Windows support.
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