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Fashion · head to head

Marvelous Designer vs Shima Seiki

Marvelous Designer logo

Marvelous Designer

Fashion

3D clothing design and simulation

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Shima Seiki logo

Shima Seiki

Fashion

Knit design and visualization software

From
$250/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Marvelous Designer 2019 archived pricing showed Enterprise licensing at USD 4,000 outright (standalone) or USD 6,000 for the networked edition, well above the USD 340 Personal edition purchase price; Shima Seiki the Internet Archive's capture of Shima Seiki's homepage on 29 December 2020 named five distinct product categories, Knitting Machines, Design System/Software, CAD/CAM Systems, Inkjet Printing Machine, and PLM Solutions, all sold via an Inquiry form with no price figure published.
  • They diverge on capability: Marvelous Designer covers Pattern-based design, Shima Seiki covers Knit design.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Marvelous Designer and Shima Seiki actually diverge.

Attributes where Marvelous Designer and Shima Seiki differ
AttributeMarvelous DesignerShima Seiki
Starting price$29/month$250/month
PlatformsWindows, MacOSWindows
Founded20091962

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Fashion).

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 Marvelous Designer

  • Pattern-based design
  • Cloth simulation
  • Draping
  • Texturing
  • Avatar fitting
  • Animation
  • OBJ export
  • Real-time preview

Only in Shima Seiki

  • Knit design
  • Stitch pattern creation
  • Color selection
  • Machine control
  • Production planning
  • Visualization
  • Shima Seiki machines
  • CAM systems

Both cover

  • Windows support

What people use each for

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

Marvelous Designer

  • Game clothingnot Shima Seiki
  • Film costumesnot Shima Seiki
  • Fashion visualizationnot Shima Seiki

Shima Seiki

  • Knit designnot Marvelous Designer
  • Machine programmingnot Marvelous Designer

Where each one falls short

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

Marvelous Designer

  • 2019 archived pricing showed Enterprise licensing at USD 4,000 outright (standalone) or USD 6,000 for the networked edition, well above the USD 340 Personal edition purchase price

Shima Seiki

  • The Internet Archive's capture of Shima Seiki's homepage on 29 December 2020 named five distinct product categories, Knitting Machines, Design System/Software, CAD/CAM Systems, Inkjet Printing Machine, and PLM Solutions, all sold via an Inquiry form with no price figure published.

Pricing, plan by plan

Marvelous Designer

$29/month
  • Personal$39/month
    • Personal/learning use
  • Enterprise$225/month
    • Commercial use
    • Full features

Shima Seiki

$250/month
  • Essential$250/month
    • Basic design
    • Standard features
  • Professional$500/month
    • Advanced design
    • Integration
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Full solution

Which should you pick?

Choose Marvelous Designer if

  • You need pattern-based design.
  • You work on Windows, MacOS.
  • You also want cloth simulation.
Marvelous Designer review

Choose Shima Seiki if

  • You need knit design.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want stitch pattern creation.
Shima Seiki review

Questions people ask

Is Marvelous Designer or Shima Seiki better?
Neither clearly leads. Marvelous Designer starts at $29/month and Shima Seiki at $250/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Marvelous Designer or Shima Seiki?
Marvelous Designer starts at $29/month and Shima Seiki at $250/month.
Does Marvelous Designer or Shima Seiki run on more platforms?
Marvelous Designer runs on Windows, MacOS. Shima Seiki runs on Windows.
What is Marvelous Designer best used for?
Marvelous Designer is most often used for game clothing, film costumes, fashion visualization. Of those, game clothing and film costumes are not what Shima Seiki is typically brought in for.
What can Marvelous Designer do that Shima Seiki cannot?
Marvelous Designer covers Pattern-based design, Cloth simulation, Draping, Texturing. Shima Seiki covers Knit design, Stitch pattern creation, Color selection, Machine control. Both handle Windows support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Marvelous Designer: Where is Marvelous Designer's pricing information available?

Specific pricing details are not shown on the main website pages. Users need to navigate to the dedicated pricing or purchase page, or contact Marvelous Designer's sales team directly.

Source
Marvelous Designer: Is Marvelous Designer free or does it require a license?

Marvelous Designer is a commercial software product for digital cloth creation. The website identifies it as a professional tool but does not publish licensing costs or free trial information publicly.

Source
Marvelous Designer: Does Marvelous Designer offer a trial before purchase?

Trial availability is not stated on the main product pages. Interested customers should contact the vendor directly to inquire about trial periods.

Source
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