Software · head to head
Octane Render vs Mari
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Octane Render studio+ is limited to 10 render nodes by default; Mari the full annual licence is $1,289 paid annually, and a short term quarterly rental is $949 per quarter
- They diverge on capability: Octane Render covers GPU rendering, Mari covers High-resolution painting.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Octane Render and Mari actually diverge.
| Attribute | Octane Render | Mari |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2008 | 1996 |
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 Octane Render
- GPU rendering
- Unbiased rendering
- Out-of-core geometry
- AI denoising
- Network rendering
- Blender
- Cinema 4D
- 3ds Max
Only in Mari
- High-resolution painting
- UDIM support
- Procedural layers
- Baking
- Node graph
- Color management
- Nuke
- Katana
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.
Octane Render
- GPU accelerated unbiased rendering from Blender, Cinema 4D, Maya or Houdininot Mari
- Network rendering across multiple GPU nodesnot Mari
- Producing photoreal stills and animation for product and archviz worknot Mari
Mari
- Painting textures directly onto high complexity 3D assets for film and gamesnot Octane Render
- Handling very large multi-UDIM texture sets in a look development pipelinenot Octane Render
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Octane Render
- Studio+ is limited to 10 render nodes by default
- Monthly billing costs 23.95 euro per month against 19.99 euro per month on the yearly plan
- Offline USB dongle support is restricted to annual subscriptions and the dongle costs an extra 49 euro
- The offline dongle must be updated every 4 months and blocks access to cloud features
- There is no free tier, only a demo version
- OctaneRender is GPU only, so hardware compatibility must be tested before purchase
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
Octane Render
$29/month- Prime$19.99/month
- 1 GPU
- Studio$39.99/month
- 2 GPUs
Mari
$29/month- Mari$1906/month
- Full features
Which should you pick?
Choose Octane Render if
- You need gpu rendering.
- You work on Windows, MacOS, Linux.
- You also want unbiased rendering.
Choose Mari if
- You need high-resolution painting.
- You work on Windows, MacOS, Linux.
- You also want udim support.
Questions people ask
- Is Octane Render or Mari better?
- Neither clearly leads. Octane Render starts at $29/month and Mari at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Octane Render or Mari?
- Octane Render starts at $29/month and Mari at $29/month.
- Does Octane Render or Mari run on more platforms?
- Both run on Windows, MacOS, Linux, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- What is Octane Render best used for?
- Octane Render is most often used for gpu accelerated unbiased rendering from blender, cinema 4d, maya or houdini, network rendering across multiple gpu nodes, producing photoreal stills and animation for product and archviz work. Of those, gpu accelerated unbiased rendering from blender, cinema 4d, maya or houdini and network rendering across multiple gpu nodes are not what Mari is typically brought in for.
- What can Octane Render do that Mari cannot?
- Octane Render covers GPU rendering, Unbiased rendering, Out-of-core geometry, AI denoising. Mari covers High-resolution painting, UDIM support, Procedural layers, Baking. Both handle Maya, Windows support, MacOS support, Linux support.