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Houdini vs Toon Boom Harmony

Houdini logo

Houdini

Software

Procedural 3D animation and VFX

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Toon Boom Harmony logo

Toon Boom Harmony

Software

Creating worlds of Animation

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Houdini has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Houdini houdini Indie at $299 per year requires annual gross revenue under $100K USD; Toon Boom Harmony licensing is subscription only across Essentials, Advanced and Premium tiers, with no perpetual license option offered on the pricing page

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Houdini and Toon Boom Harmony actually diverge.

Attributes where Houdini and Toon Boom Harmony differ
AttributeHoudiniToon Boom Harmony
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionone-time
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWindows, MacOS, LinuxWeb
Founded1987Unknown

Identical on both: 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 Houdini

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

Only in Toon Boom Harmony

Nothing recorded that Houdini does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Houdini

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

Toon Boom Harmony

No use cases recorded yet. See the Toon Boom Harmony review.

Where each one falls short

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

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

Toon Boom Harmony

  • Licensing is subscription only across Essentials, Advanced and Premium tiers, with no perpetual license option offered on the pricing page
  • Access beyond the 14 day free trial requires purchasing a subscription through the shop

Pricing, plan by plan

Houdini

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

Toon Boom Harmony

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Toon Boom Harmony review.

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Toon Boom Harmony if

Nothing in the data separates Toon Boom Harmony from Houdini on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Toon Boom Harmony review

Questions people ask

Is Houdini or Toon Boom Harmony better?
Neither clearly leads. Houdini starts at Free and Toon Boom Harmony at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Houdini or Toon Boom Harmony?
Houdini has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Houdini and On request for Toon Boom Harmony.
Does Houdini or Toon Boom Harmony run on more platforms?
Houdini runs on Windows, MacOS, Linux. Toon Boom Harmony runs on Web.
Can I use Houdini for free?
Yes. Houdini has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Toon Boom Harmony starts at On request.
What is Houdini best used for?
Houdini is most often used for procedural 3d modelling and environment generation, visual effects simulation for pyro, fluids, cloth and rigid bodies, building reusable procedural assets for a studio pipeline. Of those, procedural 3d modelling and environment generation and visual effects simulation for pyro, fluids, cloth and rigid bodies are not what Toon Boom Harmony is typically brought in for.
What can Houdini do that Toon Boom Harmony cannot?
Houdini covers Procedural modeling, VFX, Simulations, Particle systems.
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