3D & CAD · head to head
Substance 3D Designer vs Mari
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Substance 3D Designer as of a 1 January 2023 archived capture, Adobe Substance 3D Designer is not sold standalone; it requires the Substance 3D Collection subscription plan at US$49.99 per month; Mari the full annual licence is $1,289 paid annually, and a short term quarterly rental is $949 per quarter
- They diverge on capability: Substance 3D Designer covers Node-based workflow, Mari covers High-resolution painting.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Substance 3D Designer and Mari actually diverge.
| Attribute | Substance 3D Designer | Mari |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1982 | 1996 |
Identical on both: starting price ($29/month), pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), 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 Substance 3D Designer
- Node-based workflow
- Procedural generation
- PBR materials
- Patterns
- Filters
- Custom nodes
- MDL export
- Painter
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.
Substance 3D Designer
- Material creationnot Mari
- Procedural texturesnot Mari
Mari
- Painting textures directly onto high complexity 3D assets for film and gamesnot Substance 3D Designer
- Handling very large multi-UDIM texture sets in a look development pipelinenot Substance 3D Designer
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Substance 3D Designer
- As of a 1 January 2023 archived capture, Adobe Substance 3D Designer is not sold standalone; it requires the Substance 3D Collection subscription plan at US$49.99 per month
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
Substance 3D Designer
$29/month- Substance 3D Collection$49.99/month
- All Substance apps
Mari
$29/month- Mari$1906/month
- Full features
Which should you pick?
Choose Substance 3D Designer if
- You need node-based workflow.
- You work on Windows, MacOS, Linux.
- You also want procedural generation.
Choose Mari if
- You need high-resolution painting.
- You work on Windows, MacOS, Linux.
- You also want udim support.
Questions people ask
- Is Substance 3D Designer or Mari better?
- Neither clearly leads. Substance 3D Designer 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, Substance 3D Designer or Mari?
- Substance 3D Designer starts at $29/month and Mari at $29/month.
- Does Substance 3D Designer or Mari run on more platforms?
- Both run on Windows, MacOS, Linux, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- What is Substance 3D Designer best used for?
- Substance 3D Designer is most often used for material creation, procedural textures. Of those, material creation and procedural textures are not what Mari is typically brought in for.
- What can Substance 3D Designer do that Mari cannot?
- Substance 3D Designer covers Node-based workflow, Procedural generation, PBR materials, Patterns. Mari covers High-resolution painting, UDIM support, Procedural layers, Baking. Both handle Maya, Windows support, MacOS support, Linux support.