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Substance 3D Painter vs Unity AR Foundation

Substance 3D Painter logo

Substance 3D Painter

Software

3D texture painting software

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Unity AR Foundation logo

Unity AR Foundation

Software

Unified AR development framework for Unity

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Unity AR Foundation has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Substance 3D Painter the Internet Archive's capture of Adobe's Substance 3D Painter page on 23 June 2021 priced the Substance 3D Collection plan (which bundles Painter, Stager, Sampler, Designer and Modeler) at US$39.99/month for the first year.; Unity AR Foundation requires platform-specific plugins (ARCore, ARKit) to actually implement AR features
  • They diverge on capability: Substance 3D Painter covers 3D painting, Unity AR Foundation covers Plane detection.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Substance 3D Painter and Unity AR Foundation actually diverge.

Attributes where Substance 3D Painter and Unity AR Foundation differ
AttributeSubstance 3D PainterUnity AR Foundation
Starting price$29/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWindows, MacOS, LinuxiOS, Android, visionOS, HoloLens 2, Meta Quest, Unity Editor
Founded19822004

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 Substance 3D Painter

  • 3D painting
  • Smart materials
  • Generators
  • PBR workflow
  • Baking
  • Export presets
  • Scripting
  • Maya

Only in Unity AR Foundation

  • Plane detection
  • Image tracking
  • Face tracking
  • Point clouds
  • ARKit
  • ARCore
  • OpenXR
  • Magic Leap

What people use each for

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

Substance 3D Painter

  • Game texturingnot Unity AR Foundation
  • Film assetsnot Unity AR Foundation
  • Product visualizationnot Unity AR Foundation

Unity AR Foundation

  • VR Gamingnot Substance 3D Painter
  • AR Marketingnot Substance 3D Painter
  • Virtual Trainingnot Substance 3D Painter
  • 3D Visualizationnot Substance 3D Painter
  • Immersive Experiencesnot Substance 3D Painter

Where each one falls short

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

Substance 3D Painter

  • The Internet Archive's capture of Adobe's Substance 3D Painter page on 23 June 2021 priced the Substance 3D Collection plan (which bundles Painter, Stager, Sampler, Designer and Modeler) at US$39.99/month for the first year.

Unity AR Foundation

  • Requires platform-specific plugins (ARCore, ARKit) to actually implement AR features
  • Performance varies significantly by device, with battery drain and heat generation on mobile
  • Emulators cannot accurately test AR experiences due to missing camera and sensor data
  • No WebXR support for browser-based AR experiences
  • Occlusion features show lower performance at 25-40 FPS compared to other features at 40-60 FPS
  • Limited access to latest platform-specific features compared to native ARKit or ARCore

Pricing, plan by plan

Substance 3D Painter

$29/month
  • Substance 3D Texturing$19.99/month
    • Painter + Sampler
  • Substance 3D Collection$49.99/month
    • All Substance apps

Unity AR Foundation

Free
  • Included with Unity PersonalFree
    • Free for individuals and small teams with under $200K revenue/funding
    • AR Foundation package included
    • Access to all core AR features
  • Included with Unity Pro$185/month
    • Professional tier licensing
    • AR Foundation package included
    • All core AR features plus Pro-level support

Which should you pick?

Choose Substance 3D Painter if

  • You need 3d painting.
  • You work on Windows, MacOS, Linux.
  • You also want smart materials.
Substance 3D Painter review

Choose Unity AR Foundation if

  • You need plane detection.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android, visionOS, HoloLens 2, Meta Quest, Unity Editor.
  • You also want image tracking.
Unity AR Foundation review

Questions people ask

Is Substance 3D Painter or Unity AR Foundation better?
Neither clearly leads. Substance 3D Painter starts at $29/month and Unity AR Foundation at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Substance 3D Painter or Unity AR Foundation?
Unity AR Foundation has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $29/month for Substance 3D Painter and Free for Unity AR Foundation.
Does Substance 3D Painter or Unity AR Foundation run on more platforms?
Substance 3D Painter runs on Windows, MacOS, Linux. Unity AR Foundation runs on iOS, Android, visionOS, HoloLens 2, Meta Quest, Unity Editor.
Can I use Unity AR Foundation for free?
Yes. Unity AR Foundation has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Substance 3D Painter starts at $29/month.
What is Substance 3D Painter best used for?
Substance 3D Painter is most often used for game texturing, film assets, product visualization. Of those, game texturing and film assets are not what Unity AR Foundation is typically brought in for.
What can Substance 3D Painter do that Unity AR Foundation cannot?
Substance 3D Painter covers 3D painting, Smart materials, Generators, PBR workflow. Unity AR Foundation covers Plane detection, Image tracking, Face tracking, Point clouds.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Unity AR Foundation: Is Unity AR Foundation free?

Yes, AR Foundation is free and included with Unity. It is a package within the Unity engine, though you need a Unity license (available free for personal use with under $200K revenue).

Source
Unity AR Foundation: What platforms does AR Foundation support?

AR Foundation supports iOS (via ARKit), Android (via ARCore), visionOS, HoloLens 2 (via OpenXR), and Meta Quest (via OpenXR). Testing in the Unity Editor is available through XR Simulation.

Source
Unity AR Foundation: Do I need additional plugins to use AR Foundation?

Yes. AR Foundation is an abstraction layer and requires platform-specific plugins: ARCore XR Plugin for Android and ARKit XR Plugin for iOS. These plugins implement actual AR features using native SDKs.

Source
Unity AR Foundation: Can I test AR experiences in the Unity Editor?

AR Foundation supports XR Simulation in the Editor for early testing, but accurate AR testing requires real devices because emulators cannot replicate camera and sensor data accurately.

Source
Unity AR Foundation: Does AR Foundation support web-based AR?

No, AR Foundation does not support WebXR. Unity has stated there are no current plans to add WebXR support to AR Foundation. Web AR requires alternative solutions like 8th Wall.

Source
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