CAD · pricing
Arnold pricing
Arnold publishes a single tier. Below is what it costs, what it covers, and how that compares with the cad tools listed alongside it.
As of 30 August 2026, Arnold pricing is $29/month. Figures are the vendor's list prices as recorded on this page's last check; the vendor's site is the final word.
- Entry price
- $29/month
- Model
- Subscription
- Tiers
- 1
- Free tier
- Not on record
Arnold plans, side by side
Every published tier in ascending order of price, with the number of features each one lists. An absence here means the record does not itemise it, not that the tier lacks it.
| Plan | Price | Features listed | Step up from the tier below |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arnold | $360/month | 1 | Entry tier |
What the product covers
The full Arnold feature record, grouped as the catalogue groups it. This is the product as a whole; the record does not map every feature onto a specific tier.
Other
- Ray tracing
- GPU rendering
- Production shading
- OSL
- Denoising
Integrations
- Maya
- 3ds Max
- Cinema 4D
- Houdini
- Katana
Security
- License management
Platform
- Windows support
- MacOS support
- Linux support
People bring Arnold in for film production, animation, vfx. If that is not the job you are buying for, the alternatives to Arnold are worth a look before you commit to a tier.
How that compares in CAD
Across the 3 cad tools in this directory that publish a starting price, the median entry point is $2945/month. Arnold starts at $29/month, which puts it below the middle of its category.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Rated | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arnold (this page) | $29/month | subscription | - | |
| Carlson Software | $4450/one-time | One-time purchase | - | vs Arnold |
| RealityScan | Free, then $1250/year | Free below a revenue threshold, then per seat per year | - | vs Arnold |
| CloudCompare | Free | Open source, no licence fee | - | vs Arnold |
| Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler | On request | quote | - | vs Arnold |
| MicroSurvey CAD | $2945/one-time | One-time purchase | - | vs Arnold |
| Nomad Sculpt | On request | One-time purchase | - | vs Arnold |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry, they are not reviews hosted on Softwr. How each figure is used is set out on the Arnold badges page.
Before you pay for Arnold
Three things this page cannot tell you, and all three change the bill. The record carries a price and a billing period but not the unit - per-seat and flat-rate pricing are indistinguishable in this data, so a five-person team may be looking at five times the figure above. It carries no annual rate, so any discount for paying yearly is not something this page can quote. And it carries no trial length.
What it can tell you is the shape of the ladder: a single tier at $360/month. With no free tier on record, the cheapest way to answer the rest is to compare Arnold against the tools that do have one before committing.
Arnold runs on windows, macos, linux, and is published by Autodesk Inc of San Rafael, CA. The full record is on the Arnold review, and the rest of the category is under best cad tools.
Arnold pricing questions
- How much does Arnold cost?
- Arnold publishes a single tier, Arnold, at $360/month.
- Does Arnold have a free plan?
- Not on the record we hold: Arnold is listed as subscription. Whether a free trial is offered is not something this record captures, so check the vendor's site.
- Is Arnold expensive for a cad tool?
- It starts below the middle of its category. Across the 3 cad tools in this directory that publish a starting price, the median entry point is $2945/month; Arnold starts at $29/month.
- Which cad tools can I use without paying?
- 2 of the 8 cad tools listed alongside Arnold have a free tier: RealityScan, CloudCompare.
- What am I actually paying for with Arnold?
- The record lists 14 features across 4 areas: other, integrations, security, platform. In practice it is brought in for film production, animation, vfx.
- Does Arnold charge per user?
- The record carries a price and a billing period for each of its 1 tiers, but not the unit that price is charged in. Per-seat and flat-rate billing look identical in this data, so check the vendor's page before budgeting for a team.
- Are these Arnold prices current?
- They are what the catalogue entry holds, refreshed when the entry is. Vendors change pricing without notice and nobody at Softwr re-verifies each tier by hand, so treat this as a structured summary and the vendor's own pricing page as the authority.
- What should I compare Arnold against before paying?
- The closest cad tools in this directory are Carlson Software, RealityScan, CloudCompare, Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler. Each has a side-by-side comparison with Arnold covering price, platforms and features.