3D & CAD · pricing
Houdini pricing
Houdini publishes 4 tiers. Below is each one, what it adds over the tier beneath it, and where the ladder stops being worth climbing for most people.
- Entry price
- Free, then $29/month
- Model
- Subscription
- Tiers
- 4
- Free tier
- Yes
Houdini 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apprentice | Free | 2 | Entry tier |
| Indie | $269/month | 1 | +$269/month, 1 more feature |
| Core | $1995/month | 1 | +$1726/month, 1 more feature |
| FX | $4495/month | 1 | +$2500/month, 1 more feature |
What each tier adds
The set difference between each tier's feature list and the one beneath it. Where a tier lists nothing new, the vendor has either stopped repeating the inherited list or the tier raises limits rather than adding capability, the record does not distinguish the two, so this page does not either.
Apprentice
FreeThe entry tier. It covers learning version, non-commercial.
Indie
$269/monthOver Apprentice, this tier adds:
- Revenue limit $100K
Core
$1995/monthOver Indie, this tier adds:
- Full commercial
FX
$4495/monthOver Core, this tier adds:
- Full + simulations
Where Houdini stops being free
Apprentice, Free
- Learning version
- Non-commercial
Indie, $269/month
The first thing you pay for:
- Revenue limit $100K
What the product covers
The full Houdini 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.
Core
- Procedural modeling
- VFX
- Simulations
- Particle systems
- Pyro FX
- Ocean tools
- Rigging
- Rendering
Integrations
- Maya
- Unity
- Unreal Engine
- Nuke
Security
- License server
- Floating licenses
Platform
- Windows support
- MacOS support
- Linux support
People bring Houdini in 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. If that is not the job you are buying for, the alternatives to Houdini are worth a look before you commit to a tier.
How that compares in 3D & CAD
Across the 8 3d & cad tools in this directory that publish a starting price, the median entry point is $29/month. Houdini starts at $29/month, which puts it in line with the middle of its category.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Rated | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houdini (this page) | Free, then $29/month | subscription | - | |
| Corona Renderer | $414/year | subscription | - | vs Houdini |
| Mudbox | $29/month | subscription | - | vs Houdini |
| Alibre Design | $29/month | one-time | - | vs Houdini |
| D5 Render | Free, then $38/month | - | - | vs Houdini |
| BricsCAD | $29/month | one-time | - | vs Houdini |
| Inventor | $29/month | subscription | - | vs Houdini |
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 Houdini badges page.
Before you pay for Houdini
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: 4 tiers between Free and $4495/month, with the jump itemised above. Because there is a free tier, the cheapest way to answer the rest is to use it before paying anything.
Houdini runs on windows, macos, linux, and is published by SideFX of Toronto, Canada. The full record is on the Houdini review, and the rest of the category is under best 3d & cad tools.
Houdini pricing questions
- How much does Houdini cost?
- Houdini publishes 4 tiers, from Free for Apprentice up to $4495/month for FX. The entry tier costs nothing.
- Does Houdini have a free plan?
- Yes. The Apprentice tier costs nothing and covers learning version, non-commercial. Paying starts at $269/month for Indie.
- What is the difference between Apprentice and Indie on Houdini?
- Indie costs $269/month against Free, and adds revenue limit $100k.
- Is the FX plan on Houdini worth it?
- That depends entirely on whether you need what it adds, which on the published record is full + simulations. It costs $4495/month against $269/month for Indie. Softwr has not used either tier, so this page can tell you what changes, not whether it is worth the difference to you.
- Is Houdini expensive for a 3d & cad tool?
- It starts in line with the middle of its category. Across the 8 3d & cad tools in this directory that publish a starting price, the median entry point is $29/month; Houdini starts at $29/month.
- Which 3d & cad tools can I use without paying?
- 1 of the 8 3d & cad tools listed alongside Houdini have a free tier: D5 Render.
- What am I actually paying for with Houdini?
- The record lists 17 features across 4 areas: core, integrations, security, platform. In practice it is brought in 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.
- Does Houdini charge per user?
- The record carries a price and a billing period for each of its 4 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 Houdini 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 Houdini against before paying?
- The closest 3d & cad tools in this directory are Corona Renderer, Mudbox, Alibre Design, D5 Render. Each has a side-by-side comparison with Houdini covering price, platforms and features.