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Comparison of 3D computer graphics software

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

3D computer graphics software refers to packages used to create 3D computer-generated imagery.

General information

Current software

This table compares elements of notable software that is currently available, based on the raw software, with no added plug-ins.

More information Application, Latest release date and version ...
Application Latest release date
and version		 Developer Platforms Main uses License
3ds Max 2026-05-21
v 2027.1		 Autodesk Windows Modeling, animation (video games and films only), FX simulation, lighting, rendering Proprietary
AC3D 2022-04-27
v 9.0		 Inivis Linux, macOS, Windows Modeling Proprietary
Alibre Design 2022-08-03
v 25		 Alibre, LLC Windows Computer aided design Proprietary
AutoCAD 2022-03-28
v 2023		 Autodesk macOS, Windows 2D computer aided design, 3D modeling, basic rendering, rudimentary animation (of camera, not objects) Proprietary
Blender 2026-07-14
v 5.2[1][2]		 Blender Foundation Windows, macOS, Linux, BSD, Solaris, AmigaOS 4, MorphOS 2D–3D cartoon animation, lighting, modeling, node based material creation, texturing, 3D texture painting, UV mapping, rendering (internal, external, 3D anaglyph and VR), 3D rigging and animation, sculpting, visual 3D effects, basic post-production video editing, motion tracking, Python scripting, fluid simulation, particles, physics, compositing GPL-2.0-or-later[3]
Carrara 2013-08-26
8.5.1.19		 Daz 3D Windows, macOS Animation, modeling Proprietary
Cheetah 3D 2024-01-26
v 8.0		 Martin Wengenmayer macOS Animation, modeling, rendering Proprietary
Cinema 4D 2025-2-12
2025.1.3		 Maxon macOS, Windows, Amiga OS[4] Animation, lighting, modeling, visual 3D effects, rendering, simulation Proprietary
CityEngine 2018-09-18
v 2018.1		 Esri macOS, Windows, Linux Procedural Modeling of 3D Cities Proprietary
Cobalt 2020-02-04
v11		 Ashlar-Vellum macOS, Windows Modeling, computer aided design, animation Proprietary
DesignSpark Mechanical 2020-07-20
v5.0		 SpaceClaim, RS Components Windows Modeling, computer aided design, rapid prototyping, 3D printing Proprietary
Electric Image Animation System 2013-06
v9.1.0		 EIAS3D macOS, Windows Animation, lighting, rendering, film, television, visual 3D effects Proprietary
FreeCAD 2024-01-08
v 0.21.2[5]		 Jürgen Riegel, Werner Mayer, Yorik van Havre macOS, Windows, unix, Linux CAD, FEA with Calculix, Python scripting, parametric design, robot simulation, CAM, BIM, import and export LGPL 2.0 or later
form-Z pro/jr/free 2020-02-?
9.0.2		 Autodessys, Inc. macOS, Windows Animation, modeling, lighting, rendering, fabricating, set design Proprietary
Hexagon 2018-02-16
2.5.2.109		 Daz 3D Windows, macOS Subdivision modeling, UV mapping Proprietary
HiCAD 2017-02-13
v HiCAD 2017		 ISD Software und Systeme Windows 2D/3D modeling, computer aided design, Automatic drawing generation, BIM, animation, HELiOS PDM integration, API scripting Proprietary
Houdini 2026-07-15
v 22.0.368		 Side Effects Software Windows, macOS, Linux Animation, lighting, modeling, visual 3D effects Proprietary
iClone 2026-02-12
v 8.7.5009.1		 Reallusion Windows Animation, film and television previz, videogame asset creation, lighting, visual 3D effects Proprietary
Inventor 2021-01
v 2021.2.1		 Autodesk Windows Modeling, computer aided design, rapid prototyping, 3D printing Proprietary
LightWave 3D 2025-06-11
v 2025.0.2		 LightWave Digital macOS, Windows, Amiga OS[6] Modeling, animation, lighting, rendering, film and television previz, videogame asset creation Proprietary
MASSIVE ?
v 3.5		 Massive Software Windows, Linux Artificial intelligence in models Proprietary
Maya 2026-03-25
v 2027		 Autodesk Windows, macOS, Linux Modeling, NURBS modeling sculpting, rigging, skinning, retargeting, animation, lighting, rendering, Bifrost fluids, Python scripting, Bifrost ocean simulation system, UV mapping, MASH procedural effects, time and graph editor, Arnold renderer, color management polygon modeling, visual 3D effects Proprietary
Metasequoia 2026-06-02
4.9.1		 tetraface Inc. Windows, macOS Modeling Proprietary
OpenSCAD 2021-01-31
v 2021.01		 Marius Kintel, Claire Wolf macOS, Windows, Unix, Linux CAD, scripting, parametric design, CSG GPL-2.0-or-later
PTC Creo (former Pro/Engineer) 2020
v 7.0		 PTC Windows, HP-UX, Unix Modeling, computer aided design Proprietary
Remo 3D 2025-09-10
v 3.2.1		 Remograph Windows, Linux Modeling, virtual reality, real-time modeling, video game creation, computer aided design Proprietary
Rhinoceros 3D 2026-07-07
v 8.33		 McNeel Windows, macOS Modeling, computer aided design, scripting with Grasshopper, many plug-in for simulation, CAM, BIM, rendering, and more Proprietary
Salome 2020-12-01
v 9.6		 Open Cascade EDF CEA Windows, Unix, Linux CAD, scripting, parametric design, CSG, meshing, pre-post for CAE LGPL 2.1 or later
Shade 3D 2026-07-31
v 27		 FORUM 8 [ja] macOS, Windows Modeling, computer aided design, rendering, animation Proprietary
Silo 2026-06-02
v 2026.1		 Nevercenter macOS, Windows Modeling Proprietary
Tekla Structures 2024-09-13

v 2024 SR 4.1

 Tekla Windows 3D modeling, reporting, 2D drawings, 3D drawings, CAD, CAM, BIM Proprietary
SketchUp Desktop 2026.0[7] Trimble Navigation macOS, Windows Modeling, computer aided design Proprietary
Solid Edge 2020-06-?
2021 ST13		 Siemens Digital Industries Software Windows Computer aided design Proprietary
SolidWorks 2022-07-11
v SolidWorks 2022 SP3.1		 Dassault Systèmes Windows Computer aided design Proprietary
SpaceClaim 2020-08-08
v 2020.R2		 Ansys Windows Computer aided design Proprietary
Verto Studio 3D 2021-02-12
v2.5.0		 Michael L. Farrell macOS, iOS Mobile modeling, texture mapping, lighting Proprietary
Wings 3D 2024-11-10
v 2.4		 Dan Gudmundsson (maintainer) macOS, Windows, BSD, Linux Modeling, sculpting (the deformation of the model), UV mapping BSD
ZBrush 2026-06-17
v 2026.2.1		 Maxon macOS, Windows Modeling, texturing, lighting, sculpting (the deformation of the model), rendering Proprietary
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Inactive software

There are many discontinued software applications.

More information Application, Latest release date and version ...
Application Latest release date
and version		 Developer Platforms Main uses License
Bryce 2010-12-23
7.1.0.109		 Daz 3D Windows (32-bit), macOS (10.7 and above) Animation, landscape modeling, fractal geometry Proprietary
Clara.io redesigned in 2015-03-31 Exocortex Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer Modeling, animation, rendering Proprietary
E-on Vue 2021-12-09
v 2021.2		 E-on Software (part of Bentley Systems) macOS, Windows Animation, landscape modeling, lighting Proprietary
Modo 2022-06-21
16v2		 The Foundry macOS, Windows, Linux Modeling, animation, rendering Proprietary
POV-Ray 2013-11-09
v3.7.0		 The POV-Team macOS, Windows, Linux, AmigaOS Lighting, visual 3D effects AGPL-3.0-or-later
SketchUp Make 2017-11-14[8]
v 18.0.16975 (Win64)
v 18.0.16976 (Mac64)		 Trimble Navigation macOS, Windows Modeling, computer aided design Proprietary
Softimage 2014-04-14
"2015" (final release)		 Autodesk Windows, Linux Modeling, animation, video game creation, lighting, rendering, visual 3D effects Proprietary
solidThinking Evolve (predecessor of Altair Inspire Studio) ?-?
v 9.0		 Altair Engineering macOS, Windows Modeling Proprietary
trueSpace 2009-05-25
v 7.61		 Caligari Corporation Windows, AmigaOS Animation, modeling Proprietary
VistaPro 2005
v 4.2		 Hypercube Engineering, Monkey Byte Development Windows Landscape modeling Proprietary
Mudbox 2022-04-18
2023		 Autodesk macOS, Windows, Linux Lighting, sculpting (the deformation of the model) Proprietary
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Operating system support

The operating systems on which the editors can run natively (without emulation or compatibility layers), meaning which operating systems have which editors specifically coded for them (not, for example, Wings 3D for Windows running on Linux with Wine).

More information Application, Windows ...
Application Windows macOS Linux Unix BSD iOS Android Other
3ds Max Yes No No No No No No
AC3D Yes Yes Yes No No No No
Art of Illusion N/a N/a N/a N/a N/a N/a N/a Java virtual machine
AutoCAD Yes Yes No No No Partial[9]
Blender Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ios branch unofficial[10] [os 1]
Carrara Yes Yes No No No No No
Cheetah 3D No Yes No No No No No
Cinema 4D Yes Yes Commandline Renderer only No No Cinema 4D for iPad beta No Amiga OS
Clara.io Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? Yes ChromeOS
DesignSpark Mechanical Yes No No No No No No
Electric Image Animation System Yes Yes No No No No No
form-Z Yes Yes No No No No No
HiCAD Yes No No No No No No
Houdini Yes Yes Yes No No No No
IClone Yes No No No No No No
LightWave 3D Yes Yes No No No No No [os 2]
MakeHuman Yes Yes Yes No No No No
Massive Yes No Yes No No No No
Maya Yes Yes Yes dropped[os 3] No No No
Metasequoia Yes Yes No No No No No
Modo Yes Yes Yes No No No No
POV-Ray Yes Yes Yes No No No No [os 4]
Remo 3D Yes No Yes No No No No
Shade Yes Yes No No No Shade3D mobile No
Silo Yes Yes dropped in 2.5 No No No No
SketchUp Yes Yes SketchUp for Web[11] ? ? Yes Viewer for Android[12]
Tekla Structures Yes No No No No No No
Softimage Yes No XSI 2.0 and later dropped No No No
Solid Edge Yes No No No No No No
solidWorks Yes No No No No No No
solidThinking Yes Yes No No No No No
SpaceClaim Yes No No No No No No
trueSpace Yes No No No No No No Amiga OS
Verto Studio 3D No Yes No No No Yes No
E-on Vue Yes Yes No No No No No
Wings 3D Yes Yes Yes No No No No
ZBrush Yes Yes No No No Yes No
Application Windows macOS Linux Unix BSD iOS Android Other
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  1. [1]
    Old versions supported AmigaOS, Solaris, and MorphOS
  2. [2]
    LightWave 3D 5.0 and before supported AmigaOS.
  3. [3]
    Maya 1.0 - 6.5 supported SGI Irix.
  4. [4]
    Old versions supported Amiga OS, and Atari TOS

Features

More information Application, Modeling ...
Application Modeling 3D Painting Animation Rendering 3D Tracking Compositing
3ds Max Yes Yes Yes Yes No Some
AC3D Yes ? ? No No No
Blender Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Electric Image Animation System dropped[13] ? Yes Yes No ?
Cinema 4D Yes Yes Yes Yes R16 and later No
Clara.io Yes ? Yes Yes No ?
Cobalt Yes ? Yes Yes No ?
HiCAD Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
Houdini Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes
IClone Yes ? Yes Yes ? ?
Lightwave 3D Yes No Yes Yes 2026 and later Yes[14]
MakeHuman parameter-based No No No No No
Maya Yes Yes Yes Yes dropped (Maya Live) dropped (Maya Composer, Maya Fusion, and Maya Composite)
Metasequoia Yes No No Yes No No
Modo Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
Remo 3D Yes No Yes Yes No No
Shade Yes No Yes Yes No No
Softimage Yes 3.7 or later Yes Yes No Yes
Solid Edge Yes ? Yes Yes No ?
SketchUp Make Yes[15][16] ? Yes[15] Yes[15] No No
SketchUp Desktop Yes[15][16] ? Yes[15] Yes[15] No No
Wings3D Yes ? No Yes No ?
Application Modeling 3D Painting Animation Rendering 3D Tracking Compositing
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I/O

Image, video, and audio files

More information Application, Imports ...
Application Imports Exports
EXR DDS KTX others EXR DDS KTX others
3ds Max Yes Yes ? BMP, Cineon, TGA, JPG, PNG, Cineon, Radiance HDR, SGI, RLA, RPF, AVI, MPEG and QuickTime, GIF, TIFF, PSD, MOV, YUV ? ? ? ?
Art of Illusion No No No GIF, JPG, PNG, BMP, HDR, SVG[17] ? ? ? JPG, PNG, BMP, TIFF, HDR, QuickTime
AC3D ? Yes ? GIF, JPG, PNG, BMP, PPM, Targa, TIFF ? Yes ? GIF, JPG, PNG, BMP, PPM, Targa, TIFF
Blender Yes Yes ? TGA, JPG, PNG, DPX, Cineon, Radiance HDR, Iris, SGI Movie, IFF, AVIF, AVI and QuickTime, GIF, TIFF, PSD, MOV Yes ? ? TGA, JPG, PNG, DPX, Cineon, Radiance HDR, Iris, SGI Movie, IFF, AVIF, AVI and QuickTime, GIF, TIFF, PSD, MOV
Electric Image Animation System ? ? ? TGA, JPG, PNG, BMP, Radiance HDR, AVI and QuickTime, TIFF, PSD, MOV ? ? ? PNG, BMP, AVI and QuickTime GIF, TIFF, MOV
Cinema 4D Yes Yes ? Radiance HDR, BodyPaint 3D, TIFF, PSD Yes Yes ? Radiance HDR, BodyPaint 3D, TIFF, PSD
Clara.io Yes[18] Yes[18] ? PNG, JPG ? ? ? ?
Cobalt ? ? ? BMP, GIF, JPEG, PICT, PNG, PPM, XBM, XPM ? ? ? BMP, GIF, JPEG, PICT, PNG, PPM, XBM, XPM
Houdini Yes Yes[19] ? ? Yes No[19] ? ?
IClone ? ? ? JPG, BMP, GIF, TGA, PNG, AVI, WMV, MP3, WAV, popVideo ? ? ? JPG, BMP, GIF, TGA, PNG, WMV, AVI, MP4, popVideo, FLV, iWidget
Lightwave 3D Yes ? ? TGA, JPG, PNG, AI, EPS, BMP, IFF, Radiance HDR, AVI and QuickTime, GIF, TIFF, PSD, MOV Yes ? ? TGA, JPG, PNG, BMP, Radiance HDR, IFF, AVI and QuickTime, GIF, TIFF, PSD, MOV
MakeHuman ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Maya Yes Yes ? Ai, Aiff, Pix, AVI, Cineon, EPS, GIF, Jpeg, Swf, Maya IFF, Maya16 IFF, MacPaint, PSD, PNG, Quantel, Quickdraw, MOV, RLA, SVG, SGI, SGI16, SGI Movie, TGA, TIF, BMP, HDR Yes Yes ? Maya IFF, AVI, QT, GIF, Softimage, RLA, BMP, TIF, SGI RGB, Alias PIX, Jpeg, EPS, Cineon, Quantel, TGA, Macpaint, PSD, PNG, Quickdraw
Metasequoia EX version only Yes No BMP, JPG, PNG, IFF, TGA, PPM, TIFF, PSD, Radiance HDR ? ? ? ?
Modo Yes ? ? TGA, BMP, FLX, GIF, HDR, HDR, JP2, JPG, JPEG, PNG, SGI, EPS, AI, PSD Yes ? ? TGA, BMP, FLX, GIF, HDR, JP2, JPG, JPEG, PNG, TIF, MOV, MWV, PSD
Remo 3D ? Yes ? BMP, GIF, JPG, PNG, PNM, SGI (RGB), TGA, TIF ? ? ? JPG, PNG, SGI (RGB), TIF, XPM
Shade Yes Yes Yes ? Yes Yes Yes QuickTime VR, Piranesi EPix
Softimage ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Solid Edge ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
SketchUp Desktop ? ? ? JPG, PNG, TIF, TGA, BMP ? ? ? JPG, PNG, TIF, BMP
SketchUp Desktop ? ? ? JPG, PNG, TIF, TGA, BMP ? ? ? JPG, PNG, TIF, BMP, MOV(on Mac), AVI (on Windows)[20]
E-on Vue ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Wings3D ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
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General 3D files

More information Application, Imports ...
Application Imports Exports
FBX Other formats Web, mobile, and VR[io 1] FBX Other formats glTF Web, mobile, and VR[io 1]
3ds Max Yes 3DS, PRJ, AI, COLLADA, HTR, OBJ, SHP, SKP, TRC VRML Yes 3DS, AI, ASE, COLLADA, HTR, OBJ Yes M3G, VRML97
AC3D[21][22] Yes 3DS, AC3D, COLLADA, Lightwave, Massive, Milkshape Ascii, OBJ, OFF, Pointfield, Points, Terragen, Triangle, Vector VRML 1.0, glTF ? 3DS, 3D Studio ASE, AC3D, Dive, DVS, DXF, COLLADA, Lightwave, Massive, Milkshape Ascii, OBJ, Triangle ? VRML 1.0, VRML 2.0, X3D
Blender[23] Yes COLLADA, 3DS, PLY, OBJ, SVG X3D, glTF Yes COLLADA, PLY, OBJ, SVG, PC2 Yes X3D
Electric Image Animation System Yes 3DS, OBJ, LWO, MDD ? 3DS, OBJ, LWO No
Cinema 4D Yes OBJ, 3DS, QD3D, LWO/LWS VRML 1, VRML 2 Yes OBJ, 3DS, QD3D, W3D Yes VRML 1, VRML 2
Clara.io Yes OBJ, Collada, 3DS, LWO, GEO, PLY, SHP, XGL, ZGL, AC, BLEND, CSM, LWS VRML, Three.js Yes OBJ, Collada Yes Three.js, Babylon.js
Cobalt ? 3DS, AI, ASCII Text VRML ? AI, ASCII Text, RAW Triangle ? Shockwave 3D, VRML
Houdini Yes ? Yes ? Yes
IClone Yes OBJ, SKP (via 3DXChange) Yes OBJ (via 3DXChange) ?
Lightwave 3D Yes 3DS, COLLADA, OBJ, LWO, VideoScape VRML, VRML97 Yes 3DS, COLLADA, OBJ, LWO Yes VRML, VRML97
MakeHuman No N/A Yes COLLADA, MHX, OBJ, STL ?
Maya Yes Maya Ascii, Maya Binary, MEL, OBJ VRML2 Yes Maya Ascii, Maya Binary, Mel, OBJ, GE2, RTG ? VRML2
Metasequoia[24][25] EX version only 3DS, COB,[io 2] LWO, OBJ, ROK (Rokkaku Daiō), SUF (DoGA CGA System) glTF EX version only 3DS, PMD, OBJ, COLLADA[io 3] Yes [io 4]
Modo Yes LXO, LWO2, LWOB, 3DS, GEO, OBJ, COLLADA Yes LXO, LWO, PLT, GEO, OBJ, COLLADA Yes X3D
Remo 3D Yes 3DC, 3DS, AC, Collada, OpenFlight, LWO, LWS, OBJ, P3D, PLY, STA, SHP OSG[io 5] Yes 3DS, AC, Collada, DOT, OpenFlight, OBJ, P3D, STL ? OSG[io 5]
Shade Yes OBJ, SketchUp, XML; (Pro) 3DS, COLLADA, LWO Yes COLLADA, DXF, OBJ, XML; (Pro) 3DS, LWO Yes VRML 2.0, Flash (SWF)
Softimage Yes ? Yes ? No
Solid Edge ? ? ? PDF
SketchUp Make ? SKP, 3DS[20] ? COLLADA, SKP ?
SketchUp Desktop ? SKP, 3DS[20] Yes COLLADA, SKP, EPS, EPX (removed v16+), 3DS, OBJ ? PDF, VRML
E-on Vue ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Wings3D ? 3DS, AI, EPS, LWO, LXO, Nendo, OBJ, SVG, Wings3D dropped in 1.3.1 3DS, COLLADA, LWO, LXO, Nendo, OBJ, SVG, Wings3D ? VRML 2.0
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Game and renderer files

More information Application, Imports ...
Application Imports Exports
OpenFlight (FLT) other 3D game files 3D renderer files OpenFlight (FLT) OGRE other 3D game files 3D renderer files
3ds Max Yes Yes No
AC3D[21][22] No Quake III BSP, Quake II (MD2), Quake III Mesh (MD3), Irrlicht irrmesh, Renderware, SMF No Yes DirectX X, Second Life Sculpted Prim, Quake II (MD2), Quake Map, SMF, Unreal Tournament POV-Ray POV, RenderMan RIB
Blender dropped dropped (blender2ogre addon) POV-Ray POV
Electric Image Animation System ? ? ?
Cinema 4D ? ? ?
Clara.io ? DirectX X, Irrlicht irrmesh POV-Ray POV ? ? Quake II (MD2), Quake III Mesh (MD3), Doom 3 (MD5)
Cobalt ? ? ?
Houdini ? ? ?
IClone ? ? ?
Lightwave 3D ? Quake II (MD2) ? ? Quake II (MD2)
MakeHuman No ? Yes Doom 3 (MD5)
Maya Yes Yes No Mental Ray MI, RenderMan RIB
Metasequoia No [io 6] No No DirectX X[io 6] RenderMan RIB[io 7]
Modo ? ? ?
Remo 3D ? DirectX X, Quake II (MD2) ?
Shade ? ? ? DirectX X, Second Life Sculpted Prim, Blue Mars RenderMan RIB
Softimage ? ? ?
Solid Edge ? ? ?
SketchUp Make ? ? ?
SketchUp Desktop ? ? ? dotXSI
E-on Vue ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Wings3D ? ? ? BZFlag, DirectX X, Renderware Kerkythea, POV-Ray POV
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Cache and animation files

More information Application, Imports ...
Application Imports Exports
Geometry Cache Point Cache Particle Cache Animation
Alembic (*.abc) Maya Cache (*.mc) [io 8] 3ds Max PC2 [io 8] LightWave MDD Maya Particle Data (*.pda, *.pdb) Houdini BGEO RealFlow BIN Krakatoa PRT Biovision Hierarchy (*.bvh) Alembic (*.abc) others
3ds Max Yes Yes Yes ? ? ? ? ? ? Yes
AC3D ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Blender Yes No Mesh Cache Modifier[26] (BlenderPartioTools) Yes Yes BVH
Electric Image Animation System ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Cinema 4D Yes ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Yes
Clara.io ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Yes ? BVH
Cobalt ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Houdini Yes via FBX importer ? ? Yes ? ? ? Yes
IClone ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Yes ? BVH
Lightwave 3D Yes ? ? Yes Partio Node [27] No[27] ? ? ? Yes
MakeHuman ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Maya Yes Yes ? ? Yes (MayaPartioTools) ? Yes
Metasequoia ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Modo Yes ? ? MDD Deformer ? ? ? ? ? Yes
Remo 3D ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Shade ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? BVH
Softimage (Exocortex Crate) ? ? Point Oven ? ? ? ? ? (Exocortex Crate)
Solid Edge ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
SketchUp Make ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
SketchUp Desktop ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
E-on Vue ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Wings3D ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
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CAD files

More information Application, Imports ...
Application Imports Exports
STL DXF DWG others STL DXF DWG others
3ds Max Yes Yes Yes IGE, IGS, IGES, IPT, WIRE, IAM, LS, VW, LP, SAT, Catia V4/V5, JT, ProE, RVT, PRT, SolidWorks,[io 9] STEP, WIRE Yes Yes Yes ATR, BLK, DF, IGS, LAY, LP, SAT, VW
AC3D Yes Yes No LDraw (Lego), SOF Airfoil Yes Yes No Inventor, LDraw (Lego)
Blender Yes Yes[io 10] No Yes Yes[io 10] No
Electric Image Animation System ? Yes ? ? Yes ?
Cinema 4D Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ?
Clara.io Yes Yes ? Yes ? ?
Cobalt ? Yes Yes ACIS SAT, CATIA v4, CCAD, CGM, CO (native), Drawing board, Facet, Grid Surface, IGS (IGES), Parasolid XT, Pro/E, Rhino 3DM, Spline, STP (STEP) ? Yes Yes ACIS SAT, CATIA v4, CGM, CO (native), Drawing board, Facet, Grid Surface, IGS (IGES), Parasolid XT, PDF, Pro/E, STP (STEP)
Houdini External[28] No External[28] No
IClone ? ? ? ? ? ?
Lightwave 3D Yes Yes No Yes Yes No
Maya Windows and Mac only[29] Windows only[29] IGES, StudioTools Wire Windows and Mac only[30] Windows only[30] IGES, StudioTools Wire, Open Inventor2
Metasequoia Yes Yes No Yes Yes No
Modo Yes Yes No SolidWorks[io 9] Yes Yes No
Remo 3D Yes Yes No DW (Designer Workshop) Yes No No
Shade Yes Yes No Yes Yes No
Solid Edge Yes Yes Yes IGES, STEP, JT, ACIS (SAT), ProE, SolidWorks,[io 9] NX, SDRC, Microstation, Inventor, CATIA (V4/V5), Parasolid, XML, MDS Yes Yes Yes IGES, STEP, EMS, JT, XGL, XML, Parasolid, CATIA (V4/V5), ACIS (SAT), Microstation
SketchUp Make ? ? ? ? ? ?
SketchUp Desktop Yes Yes[20] Yes[20] Yes Yes[20] Yes[20]
E-on Vue ? ? ? ? ? ?
Wings3D Yes ? ? Yes ? ?
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Point clouds and photogrammetry files

More information Application, Imports ...
Application Imports
ASTM E57 LASer (LAS) Leica Cyclone PTS/PTX/PTG Autodesk ReCap RCS/RCP VisualSFM NVM
3ds Max ? ? ? Yes ?
Blender E57 Point Cloud Importer addon (Blender LiDAR Importer addon, Blender-Photogrammetry-Importer addon) ? ? (Blender-Photogrammetry-Importer addon)
Houdini Lidar Import geometry node ? ? ?
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GIS and DEM files

More information Application, Imports ...
Application Imports Exports
USGS DEM USGS SDTS (DDF) LandXML GeoTIFF Shapefile OSM others
3ds Max Yes[31] Yes[31] Yes[31] ? ? ?
AC3D ? ? ? ? ? ?
Blender ? ? ? (Blender GIS addon)
Bryce Yes Yes ? ? ? ? VistaPro DEM USDS DEM
Electric Image Animation System ? ? ? ? ? ?
Cinema 4D Yes ? ? ? ? ? VistaPro DEM
Clara.io ? ? ? ? ? ?
Cobalt ? ? ? ? ? ?
Houdini ? ? ? ? ? Yes[io 11][32]
IClone ? ? ? ? ? ?
Lightwave 3D (Ground Control plugin) ? ? ? ? ?
MakeHuman ? ? ? ? ? ?
Maya ? ? ? ? ? ?
Metasequoia ? ? ? ? ? ?
Modo ? ? ? ? ? ?
Remo 3D ? ? ? ? ? ?
Shade ? ? ? ? ? ?
Solid Edge ? ? ? ? ? ?
SketchUp Make Yes[20] Yes[20] ? ? ? ? SKP+KMZ SKP+KMZ[20]
SketchUp Desktop Yes[20] Yes[20] ? ? ? ? SKP+KMZ SKP+KMZ
E-on Vue Yes[33] Yes[33] ? Yes[33] ? ? DTED[33]
Wings3D ? ? ? ? ? ?
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  1. [1]
    VRML, Java 3D, Adobe Flash, Shockwave 3D, Acrobat 3D, OpenSceneGraph, USDZ, WebGL-related formats, etc...
  2. [2]
    Caligari TrueSpace 3D Object format
  3. [3]
    Metasequoia 4.0.0 dropped its RDS (Ray Dream Studio), and SCE (SoftF/X Model) exporters and 4.7.0 dropped its COB (Caligari TrueSpace 3D Object), DoGA CGA System SUF, and AMF exporters.
  4. [4]
    Metasequoia 4.7.0 dropped the VRML 1.0 (WRL), and Three.js JMF exporters.
  5. [5]
    OSG, OSGB, OSGT, OSGX, IVE and OSGA
  6. [6]
    Metasequoia 4.0.0 dropped its PlayStation RSD importer and exporter.
  7. [7]
    Metasequoia 4.7.0 dropped its POV-Ray POV exporter.
  8. [8]
    Maya Cache and 3ds Max PC2 format are also used with FBX format.
  9. [9]
    SLDPRT and SLDASM
  10. [10]
    via AutoCAD DXF addon
  11. [11]
    via Game Development Toolset

Supported primitives

More information Application, Polygon ...
Application Polygon Spline/Bézier Surface Voxel, Volume Metaball Point Clouds Particles
Triangles
Quads
N-gons
 NURBS regular patch NURBS trimmed surface Bicubic Bézier patch
Blender Yes Yes Yes No[34] Yes soc-2014-nurbs branch No 2.83 and later Yes 3.1 and later Yes
Maya Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No 3D Texture Yes No Yes
3ds Max Yes Yes Yes ? Yes Yes Patch Objects No Yes Yes Yes
Cinema 4D Yes Yes Yes ? ? ? ? R20 and later Yes ? Yes
LightWave Yes Yes Yes Yes (LWCAD plugin) No OpenVDB primitives[35] Yes No Yes
Rhinoceros Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Grasshopper Grasshopper Grasshopper Grasshopper
Shade 3D Yes Yes Yes ? CAD mode Yes No Yes No Yes
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More information Application, Curves ...
Application Curves Bone Text Camera Light Speaker
Linear
Quadratic
Bézier
Cubic
Bézier
B-spline
Cardinal
spline
 Hermite spline TCB spline NURBS
Blender Bézier curve without subdivision No Yes No No No No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Maya Yes ? ? ? ? ? No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
3ds Max Yes ? Yes Yes No No No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Cinema 4D Yes No Yes Yes No ? No No Yes ? Yes Yes Yes Yes dropped in R23[36]
LightWave ? ? ? Yes ? only in Graph Editor only in Graph Editor ? No ? Yes Yes Yes Yes ?
Shade 3D ? ? Yes ? No No No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Sound Object
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Modeling

More information Application, Hard surface Modeling ...
Application Hard surface Modeling Sculpt Modeling Non-destructive Modeling
Polygon Modeling Subdivision Modeling Base-mesh Creation Sketch Modeling Sculpting Cloth Sculpting
Hand
Retopology
 Automatic Retopology Boolean
Bevel
Modifier
 Procedural
Maya Yes Yes (SOuP BMesh) No Yes No Yes 2020 and later Yes Yes ? Yes
3ds Max Yes Yes (Form) No Paint Deform No Yes 2021.3 and later Yes Yes Yes Max Creation Graph
Blender Yes Yes Skin Modifier Trim Brush with Union/Join mode Yes 2.83 and later Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Geometry Nodes
ZBrush ZModeler ZModeler ZSphere and ZSketch MeshBalloon Yes 2021 and later Yes ZRemesher 4R8 and later ? No No
Curvy 3D No No No Yes Yes No ? ? ? ? No No
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Lookdev, Shader writing

More information Application, PBR viewport ...
Application PBR viewport Viewport effects Interactive GI Rendering Integrated Compositing Text editor for shader writing Material Nodes Turntable Rendering
Maya Yes Some Arnold No ? Hypershade, Node Editor, ShaderFX Yes[37]
3ds Max Yes Some Arnold (State Set) OSL Map[38] Slate Material Editor, ShaderFX Easy Turntable script
MODO Yes ? Yes No ? Nodal Shading Render Turntable[39]
Blender Eevee (2.80 and later) Cycles Yes Text Editor Yes Turnaround Camera addon
Gaffer No No Cycles Yes OSLCode Node No No
Marmoset Toolbag Yes Yes No No ? Uber PBR shaders only Yes[40]
Substance Designer Yes YEBIS NVIDIA Iray ? ? MDL graph ?
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Layout

More information Application, Asset manager ...
Application Asset manager Biome-based scattering system Asset Paint Placement with Physics
Maya Yes MASH World Node MASH Placer Node ?
3ds Max (Project Manager, Connecter) ? ? ?
Cinema 4D Asset Browser ? Scatter Pen Dynamic Place
Houdini Solaris Project Dryad (beta) Layout LOP's Brush mode Edit LOP
Blender Asset Browser ? ? ?
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Lighting

More information Application, AlembicImporter ...
Application
Alembic
Importer
USD
Importer
Rendering
Engine
Volume
Rendering
for clouds
Interactive
Rendering
Isolating
light contribution
Light
Lister
IES
Light
Physical
Sun & Sky
Sun Positioning
by location and times
Light Portal
Shadow Catcher
 IBL and Environment texture
Highlight
Placement
Light Mixer
Lat Long
 sIBL
Light Extraction[41]
Maya Yes USD Extension for Maya Maya Hardware 2.0 ? Yes No[42] Light Editor ? ? ? ? ? Yes ? ? (Place Highlight Tool for Maya) No
Maya Software ? ? Light Linking No ? ? ? ? Env Sphere ? ? No
Arnold Yes Yes Light Linking Ai Photometric Light Yes ? Yes Yes Yes ? ? Light Mixer imager
3ds Max Yes (USD for Autodesk 3ds Max) Quicksilver ? Yes No[43] Light Lister ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Place Highlight No
Scanline ? ? Light Exclude/include ? ? ? ? Yes ? sIBL-GUI software ? No
ART ? ? ? Yes ? ? ? ? ? ? ? No
Arnold Yes Yes Light Group[44] Ai Photometric Light Yes Sun Positioner[45] Yes Yes Yes ? ? Light Mixer imager
Blender 2.78 and later 3.0 and later Workbench Some Yes ? Property Chart Addon, Gaffer addon No ? Sun Position addon No ? Yes ? ? Look At Gizmo (with Ctrl key) No
EEVEE Some Yes Light Linking No Yes No Shader Node[46] Yes ? ? No
Cycles Yes Yes Light Groups, Light Linking 2.80 and later[47] Yes from 2.75 from 2.79 Yes sIBL_GUI for Blender addon/
Add Environment nodes addon		 ? No
MODO Yes 14.1 and later MODO Renderer, mPath Yes Yes Light Linking[48] ? Photometric Light Directional Light[49] Portal Shadow Catcher Yes mm_sIBLToModoEnvironment script ? ? No
LightWave 11.6 and later No LightWave Renderer Yes Yes ? ? Photometric Light Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes original loader script, where most sIBL features were invented[50] ? ? No
Houdini Yes Solaris Mantra (PT), Karma Yes Yes Light categories Light bank Yes ? ? ? Shadow matte Yes ? ? Solaris ?
Cinema 4D Yes R23 and later CineRender Yes Yes Exclude/include ? Yes ? ? ? from R18 Yes ? ? Lighting tool ?
Redshift Yes Yes Light Group AOVs ? Yes Yes ? Yes Matte options Yes ? ? ?
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Path-tracing rendering

More information Application, CPU rendering ...
Application CPU rendering GPU rendering
OpenCL NVIDIA CUDA, OptiX AMD HIP SYCL, Intel DPC++ Apple Metal Texture streaming (out-of-core) Mesh streaming
V-Ray Yes ? V-Ray GPU[a][51] No V-Ray GPU[52] Yes[53] ?
RenderMan Yes No 24 and later[54] No No No ? ?
Arnold Yes No Yes[55] No No No Yes ?
Redshift Yes[56] No Yes Yes[57] No Yes[58] ? ?
Modo mPath Yes No Yes No No No ? ?
Houdini Karma Yes No Karma XPU[59] No No No Yes[59] ?
Octane Render No No Yes[60] No[60] No[60] Octane X[61] Yes meshlet streaming[62]
Blender Cycles Yes dropped in 3.0[63] Yes 3.0 and later[63] 3.3 and later[64] 3.1 and later[65] 2.80 and later[66] No
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More information Application, Mipmap generation ...
Application Mipmap
generation		 Adaptive tessellation Instancing Camera culling Deep pixel rendering Fisheye stereo
for fulldome		 Omnidirectional stereo
for HMD		 Deforming motion blur
V-Ray img2tiledexr ? Yes ? Yes Domemaster Stereo Shader 3.2 and later Yes
RenderMan maketx[b][67][68] ? Yes ? Yes ? Yes[69] Yes
Arnold maketx[70] Yes[71] Yes ? Yes Domemaster Stereo Shader 5 and later Yes
Houdini Karma imaketx[72] ? Yes[73] ? Yes[73] ? 15.5 and later Yes
Blender Cycles blender --command maketx[74] 2.78 and later Yes Camera Cull In development 2.78 and later 2.78 and later Yes
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  1. [a]
    former V-Ray RT
  2. [b]
    `txmake` tool is also included for compatibility.

Optimizations

More information Application, Proxy generation ...
Application Proxy generation Opacity Micromap[opt 1] Texture baking
Level of detail (LoD)[opt 2] Octahedral Impostors Tangent Space Normal Map Ambient Occlusion (AO) Map Light Map
Non-directional
(Traditional)		 Directional
Maya (Turtle renderer) "Generate LOD Meshes" ? ? Yes Yes Yes RNM (Radiosity Normal Map), and SH (Spherical harmonics) coefficients
Enlighten No ? ? No ? Yes Yes
Houdini Labs LOD Create SOP[77] Labs Impostor Texture ROP[78] ? ? ? ? ?
Blender AssetGen addon No No Yes Yes Yes No
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  1. [1]
    DirectX Raytracing 1.2 / Vulkan VK_EXT_opacity_micromap extension
  2. [2]
    LodGroup in FBX,[75] MSFT_lod extension in glTF,[76] etc.

See also

References

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