Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Adobe Illustrator
Score 9.3 out of 10
N/A
Adobe Illustrator CC is a vector-based graphic design software.
$20.99
per month
Blender
Score 9.2 out of 10
N/A
Blender is a free and open source 3D creation suite available in under the GNU General Public License. It supports the entirety of the 3D pipeline—modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing and motion tracking, video editing and 2D animation pipeline. Blender Cloud is a related service accessible via subscription, and is a training and content platform providing access to expertise from the Blender Institute for advancing one's use of Blender.
$11.50
per month
Cinema 4D
Score 9.5 out of 10
N/A
Maxon, headquartered in Germany, offers Cinema 4D, an animaton suite for 3D artists, which the vendor states is suitable for beginners and seasoned professionals alike, who can take advantage of Cinema 4D’s wide range of tools and features to achieve stunning results for demanding, fast-paced 3D production.N/A
Pricing
Adobe Illustrator CCBlenderCinema 4D
Editions & Modules
Yearly - Billed Monthly
$20.99
per month
Monthly
$31.49
per month
Yearly - Billed Upfront
$239.88
per year
Blender Cloud Membership
$11.50
per month
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Adobe IllustratorBlenderCinema 4D
Free Trial
NoNoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoYesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Adobe Illustrator CCBlenderCinema 4D
Considered Multiple Products
Adobe Illustrator
Chose Adobe Illustrator CC
GIMP does not have a lot of reference information, so it takes time to solve problems. Illustrator takes less time because there is a lot of reference information on the Internet and in books. Also, GIMP does not allow batch processing, so the work must be repeated. Illustrator …
Chose Adobe Illustrator CC
Like most people, I came from using Adobe PhotoShop and learned Adobe Illustrator CC later (in my case, in college as a required class for my digital media degree). I didn't realize the power of vector illustration until I took that class, and ever since I've been using Adobe …
Blender
Chose Blender
Blender is just as good as Cinema 4D. One huge advantage Blender has is that its free and you don't have to worry about upgrades or license upgrades when wanting to download or purchase the latest version
Chose Blender
Again, Blender wins over its competition in the number of users and its large community because it is free software. Whether you like it or not, that's a kickstart that makes a noticeable difference.
But, indeed, its competition is usually much more powerful and professional, …
Chose Blender
In addition to being free to use, Blender is competent and complete enough to do the same things as these programs. While some stabilization is still needed in some aspects, many of these They work quite well and practically the same as them. In addition, Blender has a …
Chose Blender
Most obvious answer for why we have chosen blender over others is cost. The cost of other software is too high but because blender is free it helps to put our money and resources in the right places. It also helped us to get quality output without additional cost as octane is …
Chose Blender
We selected Blender for most of use cases because it's availability and ease of use. Having no commitment in terms of plans or pricing also gives us more freedom to try it out, and we ended up staying with Blender.
Chose Blender
As already mention , a Wide range of features and complete set of tools without paying anything .
Suitable with any operating system.
Getting started with Blender is also easy.
Chose Blender
Ease of use and free, ZBrush has a very steep learning curve and Blender seems to be better at realistic image rendering. Plus free upgrades and amazing support made it a no-brainer. Lots of online tutorials and add-ons Blender comes out on top.

Chose Blender
Blender is a more user-friendly version of these programs; not only that, but the community behind blender is great; posting everything you need on youtube or offering courses has made it so much easier to learn new ways to make renders or assets, also there are plenty of free …
Chose Blender
The biggest advantage of Blender over these alternatives was how easy it was to learn, even for team members with no previous experience in 3D modeling, design, or any artistic field. The fact that it allows you to import or export files in most of the existing 3D model …
Cinema 4D
Chose Cinema 4D
Great integration with After Effects made editing seamless and quick. It was a steep learning curve but not as tough as others in the market. Coupled with the AE integration, it was the tool that made the most sense.

As a side note, I used Cinema a lot for artwork (non-work) …
Chose Cinema 4D
I've found other modeling programs to be cumbersome and difficult to wrap your head around at first. While Cinema 4D isn't an "install and run" kind of program, it does lend itself to being easily learned without the expense of being limited or beginner focused. The integration …
Best Alternatives
Adobe Illustrator CCBlenderCinema 4D
Small Businesses
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
Score 7.1 out of 10
Onshape
Onshape
Score 7.5 out of 10
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
Score 7.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
GIMP
GIMP
Score 8.0 out of 10
Onshape
Onshape
Score 7.5 out of 10
GIMP
GIMP
Score 8.0 out of 10
Enterprises
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
Score 7.1 out of 10
Rhino
Rhino
Score 8.4 out of 10
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
Score 7.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Adobe Illustrator CCBlenderCinema 4D
Likelihood to Recommend
9.4
(108 ratings)
9.9
(25 ratings)
9.7
(5 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(6 ratings)
8.3
(2 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
5.0
(25 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
10.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Adobe Illustrator CCBlenderCinema 4D
Likelihood to Recommend
Adobe
It is the only tool that I use to create logos. It gives me the flexibility to create sharp text and marks and they can then be resized at will, color changes in a second and perfect way to export. I know that some people use Illustrator for document layout, it is not ideal. While I can easily create documents here, it really is InDesign that is the perfect tool.
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Open Source
Blender is an excellent tool for everything from simple to complex 3D animations, the creation of 3D images, etc. It performs excellently in all of these areas. In the realm of 3D modelling, animation and rendering, there is very little that Blender is not suited for.
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Maxon
Photorealistic Rendering (it takes a LONG time to render for print, but it's insanely realistic). Commercial Production Graphical Integration into print materials (and digital) We did a lot with brochures and billboards. Hi Res rendering takes hours, but the output set us FAR apart from the run-of-the-mill competition we had.
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Pros
Adobe
  • Vector graphics for scaling to large sizes
  • Filling an object with a texture
  • Easily adjusting and expanding an artboard to fit the size of the content (especially for infographics)
  • Compatibility with other Adobe CC programs, but also exporting for PPT graphics
Read full review
Open Source
  • Creating complex polygonal geometries is very easy in Blender.
  • Edit Mode and Sculpt Mode helps in creating non uniform surfaces for objects like rocks, surfaces, terrains etc.
  • Blender can use various external plugins to make it work in more smoother way. For example to import any 3d object one can use sketchfab plugin and easily import the free assets from web after logging in.
  • Blender has a better rendering engine known as Cycles, it is far more better than any other stock rendering engine which can generate realistic lightning, shadows and reflections.
  • The animations can easily be generated with blender animation toolbar and also it incorporate any other animations made in any other software.
  • The bone generation and its behavior of animations can be achieved easily in blender.
Read full review
Maxon
  • Seemingly endless selection of tools
  • clear and powerful manipulation tools
  • effect use of hotkeys for navigating the 3D space
Read full review
Cons
Adobe
  • It's tough to master. If you haven't used Adobe products like Photoshop or Illustrator before, there is a lot to take in.
  • It would be great to have some better options to preview the final product if you're creating a multiple page document.
  • Better integration and pricing points with Adobe Stock for the useful stock images to complete your projects.
Read full review
Open Source
  • It's really a hard question, but it could be: a game engine. Older versions used to have it; I would use it to simulate machines game-like.
  • I'm struggling to find another one; maybe the fact that it is so powerful and has so many features that learning it can be daunting; better documentation WITH examples and/or a map of Blender capabilities would help to know where you are in terms of knowledge and the planning the roadmap to where you want to go.
  • Precision modeling. Coming from CAD and using Blender as part of my design workflow, I'd love to be able to model inside Blender as I model with CAD tools. At this moment, it's simply impossible.
Read full review
Maxon
  • Weak UV mapping interface.
  • Redshift integration is not 100% seamless yet.
  • Weight-mapping is a nightmare.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Adobe
While Adobe Illustrator CC is one of the only true design software out there, it really stands heads above the other products. It's clean UI and menu structure is easy to navigate.
Read full review
Open Source
No answers on this topic
Maxon
No answers on this topic
Usability
Adobe
There's a bit of a learning curve to this software vs other similar tools that can take some time to learn and get familiar with but the amount of functionality that Adobe Illustrator CC offers is quite large compared to simpler tools.
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Open Source
Because while it's a pretty good piece of software, the default built-in commands, the interface layout, and certain functions aren't as logical in their way of being arranged and executed. This, of course, doesn't diminish its use or effectiveness in your field of work, but it is quite awkward at first. A big advantage is that Blender lets you customize the interface however you want as well as keyboard shortcuts and several general program parameters.
Read full review
Maxon
For reasons mentioned before: an intuitive interface and speed of the viewport, speed of loading, and ease of plugin integration. The MoGraph module encourages experimentation and the creation of highly modifiable scenes. Crashes are extremely rare and the support team and community are hyper-responsive to requests for help. For real... Maxon's staff hangs out in Slack and Discord communities, regularly assisting users with issues. No support ticket required.
Read full review
Support Rating
Adobe
I normally already know how to do whatever I'm trying out, but the documentation (as well as a simple Google search) makes any question quick to resolve. The Adobe boards themselves are a fantastic resource, especially for resolving questions between new programs and iterative releases.
Read full review
Open Source
No answers on this topic
Maxon
Maxon's staff regularly hangs out in Slack and Discord communities, ready to assist. This goes beyond the support ticket system, which is also extremely robust. Hundreds of optimizations and bugs are fixed in every patch, even when the user experience is already 99.9% smooth. This is a proactive, not reactive, support and engineering team at Maxon.
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Implementation Rating
Adobe
It was very easy to purchase and download.
Read full review
Open Source
No answers on this topic
Maxon
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Adobe
I chose Rhinoceros 3D because it is accurate to make drawings in it and it is better to make drawings in Rhinoceros 3D and then put them in Adobe Illustrator. But while printing or scaling it is much easier to put it in Adobe Illustrator. This makes the whole printing aspect of it much easier.
Read full review
Open Source
We've only used the consumer (non-pro) version of SketchUp, which we love, but is very limited in features and output capabilities compared to Blender. While Blender's learning curve is MUCH steeper than SketchUp, it feels like truly complete, professional design software.
Read full review
Maxon
Well, I go for cinema 4D if I want to create dynamic animation instead of Autodesk 3ds Max as I can easily create that animation compared to Autodesk 3ds Max.
Read full review
Return on Investment
Adobe
  • Helps us quickly and easily create and manage numerous logos
  • Cloud libraries allow us to access commonly used colors, fonts, logos and other design elements quickly
  • We are able to provide high-quality, scalable college logos for print and digital which give us a more professional, credible look.
Read full review
Open Source
  • As it is a beginner-friendly software with increasing demand in the animation sector again, it positively impacts the business.
  • Except in some specific cases, no one will use Blender on their own at a professional level.
  • When I was a beginner, it took me a lot of time to learn, consequently designing the creation. But if we want to learn to master Blender, we can do it. As long as we have time and a lot of willpower, since, we repeat, it is not a simple program and hides thousands of tools and possibilities.
Read full review
Maxon
  • Producing quality training content reduces mistakes and improves ebitda for our restaurants
Read full review
ScreenShots