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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Adobe PhotoShop

    Score9.2 out of 10
    N/AAdobe Photoshop is the best known graphics product on the market.

    $20

    per month

    Autodesk 3ds Max

    Score8.9 out of 10
    N/AAutodesk offers 3ds Max, 3D modeling and rendering software for design visualization, games, and animation. The vendor states that users can produce professional-quality 3D animations, renders, and models with an efficient and flexible toolset to help create better 3D content in less time.

    $235

    per month per user

    Pricing
    Adobe PhotoShopAutodesk 3ds Max
    Editions & Modules
    Single App
    $20.00
    per month
    Monthly Subscription
    $235
    per month per user
    Yearly Subscription
    $1875
    per year per user
    3-Year Subscription
    $5625
    3 years per user
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Adobe PhotoShopAutodesk 3ds Max
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsFlex pricing available for limited usage. Minimum plan $300 for 100 tokens. 3ds Max costs 6 tokens per day.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Adobe PhotoShopAutodesk 3ds Max
    Considered Both Products
    Adobe
    No answer on this topic
    Autodesk
    Chose Autodesk 3ds Max
    Sketch-up week to be vertically integrated to produce concept all the way to high-end render, an animation (effects, particles, soft-body, etc..) All 3 other softwares are fully capable, it just comes down to what software an operator is most familiar with and if it works in …
    Incentivized
    Chose Autodesk 3ds Max
    Back when 3d programs were becoming more powerful and stable, 3d Studio (yes, it was 3d Studio before it was 3ds Max, more on that later) and Maya were owned by different companies. At that time, you had to
    Incentivized
    Chose Autodesk 3ds Max
    Maya is an overall better rendering program.
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    98%
    Would buy again
    152 Answers
    92%
    Would buy again
    12 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    97%
    Delivers good value for the price
    140 Answers
    83%
    Delivers good value for the price
    10 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    99%
    Happy with the feature set
    154 Answers
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    13 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    98%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    130 Answers
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    9 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    99%
    Implementation went as expected
    132 Answers
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    11 Answers
    Best Alternatives
    Adobe PhotoShopAutodesk 3ds Max
    Small Businesses
    GIMP
    Score8 out of 10
    Autodesk Maya
    Score8.3 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Adobe Illustrator
    Score9.3 out of 10
    Navisworks
    Score9.1 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Adobe Illustrator
    Score9.3 out of 10
    Navisworks
    Score9.1 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Adobe PhotoShopAutodesk 3ds Max
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.2
    (211 ratings)
    9.4
    (13 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.0
    (31 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Usability
    8.2
    (36 ratings)
    9.2
    (4 ratings)
    Availability
    9.0
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    9.0
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    10.0
    (54 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    9.0
    (6 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Configurability
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    4.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Adobe PhotoShopAutodesk 3ds Max
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Adobe
    Photoshop is a useful tool for everything from creating social media graphics to editing and sizing photos. There is a bit of a learning curve, so you need to have a bit of experience to master it and use it for a variety of tasks. You also need to have a good sense of file organization so you can find files quickly without losing track of them.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Autodesk
    For print media for marketing and for 3d animations for web spots and TV ads/movies/programs. It is less suited for quick 3d graphics or images that you get from AI image programs, but it is much more powerful than most AI image programs.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Adobe
    • The fact is that you may quickly pick things up on your own by spending time without using any other resources.
    • It is the program that brings the phrase "to make PhotoShop" to almost all languages. It's not just a photo editing program.
    • Practical and beautiful results are filtered by filtering the desired work without drowning in details.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Autodesk
    • 3ds Max includes some of the inbuild modifiers which can be very good in the case of beginners.
    • 3rd party Rendering support makes 3ds Max a powerful software for rendering out realistic images.
    • Autodesk 3ds max in comparison to its rivals is lightweight and fast, also the animation case also.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Adobe
    • The effect applying time could be faster.
    • There could be a smarter way to make mockups using smart objects, maybe by directly selecting an area, and generative AI can automate a few steps.
    • If Photoshop can suggest the right stock imagery in case the generative AI doesn't get the right answer.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Autodesk
    • working in 2d is very frustrating and unreliable. It just lacks the precision
    • How scaling affects units (or doesn't) There needs to be a way for modifiers to address a change of scale in the object.
    • Booleans are not intuitive. Especially for architecture, creating an opening and putting a door or a window is an incredibly cumbersome process.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Adobe
    We get a lot of use out of this software. It's vital for work with production in our industry and has a lot of cross-functionality - creating social media images, retouching photos, editing photos, creating gradients, and more. It's pretty fuss-free in that we haven't had to reach out to support and the program hasn't crashed on us. We are trained on the software (so again, this isn't for beginners), but for detail-oriented designers and creatives like ourselves - it's a no-brainer.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Autodesk
    It satisfies 95% of my 3d visualization need. The left over 5% is handled by a few other programs. If Max just can't perform a specific task I can do that elsewhere and then bring it back to Max to finish up. But, it's rare that this occurs in my work
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Adobe
    Adobe PhotoShop is a professional-grade tool that requires months/years to get a grasp of how to use it well. Even then, after over a decade of using Adobe PhotoShop both casually and professionally, I feel like I'm still unfamiliar with a large percentage of the available tools. Without a dedicated training program, it can be extremely overwhelming and/or you may not get good use out of it. That being said, once you do get comfortable with it, the layout and workspace are excellent with myriad shortcuts that speed up your workflow exponentially. Put in the time to learn it, and you'll love it.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Autodesk
    It is a very difficult program to learn to use and even harder to use well. But once you get to using it it is a great software package to know how to use. Getting to be good at using it takes lots of use.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Adobe
    Adobe Photoshop is very reliable, but is never 100%. There have been times when Adobe Photoshop has had trouble opening, but nothing a little computer restart couldn't fix. I use Adobe Photoshop on a Mac for both work and at home on a daily basis, and I would be lost without it.
    Read full review
    Autodesk
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    Adobe
    Speed can be an issue when you are dealing with large files for large format printing or billboards. When working on web images, speed is not an issue.
    Read full review
    Autodesk
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Adobe
    While I never contacted Adobe directly, there is so much content out there in the form of YouTube videos, Lynda/LinkedIn learning that almost any issue, including bugs, can be worked around (and this method is generally faster as there's no turnaround time involved).
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Autodesk
    I have contacted support many times and have had a good experience. They have always been helpful
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    In-Person Training
    Adobe
    So, I received the training at the HQ and it was train the trainer training. A good time, I spent a week at their campus
    Read full review
    Autodesk
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation Rating
    Adobe
    I took a course so it really helped. I didn’t take the course until much later after beginning to use it, so I wish work would have sent me right off the bat. It would have alleviated a lot of frustratinon
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Autodesk
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    Adobe
    [Adobe] Photoshop offers the best photo editing as well as content creation. The layer-by-layer approach of [Adobe] Photoshop helps to work between two apps or even two PCs of entirely different Creative Cloud apps seamlessly. The stability and the speed of the tools in photoshop make it even better to make a canvas of creativity.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Autodesk
    Sketch-up week to be vertically integrated to produce concept all the way to high-end render, an animation (effects, particles, soft-body, etc..) All 3 other softwares are fully capable, it just comes down to what software an operator is most familiar with and if it works in the production pipeline for the client.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Adobe
    It seems expensive compared to the free/cheap programs now available
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Autodesk
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    Adobe
    • Adobe PhotoShop in general is a great time saver.
    • It does take a long time for the program to start up, however
    • The most difficult task is onboarding new employees into Adobe PhotoShop who don't have experience with it. It's an investment for their future so we see value in it.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Autodesk
    • 3ds Max has one of the best control tools that can help someone to sculpt almost anything. With the vertex tool and polyline edit function we can create almost any complex geometry.
    • Default rendering is equipped with almost everything that is needed for process, V-Ray for 3ds Max is the best 3rd party plugin for getting crisp renders.
    • The four view port tools for viewing the model helps from each and every angle. The moment and selection tools in the 3ds Max are quit easy to operate.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots