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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    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

    Autodesk Maya

    Score8.3 out of 10
    N/AAutodesk offers Maya, a 3D animation, modeling, simulation and rendering tool available to artists, animators, and educators, used to create realistic characters, models, and scenes, as well as effects such as explosions, cloth movement, etc.

    $234

    per month

    Pricing
    Autodesk 3ds MaxAutodesk Maya
    Editions & Modules
    Monthly Subscription
    $235
    per month per user
    Yearly Subscription
    $1875
    per year per user
    3-Year Subscription
    $5625
    3 years per user
    Monthly
    $235
    per month per user
    Yearly
    $1875
    per year per user
    3-Year
    $5625
    3 years per user
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Autodesk 3ds MaxAutodesk Maya
    Free Trial
    YesYes
    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.Maya is also available through Autodesk's Flex plan and pricing. Tokens expire 1 year from date of purchase. Not all products and features are available with Flex. Students and teachers at qualified academic institutions worldwide are eligible for free access to Autodesk software for one-year through the Autodesk Education Community.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Autodesk 3ds MaxAutodesk Maya
    Considered Both Products
    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
    I use Blender, Maya is expensive learned it once but about the same as 3ds Max, just more expensive. Blender is great, open source and hard to learn, but work it. But since I have so much experience in 3ds Max it is my go to software.
    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
    Chose Autodesk 3ds Max
    [Most] people like to use Maya for modeling but Maya is only good for soft surface modeling not for hard surface. The [Autodesk 3ds] Max has no limitations in this field, it is open to [making] hard or soft surface modeling. [It] even has great command on fx effects [made] by …
    Incentivized
    Chose Autodesk 3ds Max
    3ds Max provides me with good animations, as well as rendering images and stability for my gaming models. Therefore, I prefer it over Maya software
    Incentivized
    Chose Autodesk 3ds Max
    Blender is a very small and quite easy-to-use software but it lacks some of the things and for that, you need a lot of addons. So that's not a good thing. 3ds Max on the other hand is big in size but it can do pretty much all the tasks by itself.
    Incentivized
    Chose Autodesk 3ds Max
    Best for rendering and geometry flexibility. Interphase is also superior. The stacking of modifiers is unique and allows for combining, and turning on and of which makes presenting options very agile, and clear without destroying the geometry. It's easily reversible. All others …
    Incentivized
    Chose Autodesk 3ds Max
    Complex models are very easy to make in 3ds Max compared to other software, as Autodesk provides safety and security for your data and there are always there to serve you better. My experience with Autodesk was remarkable and Upmarket integration with other plugins makes 3ds …
    Incentivized
    Autodesk
    Chose Autodesk Maya
    The UI of 3ds Max is not that good and very old, not the best. Blender is the best for everything, especially its modeling and animation tools are not the best as compared to Autodesk Maya. Cinema 4D is good for motion graphics and create vibrant renders but it has limited …
    Incentivized
    Chose Autodesk Maya
    All are different and cannot compare with each other's abilities. Maya is more powerful than any other software compared to.
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    92%
    Would buy again
    12 Answers
    100%
    Would buy again
    6 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    83%
    Delivers good value for the price
    10 Answers
    60%
    Delivers good value for the price
    3 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    13 Answers
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    6 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    9 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    11 Answers
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    5 Answers
    Best Alternatives
    Autodesk 3ds MaxAutodesk Maya
    Small Businesses
    Autodesk Maya
    Score8.3 out of 10
    Autodesk 3ds Max
    Score8.9 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Navisworks
    Score9.1 out of 10
    Navisworks
    Score9.1 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Navisworks
    Score9.1 out of 10
    Navisworks
    Score9.1 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Autodesk 3ds MaxAutodesk Maya
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.4
    (13 ratings)
    9.0
    (8 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    9.2
    (4 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Autodesk 3ds MaxAutodesk Maya
    Likelihood to Recommend
    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
    Autodesk
    Autodesk Maya is a great software, it has so many tools that you can create a full movie without even jumping to any other software. Although it's pretty hard to learn but there is nothing more fun, once you get a hang of it. In general, its tools are best for modeling and animation.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    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
    Autodesk
    • Easy to build workflow due to strong customizability.
    • Industry share. Easy to collaborate with other companies.
    • Strong cooperation with other software.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    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
    Autodesk
    • Right now Maya has no good viewport like Blender 2.8 has. It is good that Maya 2019 devs focused on performance and stability but it's strange to see that mainstream soft aren't on trend in developing really cool and helpful tools.
    • Maya LT is very good for artist who don't need complex FX tools. So the devs must add python API to Maya LT.
    • Add more helpful tools to modeling section especially for retopology.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    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
    Autodesk
    No answers on this topic
    Usability
    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
    Autodesk
    As Autodesk Maya was one of the first softwares I learned, so I feel very fun to work with it. The overall usabilty feels very natural to me and I felt it's easy to learn but tough to master kind of software. Some people find it very difficult to learn, so I deduced some rating points.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Autodesk
    I have contacted support many times and have had a good experience. They have always been helpful
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Autodesk
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    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
    Autodesk
    We were evaluating the products within the Adobe portfolio like Adobe Animate, Adobe PhotoShop, Adobe After Effects majorly among few others before finalising on the Autodesk Maya. One of the major reasons for that was earlier experience with the Autodesk Maya tool for the engineer and also it has more to offer than Adobe with multiple products.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    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
    Autodesk
    • Effectively able to get the designs created and visualised
    • Video creation for concepts has become easy
    • ROI has been good, but if the costing is brought down then its even more amazing
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots