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Blender

Blender

Overview

What is Blender?

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…

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Recent Reviews

TrustRadius Insights

Blender has proven to be a versatile and valuable tool for a wide range of use cases. Users, including professionals in the fields of 3D …
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Blender For Free.

10 out of 10
January 20, 2023
Incentivized
For our Livestream service, modeling was used for fill-in effects. Blender, being free, was used to model graphics for this production. We …
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Free, fast and fun!

10 out of 10
January 20, 2023
When creating educational content, powerpoint slides are fine, but having animation is much better. I became aware of Blender from a …
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Awards

Products that are considered exceptional by their customers based on a variety of criteria win TrustRadius awards. Learn more about the types of TrustRadius awards to make the best purchase decision. More about TrustRadius Awards

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Pricing

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Blender Cloud Membership

$11.50

Cloud
per month

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services
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Product Details

What is Blender?

Blender Technical Details

Deployment TypesOn-premise, Software as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based
Operating SystemsWindows, Linux, Mac, SteamOS
Mobile ApplicationNo
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Comparisons

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Reviews and Ratings

(87)

Community Insights

TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!

Blender has proven to be a versatile and valuable tool for a wide range of use cases. Users, including professionals in the fields of 3D modeling and sculpting, have found Blender to be an essential tool for their work. It allows them to create precise and detailed 3D models for various purposes, such as virtual environments, product visualization, and interior design projects. Additionally, Blender's animation capabilities have been highly valued by users in educational content creation, as it provides a more engaging experience compared to static slides.

Blender's features extend beyond 3D modeling and animation. Many marketing agencies have found it indispensable for creating eye-catching visuals for product launches, videos, and client logos. The software's rendering capabilities have been particularly appreciated, surpassing those offered by CAD-integrated renderers. Moreover, Blender's integration with three.js has allowed users to generate interactive experiences for websites, further enhancing their marketing efforts.

Blender's lightweight and cost-effective nature have made it accessible to students and those on a budget, serving as an alternative to pricier software like Autodesk 3ds Max. However, the initial learning curve may be steep for beginners without prior knowledge of 3D modeling tools and terminology. Nevertheless, motivated users who take advantage of tutorials and resources have managed to become familiar with Blender's features over time. Its free and open-source nature, along with its support for multiple operating systems, has also attracted a loyal user base.

  1. Free and open-source platform: Users appreciate that Blender is accessible to beginner animators as it doesn't require any charges, making it an ideal choice for those starting out in animation.

  2. Powerful features and tools: Users find the wide array of features in Blender essential for their creative process, allowing them to tackle various tasks efficiently. The availability of precise 3D object placement and manipulation tools, as well as intuitive free-form sculpting tools, are particularly valued by users.

  3. Supportive community and resources: The Blender community's size and online resources are highly regarded by users, making it easy for them to find tutorials and solutions to their queries. This accessibility to resources enhances the overall Blender experience.

Cons:

  1. Performance Issues: Some users have experienced performance issues with Blender, such as slow rendering times and crashes during complex projects.
  2. Steep Learning Curve: Several reviewers have mentioned that Blender has a steep learning curve, making it difficult for beginners to grasp all of its features and functionalities.
  3. Lack of Intuitive Interface: A number of users have expressed frustration with the interface of Blender, finding it less intuitive compared to other 3D software programs.

Users commonly recommend starting with tutorials on YouTube and blender.org to learn the basics of Blender. These resources are found to be valuable for gaining knowledge and skills in using the software.

Users advise not being afraid of the interface and taking time to learn and practice. They suggest that investing time and effort into learning Blender is worth it for 3D modeling and rendering.

Users also recommend exploring the various functionalities of Blender, such as its rendering tool, for different purposes like financing project management, animation, digital content molding, and more. Blender is also suggested for both 3D and 2D work, making it versatile for users with low configuration systems.

Reviews

(1-9 of 9)
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Gloria Varghese | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Blender is most useful software which I felt while creating animated films for my training purposes.Since it is free and open source software makes it unique from other softwares which provides same features .Its feature is not limited to animation but also modelling,sculpting,Rendering and so on.Its UI is quiet easy which can be understood even by a starter.
  • Helps in creating animated films quickly
  • It supports various Plugins
  • It supports various file formats for importing and exporting
  • The video editor is not up to the mark
  • It requires latest devices to work properly
Creating animated films it is awesome software for starters while it is little buggy sometimes.Rendering feature is also works well.It also supports various geometrical shapes which is really useful.On the other hand ,the video editor in blender software is basic version compared to other software in the market.
Jitendra Choubisa | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We at Techno NJR believes in making students future ready by introducing them with the augmented and virtual reality applications. For creating a virtual environment we first need to make a 3d model and animations of it and then we take it into Unity or Unreal Engine to generate final environment with interactions. For creating various 3d models with animations, we were in need of a 3D Design software. Previously we were using Autodesk 3ds Max, but due to its high requirement of processing power and high cost, we started looking for a faster and cheaper alternative and that's when BLENDER came into the picture.
It's very light on the processor and storage, also it has very easy modifying tools as compared to other software in the field. Now we can deploy it easily onto several system and students can learn it in quick and easy way. This software is also free to use so there's no issue of budgeting too. The resources of this software are freely available all over the internet and are in numbers, so one can easily start learning it in creating 3d world with the animations.
  • 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.
  • It doesn't run on the old system. A system must have OpenGL 3.0 at least with a dedicated graphics card installed in the hardware.
  • The older versions might work without graphics card but it becomes very slow and that make it not usable.
  • Blender is very less in size, which comes on the cost of cutting some of the features and that increases our dependency on other 3rd part plugins to do some specific works like importing, using HDR's etc
For beginners blender is an awesome tool to start with. Those who wants to have a career in animations and 3d modelling can start with blender and apply the skills to get a good job or work.
Blender comes handy when we want to make 3d objects and environments. One can also make a CG Movie with it as it has good camera controls. It's open source, so suggestion from all over the world comes in to developer which helps in making it more strong in the field.

Overall its free so one cant start learning it right away and the tutorials for it are also freely available everywhere on the internet.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use Blender mainly to create (relatively simple) models for 3D printing -- mostly tools and accessories for our camera team. These have included missing tripod handles, custom storage hooks, (etc.). Occasionally, we design more detailed small props for videos, or figures we use in mock-ups for blocking and storyboarding. We barely scratch the surface of Blender's incredibly deep feature set. Even for the relatively easy things we use it for, it's amazing. It truly too to be true that's open source and available free.
  • Powerful and precise 3D object placement and manipulation
  • Intuitive free-form sculpting tools
  • Easy to keep complex 3D elements organized
  • Deep bench of tools to make complex design processes easy
  • Huge online community -- you can easily Google how to do anything you want to do
  • Very steep learning curve -- interface is complex to get your head around
  • Functions aren't intuitively organized, so you generally have to look up how to do something new.
It feels like there's nothing in the 3D design space Blender can't do -- if you have the patience to research techniques online. We use Blender to make very accurate 3D tool and hardware models -- and it's great at placing vertices and edges and manipulating them precisely. For more freeform modeling, it has a sculpting mode that lets you virtually manipulate a surface like clay. Between these two modes, you can create everything from ultra-precise machine templates to organic figurines. It has a 3D printing add-on that checks your models before slicing, then it outputs it to one of many different formats. We output to .stl and have had good results.
January 20, 2023

Blender is the best

Zeel Pandya | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Blender is free , open source 3D creation suite that has so many features that allows you to model animate, video editing and even simulate some projects during composition . I can say its is all in one package , It does supports Linux, Windows and Mac operating system .

If you are looking for a free accessible complete set of tool to start 3D modeling, digital sculpting , I think Blender is the one for you
  • you can create your 3D model portfolio using blender
  • you can also create realistic renders using its powerful Cycles renderer
  • Light weight , cost effective and more flexible
  • The biggest challenge is learning curve for beginners
  • Using cycles for rendering takes a lot of time
  • User interface is not so good , specially navigation is bit confusing and difficult
Blender is supporting almost everything , modelling, texturing, animation, compositing, simulation, FX, lighting and rendering and even sculpting. Which you can use in your organization .Finding plugin for blender is too easy as it's an open source .Setting up with blender is too easy , you just have to download from site and follow the instruction provided there, no need to create account anything.

I feel ZBrush of Blender is very powerful tool that let you do all pipeline work in one package without paying for a separate piece of software for sculpting .
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I currently am using the platform to build 3d Assets and other parts that are being used for a 3d model set that I am hoping to either turn into a workable game that will allow potential clients to interact with our products (The assets being built) or to shoot a commercial highlighting them, if not both things.
  • Being open source - being widely available and free for anyone was my first reason for downloading it.
  • The UI of the platform is easy to use, and if there's something missing there are plugins to fill the need.
  • The rigging tools are so robust.
  • It take a bit of learning to get use to but the massive community helps.
  • It can be quite intensive if you don't have a powerful PC to run high demand items.
  • The sculpting tools were confusing as a beginner.
Building our products in the platform that can be used for marketing materials or previews for customers has been helpful; I want to get the product teams involved and do imports from original CAD drawings so they can be seen in real word scenarios and environments. If you only want something small and you want to build it, sometimes it's worth hiring instead of undertaking the work yourself if you have other time commitments.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Blender is a wonderful tool if you work around 3D modelling or sculpting. I used blender for creating 3D models of different products for videos and content for Social Media. All features around 3D modelling are inbuild in blender and you also have the option to add additional plug-ins if you need external ones. Blender can be a bit intimidating for begineers who have no idea regarding 3D modelling tools and terms.<br>
  • 3D modelling
  • Sculpting and character creation/Modelling
  • Animation, 3D animation
  • The UI, it can get really intimidating for first time users.
Blender is perfectly suited for 3D modelling and animation with characters. Sculpting can get difficult in blender keeping in mind the tools in hand.
November 29, 2021

Open source Tool

Mahmoud obaid | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Basically, since I am a mechanical engineer, we use CFD which requires to design a model showing all its dimensions, initial conditions, forces that are impacting it, ..etc. Using blinder becomes very useful to us while creating these models, so what we normally do, create our model using CAD software “ Revit, AutoCAD” then export it to a readable format and import it in Blender, now Blender will help us create meshes “ term used while before processing CFD” with the needed dimensions “ accuracy “ whether to make it fine or coarse.
  • Creating meshes that would be used for post process for CFD.
  • Split any object to a certain number of elements in order to proceed with creating meshes.
  • Export your model to different formats which is very convenient since you are planning to use it afterwards.
  • I would recommend to include trouble shooting icon to identify any issue would face the designer.
  • If possible to make this program as a compact software. What I mean is instead for me “ as a engineer “ to use another software to process the elements exported from Blender, why not adding a tool in blender to do this task instead.
Being open-source & free is very convenient for any designer or modeler since you can use it in various ways. Not only engineers who are using this software but also animators and this is considered as big plus to this software. Personally, I use Blender as preprocess CFD tool where u can directly can create meshes with any needed dimensions and numbers then export them with any format but on the other hand, sometimes blinder tends to have issues while creating these meshes such as showing error messages and you cant tell we’re exactly the problem is hence taking a lot of time for troubleshooting.
Salomi Rai | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Blender is a free and open-source platform so it's a great choice for students and freelancers. Blender has all 3D features like animation, modeling, texturing, rigging, sculpting, and rendering but we mainly use blender for modeling and sculpting. Like all the other software, it takes little time to learn the UI.
  • free and open source platform
  • great software for modeling and sculpting
  • we can export blender file into any other file format
  • render with GPU
  • slow viewport performance sometimes
  • many features in one software makes it little complicated
If you are a new 3D artist, Blender is a perfect choice. It's free and has every 3D feature you need. In my opinion, Blender is great for modeling and sculpting compared to animation. personally, I feel a little uncomfortable animating in Blender so I only use bender for modeling and sculpting.
Aniket Kumar Chaudhary | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized

Blender 3D makes it possible for you to perform a wide range of tasks in one place. When entering the software for the first time, it can be overwhelming to understand the basic concepts and features. However, with a bit of motivation and an official tutorial, it is possible to become familiar with Blender3D after several hours of practice.

The most prominent artists do not create masterpieces by pressing a magic button or just manipulating brushes. Still, learning and practicing topics such as composition, lighting, animation principles, etc., will make a perfect design. After all, it's a tool, and you have to learn it.

Blender 3D software has additional technical complexity and jargon. Terms like UV maps, materials, shaders, meshes, and subdivisions are the means of the digital artist, and understanding them in general terms will help you use Blender and get the most out of it.

  • It is a totally free and open-source platform. Made for beginner animators.
  • The interactive game features like collision detection, dynamic re-enactments, and logic.
  • Blender accepts graphic formats such as TGA, JPG, IRIS, HDRI, or TIFF. It can also read Inventor files.
  • Integrated 3D game engine with a logic brick system. For more control, Python programming is used.
  • It includes Inverse Kinematics, Grid Strains, Load Vertices, and Static and Dynamic Particles.
  • Tough to learn. Beginners may be overwhelmed by its jargons full of shortcut keys. It has a lot of features to learn.
  • It slows in an AMD processor with 4GB RAM.
  • I can't find more cons about Blender, but new users may [be] confuse[d] due to its tricky layout.
Blender is one of the best software focused mainly on modeling, lighting control, rendering, animation, and 3D graphics. This software is completely free and open-source, and it is more than at the level of other similar alternatives within the professional field. Some movies such as Coffee Run (2020), Spring (2019), and movie studios (like Marvel) have used it to animate and process their films and effects. The only issue is that it slows down the PC sometimes.
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