Blender AlternativesOnly apps categorised as VFX Software

The best VFX alternative to Blender is Autodesk Maya. It's not free, so if you're looking for a free alternative, you could try Natron or Vue. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Blender and 13 are VFX Software so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting VFX Software alternatives to Blender are Houdini, Autodesk Flame, LightWave and EmberGen.

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Blender alternatives are mainly VFX Software, but if you're looking for 3D Animators or 3D Modelers you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Android Tablet + VFX. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Blender.
Blender iconBlender
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Free open-source 3D software for modeling, texturing, rigging, animation, rendering, compositing, video editing, and simulation.

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Blender alternatives page was last updated May 6, 2025
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  1. Autodesk Maya icon

    Autodesk Maya

     147 likes
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    Professional-grade 3D modeling, animation, rendering, and visual FX software used in films, TV, and games, featuring advanced tools, Bifrost effects, and a visual programming environment for intricate simulations.

    61 Autodesk Maya alternatives

    License model

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Autodesk Maya screenshot 1

    Autodesk Maya Features

    1.  3D Sculpting
    2.  Keyframe Animation
    3.  Texturing
    4.  Cross-Platform

    Autodesk Maya VS Blender

     

    • Most users think Autodesk Maya is a great Blender alternative.

    • Autodesk Maya is the most popular Windows, Mac & Linux alternative to Blender.

    • Autodesk Maya is the most popular commercial alternative to Blender.

    • Autodesk Maya is Paid and ProprietaryBlender is Free and Open Source
  2. Natron icon

    Natron

     204 likes
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    Natron is an open source, cross platform nodal compositing application. It is built around industry standard open source tech such as OpenFX, OpenEXR, OpenColorIO and OpenImageIO. The feature set includes realtime playback/RAM cache, multi-threaded rendering, 2d tracking...

    18 Natron alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • FR flagFrance
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Natron screenshot 1

    Top Natron Features

    1.  Node Based
    2.  Open FX Support
    3.  Keyframe Animation
    4.  Video filters
    5.  Nodal Compositing
    6.  Portable
    7.  Ad-free
    8.  Dark Mode
    9.  Chroma Key / Green Screen
    10.  Support for 4K
    11.  Works Offline
    12.  No registration required

    Natron VS Blender

     
    Comments about Natron as an Alternative to Blender
    Most Recent Comment
    tvgoing1
    Negative Jul 21, 2015
    8

    it does not build 3d models, it has no game design, natron is mostly use for videos, and it doesnt allow 3d models in the program

    Guest
    Negative May 13, 2020
    1

    It's not for Composing in 3D!

    Guest
    Positive Aug 8, 2015
    -1

    It does compositing too. If this isn't an alternative, you might want to take Nuke off as well

    Show more comments
    3 of 4 comments
    Blender Icon
    Natron icon

    • Most users think Natron is a great Blender alternative.

    • Natron is Free and Open SourceBlender is also Free and Open Source
  4. Houdini icon

    Houdini

     40 likes
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    Houdini covers all the major areas of 3D production, including:

    • Modeling - All standard geometry entities including Polygons, (Hierarchical) NURBs/Bezier Curves/Patches & Trims, Metaballs
    • Animation - Keyframed animation and raw channel manipulation (CHOPs), motion captur.
    48 Houdini alternatives

    License model

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • CA flagCanada

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Houdini screenshot 1

    Houdini Features

    1.  Procedural Modeling
    2.  Node Based
    3.  Motion Capture
    4.  3D Sculpting
    5.  3D Renderer

    Houdini VS Blender

     
  5. Ad
    Screenshot
    Autodesk Maya icon
    Autodesk Maya

    Professional-grade 3D modeling, animation, rendering, and visual FX software used in films, TV, and games, featuring advanced tools, Bifrost effects, and a visual programming environment for intricate simulations.

    https://www.autodesk.com
    Learn More
  6. Vue icon

    Vue

     29 likes
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    Create vast expanses of terrains, add trees, select the best point of view and render hyper-realistic images of your landscapes in moody atmospheres... in a few mouse clicks.

    62 Vue alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Proprietary

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    vue final
    Discontinued

    No longer under active development, but you can still download it and use it for free.

    Vue Features

    1.  Ad-free
    2.  Works Offline
    3.  Dark Mode
    4.  Keyframe Animation
    5.  Procedurally generated

    Vue VS Blender

     
    Comments about Vue as an Alternative to Blender
    Guest
    Negative Aug 14, 2015
    0

    Vue does landscapes primarily

    Blender Icon
    Vue icon

    • Some users think Vue is a great Blender alternative, some don't.

    • Vue is Free and ProprietaryBlender is Free and Open Source
  7. Autodesk Flame icon

    Autodesk Flame

     2 likes
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    Autodesk Flame software is a powerful finishing and visual effects solution with an integrated environment that accelerates creative workflows.

    License model

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Autodesk Flame screenshot 1

    Autodesk Flame Features

    1.  Motion Capture
    2.  Support for 4K
    3.  Dark Mode
    4.  Chroma Key / Green Screen
    5.  Colour Grading
    6.  Ad-free
    7.  Works Offline
    8.  AI-Powered
    9.  3D Composing
    10.  Camera tracking

    Autodesk Flame VS Blender

     
  8. LightWave icon

    LightWave

     16 likes
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    LightWave 3D combines a state-of-the-art renderer with powerful, intuitive modeling, and animation tools. Tools that may cost extra in other professional 3D applications are part of the product package, including 999 free cross-platform render nodes, support for Windows and Mac...

    License model

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    LightWave screenshot 1

    LightWave Features

    1.  Bullet implementation

    LightWave VS Blender

     
  10. EmberGen icon

    EmberGen

     1 like
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    EmberGen uses the full power of your GPU—so you can simulate and render volumetric phenomena in real-time for faster iterations than ever before. Utilize random seeds to generate new variations on the fly.

    8 EmberGen alternatives

    License model

    • Freemium • Proprietary

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    EmberGen screenshot 1

    EmberGen Features

    1.  Node Based
    2.  Keyframe Animation
    3.  Sprite sheets
    4.  Cross-Platform

    EmberGen VS Blender

     
  11. Apple Motion icon

    Apple Motion

     23 likes
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    Motion is a compositing application used to create and edit motion graphics, titling for video and film production, and 2D and 3D compositing for visual effects.

    27 Apple Motion alternatives

    License model

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Apple Motion screenshot 1

    Apple Motion Features

    1.  Chroma Key / Green Screen
    2.  Support for 4K
    3.  Transitions Effects
    4.  Motion Capture

    Apple Motion VS Blender

     
    Comments about Apple Motion as an Alternative to Blender
    Guest
    Negative Jul 4, 2019
    1

    Motion is designed primarily for 2D and relatively simple 3D animation, whereas you can model and rig 3D characters in Blender.

    Blender Icon
    Apple Motion icon
    • Apple Motion is Paid and ProprietaryBlender is Free and Open Source
  12. PopcornFX icon

    PopcornFX

     2 likes
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    A suite of tools dedicated to real-time visual effects creation, along with ready-to-run mainstream game engine integrations and a runtime simulation framework for custom integration.

    License model

    • Free Personal • Proprietary

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • FR flagFrance
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Mac
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    PopcornFX screenshot 1

    PopcornFX Features

    1.  Dark Mode
    2.  Ad-free
    3.  Node Based
    4.  3D Renderer
    5. Unity icon  Unity Integration
    6. Unreal Engine icon  Unreal Engine Integration

    PopcornFX VS Blender

     
  13. Action Pro icon

    Action Pro

     1 like
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    Action Pro is cutting-edge technology that lets you effortlessly create animated movement using familiar (mouse and joypad) and cutting-edge (Leap Motion) input devices.

    License model

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • GB flagUnited Kingdom

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    Action Pro screenshot 1
    Discontinued

    According to https://fxhome.com/action-pro/whats-new the app has been discontinued in 2019. Those with a pre-existing Action Pro license should still be able to launch the product without issue.

    Action Pro Features

    1.  Motion Capture
    2.  3d Drawing
    3.  3D design

    Action Pro VS Blender

     
10 of 13 Blender alternatives