Best 3ds Max CAT Alternatives in 2026

20 tools from 3D rigging software ranked against 3ds Max CAT on the same published basis.

  1. 13ds Max CAT vs Houdini
  2. 23ds Max CAT vs Contour Rig Tools
  3. 33ds Max CAT vs Mixos Mold
  4. 43ds Max CAT vs Mesh2Motion
  5. 53ds Max CAT vs dpAutoRigSystem
  6. 63ds Max CAT vs MakeHuman
  7. 73ds Max CAT vs mGear Framework
  8. 83ds Max CAT vs Rigify
  9. 93ds Max CAT vs Mixamo
  10. 103ds Max CAT vs Live Link Face
  11. 113ds Max CAT vs Autodesk Flow Studio
  12. 123ds Max CAT vs Reallusion Character Creator
  13. 133ds Max CAT vs Auto-Rig Pro
  14. 143ds Max CAT vs Mesh2Rig
  15. 153ds Max CAT vs AdvancedSkeleton
  16. 163ds Max CAT vs Uthana
  17. 173ds Max CAT vs CloudRig
  18. 183ds Max CAT vs Maya Pulse
  19. 193ds Max CAT vs Intra10 Rigging
  20. 203ds Max CAT vs Rapid Rig: Modular

3ds Max CAT alternatives compared

#ToolScoreFree planFromRuns on
1Houdini7.5Free plan$7.92/moWindows, Mac, Linux
2Contour Rig Tools7.4Free plan$40/moAPI, Linux, Mac, Windows
3Mixos Mold7.4Free plan$8.99/moAndroid, iOS, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows
4Mesh2Motion7.1Free planFreeLinux, Mac, Web, Windows
5dpAutoRigSystem6.9Free planFreeLinux, Mac, Windows
6MakeHuman6.8Free planFreeLinux, Mac, Windows
7mGear Framework6.8Free planFreeLinux, Mac, Windows
8Rigify6.8Free planFreeLinux, Mac, Windows
9Mixamo6.7Free planFreeWeb
10Live Link Face6.6Free planFreeAndroid, iOS
11Autodesk Flow Studio6.5Free planFreeWeb
12Reallusion Character Creator6.5No$299/moWindows
13Auto-Rig Pro6.4No—Linux, Mac, Windows
14Mesh2Rig6.4No—Linux, Mac, Windows
15AdvancedSkeleton6.3No$125/moMac, Windows
16Uthana6.3No$0.01/moWeb
17CloudRig6.2No—Browser
18Maya Pulse6.0No—Windows, Mac, Linux
19Intra10 Rigging5.9No—Browser
20Rapid Rig: Modular5.7No—Windows, Mac
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Questions about 3ds Max CAT alternatives

What is the best alternative to 3ds Max CAT?

Houdini, number 1 in 3D rigging software with a score of 7.5 out of 10. The others here: Contour Rig Tools, Mixos Mold, Mesh2Motion and 16 more.

What is the best free alternative to 3ds Max CAT?

Houdini is the best-ranked alternative with a free plan. 11 of the 20 alternatives here publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.

How are these alternatives ranked?

Ranked on what each maker publishes, the fullest spec sheet first: how deeply the product is documented, the platforms it runs on, a free tier or trial to test it, and its standing.