Hunyuan3D

Hunyuan3D is Tencent’s system for generating and refining 3D assets through hosted tools, APIs, or local models. It is best suited to developers and creators who need more than prompt-to-model generation and can manage GPU requirements or credit-based API use. Its range is strong, but hardware thresholds and expiring credits make the choice of route consequential.

Overview

Hunyuan3D combines text-, image-, and sketch-driven creation with texturing, editing, and mesh operations. The international platform accepts up to four multi-view images, offers model adjustment, and exports OBJ and GLB. That makes it a plausible fit for creators who want to move from reference material to an editable asset without treating generation as the whole workflow.

There are two distinct ways to use it: Tencent’s hosted service and open models that can be deployed locally. The open-source release includes full model weights and training code, giving community developers room to fine-tune and extend the system. That flexibility comes with substantial compute needs; API use avoids local GPU demands but brings credit expiry and concurrency limits.

Key features

Generation, texturing, and editing

Hunyuan3D-2.1 includes an image-to-shape model and a texture-generation model, plus a physically based rendering texture synthesis pipeline. The Hunyuan3D-2 repository also supports text-to-3D generation. On the international platform, creators can start from text, images, or sketches, then adjust models and export them as OBJ or GLB. This breadth suits varied starting material, though the stated export choices may not cover every downstream pipeline.

Mesh and production operations

Smart Topology optimizes mesh topology and supports triangular and quadrilateral faces. Tencent Cloud’s API tasks extend beyond generation to include texture generation, topology reduction, component generation, UV mapping, motion generation, auto-rigging, and format conversion. These options make the API more relevant to teams building repeatable asset workflows than to someone seeking only a one-off model. The professional edition API defaults to three concurrent tasks shared across main and sub-accounts, a meaningful ceiling for parallel production.

Local development and support

The repository documents a Gradio app that runs on your own computer, and the Hunyuan3D-2 repository includes a Blender add-on. Hunyuan3D-2.1 provides API documentation and an API server. WeChat and Discord groups offer places to discuss the project and seek help. The open weights and training code are particularly useful to developers adapting the model for downstream applications, but local deployment demands suitable hardware: 10 GB VRAM for shape generation, 21 GB for texture generation, and 29 GB for combined shape and texture generation.

Pricing

The open-source route is free, but local compute is your responsibility. Hosted API use has a one-time free allowance and paid credit packs; credits expire after one year, so buying more than a near-term workload requires ties up money in a time-limited balance.

Tencent Hunyuan 3D new-user credit pack: free, billed as 100 credits automatically issued after activation. It is a one-time resource pack that expires after 1 year, making it suitable for a first API evaluation rather than ongoing use.

Hunyuan 3D 1,000-credit pack: 100 CNY, paid once, billed as 100 yuan for 1,000 credits. Credits are valid for 1 year from purchase; the smallest paid pack limits upfront commitment.

Hunyuan 3D 10,000-credit pack: 980 CNY, paid once, billed as 980 yuan for 10,000 credits. Credits are valid for 1 year from purchase, for buyers with a larger planned workload.

Hunyuan 3D 50,000-credit pack: 4,750 CNY, paid once, billed as 4,750 yuan for 50,000 credits. Credits are valid for 1 year from purchase, so this suits sustained usage more than uncertain demand.

Hunyuan 3D 100,000-credit pack: 9,000 CNY, paid once, billed as 9,000 yuan for 100,000 credits. Credits are valid for 1 year from purchase; it is the largest listed pack and carries the greatest risk of unused credits.

Hunyuan 3D pay-as-you-go: custom pricing; billed at 0.12 yuan per credit, with monthly automatic settlement after activation. Usage-based billing avoids buying a fixed pack, but actual cost depends on credit consumption.

Tencent’s FAQ says first-time service activation grants 100 free credits as a one-time resource pack valid for one year. Content safety review is part of the service. Tencent announced that the Hunyuan 3D 2.5 and 3D-person generation 1.0 APIs stopped accepting new purchases on September 22, 2026, with full service termination scheduled for October 20, 2026; API buyers should account for that transition when selecting a service version.

Platforms

Hunyuan3D supports API, Linux, macOS, self-hosted, web, and Windows use. Hunyuan3D-2.1 lists macOS, Windows, and Linux support for local operation, while Tencent’s international platform provides a hosted web route. Choose local deployment if you need control and can supply the required VRAM; choose the API or web service to avoid maintaining a local GPU setup.

Who it's for

Hunyuan3D is a strong match for developers extending an open model, studios combining generation with texturing and mesh operations, and technically equipped creators working from text or visual references. It is less suited to users who need a low-spec local tool, broad export-format choice, or predictable API expense without tracking credit use and expiry.

Pros and cons

Pro: Full model weights and training code support local deployment and downstream fine-tuning.

Pro: Text, image, and sketch inputs, editing, texturing, and mesh-related API tasks cover more of an asset workflow than generation alone.

Pro: The one-time 100-credit API allowance gives new users a no-cost way to evaluate hosted use.

Con: Combined local shape and texture generation requires 29 GB VRAM, excluding users whose hardware falls short.

Con: Paid credit packs expire after one year, which penalizes buyers whose workload is irregular.

Con: The professional API’s default three-task concurrency is shared between main and sub-accounts, limiting parallel throughput.

Alternatives

Meshy is a better fit for creators seeking a freemium service with 100 monthly credits and up to 10 monthly downloads for Meshy 6 Lite models; its listed platforms include Android, API, iOS, and web. Polycam suits mobile-oriented capture workflows, with Android, iOS, and web support and a free tier that includes GLTF exports, though space, object, and AI captures are limited. Sloyd is worth considering for web or API users who want a stated daily free generation and paid tiers with monthly credits and parallel generations.

Hi3D may suit users who prefer a free allowance capped at 100 lifetime credits and 10 asset generations, with one concurrent task and public models under CC BY 4.0. Scenario offers a web and API free tier with 50 daily credits for personal and evaluation use, making it an alternative for frequent free evaluation. Stable Fast 3D is an alternative for users who want a community license that permits commercial use at annual revenue of $1,000,000 or less, with API, Linux, macOS, web, and Windows support.

PartCrafter is a closer match for users prioritizing free, MIT-licensed open-source local software on Linux or Windows, provided they have a CUDA-enabled GPU with at least 8GB VRAM. Polar Cloud is the alternative to consider for 3D printing workflows, with Android, API, iOS, Linux, macOS, web, and Windows support; its free plan is limited to one printer, five print jobs per month, seven-day history, 300 MB storage, mesh files, and a 30 MB file limit. Browse the AI 3D Model Generators list for more options.

Verdict

Choose Hunyuan3D if you need a broad 3D-generation workflow and value open weights, training code, and API operations beyond basic creation. Its main advantage is the range from generation through texturing and mesh tasks; its main drawback is the real cost of entry, whether that is high-VRAM local hardware or credits that expire. If neither route fits your workload, a freemium or more narrowly focused alternative is the better choice.