Autodesk Mudbox vs LightWave 3D
Autodesk Mudbox
autodesk.comLightWave 3D
lightwave3d.comSide by side
| Figure | Autodesk Mudbox | LightWave 3D |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | £450/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 9 | 10 |
| Spec score · Game 3D Modeling Software | 9.2 (#1) | 8.7 (#8) |
| Spec score · 3D modeling software | 9.2 (#7) | 8.6 (#29) |
| Free plan | No | No |
| Intended users | Autodesk says Mudbox is used by professional VFX and game studios to create high-resolution meshes and textures. | The maker describes LightWave as intended for professionals in television production, film visual effects, video game development, print graphics, and visualization. |
| Rating on G2 | 4.1 out of 5 from 50 reviews | 3.9 out of 5 from 29 reviews |
| Support | Autodesk advertises 24x7 online support resources and access to three previous versions for subscribers. | The documentation directs users to support, bug-report and feature-request email addresses and community forums. |
| What it does | Mudbox is Autodesk software for digital 3D sculpting and painting of detailed characters and environments. | LightWave 3D is desktop graphics software for 3D modelling, animation and visual effects used in film, television, games, print and visualisation. |
Plans
Autodesk Mudbox
- SubscriptionPriced on request
- SubscriptionPrice not published
- SubscriptionPriced on request
- Autodesk Education accessFree
- Mudbox free trialFree
- Mudbox 2-year$160 a year
- Mudbox 3-year$240 a year
- Annual subscriptionPrice not published
- Monthly subscriptionPrice not published
LightWave 3D
- New LightWave 2025 Licence£795 a month
- LightWave 2025 Upgrade - LightWave 2024 users£450 a month
- LightWave 2025 Upgrade - LightWave 2023 or earlier users£550 a month
- 30-day trialFree
- LightWave 2025 Upgrade — LightWave 2024 users£450, paid once
- LightWave 2026 upgrade from 2025£450, paid once
- LightWave 2025 Upgrade — LightWave 2023 or earlier users£550, paid once
- LightWave 2026 upgrade from 2024 or earlier£550, paid once
- LightWave 2025 licence£795, paid once
- New LightWave 2026 licence£795, paid once
In their own words
Autodesk Mudbox
Autodesk Mudbox is desktop software for 3D sculpting and painting, used to create detailed characters and environments with textures. Artists can build production-quality meshes from scanned, imported, or sculpted data, paint across multiple channels on 3D models, and add mesh resolution where needed. Retopology tools help create clean production meshes, and the layer-based workflow supports work on high-resolution models and textures. Mudbox also supports 3D print export. Autodesk identifies professional VFX and game studios among its users. It runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. The 2026 requirements specify Windows 10 version 1809 or later and Windows 11, macOS 13.x through 15.x, Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 8.10, 9.3, and 9.5, and Rocky Linux 8.10, 9.3, and 9.5. Hardware requirements include a 64-bit Intel or AMD multi-core processor, 4 GB RAM, 2 GB free disk space, and a three-button mouse; 8 GB or more RAM is recommended. There is no free plan, but a 30-day trial is available.
LightWave 3D
LightWave 3D has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.