Autodesk Mudbox vs OpenFX
Autodesk Mudbox
autodesk.comOpenFX
openfx.orgSide by side
| Figure | Autodesk Mudbox | OpenFX |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 9 | 0 |
| Spec score · 3D modeling software | 9.2 (#7) | 6.9 (#141) |
| Developer documentation | Autodesk provides versioned Mudbox SDK documentation, including a 2024 developer-help set and older releases through 2016. | The developer section provides documentation for writing plugins, including modeller tools, material shaders, animation effects, image processors and animation templates. |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| License | Mudbox is proprietary commercial software rather than open source. | The source code is released under the GNU General Public Licence. |
| Platform access | desktop | desktop |
| 3D print export | Yes | Yes |
| Support | Autodesk advertises 24x7 online support resources and access to three previous versions for subscribers. | The FAQ directs users to user and developer mailing lists and provides an email contact for the core development team. |
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
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.