Blender vs Novabench
Blender
blender.org
Novabench
novabench.comSide by side
| Figure | Blender | Novabench |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $3/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 5 |
| Spec score · PC Benchmark Software | 8.8 (#3) | 8.5 (#7) |
| Spec score · PC benchmark tools | 8.1 (#28) | 8.6 (#9) |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Headquarters | Amsterdam, Netherlands | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Intended users | Blender says it is well suited to individuals and small studios that benefit from a unified pipeline and responsive development process. | Novabench describes its free plan as for personal use and Novabench for Work as an endpoint performance suite for IT professionals. |
| Platforms | The download page lists builds for Windows, Windows ARM, macOS Apple Silicon, and Linux, as well as Steam and source code downloads. | Novabench offers downloads for Windows 10 or 11, macOS 12 or higher, and most Linux distributions from 2022 onward. |
| Privacy | Blender says its software can be downloaded and used without registration or internet access, and its website policy says it uses first-party cookies and does not allow third parties to track visitors or place ads. | Novabench says it limits the data it collects, and Free testing does not require an account. |
| Support | Support resources include an online manual, developer documentation, Python API reference, tutorials, community forums, and enterprise support for Blender LTS releases through Canonical. | Support is available through documentation, support chat, and [email protected]. |
Plans
In their own words
Blender
Blender is a free, open-source desktop suite for 3D creation on Linux, macOS and Windows. It covers modeling, sculpting, UV editing, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing, motion tracking, video editing and game asset creation. Modeling tools include modifiers, UV unwrapping and mesh editing; sculpting includes 20 brush types, multi-resolution work, dynamic topology and mirrored sculpting. Animation features include rigging, a pose editor, non-linear animation and forward and inverse kinematics. Users can draw in 2D in a 3D viewport and combine 2D and 3D work. The built-in Cycles renderer supports CPU and GPU rendering, real-time viewport previews, PBR shaders, HDR lighting and VR rendering. Blender also includes camera and object tracking with masking and live scene previews. Advanced users can customize the application and build tools or add-ons through its Python API. Blender is licensed under the GNU GPL and owned by its contributors. It can run without installation or an internet connection, including from a USB stick or desktop folder.