Blender vs Rhino 3D
Blender
blender.orgRhino 3D
rhino3d.comSide by side
| Figure | Blender | Rhino 3D |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $95/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 14 |
| Spec score · 3D modeling software | 8.9 (#13) | 9.5 (#1) |
| Spec score · 3D Design Software | 8.8 (#3) | 9.0 (#1) |
| Animation tools | Yes | Yes |
| Founded | 2002 | 1980 |
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Headquarters | Amsterdam, Netherlands | The company lists its Seattle, Washington office at 146 N Canal Street, Suite 320. |
| Platform access | desktop | desktop |
| 3D print export | Yes | Yes |
| Render engine | Blender includes the Cycles built-in unbiased path-tracer engine. | both |
| 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 resources include forums, telephone, email, live chat, tutorials, training classes and community sites, with support included in purchase price. |
| System requirements | The requirements page lists Windows 8.1 64-bit, macOS 13 Ventura on Apple Silicon, and Linux with glibc 2.28 or newer as minimum operating system requirements. | Rhino 8 supports Windows 10/11 and macOS 12.4 through macOS 27, with at least 8 GB RAM recommended; Linux and Windows Server are unsupported for the desktop app. |
Plans
Rhino 3D
- Commercial — Rhino 8 single concurrent user$995 a month
- Commercial — Rhino 8, 10 concurrent users$9,950 a month
- Commercial — Rhino 8, 50 concurrent users$49,750 a month
- Commercial upgrade — Rhino 8 single concurrent user$595 a month
- Student or faculty — Rhino 8 single user$195 a month
- Student or faculty upgrade — Rhino 8 single user$95 a month
- School — Rhino 8, 30-user lab$975 a month
- EvaluationFree
- Rhino 8 EvaluationFree
- Rhino 8 Educational Single User$195, paid once
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.
Rhino 3D
Rhino 3D is desktop software for Windows and macOS with listed capabilities for parametric modeling, animation, rendering, and 3D print export. The commercial Rhino 8 single concurrent-user license is listed at $995 a month, billed as a permanent license that does not expire. Licenses for 10 and 50 concurrent users are listed at $9,950 a month and $49,750 a month, respectively, also as permanent licenses. Student or faculty and school options are listed, with educational-status or school-licensing requirements. Commercial and student or faculty upgrade options are available, though evaluation versions cannot be upgraded. A free evaluation license costs nothing and lasts 90 days; saving and plugins stop working after that period. The listing describes Rhino 3D as paid while also indicating a free plan and free trial. Its maker is listed as founded in 1980 and based in Seattle, Washington, USA.