FaceGen vs MakeHuman

FaceGen creates 3D human faces from photos, 3D scan data or random generation. Its face controls cover more than 150 characteristics, including age, race, gender and caricature. Modeller includes over 110 morph targets, including Facial Action Coding System targets, and adjusts expressions and accessories for each face. It exports meshes in formats including DAE, FBX, 3DS, OBJ, XSI, WRL and STL, with optional expression morph targets. FaceGen Artist creates faces for Daz Studio Genesis meshes and lists support for Genesis 1, 2, 3, 8, 8.1 and 9. The software runs on Windows 7, 8, 10 and 11 with DirectX 11; macOS and Linux are unsupported. Modeller purchases are perpetual, one-time licenses for one concurrent user. Free demo editions are available. Paid plans include FaceGen Artist Pro at $100, paid once, Modeller Core at $300, paid once, Modeller Pro at $900, paid once and Modeller Enterprise at $2,900, paid once. Rendered images, video and physical sculptures may be distributed freely, while exported models retaining photo color details have restrictions.

MakeHuman creates customizable 3D human characters by blending adjustable features on a base mesh. Character targets let users alter traits from sex and muscle tone to earlobe shape. A built-in downloader provides access to community assets, and the application includes a render engine and parametric modeling. Meshes can be exported in Collada (DAE), FBX, Wavefront OBJ, STL, and Ogre3D formats; projects can also be saved in MHM format. Exporting meshes is one-way: MakeHuman cannot open those exported formats again. BVH is the listed rig format, and the documentation says MakeHuman 1.1.0 does not officially support animation inside the application. For Blender workflows, MPFB can communicate directly with MakeHuman instead of depending on file exports. It runs as desktop software on Linux, macOS, and Windows. The plan is free. The site says core assets including the base mesh, targets, and skins are CC0, with no paywall or email requirement for downloading.