Fusion vs Natron
Fusion
blackmagicdesign.com
Natron
natrongithub.github.ioSide by side
| Figure | Fusion | Natron |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 5 | 1 |
| Spec score · Vfx Tools | 8.3 (#4) | 7.6 (#13) |
| Spec score · Visual Effects Software | 8.3 (#8) | 7.6 (#20) |
| Spec score · Motion Tracking Software | 8.1 (#18) | 7.6 (#25) |
| Purpose | Fusion is node-based compositing software for visual effects artists, broadcast and motion graphic designers, and 3D animators. | Natron is a free, open-source VFX compositing application for digital post-production. |
| Rendering | Blackmagic says Fusion supports rendering across an unlimited number of networked computers at no additional cost and with no per-node render license fees. | Natron supports headless command-line rendering and describes integration with render farms for distributed rendering. |
| Scripting | Fusion supports Lua and Python scripting to create custom tools, exchange data with other applications and automate tasks. | Natron supports Python scripting, including expressions, user-defined parameters, scripts, callbacks, and GUI extensions. |
| Support | Blackmagic offers product support through its community forum, email support engineers and telephone support offices. | The project points users to its Discord for community support and to its official forum for discussion. |
Plans
Fusion
- DaVinci ResolvePrice not published
- DaVinci ResolvePriced on request
- Fusion Studio$295 a month
- Fusion Studio$295, paid once
- DaVinci Resolve (includes Fusion page)Free
In their own words
Fusion
Fusion is node-based compositing software for visual effects artists, broadcast and motion graphic designers, and 3D animators. Users connect image-processing tools as nodes and adjust individual parts of a composition. Its tools cover compositing, keying, painting, animation, virtual reality, and stereoscopic 3D. Fusion can import and render 3D models and scenes within a composite without pre-rendering assets or transferring between applications. Fusion Connect sends clips from DaVinci Resolve and Avid Media Composer timelines to Fusion and updates those timelines after a composition is rendered. Lua and Python scripting can create custom tools, exchange data with other applications, and automate tasks. Blackmagic says rendering can use an unlimited number of networked computers without additional cost or per-node render license fees. Fusion Studio includes a bin server for shared assets, and the product page describes team review and approval through DaVinci Resolve. A free DaVinci Resolve download includes the Fusion page. Fusion Studio is listed at $295 a month. Studio version 21.1 requires a Fusion Studio or DaVinci Resolve Studio license dongle, or an activation key. Fusion Studio downloads are listed for Mac OS, Linux, Windows x86, and Windows ARM.
Natron
Natron is a free, open-source application for visual-effects compositing in digital post-production. It runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows and uses a node-based workflow to build, group, and save custom tools and presets. Its interface includes more than 100 nodes, with listed tools for chroma keying, matte refinement, rotoscoping, rotopaint, tracking, and stabilization. Natron supports OpenFX and community-made plugins, as well as OpenImageIO, OpenColorIO, and 32-bit floating-point linear color processing. Python scripting includes expressions, user-defined parameters, scripts, callbacks, and GUI extensions. Rendering options include headless command-line work and integration with render farms for distributed rendering. Natron has no 3D workspace, though it can be used with Blender and supports CHAN camera-tracking files. Listed minimum requirements are 3 GB RAM, 5 GB free disk space, a 1280×1024 display, and OpenGL 2.0 for hardware-accelerated GPU rendering. The project lists version 2.5.0, released November 25, 2022.