Houdini vs Rhino 3D
Houdini
sidefx.comRhino 3D
rhino3d.comSide by side
| Figure | Houdini | Rhino 3D |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $7.92/mo | $95/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 21 | 14 |
| Spec score · 3D modeling software | 9.2 (#5) | 9.5 (#1) |
| Spec score · 3D Design Software | 8.9 (#2) | 9.0 (#1) |
| Animation tools | Yes | Yes |
| Founded | 1987 | 1980 |
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | The company lists its Seattle, Washington office at 146 N Canal Street, Suite 320. |
| Parametric modeling | Yes | Yes |
| Platform access | desktop | desktop |
| 3D print export | Yes | Yes |
| Render engine | both | both |
Plans
Houdini
- Houdini Core — Workstation perpetual$1,995 a month
- Houdini Core — Annual Upgrade Plan, workstation$1,095 a year
- Houdini Core — Local Access perpetual$2,995 a month
- Houdini Core — Annual Upgrade Plan, local access$1,639 a year
- Houdini Core — Annual rental, workstation$1,475 a year
- Houdini Core — Annual rental, local access$2,195 a year
- Houdini Core — Monthly rental, local access$370 a month
- Houdini FX — Workstation perpetual$4,495 a month
- Houdini FX — Annual Upgrade Plan, workstation$2,740 a year
- Houdini FX — Local Access perpetual$6,995 a month
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
Houdini
Houdini is SideFX’s procedural 3D creation system for film, television, games, motion graphics, virtual reality and synthetic-data work. Its workflow stores actions in nodes connected as networks, and supports sharing workflows and custom digital assets with colleagues. Tools cover modeling, sculpting, animation, parametric modeling, character rigging, rendering and 3D-print export. Houdini FX adds simulation tools for fluids, destruction, pyro effects, grains and cloth. KineFX supports character rigging and animation, alongside tools for hair, fur, feathers, muscles and cloth. Karma renders images in the Solaris look-development workflow, while PDG distributes tasks, handles dependencies and creates datasets for machine-learning and AI applications. Houdini runs on Windows, macOS and Linux. The free Apprentice version is for non-commercial learning and personal projects; its renders are capped at 1920x1080 and carry a watermark. SideFX lists perpetual licenses, annual upgrades, rentals, subscriptions and education licenses. Listed paid pricing starts at $299/yr, though individual options have different terms and prices.
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.