PolyWorks|Modeler vs ZBrush
PolyWorks|Modeler
polyworks.com
ZBrush
maxon.netSide by side
| Figure | PolyWorks|Modeler | ZBrush |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 2 | 7 |
| Spec score · 3D modeling software | 7.8 (#97) | 9.3 (#2) |
| Animation tools | No | Yes |
| File formats | Listed polygonal model formats include POL, PQK, JT, Nastran NAS, OBJ, PLY, STL, and VRML 2.0; listed CAD formats are IGES and STEP. | ZBrush imports and exports formats including OBJ, FBX, STL, PLY, DAE, ABC, 3MF and USD-related formats depending on edition and plugin. |
| Founded | 1994 | 1986 |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Headquarters | Quebec City, Canada | Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, Germany |
| Platform access | desktop | desktop |
| 3D print export | Yes | Yes |
| Render engine | none | both |
| Sculpting tools | No | Yes |
| Support | Both listed packages include one year of support and maintenance, with email and telephone technical support and access to the MyPolyWorks online hub. | Maxon provides a support center with knowledge-base articles, ticket support, installers, requirements, release notes, training and community forums. |
Plans
ZBrush
- ZBrush for iPad Free PlanFree
- ZBrush for iPad SubscriptionPrice not published
- ZBrush for iPad SubscriptionPriced on request
- ZBrush DesktopPrice not published
- ZBrush DesktopPriced on request
- ZBrush for iPad$33.25 a month
- ZBrush$399 a year
In their own words
PolyWorks|Modeler
PolyWorks|Modeler is Windows desktop software that extracts CAD entities from polygonal models of digitized parts. It creates polygonal models from point clouds in real time and repairs geometry by filling holes, smoothing surfaces, cleaning boundaries, recovering sharp edges, and making surfaces watertight. Editing includes boundary extrusion, surface offsetting, fillet reconstruction, and Boolean operations with CAD models. A NURBS workflow combines interactive curve creation with automatic surfacing to produce editable CAD-friendly models. Users can create constrained parametric 2D sketches with arcs, lines, circles, and splines, then use listed import add-ins for CATIA V5-6, NX, Creo, Inventor, and SolidWorks. Supported polygonal formats include POL, PQK, JT, Nastran NAS, OBJ, PLY, STL, and VRML 2.0; CAD formats include IGES and STEP. NURBS surfaces export to IGES, JT, and STEP, while sketches export to PWSF or IGES. Windows 10 Pro or 11 Pro 64-bit is required, with an x64 quad-core CPU, 8 GB RAM, and a professional OpenGL card with 1 GB memory. Pricing is on request; a free demo is available by request.
ZBrush
ZBrush is a 3D sculpting and modeling application with desktop and iPad offerings. Its listed tools include sculpting, parametric modeling, animation, rendering and 3D print export. Desktop is listed for Windows and macOS, while a separate supported-platform list also includes Linux. The desktop plan includes ZBrush for iPad and advanced sculpting, modeling, rendering and export tools. Rendering is described as hybrid, with GPU and animation rendering and denoising. Listed workload areas include CPU and GPU rendering, ray tracing, shader execution and geometry processing. Other listed capabilities include rotoscoping, 3D camera tracking, custom test profiles and CLI or automation support. The listed result export formats are none documented, and results are not saved as a file. Headquarters are listed as both Bad Homburg vor der Höhe and Friedrichsdorf, Germany; the maker is listed as founded in 1986.