Best 3D Animation Software Free and Paid

Shanoon Cox

Mar 20, 2023• Proven solutions

Are you in search of some of the best 3D animation software? There are several uses of the 3D animation software creator, like creating movies, creating characters, adding voiceovers to the characters, etc.

The 3D animation maker has a great deal to explore, which is fun. If you are familiar with 2D animation editors or love animation just for fun, you can try the free 3D animation software.

Although you can find a great number of animation software in the market, we can trust only a few of them completely. In this article, you can explore the best 3D animation software, which is free, paid, and trending on the popularity charts.

Recommended 3D Animation Software – Filmora

If you want more controls on 3D animation videos, here we recommend using Filmora.

You need to build a white plane to start making 3D animation with keyframes easily. Filmora offers six different types of keyframes to let your animation become smooth and natural.

Besides, auto color correction and audio mixer will upgrade your 3D animation video to a new level. You can also apply light flares effects to make amazing 3D animation. Now, free download it to have a try!

Below is a comparison table where you can find the best free 3D animation makers. Some 3D animation makers are easy to use. Take a look!

Price
OS
Pros
Features

Blender
Free
Windows, Linux, and macOS
Best 3d animation software; Active community globally
Powerful rendering support

Wings 3D
Free
Windows, Linux, Unix and Mac OS X
Easy 3d animation software; Open source and completely free
Its interface is customizable

K-3D
Free
GNU/Linux, MacOS X, FreeBSD, Windows
Intuitive 3d animation maker; Node-based visualization pipeline.
Endless redo feature

Source Filmmaker
Free
Windows 
Any games can be used in this animation maker
Game lovers will like it

Mixamo Maya
Free $225 per month $1,785 per year $5,085 every 3 years
Windows, MacOS and Linux Windows, MacOS and Linux
Vivid and high-quality animated 3D characters Time Editor to edit animation faster; You can collect motion capture data
Belong to adobe family Easy to use Motion graphics

Cinema 4D
$61.19 per month $734.40 per year
Windows, MacOS and Linux
Intuitive interface to make 3D animation
Fluid workflow to start editing for beginners

Houdini

$1,995/year

Windows, MacOs
Powerful VEX to make excellent 3D animations
Quick guide for learners

ZBrush MotionBuilder
$39.95 per month $2,045 per year $5,830 every 3 year
Windows Vista and MacOs Windows and Linux
Ideal for 3D amination. Adjust animation in moments .
Amazing sculpting tools. Simple to make adjustment.

Part 1: Best Free 3D Animation Software

Pros:

• Both manual and auto-tracking
• Camera restoration is powerful
• Curve editor and dope sheets
• Customize layout and interface

An open-source professional, free 3D animation software, Blender is used to host various applications like visual effects, animated feature films, video games, and more. The Blender supports the entire 3D tree, including rigging, modeling, animating, simulating, compositing, rendering, and tracking motion. The features of Blender are:

Features:

• CPU, GPU, VR rendering support.
• Masking and textured brushes for 3D painting.
• Add-ons and customized tools with Python scripting
• Bridge fill, edge slide, grid, inset.

Pros:

• Various modeling tools to make 3D effects.
• Completely free for use for commercial usage.
• Include a forum to communicate with users.

An easy-to-use, unconventional sector modeler, Wings 3D is a powerful 3D animation software. Whether you are a commercial 3D animation creator or a non-professional, Wings 3D is a free and open-source 3D animation software. The features of Winds 3D include:

Features:

• Customized interface.
• Support for materials and lights.
• Built-in AutoUV mapping facility

Pros:

• Intuitive interface to make 3D effects
• Can always go back to undo operations
• Free-to-use

One of the best 3D animation software is K-3D. K-3D features a procedural engine plugin for its content. It is a free 3D animation software that supports polygonal modeling. A visual pipeline architecture combines the flexible plugins that make the K-3D software a powerful and versatile tool. The features include:

Features:

• Consistent and intuitive.
• Consist of basic tools for animation, patches, curves, and NURVS.
• Parametric workflow.
• It can be run on Windows, macOS X, Linux, and FreeBSD.

Pros:

• The virtual movie set with lights, actors, props, and cameras.
• Create your movies and add features as per your requirement.
• Manages the entire workflow needed to make a movie into one single system.

This 3D animation software lets you make a movie inside the game engine Source. Wondering how? It is because whatever assets are present in the game, the Source Filmmaker uses them. So, the game’s assets are used by SFM in the film and vice versa. The features of this movie-making tool include:

Features:

• Renders power of a modern gaming PC.
• Whatever you see in the game is what you get in the movie.
• Completely free to download

5.Mixamo

Pros:

• Download multiple animations at one go.
• Fast character and animation browsing.

With a straightforward and faster workflow, the Mixamo 3D software’s newest user experience and interface make it too easy to instantly find, create, organize, and share assets and animation. The features of this 3D animation software include:

Features:

• User experience is streamlined.
• Fully customizable animation packs.
• The faster and more accurate search function.

Part 2: Best Paid 3D Animation Software

6.Maya

Pros:

• Perfect accuracy and control.
• Create flying logos, title sequences, branding, etc.
• Higher performance in a high fidelity environment

If you want to create or develop games, 3D scenes, movies, or characters, Maya is one of the best 3D animation software tools available. Although a paid software, Maya 3D animation creator does complete justice to its various coloring, animating, and modeling features.

Maya LT – Create 3D characters and environments for your indie game with a more cost-effective tool based on production-proven 3D products. Buy now! The features are:

Features:

• 30 days of a free trial
• Uncomplicated software
• Create complex technical effects
• High-level animation edits

7.Cinema 4D

Pros:

• Dissect complete scenes
• Customized with a huge range of assets

A faster 3D animation software tool than Maya, Cinema 4D offers a gentle curve for learning but does not cover all like Maya. The high-speed feature makes the Cinema 4D software desirable in television, advertisements, and various motion graphics. The features are:

Features:

• Extensive library of preset scenes, material, and objects
• Develop concepts without time modeling

Pros:

• Time-space motion path handles
• Support import and export to a range of formats
• Robust built-in rendering solution

Developed by the Toronto-based Side Effects Software, Houdini covers every major part that a 3D animation software should do. This 3D animation maker was adapted by the PRISMS group of procedural generation software tools. Houdini’s keen focus on procedural generation differentiates it from other 3D animation creators. The features of this 3D animation software are:

Features:

• Powerful and accessible 3D animation experience
• Rigging animate characters
• Add Character FX like fur, hair, etc.

Pros:

• A fantastic selection of sculpting tools.
• Easy to handle millions of polygons.

ZBrush 4 offers a smart technique to communicate your work with a director or online. Saved camera angles can be switched using a timeline. This improves productivity or creates intricate turntable animations. Animate between morph targets and model positions to check UV maps and facial expressions. Watch your model move with ZSpheres. Layer animation can animate between textures and PolyPaint variants. Import music or use ZBrush to create a demo reel with exact animation synchronization. The timeline interface features auto magnification, jump cuts, and relaxation. The timeline features let you present your work effectively. ZBrush is a modeling and sculpting application for organic structures.

Features: 

• Several things can be animated, including layers, subtool visibility, backdrop colors, poly frame display, ZSpheres, camera angles, subdivision levels, and more.
• Your mesh animation can be exported to Modo in MDD format.
• Streamlines and expedites the movement of the face.

Pros:

• Develop captivating animations for the characters.
• Participate in activities that require teamwork.
• Modify the animations in an instant.

MotionBuilder is a very specialized animation software that lets you work with 3D animation. The program is only available in a paid version, and the user interface is in two languages. You can save time by using the app to apply moves that have already been used to new characters. The animations can be watched in real-time. MotionBuilder can also be used with other Autodesk programs like Maya, 3ds Max, and others.

Features:

• Move your characters in a manner that is consistent with reality.
• Easily make adjustments and adjustments to animations.

Conclusion

This is the list of the free and paid best 3D animation software. So, whenever you are confused and need any assistance regarding 3D animation software, go through this article and find the right solution. Undoubtedly, Filmora is one of the best tools for 3D animation. With a range of features like ease of interface access, preset animation effects, multiple tracks to add various videos, and more, a complete package ensures a great 3D animation software usage tool. Just a little trial and error can make you perfect.

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

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