Blender
Blender is a free, open-source CAD and 3D modelling app for Windows, macOS and Linux. Blender is the free and open source 3D creation suite. It has 20,749 GitHub stars and is released under the GPL-2.0-or-later license, and people use it instead of Maya and 3ds Max.
- Official
- Linux
- macOS
- Windows
- CAD & 3D modelling
- Actively maintained
About Blender
Blender is the free and open source 3D creation suite. It supports the entirety of the 3D pipeline—modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing, motion tracking and video editing.
Replaces
Commercial software people commonly use Blender instead of.
- Maya
- 3ds Max
- Cinema 4D
Similar apps
More open-source CAD and 3D modelling apps
FreeCAD
FreeCAD/FreeCAD
Official source code of FreeCAD, a free and opensource multiplatform 3D parametric modeler.
OfficialCAD & 3D modellingWindowsmacOSLinuxOrcaSlicer
OrcaSlicer/OrcaSlicer
G-code generator for 3D printers (Bambu, Prusa, Voron, VzBot, RatRig, Creality, etc.).
CAD & 3D modellingWindowsmacOSLinuxOpenSCAD
openscad/openscad
OpenSCAD - The Programmers Solid 3D CAD Modeller.
OfficialCAD & 3D modellingWindowsmacOSLinuxPrusaSlicer
prusa3d/PrusaSlicer
G-code generator for 3D printers (RepRap, Makerbot, Ultimaker etc.).
OfficialCAD & 3D modellingWindowsmacOSLinuxUltiMaker Cura
Ultimaker/Cura
3D printer / slicing GUI built on top of the Uranium framework.
OfficialCAD & 3D modellingWindowsmacOSLinuxLibreCAD
LibreCAD/LibreCAD
LibreCAD is a cross-platform 2D CAD program.
OfficialCAD & 3D modellingWindowsmacOSLinux
What is Blender?
Blender is a free, open-source CAD and 3D modelling app for Windows, macOS and Linux. Blender is the free and open source 3D creation suite. It has 20,749 GitHub stars and is released under the GPL-2.0-or-later license, and people use it instead of Maya and 3ds Max.
Is Blender free and open source?
Yes. Blender's source code is public on GitHub under the GPL-2.0-or-later license, which is OSI-approved or FSF-free, so you can use, copy and change it for free.
How do I install Blender?
Download it from the project website or build it from source by following the README on GitHub.
Can Blender replace Maya?
Blender is commonly used as a free alternative to Maya, 3ds Max and Cinema 4D. Features differ, so check that it opens the file formats and covers the workflows you rely on before switching.