Autodesk Maya vs. Rhino 3D

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Autodesk Maya
Score 9.2 out of 10
N/A
Autodesk offers Maya, a 3D animation, modeling, simulation and rendering tool available to artists, animators, and educators, used to create realistic characters, models, and scenes, as well as effects such as explosions, cloth movement, etc.
$235
per month per user
Rhino
Score 9.1 out of 10
N/A
Robert McNeel and Associates headquartered in Seattle offers Rhinoceros 3D (or Rhino 3D), a 3D modeling and design application. Rhino can create, edit, analyze, document, render, animate, and translate NURBS curves, surfaces and solids, subdivision geometry (SubD), point clouds, and polygon meshes.
$995
one-time fee
Pricing
Autodesk MayaRhino 3D
Editions & Modules
Monthly
$235
per month per user
Yearly
$1875
per year per user
3-Year
$5625
3 years per user
Rhino 3D for Windows & Mac
$995
one-time fee
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Autodesk MayaRhino
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsMaya is also available through Autodesk's Flex plan and pricing. Tokens expire 1 year from date of purchase. Not all products and features are available with Flex. Students and teachers at qualified academic institutions worldwide are eligible for free access to Autodesk software for one-year through the Autodesk Education Community.Discount available for students and faculty.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Autodesk MayaRhino 3D
Features
Autodesk MayaRhino 3D
Computer-Aided Design Software
Comparison of Computer-Aided Design Software features of Product A and Product B
Autodesk Maya
-
Ratings
Rhino 3D
4.5
Ratings
45% below category average
3D Modeling00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
2D Drafting00 Ratings2.00 Ratings
Rendering and Visualization00 Ratings4.00 Ratings
Parametric Design00 Ratings5.00 Ratings
Collaboration and Sharing00 Ratings1.00 Ratings
Compatibility with other software and formats00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Assembly Design00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Simulation and Analysis00 Ratings1.00 Ratings
Documentation and Annotation00 Ratings1.00 Ratings
Customization and Extensions00 Ratings4.00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Autodesk MayaRhino 3D
Small Businesses
Onshape
Onshape
Score 9.9 out of 10
Onshape
Onshape
Score 9.9 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Onshape
Onshape
Score 9.9 out of 10
Onshape
Onshape
Score 9.9 out of 10
Enterprises
Rhino
Rhino
Score 9.1 out of 10
CATIA
CATIA
Score 9.4 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Autodesk MayaRhino 3D
Likelihood to Recommend
9.0
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
7.5
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Autodesk MayaRhino 3D
Likelihood to Recommend
We have the design team using that to create videos for our concepts in the Cyber security - Products, services and solutions as well as in AI/ML, basically everything that needs to be communicated in the best way we use Autodesk Maya for the videos thus making it more fun and easy to understand the concepts to get going.
Read full review
Rhinoceros 3D is very well-suited for buildings with repetitive bay layouts as a design can be quickly be updated (span, number of bay, height etc) simply by updating a couple numerical sliders. It is also well suited to quickly update one model (for example Revit) based on the changes in another model (either another Revit model or an analysis model). Rhinoceros 3D is not well-suited for teams that are not interested in learning GrassHopper as most of Rhino's value is in GrassHopper.
Read full review
Pros
  • Easy to build workflow due to strong customizability.
  • Industry share. Easy to collaborate with other companies.
  • Strong cooperation with other software.
Read full review
  • Rhino3D is a great translator. I use it to take in customer models and then add optical components to it in a detailed and precise way.
  • Rhino3D has excellent workflow from curves to surfaces making the translation from optical to mechanical seamless.
  • Rhino3D can be paired with Grasshopper to create interesting and unusual geometry for aesthetic or functional purposes.
Read full review
Cons
  • Autodesk Maya is pretty hard to learn in comparison to other softwares, many people find it very difficult to learn.
  • The cost of the software is pretty high and training on the software takes up lot of time and money.
  • The lack of procedural pipeline in the software making companies to move towards other softwares like houdini and blender.
Read full review
  • Rhino has very limited sheet layout tools.
  • Grasshopper could be better integrated into the main interface.
  • Lack of backwards file compatibility can be frustrating.
Read full review
Usability
As Autodesk Maya was one of the first softwares I learned, so I feel very fun to work with it. The overall usabilty feels very natural to me and I felt it's easy to learn but tough to master kind of software. Some people find it very difficult to learn, so I deduced some rating points.
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
No answers on this topic
A majority of the support for Rhinoceros 3D does not come from the company itself, but from online forums and boards where other Rhinoceros 3D users outline their issues and solutions. The Rhinoceros 3D website does not offer much in-depth support and just outlines general how to's. At the same time, online forums allow for more specific issues to be addressed and solved by the Rhinoceros 3D community.
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
The UI of 3ds Max is not that good and very old, not the best. Blender is the best for everything, especially its modeling and animation tools are not the best as compared to Autodesk Maya. Cinema 4D is good for motion graphics and create vibrant renders but it has limited options to create things.
Read full review
Rhino is a generic platform. For BIM, you can combine it with Revit or ARCHICAD or look for extensions, such as VisualArq or the GeometyGym extensions for Grasshopper. Due to its good interoperability, I often use it for reviewing AutoCAD drawings or converting 3D models. That said, the most efficient and fast mesh modeling for non-organic geometry is still SketchUp, due to its many smart approaches to automatic mesh cleanup.
Read full review
Return on Investment
  • The pros is speeding up workflow . The ability to customize Maya for various tasks on their own.
  • Another pros is easy programming study. Automation of routine tasks did not require deep knowledge in programming.
  • There was one negative thing. The transition from a permanent license to a one-year subscription in 2016-2017, as the previous purchased licenses were canceled by the Autodesk.
Read full review
  • Personally a lot of really cool designs have made it into the real world thanks to my good friend Rhino. Being in the architecture, the ROI is elevated design through giving talented designers the right tool to pull it off.
Read full review
ScreenShots