Adobe PhotoShop vs. Autodesk 3ds Max

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Adobe PhotoShop
Score 9.1 out of 10
N/A
Adobe Photoshop is the best known graphics product on the market.
$20
per month
Autodesk 3ds Max
Score 8.2 out of 10
N/A
Autodesk offers 3ds Max, 3D modeling and rendering software for design visualization, games, and animation. The vendor states that users can produce professional-quality 3D animations, renders, and models with an efficient and flexible toolset to help create better 3D content in less time.
$235
per month per user
Pricing
Adobe PhotoShopAutodesk 3ds Max
Editions & Modules
Single App
$20.00
per month
Monthly Subscription
$235
per month per user
Yearly Subscription
$1875
per year per user
3-Year Subscription
$5625
3 years per user
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Adobe PhotoShopAutodesk 3ds Max
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsFlex pricing available for limited usage. Minimum plan $300 for 100 tokens. 3ds Max costs 6 tokens per day.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Adobe PhotoShopAutodesk 3ds Max
Considered Both Products
Adobe PhotoShop
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
Sometimes PhotoShop just gives that extra edge when it comes to functionality when you have to edit a very detailed picture. PhotoShop has a lot more tools and is thus great for creating visuals that you can later use in print settings, for example; we want this tablecloth to …
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
I selected Adobe PhotoShop over other as it is more useful and convenient then other platform,It helps in giving a pro touch in every images and it helps to adjust each and every single element in a photo as we can manually adjust that how much exposure is needed our how much …
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
Adobe stands out for the quality of the results of the work it provides. You will of course have to be well trained but Adobe is complete and has all the assets
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
Adobe photoshop is flexible with simple tool. The user interface is not clumpy but very clean. You can customize the canvas to what you like and set your own shortcuts key to keep the software accustom to yourself. Photoshop is unmatched when it comes to images manipulate and …
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
I'd say there are different use cases for each tool. PhotoShop is a beast at image editing, I haven't used anything else for this purpose. But with the other tools, they serve different purpose - Canva is good for templated stuff, illustrator is good for anything …
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
every software work is different ... indesign is good for making multiple pages like magazine booklet and illustrator is good in picking colors and directly fill them in object just clicking ... Adobe Photoshop can do everything but every software has its own speciality.
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
PS is a notable device for a long time and I have been a client since before they utilized the CS part.For the adaptability the device has and every one of the capabilities, I never "totally" changed to different apparatuses, I utilize different devices for different things. …
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
Photoshop is definitely way more comprehensive than Canva when it comes to creating complex designs. For simpler design needs, we use Canva's free version
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
Adobe Photoshop is really best if we compare this software with other graphic designing software. There are several reasons, but the most important reason is the difference in tools and features because Adobe Photoshop offers a number of incredibly professional tools that allow …
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
I was able to make infographics of any scale once I mastered Adobe PhotoShop. I also performed pixel-level photo editing. For a long time, it was my "go-to" piece of software. Although I tried other programmes, nothing compared to Adobe PhotoShop. I've always been able to put …
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
illustrious program. In this program, your imagination's capabilities are the only limitations on what you can create, alter, modify, and do. Since its initial release, it has added to its restrictions with each new update, raising them to impossible levels. In other words, …
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
Adobe Photoshop has more qualified color patterns than other tools. It is somehow more expensive but if you are working for a company, it does not matter at all. When you are working for yourself, it might be expensive but it is worth it. It is easy to prepare images with Adobe …
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
I have used some other apps for Photo Retouching and Photo Manipulation. They work well in some areas but don't provide a complete solution. Working with Adobe Photoshop, you can achieve any milestone. It provides a large set of tools and a very user-friendly working …
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
Illustrator is another software under Adobe's design suite banner. I've used Illustrator for logo creation and other design work, but I usually go to PhotoShop because it is the most user-friendly and intuitive platform for easy design work. All of Adobe's programs are great …
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
Adobe PhotoShop has existed for so long. So it has most experience and kept optimising it over decades. And that’s the nices about the Cloud. You keep getting the newest software and tools. Other apps have specialised in Tablet performance but if you work on your computer Adobe …
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
Photoshop brings a fair mix of what other tools and platforms have to offer and this certainly gives it an edge over other tools and platforms. Flexibility, convenience and ease of use are some of the big reasons why I choose photoshop over others.
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
Gimp is one of the free alternatives for Photoshop. Although it has got many features that photoshop offers, it still has a lot of catching up to do. Also Gimp's UI is quite clunky and not as polished as Photoshop's UI making it a bit harder to navigate. Canva on the other hand …
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
Because I get used to photoshop easily, Photoshop is the first editing available in the market and it has lots of youtube tutorials available to learn how to use the application. And a lot of users and using photoshop and there are learning centers you can enroll to be a …
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
Photoshop is more general and the best application in terms of many possibilities and options, as it has a set of characteristics that make it always the best.
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
Adobe Photoshop has more enhanced features. It has a bunch of tools that were missing in others. A wide variety of tasks can be done like Photo Editing, Logo Creating, GUI Designing, etc. Photoshop also has a powerful tool for Graphics Animation. Website layout can be done in …
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
[Adobe] Photoshop offers the best photo editing as well as content creation. The layer-by-layer approach of [Adobe] Photoshop helps to work between two apps or even two PCs of entirely different Creative Cloud apps seamlessly. The stability and the speed of the tools in …
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
Canva is a graphic editing program, but on a basic level. Adobe Photoshop provides a better alternative than Canva for clients who require complex graphic design because of the software's reach and the tools provided available for customizing the graphic design. Even the user …
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
Canva is a great tool for creating infographics and it's free with limited options. Adobe Illustrator CC and Adobe InDesign are much more suited for creating infographics, however, I still selected Adobe PhotoShop primarily because of my familiarity with all of the tools and …
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
[Adobe] Photoshop has much more features and abilities compared to its competitors, and often is the first to create a new feature. There is a large learning curve for Photoshop, but for folks that spend years learning Adobe products, it ends up being the most intuitive …
Autodesk 3ds Max
Chose Autodesk 3ds Max
I use Blender, Maya is expensive learned it once but about the same as 3ds Max, just more expensive. Blender is great, open source and hard to learn, but work it. But since I have so much experience in 3ds Max it is my go to software.
Chose Autodesk 3ds Max
Back when 3d programs were becoming more powerful and stable, 3d Studio (yes, it was 3d Studio before it was 3ds Max, more on that later) and Maya were owned by different companies. At that time, you had to
Chose Autodesk 3ds Max
In Autodesk 3ds Max you can do camera animation with ease, its complex in Cinema 4d. Even I think same with light setup. Setting up light is quite easy in Autodesk 3ds Max as compare to Cinema 4d. Overall Autodesk 3ds Max is less complex in compare to other 3D softwares.
Chose Autodesk 3ds Max
Maya is an overall better rendering program.
Chose Autodesk 3ds Max
[Most] people like to use Maya for modeling but Maya is only good for soft surface modeling not for hard surface. The [Autodesk 3ds] Max has no limitations in this field, it is open to [making] hard or soft surface modeling. [It] even has great command on fx effects [made] by …
Chose Autodesk 3ds Max
3ds Max provides me with good animations, as well as rendering images and stability for my gaming models. Therefore, I prefer it over Maya software
Chose Autodesk 3ds Max
Blender is a very small and quite easy-to-use software but it lacks some of the things and for that, you need a lot of addons. So that's not a good thing. 3ds Max on the other hand is big in size but it can do pretty much all the tasks by itself.
Chose Autodesk 3ds Max
Best for rendering and geometry flexibility. Interphase is also superior. The stacking of modifiers is unique and allows for combining, and turning on and of which makes presenting options very agile, and clear without destroying the geometry. It's easily reversible. All others …
Chose Autodesk 3ds Max
Complex models are very easy to make in 3ds Max compared to other software, as Autodesk provides safety and security for your data and there are always there to serve you better. My experience with Autodesk was remarkable and Upmarket integration with other plugins makes 3ds …
Chose Autodesk 3ds Max
Sketch-up week to be vertically integrated to produce concept all the way to high-end render, an animation (effects, particles, soft-body, etc..) All 3 other softwares are fully capable, it just comes down to what software an operator is most familiar with and if it works in …
Chose Autodesk 3ds Max
Some functionalities are not available on the other software we use.
Best Alternatives
Adobe PhotoShopAutodesk 3ds Max
Small Businesses
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
Score 9.8 out of 10
Onshape
Onshape
Score 9.9 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
GIMP
GIMP
Score 9.3 out of 10
Onshape
Onshape
Score 9.9 out of 10
Enterprises
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
Score 9.8 out of 10
Navisworks
Navisworks
Score 9.4 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Adobe PhotoShopAutodesk 3ds Max
Likelihood to Recommend
9.7
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.4
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Usability
7.3
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Availability
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
10.0
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
8.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
4.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Adobe PhotoShopAutodesk 3ds Max
Likelihood to Recommend
I use Adobe PhotoShop to do practically all of my business from my home in Turkey. Many customers find the cost of Adobe PhotoShop to be prohibitive, thus they turn to substitute alternatives and illegally downloaded pirated software. Regulations like torrents, sales, and price increases lead to a number of financial issues. Change can be advantageous.
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Scenarios where Autodesk 3ds Max is well suited: 1. Modeling less complex geometries. 2. For beginners it is good, meshes, poly's, vertexes etc can be easily understood. 3. Easy UI and interoperability. Scenarios where it is less appropriate: 1. Inbuild Rendering (Scanline) can be made better. 2. Performance over low end/Old Pc's need refinement. 3. Bulky Size on disk. 4. Animation is the area which can be made better also.
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Pros
  • Brush customization. There are many available brushes for illustration, and each can be customized to fit the needs of your specific style.
  • Integration with other Adobe products. It is essential that the images I create be accessible in Adobe Indesign and Illustrator, and [Adobe] Photoshop can be placed and edited easily within those programs.
  • Advanced editing. The possibilities for editing photos [are] endless, with new features being added constantly.
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  • V-Ray 3ds Max is an awesome third-party plugin for architecture renders in 3ds Max.
  • Complicated models can be made in a simple way in 3ds Max also P-particles, M flow works better then before.
  • Interface is very easy to use. Very open, attractive, and very much ease of use for new users.
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Cons
  • Expensive - It is too expensive to buy Photoshop alone, and hence leading the user to purchase the entire Creative Cloud Package though he/she is not even aware of half of those apps.
  • High System Spec - Requires high system specifications to run the application smoothly, and to use it at its best.
  • Process lag - When it comes to large-sized files, the application becomes laggy taking much time even to render a single layer.
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  • working in 2d is very frustrating and unreliable. It just lacks the precision
  • How scaling affects units (or doesn't) There needs to be a way for modifiers to address a change of scale in the object.
  • Booleans are not intuitive. Especially for architecture, creating an opening and putting a door or a window is an incredibly cumbersome process.
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Likelihood to Renew
Adobe Photoshop Creative Cloud 2014 is part of the Adobe Creative Cloud family of software products. Therefore, when you get a license to use Adobe Photoshop for a monthly fee, you are constantly up-to-date on any upgrades or new releases of the software. So, if you are using the product, you never have to renew and you are always using the latest version of the software, for perpetuity.
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It satisfies 95% of my 3d visualization need. The left over 5% is handled by a few other programs. If Max just can't perform a specific task I can do that elsewhere and then bring it back to Max to finish up. But, it's rare that this occurs in my work
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Usability
I've used it for a long time and would consider myself a Pro user at this point. I know where everything I need is, have custom actions set up to make common actions faster, and have my workflows automated so much that everything is easy. Occasionally, a new version of Photoshop will change a common usability feature which will slow things down for a short time before I'm able to adjust, but generally I really like my setup. However, if you're new to Photoshop, it is likely going to take you a while to figure out how you can best use the features.
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It is a very difficult program to learn to use and even harder to use well. But once you get to using it it is a great software package to know how to use. Getting to be good at using it takes lots of use.
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Reliability and Availability
Adobe Photoshop is very reliable, but is never 100%. There have been times when Adobe Photoshop has had trouble opening, but nothing a little computer restart couldn't fix. I use Adobe Photoshop on a Mac for both work and at home on a daily basis, and I would be lost without it.
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No answers on this topic
Performance
Speed can be an issue when you are dealing with large files for large format printing or billboards. When working on web images, speed is not an issue.
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No answers on this topic
Support Rating
While I never contacted Adobe directly, there is so much content out there in the form of YouTube videos, Lynda/LinkedIn learning that almost any issue, including bugs, can be worked around (and this method is generally faster as there's no turnaround time involved).
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I have contacted support many times and have had a good experience. They have always been helpful
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In-Person Training
So, I received the training at the HQ and it was train the trainer training. A good time, I spent a week at their campus
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No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
I took a course so it really helped. I didn’t take the course until much later after beginning to use it, so I wish work would have sent me right off the bat. It would have alleviated a lot of frustratinon
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No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Every software has its kind of users, and Photoshop is ranked as one of the most competitive softwares and is used mainly by professionals. Figma is great for working in collaboration and designing Ui/Ux interface. Illustrator is great for vector-based work, such as logos and branding. InDesign works best if one is building large documents that require a lot of text formatting.
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I use Blender, Maya is expensive learned it once but about the same as 3ds Max, just more expensive. Blender is great, open source and hard to learn, but work it. But since I have so much experience in 3ds Max it is my go to software.
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Scalability
It seems expensive compared to the free/cheap programs now available
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No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
  • Adobe PhotoShop in general is a great time saver.
  • It does take a long time for the program to start up, however
  • The most difficult task is onboarding new employees into Adobe PhotoShop who don't have experience with it. It's an investment for their future so we see value in it.
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  • Having to take comments on and re-render a set of single multi-camera shots wastes a lot of time, as there is also an error "batch render." Slows down my completion of a job, even for the most minor image updates.
  • Not being able to offer my freelance/contractor services period in-house on studios that are exclusively Mac. They don't even offer Autodesk 3ds Max as an option because they have never been able to see it in action. Huge loss of potential hires, with my 33year 3DStudio/Autodesk 3ds Max experience
  • When most current version is needed I jump onto the subscription temporarily and this eats severely into my profits. As clients want lower and lower prices with international and AI competition. Especially when I know many International houses for a fact use pirated 3D software.
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