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
SketchUp
Score 7.5 out of 10
N/A
SketchUp is 3D modeling software with an emphasis on usability. SketchUp is a Trimble product.
$0
per year
Pricing
Autodesk 3ds Max
SketchUp
Editions & Modules
Monthly Subscription
$235
per month per user
Yearly Subscription
$1875
per year per user
3-Year Subscription
$5625
3 years per user
Free
$0.00
per year
For Schools (free with G Suite or Microsoft education account)
$0
For Students
$55.00
per year
For Educators
$55.00
per year
Studio for Students / Educators (Desktop version)
$55
per year
Shop
$119.00
per year
Pro
$299.00
per year
Professional
$299.00
per year
Studio (Windows only)
$699
per year
Studio
$1199.00
per year
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Autodesk 3ds Max
SketchUp
Free Trial
Yes
No
Free/Freemium Version
No
Yes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
No
No
Entry-level Setup Fee
No setup fee
No setup fee
Additional Details
Flex pricing available for limited usage. Minimum plan $300 for 100 tokens. 3ds Max costs 6 tokens per day.
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More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Autodesk 3ds Max
SketchUp
Considered Both Products
Autodesk 3ds Max
Verified User
Anonymous
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 …
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 …
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.
Real estate is not really the most likely use for Sketchup, since it has so many choices and possibilities. But, it is an innovative way to differentiate yourself from the competition. The program is very well-suited to the myopic seller or buyer who can't visualize future changes and their effect on value.
Quickly exploring solutions in 3D: We get a lot of "what if" and "what would that look like" questions. While hand-sketching and hand-drafting can be fairly quick, SketchUp allows me to quickly create 3D and 2D views of a detail or solution, change dimensions and materials in a flash, and show a client or installer the plan in minutes.
Creating professional design documents in LayOut: Projects of any scale need good documentation. Using a combination of SketchUp and LayOut, I can create a Design Intent Set, plans for permitting, a set for mechanical trades to mark-up, etc. Having clear, appropriately-scaled drawings with dimensions or notations is a must, and we don't always have the time or budget to get an architect involved!
Using live files to guide discussions: Not all clients are "visual" people, so opening their model and orbiting around their space in real time has been extremely helpful. Clients and trades enjoy the perspective views so much that we often include them in the full-sized drawing sets to give a good "overall" view of the project intent. For complex or tight spaces, sometimes un-rendered plans and elevations just aren't enough!
Exporting/importing files from other programs may not always be compatible.
I'm an engineer and I feel SketchUp is more geared towards architects. However, I still find it useful for certain aspects of my job such as creating renderings.
Has a tendency to slow down as the file size gets larger. Apparently, it runs on an outdated engine that has trouble with very heavy models.
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
We typically wait a few years in between renewing, as even older versions are powerful tools for modeling, and we make sure the amount of feature changes are worth the re-investment.
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.
It is very user friendly and easy to learn. It's simplicity allows for a low learning curve so more people can learn it faster. The downside is that most schools are no longer teaching it, so many younger professionals come out of school not knowing it and knowing more complex software and they have a hard time "dumbing down" their skillsets
Sketchup is so intuitive; I can't recall ever looking for official support. However, there are many user forums online that can answer more questions. The usefulness of the online forums is, however, tempered by the fact that there have been many versions of the software under different ownership and support regimes, and thus finding the right information for the right version of the software can be a challenge.
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.
To me, SketchUp is better to study designs because it is easier to manipulate than Revit. Revit has each part of the model connected so it is great to "keep your design honest" however, in trying to be creative, you are often inhibited. It is not as easy to push/pull and manipulate quickly to see if an idea works. You also have so many people working in a model and each view impacts one another, so if you are in the middle of studying one area, another person cannot work on that same area
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.
Increased revenue by allowing our customers to see the final products faster, input comments and finalize design decisions.
We develop furniture and the rendering capabilities and graphics found in the basic package allow the fabricators a broader understanding of what is being created.
We develop all of our work in SketchUp. I initially felt it was a simplistic cadd software. By re-tooling my thinking I have found fantastic results with the program. I must admit that I learn something new every day. There is a wealth of information on how to do and create things on YouTube. It has a very large community of supporters.
