Side by side

Mari vs MechaPaint

Both stand on 3d texturing software. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.

Mari

Free plan LinuxWindows

Mari combines high-resolution painting workflows with pipeline formats, scripting and rendering shaders. The non-commercial limits and subscription licensing requirements are important distinctions to weigh before using it.

Visit Mari

MechaPaint

Free plan MacWindows

MechaPaint offers a time-unlimited free version with its full toolset, while watermark-free exports require purchase. Check the current base-color focus and Windows-only USD import before relying on those capabilities.

Visit MechaPaint

The facts

	Mari	MechaPaint
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Open source	Not published	Not published
Runs on	Linux, Windows	Mac, Windows
Lowest paid plan	Mari Individual Subscription (annual): $689 a year	MechaPaint: $39.50, paid once
Plans published	9	1
Maker	Not published	Not published
Website	foundry.com	mechapaint.com
On 3d texturing software	#9 of 29	#13 of 29

Mari: what it does well

UDIM support reaches 32K × 32K textures.
Multi-Channel Paint handles up to eight streams.
Includes pipeline APIs and Python scripting.
Free 30-day trial provides unrestricted access.

What to know first

Non-commercial exports are limited to 4K and 16-bit per channel.
Non-commercial use disables Python scripting and caps objects at five.
Individual licensing requires periodic internet access.

MechaPaint: what it does well

Paints across seams and submesh boundaries
Layer controls include opacity, merge, hide, and recolor
PhotoMesh creates paintable models from photos
Free application has no time limit
Perpetual license includes one year of free upgrades

What to know first

Free exports carry a watermark
Currently paints base color, not full PBR material sets
USD import is currently Windows-only
No free trial

Alternatives to Mari Alternatives to MechaPaint The whole list