About Adobe Substance 3D Painter Adobe Substance 3D Painter, Substance 3D Texturing (Painter, Designer, Sampler) $249.99 USD a year
$323.88 CAD
Every pick below has a free version.
Key file formats .spp .fbx .obj .png Filter alternatives 3 alternatives
Windows3 macOS3 Linux3 iOS1 Android1
Tool License Platforms Status
Strong 2 tools Covers most of the same work, with trade-offs noted on each card.
1 Ar
Best for a lightweight, Painter-style PBR workflow
License: Open source
Windows macOS Linux iOS Android Status: Active
FBX FBX: opens only, partial fidelity. Imports FBX meshes; mesh export is OBJ or GLB OBJ OBJ: opens and saves, full fidelity PNG PNG: opens and saves, full fidelity , 0 people switched from Adobe Substance 3D Painter to ArmorPaint ArmorPaint for changes Source is free (zlib license). Official desktop builds cost US$19 one time; the free route is compiling it yourself. Cannot open .spp files. Free version: The source is free to compile. Official desktop builds cost US$19 one time, with a no-questions-asked refund.
2 Bl
Best for painting and baking inside a full 3D suite
License: Open source
Status: Active
MOV MOV: opens and saves, full fidelity. Video through FFmpeg MP4 MP4: opens and saves, full fidelity. Video through FFmpeg FBX FBX: opens and saves, partial fidelity. Meshes, rigs and animation carry over; materials are simplified OBJ OBJ: opens and saves, full fidelity PNG PNG: opens and saves, full fidelity +2 more , 0 people switched from Adobe Substance 3D Painter to Blender Blender for changes Free for Windows, macOS and Linux. Cannot open .spp files; export textures from Painter as PNG first.
Situational 1 tool Right for specific needs, or not yet mature enough to recommend widely.
3 MM
Best for procedural materials with some model painting
License: Open source
Status: Active
FBX FBX: opens only, partial fidelity. FBX meshes load for preview and painting; no mesh export OBJ OBJ: opens only, partial fidelity. OBJ meshes load for preview and painting; no mesh export PNG PNG: opens and saves, full fidelity , 0 people switched from Adobe Substance 3D Painter to Material Maker Material Maker for changes Free MIT-licensed tool built on the Godot engine for Windows, macOS and Linux. Cannot open .spp files.
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Feature parity How each alternative covers what people use Adobe Substance 3D Painter for. Numbers link to editor notes.
Feature parity with Adobe Substance 3D Painter Feature ArmorPaint Blender Material Maker Painting PBR texture painting on 3D models Note 1Stand-alone PBR painting with live viewport feedback Note 2Texture Paint mode paints image textures; no dedicated PBR painting workspace Note 3Paints 3D models with procedural brushes; the vendor calls the painting tool experimental Layers and masks with blend modes Note 4Paint, fill, decal, path and curve layers with masks Note 5Stencil and mask textures; no built-in layer stack Note 6Layers and masks are not documented Materials Smart materials and smart masks Note 7Node-based fill materials and filter layers; no smart-material library is documented Note 8No smart-material system Note 9No smart-material system is documented Baking Mesh map baking (AO, curvature, normals) Note 10AO, curvature, thickness, position, ID and high-poly normal baking Note 11Cycles bakes AO, normals and other maps Note 12Mesh maps: normal, curvature, AO, thickness and position Export Export presets for engines and renderers Note 13Unreal, Unity and generic presets, plus custom JSON presets Note 14glTF and FBX carry PBR maps; no per-engine channel-packing presets Note 15Export targets listed for Blender, Godot, Unity and Unreal; presets are not described VFX UDIM multi-tile painting Note 16UDIM tiles on mesh import; UDIM export is not mentioned Note 17UDIM tiles in Texture Paint Note 18Not mentioned Extensibility Python scripting and plug-ins Note 19Plugins and a Scripts tab Note 20Python API Note 21Only command-line arguments are documented Parity score 86% 64% 29%
ArmorPaint, PBR texture painting on 3D models: Stand-alone PBR painting with live viewport feedback Blender, PBR texture painting on 3D models: Texture Paint mode paints image textures; no dedicated PBR painting workspace Material Maker, PBR texture painting on 3D models: Paints 3D models with procedural brushes; the vendor calls the painting tool experimental ArmorPaint, Layers and masks with blend modes: Paint, fill, decal, path and curve layers with masks Blender, Layers and masks with blend modes: Stencil and mask textures; no built-in layer stack Material Maker, Layers and masks with blend modes: Layers and masks are not documented ArmorPaint, Smart materials and smart masks: Node-based fill materials and filter layers; no smart-material library is documented Blender, Smart materials and smart masks: No smart-material system Material Maker, Smart materials and smart masks: No smart-material system is documented ArmorPaint, Mesh map baking (AO, curvature, normals): AO, curvature, thickness, position, ID and high-poly normal baking Blender, Mesh map baking (AO, curvature, normals): Cycles bakes AO, normals and other maps Material Maker, Mesh map baking (AO, curvature, normals): Mesh maps: normal, curvature, AO, thickness and position ArmorPaint, Export presets for engines and renderers: Unreal, Unity and generic presets, plus custom JSON presets Blender, Export presets for engines and renderers: glTF and FBX carry PBR maps; no per-engine channel-packing presets Material Maker, Export presets for engines and renderers: Export targets listed for Blender, Godot, Unity and Unreal; presets are not described ArmorPaint, UDIM multi-tile painting: UDIM tiles on mesh import; UDIM export is not mentioned Blender, UDIM multi-tile painting: UDIM tiles in Texture Paint Material Maker, UDIM multi-tile painting: Not mentioned ArmorPaint, Python scripting and plug-ins: Plugins and a Scripts tab Blender, Python scripting and plug-ins: Python API Material Maker, Python scripting and plug-ins: Only command-line arguments are documented Not covered by any free alternative yet: Smart materials and smart masks. See all feature gaps
File formats Can each alternative open and save Adobe Substance 3D Painter files?
Opening and saving Adobe Substance 3D Painter files Format ArmorPaint Blender Material Maker .spp Note 1Painter project files cannot be opened Note 2Substance Painter projects do not open; import the exported textures Note 3Painter project files cannot be opened .fbx Note 4Imports FBX meshes; mesh export is OBJ or GLB Note 5Meshes, rigs and animation carry over; materials are simplified Note 6FBX meshes load for preview and painting; no mesh export .obj Note 7OBJ meshes load for preview and painting; no mesh export .png
ArmorPaint, .spp: Painter project files cannot be opened Blender, .spp: Substance Painter projects do not open; import the exported textures Material Maker, .spp: Painter project files cannot be opened ArmorPaint, .fbx: Imports FBX meshes; mesh export is OBJ or GLB Blender, .fbx: Meshes, rigs and animation carry over; materials are simplified Material Maker, .fbx: FBX meshes load for preview and painting; no mesh export Material Maker, .obj: OBJ meshes load for preview and painting; no mesh export Switching saves about $250 USD / $324 CAD a year. Prices checked Oct 7, 2026 .
Based on Substance 3D Texturing (Painter, Designer, Sampler). Price source .
Adobe Substance 3D Painter is a product of Adobe, named here for comparison only. Platforms listed for Adobe Substance 3D Painter: Windows, macOS, Linux.