Autodesk Maya
Hacker ApprovedRanked 2 of 7 3D modeling software by recommenders
Industry-standard 3D animation and modeling software, praised for rigging, scripting API and NURBS tools. Main caveats: high license cost and vendor lock-in.
Industry-standard 3D animation and modeling software, praised for rigging, scripting API and NURBS tools. Main caveats: high license cost and vendor lock-in.
26 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 18
- criticize it
- 8
- approval share
- 69%
Recommended in 7 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 18 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 2.3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 7 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Industry standard for film and VFX
“3d is fine with Maya and all the real VFX running on Linux”
Comment from 28 Jan 2026 in “Microsoft forced me to switch to Linux” “Maya is still very much the industry standard.”
Comment from 19 Nov 2025 in “Blender 5.0” Strong rigging and scripting API
“Maya stays clean because any UI feature needs to buildable from scripts.”
Comment from 19 Jul 2026 in “Blender 5.2 LTS” “Maya's API is so much better than Blender's.”
Comment from 19 Nov 2025 in “Blender 5.0” “mayas rigging support is second to none”
Comment from 19 Jul 2026 in “Blender 5.2 LTS” Ranked ahead of most rivals
“back then Maya and Lightwave were miles ahead of Blender.”
Comment from 19 Nov 2025 in “Blender 5.0” “they're still inferior to Photoshop and Maya”
Comment from 20 Dec 2025 in “OpenSCAD is kinda neat”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Expensive licenses
“Maya and 3dStudioMax are eye watering expensive”
Comment from 19 May 2026 in “Photo GIMP – A Patch for GIMP 3 for Photoshop Users” “a lot less than the equivalent Maya licenses”
Comment from 30 Jan 2026 in “Netflix Animation Studios Joins the Blender Development Fund as Corporate Patron” Vendor lock-in
“Autodesk basically has them locked in and can milk them until all eternity”
Comment from 19 Nov 2025 in “Blender 5.0” “forcing vendor lock-in despite Blender now being on par”
Comment from 19 Nov 2025 in “Blender 5.0” Weak Wayland support on Linux
“used to run great on Linux/X11, now sucks on wayland”
Comment from 20 Mar 2026 in “Wayland set the Linux Desktop back by 10 years” “it still doesn't have full Wayland support”
Comment from 14 Apr 2026 in “DaVinci Resolve releases Photo Editor” Company treats customers poorly
“The way that these companies treat their clients is appalling”
Comment from 22 Apr 2026 in “Adobe Is Cooked” “it's honestly a sick joke the way the M&E division is run”
Comment from 20 Nov 2025 in “Blender 5.0”
Other 3D modeling software people recommend
The four most recommended other 3D modeling software, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blender | 298 | 81 | 79% | 12 | 15 yrs10 owners | Approved |
| Autodesk MayaThis page | 18 | 8 | 69% | 7 | — | Approved |
| SketchUp | 16 | 6 | 73% | 8 | — | Approved |
| SideFX Houdini | 14 | 3 | 82% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Microsoft 3D Movie Maker | 6 | 1 | 86% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
26 of the 29 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“mayas rigging support is second to none”
“i remember how maya was architectured so well, and from the start indeed”
“Maya stays clean because any UI feature needs to buildable from scripts.”
“All these old versions of Maya, 3ds Max and Visual Studio are just a total liability now.”
“The architectural people loved this - good looking, accurate architectural renders came out.”
“Maya and 3dStudioMax are eye watering expensive”
“so many fun toys to play with on Octane”
“MAYA has extensive NURBS tools, which means it can import and export CAD data natively”
“The way that these companies treat their clients is appalling”
“it still doesn't have full Wayland support”
“used to run great on Linux/X11, now sucks on wayland”
“The first two are the only ways to pay for water here”
“it was basically over for Maya”
“a lot less than the equivalent Maya licenses”
“3d is fine with Maya and all the real VFX running on Linux”
“You shouldn't pay for most software unless it's stuff like Maya, excel.”
“they're still inferior to Photoshop and Maya”
“Niche and fascinating software.”
“used to have a bounty program for whoever would turn in people using unlicensed/cracked versions of their product”
“goes toe-to-toe with the paying big suites like Maya and Autodesk”
“it's honestly a sick joke the way the M&E division is run”
“Autodesk basically has them locked in and can milk them until all eternity”
“Maya's API is so much better than Blender's.”
“forcing vendor lock-in despite Blender now being on par”
“back then Maya and Lightwave were miles ahead of Blender.”
“Maya is still very much the industry standard.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.