As of February 2022, the creators on the Blender Market alone have donated well over $350,000 to the Blender Development Fundjust through product sales. Most add-on developers donate a portion of their income back to the Blender foundation. It's important to realize that paying for add-ons does not distract from core Blender development. While many simple add-ons are free (thanks to generous creators who donate their time) many complex add-ons take substantial time to develop and would not exist or continue to be supported without the incentive to update and maintain them. it’s time to power up 🚀 Should you pay for add-ons?īlender is all about being free, so it may seem counterintuitive or frustrating to pay for additional features. They’ll help you work faster but not necessarily better. It’s similar to how strapping a rocket booster to a car probably wouldn’t be all that helpful if you’re still learning to drive.

If you’re brand new to Blender, we recommend starting out without the use of add-ons and only exploring them once you’re comfortable with the default features.

Pick and choose which ones make the most sense to you. You definitely shouldn't install them all. This list is designed to show you what’s out there and what other people find useful. However, the best add-ons make your life much easier. You can learn how to get started making your own add-on by following this other guide.ĭo you need to use add-ons? Not at all! Blender is plenty powerful out of the box. Learn how to install add-ons by following this guide. Regardless of what you call them, any code-savvy Blender user can harness the power of Python to create new Blender features, from simple time saving scripts to complex algorithms that do what Blender can't on its own. The prices are up to date as of early 2022 and none of the links are affiliate links.įeatured artwork by Aleksandre Lortkipanidze.

We chose the add-ons by asking the Blender community and referencing our own CG Cookie team's experience. This guide is not a complete list but will help you cut through the noise and find something new that's useful for you. Now, the number of quality Blender add-ons has exploded and so has the fanfare around them. There were also fewer add-ons to sort through, so the process of picking the most useful was relatively straightforward. When I first wrote this article a few years ago, there weren't many helpful lists of Blender add-ons and several hidden gems remained undiscovered.

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