How we researched and ranked AI 3D modelers
Last updated: 9 November 2026
What we did
- We read each vendor's own pricing pages, product pages, API pages, documentation, GitHub repositories, changelogs and official announcements on 9 November 2026.
- We cross-checked with dated independent and vendor-written guides published in November 2026, and we say which is which.
- We kept the URL of every source we relied on and link to the official site of every product.
What we did not do
We did not test any product hands-on, and we did not run a benchmark with identical prompts. We found no standardized independent 2026 benchmark that inspects topology across these tools, so the list does not claim one tool makes the best-looking meshes. It ranks tools on documented capability, workflow, licensing and price.
Ranking criteria, in order of weight
- Coverage of the job: input types (text, image, multi-view, sketch) and post-processing (retopology, texturing, rigging, export formats, plugins).
- Licensing and commercial use: especially on free and entry plans.
- Cost per finished model and pricing transparency.
- Developer access: API, MCP and pay-as-you-go options.
- Fit for a clear audience: each tool is placed where it is genuinely strongest. That is why a managed service (Kaedim) and an open model (TRELLIS.2) sit lower in a general ranking even though they are the right answer for some readers.
How we checked API availability
- Tripo, Sloyd and Rodin: from their own API pricing or plan pages.
- Kaedim: its documentation lists a Web API and webhooks under Enterprise features.
- Autodesk Flow Studio: Autodesk's Wonder 3D announcement, its Autodesk Platform Services developer documentation and its 3ds Max help describe browser and in-app access only. We found no public generation API. Private or partner access may exist without being documented.
Model release dates we confirmed
- Meshy 7: generally available 10 August 2026, per Meshy's launch post.
- Meshy 7.1: workspace rollout began 10 September 2026, per Meshy's launch post. It was added to the API on 18 September 2026, per Meshy's API changelog.
- Hunyuan3D 3.1: became selectable in the Tencent Cloud Hunyuan 3D Pro API on 20 January 2026, per Tencent Cloud's API release history. We found no separate launch announcement.
Gaps we could not close
- Tripo's Studio pricing page and Autodesk's Flow Studio product page refused automated access. Their plan prices are marked as reported and come from November 2026 guides. Tripo's API prices come from Tripo's own developer pricing page.
- Tencent's hosted Hunyuan3D site and Tencent Cloud pricing document did not render. Hunyuan3D API prices are reported figures.
- 3D AI Studio's pricing page did not render its dollar amounts. Its $19 and $29 prices come from the vendor's own dated comparison.
What we left out, and why
- Luma Genie: independent checks in 2026 found that its former address no longer describes a 3D product. We found no official current 3D offering.
- CSM: its domain did not resolve when checked by an independent guide in November 2026, and we could not verify a current product.
- Adobe Substance 3D: active, but the official evidence we found supports generative texturing and materials, not complete text- or image-to-mesh generation.
- Stability AI SPAR3D: a real, free single-image-to-3D model released in January 2025. Its official page describes free commercial use under the Stability AI Community License, with an Enterprise License needed above $1M in annual revenue. We left it out of the top 11 because newer open models such as TRELLIS.2 cover the same need with richer materials.
Updates
Prices and plans in this category change often. Every page shows the date it was last checked, and figures from the official pricing pages are listed on the pricing comparison.