Blender and Maya are both available for Windows, MacOS, and Linux. The following are the system requirements and recommendations:

Blender

• Windows 8.1 or 10; MacOS 10.13 or 11; any version of Linux
• 4 GB RAM minimum (12 GB or more is recommended)
• Three-button mouse
• 64-bit quad CPU (recommended)

Maya (2020 & 2022 Editions)

• Windows 10; MacOS 10.13.x or newer; Linux Red Hat Enterprise or CentOS (7.6-7.9 or 8.2)
• 8 GB RAM minimum (16 GB or more is recommended)
• Three-button mouse
• 6 GB minimum free disk space

Since they’re modeling programs, Blender and Maya share many principles both in the user interfaces (UI) and the features available. Both programs have a working space where you can visualize and manipulate your model, which occupies most of the window, and around it, all the tools needed for the complete design workflow. They both use a menu on the top and have preset tool layouts for the different working modes, such as sculpting, mesh modeling, rigging, animation, rendering, and more. The main difference, then, would be in how these tools are arranged.

For both Blender and Maya, you can find the animation timeline on the bottom of the screen, even when in modeling mode. To the right, you can find property menus and tools to analyze your mesh, to the left the transform menu, and on top a full menu for all functions as well as commonly used tools for each layout.

It’s generally agreed that Maya has a more intuitive UI than Blender. This is because Maya’s menus are clearly on display for you to use. Meanwhile, in Blender, you will most times rely on shortcuts to show and hide menus, and many tools are more easily accessed through keyboard shortcuts than by trying to find them on screen. This can be a barrier for new users of Blender, as knowing the UI isn’t enough, you also have to learn a lot of the basic shortcuts to start using it. That being said, navigating Blender does become intuitive very quickly.

Both Blender and Maya have functions for many of the steps in the design pipeline. This includes modeling, sculpting, UV editing, texture painting, rigging, animating, different rendering engines, and even scripting capabilities.

Additionally, both Blender and Maya have UV unwrapping. However, in Maya, it’s a more simplified and effective process, while in Blender it still requires more user intervention and isn’t as up-to-date. That said, considering Blender is free, and its UV unwrapping very effective (even if it requires more tinkering), Blender’s UV unwrapping tool remains a powerful advantage.

Blender and Maya also have rendering functions. In Blender, you can use one of two available rendering engines (Cycles and Eevee), or you can use third-party engines. That said, Blender’s built-in rendering engines are good, and they’re actually faster than Maya’s rendering.

Maya also has two rendering engines (Octane and Arnold), and as with other aspects of the software, Maya’s rendering process is somewhat more user-friendly than Blender’s. It’s also capable of producing more photo-realistic and, generally speaking, better-quality renders. This is because Maya’s engines are more powerful than Blender’s, likely due to the more professional focus (and price) of Maya.

Both Blender and Maya have tools for navigation and transformation, manipulating both objects and elements of the mesh of an object. Beyond that, Maya has a well-equipped FX suite in comparison to Blender’s, which is more limited.

Regarding 3D printing compatibility, both Maya and Blender are capable of importing and exporting .stl, .obj, and .3mf files, which are the most common 3D printing formats, so both programs are more than adequate options for 3D printing. On the other hand, with so many free programs around, Maya is unlikely to be the best choice if your modeling focus is 3D printing.

Both Maya and Blender are used for modeling and animation. The big difference, then, is the scope of applications of the resulting models and animations.

Between the two, Maya is the most popular option for VFX, CGI, and professional projects. It’s generally not used for simply modeling, but for modeling and animation purposes. For example, Maya was used to animate the characters in the video game Last of Us 2 and for the 2020 Netflix animated film The Willoughbys. Maya is also preferred for hyper-realistic models and is great for working on highly textured models such as this Clefairy.

Blender, in contrast, is more used for modeling applications like 3D printing, organic modeling, and hard-surface modeling. However, some shorts and student films have been developed using Blender. It’s commonly used for animation by small studios with a tighter budget, hobbyists, and amateurs – for example, the charming short “Casper”  by Kavin Arulnambi.

The software is a very popular option to create game assets, and it also has functionality suitable for 2D animation. Blender’s set of tools includes the grease pencil, which lets you 2D draw in a 3D space.

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Although both have a strong community of designers and artists, Blender definitely edges out Maya with its strong and supportive online community. This is probably due to the fact that Blender is more appealing to hobbyists and newcomers, meaning there are many more people learning it independently. This leads to long question threads online, and a larger market for tutorials.

While both programs do offer a lot of support for beginners, there’s less out there to guide you if you’re looking for help with advanced features. Blender has an official support section, with tutorials, and there’s also Blender Market, where people can sell texture packs, models, or training courses. Finally, there’s a vast selection of tutorials available on YouTube.

Maya also has an official support section with learning tutorials that teach you how to use plug-ins, basic features, and special effects. They also have an official forum where the Maya team will answer your questions. And finally, there’s always a wide range of YouTube tutorials available.

If you’re a beginner who just wants to explore 3D modeling, Blender is a good place to start. Even though the UI is not as beginner-friendly as Maya’s, it’s still pretty understandable, and it will allow you to explore and learn the principles of modeling and animation for free. This means that when you’re further down the line and ready to purchase a more advanced program, you already know all the basics.

If you want to work in the animation industry, you’ll find that more companies appreciate a working knowledge of Maya. Although it covers modeling, texturing, animating, and rendering, the software’s primary end use is producing good animations. Therefore, it may be more useful to pursue expertise in Maya. If you’re studying something related, you might even get an educational license for free.

Though Maya is the industry standard, for independent work such as modeling for 3D printing or independent video game development, Blender is a tool with all the necessary resources. It strives to be useful for a bit of everything, enabling you to do a lot in just one program.

At the end of the day, any program can give you good results if you practice and learn. Having superior software won’t lead to perfect models unless you put time into it. With this in mind, both Blender and Maya are great options.