
Mari is more feature-rich, and takes longer to learn. Painter is much easier to learn than Mari, and the UI is cleaner and easier to understand. The performance in Mari is also much better for large assets, which is one of the main reasons it's used heavily in the film industry. Mari also has much better pipeline tools compared to Substance 3D Painter, such as texture transfer tools between different models, along with generally more control over each pixel. For large assets, Mari's nodal workflow makes it incredibly fast and flexible. While Substance 3D Painter is layer-based, Mari has both layers and nodes. Painter also has better procedural tools than Mari, but worse tools for photo projection.



Mari remains the preferred texturing tool in the film industry, while Substance 3D Painter is commonly used in games.
