Wafer vs Material Maker

Wafer8.4Visit Material Maker8.3Visit

Higher score Wafer #6 in 3D Texturing Software 8.4/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 3 of 5 features Visit Wafer

vs

Material Maker #7 in 3D Texturing Software 8.3/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 4 of 5 features Visit Material Maker

• Wafer fits best

  Artists prioritizing high-resolution painting

• Material Maker fits best

  Free procedural materials for game engines

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Side by side

Feature	Wafer 8.4/10 Visit ↗	Material Maker 8.3/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.4	8.3
Ranking	#6 in 3D Texturing Software	#7 in 3D Texturing Software
Best for	Artists prioritizing high-resolution painting	Free procedural materials for game engines
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Free
Starting price	—	Free
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Desktop, Mobile	Desktop
Platforms	Windows, macOS, iOS	Windows, macOS, Linux
Support	Email, Community	Community, Docs
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market	Solo, Small business
Features Wafer 3/5 · Material Maker 4/5
3D texture painting	✓	✓
Procedural materials	✓	✓
Texture baking	—	Not checked yet
PBR workflow	✓	✓
Node-based authoring	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Specs
Maximum texture resolution	24 px	Not checked yet
Supported platforms	windows, macos, ios	windows, macos, linux
Our review
Pros	Direct 3D and 2D painting with layered channel control Supports color, roughness, and metallic painting together Configurable export supports texture sets and channel packing	Free, open-source desktop software for Windows, macOS, and Linux Node graphs support procedural PBR materials and multiple channels Export workflows cover Godot, Unity, and Unreal
Cons	No texture baking workflow No verified integrations Desktop licenses do not work with the Apple App Store	3D model painting is described as experimental The workflow centers on procedural node-based authoring No paid tier adds expanded capabilities or support
Our verdict	Wafer is a 3D texture-painting application for artists creating stylized, hand-painted, and non-photorealistic assets. It supports direct painting on 3D meshes and 2D UV views, with layers, masks, blend modes, opacity controls, and… Read the review →	Material Maker is a free, open-source desktop application for creating procedural materials and exporting PBR textures or materials. It is aimed at artists, technical artists, game developers, and other users working on Windows, macOS, or… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Wafer — where it wins

  • Direct 3D and 2D painting with layered channel control
  • Supports color, roughness, and metallic painting together
  • Configurable export supports texture sets and channel packing

  Where it doesn't

  • No texture baking workflow
  • No verified integrations
  • Desktop licenses do not work with the Apple App Store

• Material Maker — where it wins

  • Free, open-source desktop software for Windows, macOS, and Linux
  • Node graphs support procedural PBR materials and multiple channels
  • Export workflows cover Godot, Unity, and Unreal

  Where it doesn't

  • 3D model painting is described as experimental
  • The workflow centers on procedural node-based authoring
  • No paid tier adds expanded capabilities or support

• Wafer8.4/10 · Free plan

  A focused texture-painting tool with broad channel control and 24K export.

  Visit WaferFull verdict →
• Material Maker8.3/10 · Free plan

  A free node-based material tool for procedural PBR work across major game engines.

  Visit Material MakerFull verdict →