Meshy
Easiest all-rounder, with textures, rigging and STL export for printing.
Free, then $20/mo
Best 3D model generators
Short answer: Meshy. Most people should start with Meshy, which does printing and games well.
Which AI turns a photo or text into 3D?
Hunyuan3D
20 free generations a day from a top-voted model.
FreeSmaller versionOpen
Hunyuan3D
Free download that makes shapes on a 10 GB NVIDIA card.
FreeSmaller versionOpen
Tripo
Top human-vote quality; Pro gives about 200 models a month.
Free, then $20/mo
Meshy 7.1 came in September and Meshy Edit in October; Bambu Lab announced its Aimia 3D AI hub in late October.
All 9 side by side.
Price, whether it runs on your own computer, and the main catch.
| # | Tool | Best for | Price | On your PC | Main downside |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | MeshyMeshyBest overall | Printing, games and quick props | Free, then $20/mo | No | Printable, but check for holes and loose parts before slicing |
| 02 | TripoTripo AI | Game assets and characters | Free, then $20/mo | No | Monthly-billing price not shown; listed prices are yearly |
| 03 | Hunyuan3DTencent | Free models and local use | Free | Smaller version | Open license excludes EU, UK and South Korea |
| 04 | Rodin (Hyper3D)Deemos | Detailed hero assets and products | Free, then $30/mo | No | Costs more per model than Meshy or Tripo |
| 05 | Hi3DHi3D (formerly Hitem3D) | Figurines and 3D printing | Free | No | Free credits are one-time, not monthly |
| 06 | SloydSloyd | Indie game props | Free, then $15/mo | No | Less detailed than Meshy, Tripo or Rodin |
| 07 | Spline AISpline | Web designers and 3D scenes | $15/mo | No | No AI generation on the free plan |
| 08 | TRELLIS.2Microsoft | Tinkerers with a strong GPU | Free | Technical | Needs a 24 GB NVIDIA card and Linux |
| 09 | SAM 3D ObjectsMeta | Objects from real photos | Free | Technical | Outputs a point-cloud style file (Gaussian splat), not a printable mesh |
Nothing matches. Try another filter.
Pros and cons of all 9
-
- Price
- Free plan, then $20/mo100 credits a month, about 10 models; CC BY license, credit Meshy.
- On your PC
- No, online only
- Exports STL and 3MF for printing, plus FBX, GLB, Blend
- Auto-rigging and an animation library for characters
- Printable, but check for holes and loose parts before slicing
- Raw meshes are dense; not low-poly game-ready without cleanup
-
Tripo
Tripo AI · Tripo H3.1 and Smart Mesh P1.0
Top-voted 3D quality, with low-poly and rigging built in.
Best valueFree plan- Price
- Free plan, then $20/mo200 credits a month, about 13 models.
- On your PC
- No, online only
- Ranked first in Crafiq's human-vote 3D arena
- Smart Mesh makes clean low-poly models for games
- Monthly-billing price not shown; listed prices are yearly
- Printing works after export, but no dedicated print checks
-
Hunyuan3D
Tencent · Hunyuan3D 3.1 online; 2.1 open download
Free top-tier 3D online, and an older version you can download.
Best freeBest on your computerFreeOpen sourceSmaller version local- Price
- Free, open source20 free generations a day online; open 2.1 model is free.
- On your PC
- Some setupNVIDIA 10 GB for shapes only; 29 GB with textures (2.1)
- Second in Crafiq's human-vote arena, close to Tripo
- Up to 8 photos as input for better accuracy
- Open license excludes EU, UK and South Korea
- Newest 3.x models are online only, not downloadable
-
Rodin (Hyper3D)
Deemos · Rodin Gen-2.5
Very detailed 3D models with clean textures, for pros.
Free plan- Price
- Free plan, then $30/moTry generations free; export only older models, 10 private assets.
- On your PC
- No, online only
- Very fine detail and PBR textures (realistic materials)
- Smart Low-Poly mode gives lighter game models
- Costs more per model than Meshy or Tripo
- No built-in rigging for characters
-
Hi3D
Hi3D (formerly Hitem3D) · Hi3D v3.0
High-detail 3D models with tools made for 3D printing.
Free- Price
- Free100 credits once, up to 3 top-quality models.
- On your PC
- No, online only
- Third in Crafiq's human-vote 3D arena
- Split to Print and multi-color print tools
- Free credits are one-time, not monthly
- Prices hidden until you sign in
-
- Price
- Free plan, then $15/mo1 AI 3D generation a day, GLB or OBJ, personal use only.
- On your PC
- No, online only
- Unlimited generations on the $15 plan
- Template models come out clean and low-poly
- Less detailed than Meshy, Tripo or Rodin
- Free plan is personal use only
-
- Price
- From $15/mo
- On your PC
- No, online only
- Generate, light, animate and publish in one editor
- Models include PBR textures (realistic materials)
- No AI generation on the free plan
- STL export for printing only on Pro and Max
-
TRELLIS.2
Microsoft · TRELLIS.2-4B
Microsoft's free open image to 3D model, for big GPUs.
FreeOpen sourceRuns on your PC- Price
- Free, open sourceFree download, commercial use allowed; free online demo on Hugging Face.
- On your PC
- TechnicalNVIDIA card with 24 GB, Linux only
- MIT license, free for commercial use
- Outputs GLB with PBR textures (realistic materials)
- Needs a 24 GB NVIDIA card and Linux
- Command line setup, no simple app
-
SAM 3D Objects
Meta · SAM 3D Objects
Pick any object in a photo and turn it into 3D.
FreeOpen sourceRuns on your PC- Price
- Free, open sourceFree web demo from Meta; model download is free.
- On your PC
- TechnicalNVIDIA card with 32 GB, Linux only
- Works on objects inside messy real photos
- Free online demo, no setup
- Outputs a point-cloud style file (Gaussian splat), not a printable mesh
- Not game-ready without conversion and cleanup
3 of these run on your own computer.
Private and offline. Check what your machine can handle.
| Tool | Setup | You need |
|---|---|---|
| Hunyuan3D | Smaller version | NVIDIA 10 GB for shapes only; 29 GB with textures (2.1) |
| TRELLIS.2 | Technical | NVIDIA card with 24 GB, Linux only |
| SAM 3D Objects | Technical | NVIDIA card with 32 GB, Linux only |
Quick answers.
What is the best free AI 3D model generator?
Hunyuan3D online gives 20 free generations a day. Meshy's free plan gives about 10 models a month under a CC BY license, so you must credit Meshy. TRELLIS.2 is fully free but needs a big graphics card.
Can I 3D print a model made by AI?
Yes. Meshy, Rodin, Hi3D and Spline Pro export STL or 3MF files for slicers. Always check for holes and loose floating parts in your slicer first; Meshy's own print check missed broken parts in a 3Dnatives test.
Are AI 3D models game-ready?
Partly. Textures are usually fine, but raw meshes are heavy. Use a low-poly mode (Tripo Smart Mesh, Rodin Smart Low-Poly) and auto-rigging for characters before putting them in a game.
Can I generate 3D models offline on my own PC?
Yes, with an NVIDIA card. Hunyuan3D 2.1 makes shapes with 10 GB of graphics memory and needs 29 GB for textures. TRELLIS.2 needs 24 GB and Linux. Macs are not well supported.
Meshy or Tripo, which is better?
Tripo ranked higher in a recent human-vote arena and has cleaner low-poly output for games. Meshy is easier, has more print features and file formats. Both have free plans, so try one photo on each.
What happened to Luma Genie and CSM?
Luma shut down Genie on 1 January 2026; old models can still be exported. CSM (Cube) was bought by Google in January 2026. Its future as a public app is unclear.
Rankings we read: 3D Arena (Hugging Face), Crafiq 3D Arena. Prices from each official pricing page, checked 2026-11-05.