Autodesk 3ds Max Indie

You are eligible to subscribe to 3ds Max Indie if you meet the following requirements. 

• Users’/Organizations’ annual gross revenue from creative work must be less than max threshold for your country
• You may not use the license on any project valued over $100,000 USD 
• Only one (1) license can be used per user or organization 
• Autodesk 3ds Max Indie is only eligible in the following countries
• See below for additional eligibility requirements details

3ds Max Indie is available for purchase as a subscription online.

Yes, subscribers will have access to the benefits of an Autodesk subscription.

3ds Max Indie has the same features and functionality as the full software version of 3ds Max.

There is no free-trial period available for 3ds Max Indie. However, a free trial version is available for 3ds Max.

3ds Max Indie is only available on all standard Autodesk e-store sites. Find a list here: 3ds Max Indie.

3ds Max Indie is only available as an annual subscription.

Only qualified educational institutions and current students are eligible for a student license. The student license can only be used for learning, training, or research. 3ds Max Indie can be used for commercial, professional, or other for-profit purposes.

Similar to other Autodesk subscriptions, 3ds Max Indie will auto-renew at the end of the contract term except for the India and China estores where the subscription will need to be renewed manually as auto-renewal is not available. Learn more about managing auto-renewal settings here.

Unlike a Student license, the 3ds Max Indie is available for commercial purposes, as long as you meet the eligibility requirements (see question 1).

3ds Max Indie has all of the same features and capabilities as the full version, including the integrated Arnold renderer.

If the contracting company has contracted you to deliver a specific digital product (such as a model or rendered frame) that is valued less than $100,000 USD*, you may use 3ds Max Indie.

However, if that company has hired you for your time to work on a project, a full commercial license would have to be purchased for the duration that you are working on the project. 

*Note that this limit varies depending on the country of use.

If your game has received funding over the threshold of $100,000 USD*, you are not eligible for 3ds Max Indie and must use the full commercial versions of 3ds Max.

*Note that this limit varies depending on the country of use.

If you have not formed a legal entity and the gross revenue from the side project is under $100,000 USD*, you are each eligible for 3ds Max Indie.

*Note that this limit varies depending on the country of use.

Yes, you can use 3ds Max Indie until your revenues reach $100,000 USD* at which point you would switch to the full commercial version of 3ds Max.

*Note that this limit varies depending on the country of use.

Autodesk 3ds Max Indie is intended to provide independent artists with a more affordable way to license 3ds Max on their commercial projects. However, it is not intended to be used by people or organizations that generate more than $100,000 USD* per year in revenues or on projects with budgets of over $100,000 USD.  

Note that if you are working-for-hire for an organization that generates more than $100,000 USD per year you cannot obtain a license to use 3ds Max Indie – whether you are a freelancer, a contractor a part-time or a full-time employee. In this case you must use a full subscription license. The company must either purchase a license for you or you may purchase one yourself (whether you charge it to the company you are working for or not). This is intended to prevent companies from avoiding paying Autodesk for the software license they use on their projects

This restriction applies when working-for-hire for an organization that makes over $100,000 USD per year. The restriction does not apply to the sale of digital goods to such organizations – as long as your total annual revenue from such sales does not exceed the $100,000 USD threshold.

Here are some example scenarios to help you better understand when and where you are eligible to use 3ds Max Indie:

• You create and sell digital products and have been approached by a games company with annual revenues greater than $100,000 USD to provide them with an asset (whether off-the-shelf or custom built). You are paid a fixed price for the ‘product’ delivered. In this case if your revenues are less than $100,000 USD, so you can use 3ds Max Indie. Examples of assets can be 3D models, textures or even rendered images.
• You are approached by an architectural company with revenues of over $100,000 USD to work as a freelancer creating a visualization for them. You are paid an hourly/daily/weekly rate till the project is done and the assets belong to the company – in this case you cannot use 3ds Max Indie.

The key distinction is whether what you are doing can be reasonably considered to be your own work or whether you are working for hire. If you are producing and selling your own intellectual property (IP) and make less than $100,000 USD/yr doing so, you qualify to use 3ds Max Indie. If you are working for hire for an organization that makes over $100,000 USD a year, even if you are making less, then you do not qualify to use 3ds Max Indie. We expect companies making more than $100,000/yr to pay for the full commercial licenses of the software they need (as well as the artists). 

*Note that this limit varies depending on the country of use.