There are hundreds of applications that you can download onto your computer, and all of these applications can be capable of doing different things. Some of these applications require licenses to install them onto your machine or one-time payments and subscriptions. In the case of Blender 3D is one of those applications that require an investment to begin using.
Blender 3D is a free-to-use 3D modeling suite that is free to install, download, and use. There are no upfront or hidden costs to using the blender software. No registration or Internet connection is required to begin using either beyond the initial download of the software.
You won’t have to worry about paying any fees to use Blender 3D because it is classed as an open-source application. And this will remain so for many years to come.
How To Download Blender?
If you ask whether or not blender is free to install, you probably haven’t downloaded this yet. So it’s only fair that we take you through the initial download process, which you can begin by going to the blender.org website.
One of the best things about the blender software is that it is developed by the Blender Foundation and is the only tool developed by that foundation. That means 100% of their time, investment, and energy goes into this application.
As soon as you reach the home page of their website, you will be met with a big blue button close to the top of that homepage.
Click on this button, and it will take you to the download page of the Blender website. Here you will find another big blue button labeled Download Blender Version.
Once you click on this blue button, you will then begin the download process for Blender. Once the download has been completed, you can open up the blender folder and begin the installation process. It’s as simple as any other program, just accept any terms and conditions and then click accept to begin the installation process.
Once that is finished, simply locate Blender on your computer and open it up as she would any other program to begin using it.
Why Is Blender Free To Install?
Blender is a free-to-use application that is easy to download, install, and use for just about any purpose. This is because Blender is an open-source program where we have access to the software and the source code so that we can edit our version of Blender however we wish.
Blender is protected by copyleft licensing, which means that the Blender Foundation, which develops the software, cannot sell blender at any point for any price. The software must always be available to the global community for free.
This also applies to any edited versions of the Blender software, so while you can edit your version of Blender using the source code, you cannot sell that edited version. This is because it is still protected under the copyleft license.
Will I Ever Have To Pay For Blender In Any Way?
Because of the copyleft licensing, we will never have to pay for Blender itself, which will remain for many years. But does that mean that everything created four or within Blender will be a part of that copyleft licensing?
The answer to that is no. As a part of the development of Blender, the global community can use the source code or even the script editor within Blender to begin creating what is known as add-ons.
Other programs can refer to these as plugins that are used to extend the capabilities of the original software. When you download Blender, you will have access to many add-ons that you can use to improve the blender experience further, and these are made available for free with the download.
However, suppose you were to go and research additional add-ons that other people have created. In that case, you may need to pay a fee to acquire those add-ons as they are additional products created by those community-based developers and do not fall under the copyleft license.
While Blender itself cannot be sold, any products or assets created using the blender software can. For example, if you were a 3D artist creating character models for use in animations, you would be able to sell those character models for the price that you deem appropriate. Anything you create using the software does not fall under that copyleft license and therefore is yours and yours alone to do as you wish.
Start Using And Learning About Blender 3D
Now that you know Blender is a free-to-use application that is easy to download, install and begin using, there’s very little to stop you from giving it a go. But if you’re not sure where to start, check out some of our additional blender articles below so that you can begin learning more about the 3D software.
