Comparison

Moves by Maxon vs Valence 3D

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Moves by Maxon

Capture facial and full-body motion, or scan 3D objects using your iPhone or iPad. Seamlessly transfer your creations into Cinema 4D for animation and 3D modeling. Ideal for bringing expressions, movements, or scanned items into your 3D projects.

Highlights
  • Facial motion capture
  • Full-body motion capture
  • 3D object scanning (photogrammetry)
  • Real-time 3D model generation
  • Transfer to Cinema 4D
  • ARKit body tracking
Read full description

Moves by Maxon is available on the iOS App Store for all iPhones and iPads running iOS 15.0 and later. Get Your Moves On! -------------------- With Moves by Maxon for iPhone and iPad you can capture facial and full-body movement or scan 3D objects and then bring them into 3D space in Cinema 4D. Whether you want to bring your facial expressions, best dance moves or a model of your favorite teddy bear into the world of 3D, Moves by Maxon is the perfect app. Download it now! Object Capture ---------------- Photogrammetry based object capture couldn't be easier! Place the object you want to import in a well lit spot where it can be photographed from all angles. Start taking snapshots and the on-screen tool shows a record of where you have snapped. Moves by Maxon will let you know when there are enough images. Then connect and send the images to Cinema 4D and watch the magic happen! For best results, start practicing with simple objects such as a small stuffed toy or desktop sculpture. Note - Object Capture is only supported by Cinema 4D 2023 and later running on macOS Monterey. Facial Motion Capture ----------------------------- With Face Capture, you can capture facial expressions with iPad or iPhone. It's as easy as recording a selfie video. Start the camera and off you go. The app uses the capture data to generate a moving 3D model in real time, which you can then transfer to 3D geometry in Cinema 4D. The movements of your facial expressions are precisely detected and can be used to create impressive facial animations in Cinema 4D without any previous knowledge. Want to learn how? Check out our tutorials on www.cineversity.com. Body Motion Capture ---------------------------- You can record entire body movements as well! When videos are recorded in the Moves by Maxon app with your iPhone or iPad camera, Apple ARKit analyzes the movements in realtime and creates an animated 3D "skeleton" that is superimposed on the video. This provides a preview and the ability evaluate the recording of your moves. Once you've imported the capture data into Cinema 4D - a simple and intuitive process - you can adjust the data there and transfer it to a 3D figure to perform your very own moves. Please note: Capturing body motion is a relatively new feature of Apple's ARKit, so capturing clean full figure motion requires some preparation and finesse. Therefore, there are a few things you should consider when capturing body movements to ensure good results. Contrast Matters ---------------------- The person being captured should stand out from the background. So, choose dark clothes for light backgrounds and vice versa. Fitted clothing will produce better results than loose or baggy clothing. Extreme patterns in clothing are also not optimal. Don't Move Too Fast --------------------------- Due to the motion blur that occurs when recording fast movements, the contours can become blurred and no longer be precisely captured by the app. Pirouettes and similar fast movements should be avoided for best results. Avoid Overlapping ------------------------ Moves by Maxon may not be able to distinguish and interpret movements where arms or legs cross each other or are crossed in front of or behind the body correctly. This can cause captured movement to "fidget" for a short time. Quiet movements without repeatedly crossing the arms or legs provide more accurate recordings. Cinema 4D is required to utilize the captured movement and the Moves by Maxon connectivity comes preinstalled. If you do not have Cinema 4D, a free trial version is available at www.maxon.net.

About

Valence 3D

This app is a powerful yet user-friendly 3D modeling and design tool for iPad and iPhone. It offers a comprehensive set of tools for creating, importing, editing, and exporting 3D models, suitable for both beginners and professionals across various industries.

Highlights
  • Extensive primitive shapes library
  • Import and export various 3D file formats
  • Advanced modeling and mesh operations
  • Non-destructive mesh modifiers
  • Intuitive navigation and context-aware tools
  • Automatic saving and iCloud syncing
Features
Read full description

Valence 3D is a powerful, beautiful, minimal, and easy-to-use 3D Polygon & SubD modeling app for iPad & iPhone. No matter whether you're learning 3D modeling for the first time or a professional working in design, construction, gaming, web dev, digital fabrication, architecture, or spatial computing, Valence 3D has what you need to get started! CREATE, IMPORT, EDIT & EXPORT 3D MODELS • 25 primitive shapes are built-in & ready to help you start modeling: plane, box, sphere, squircle, rounded box, arc, circle, cylinder, tube, cone, capsule, torus, icosphere, pipe, revolve, helix, voronoi, text, super shape, noise surfaces, torus knot, faceted gem & tube. • Import existing models, reference images, lidar scans and room plans • Imports: OBJ, STL, USD, USDZ • Exports: PNG, SVG, OBJ, STL, USD, USDZ, GLTF, GLB • Knife tool to create complex and detailed geometry • Move, Rotate, & Scale gizmos make it easy to transform nodes, faces, edges & vertices • Powerful modeling gizmos for extruding, insetting, beveling, poking, creasing & cutting • Multiple selection & automatic loop selection help accelerate your modeling • Tap on one of the gizmo handles to bring up an input field for precise transformations & mesh operations • Robust snapping & alignment commands • Selection operations: grow, shrink, select shell & deselect • Mesh operations: duplicate, instance, set / center pivot, trim by plane, boolean, apply transform & subdivide • Face operations: separate, combine, bridge, extract, poke, collapse, delete, dissolve, harden & soften • Edge operations: extrude, insert vertex, collapse, dissolve, bridge, harden & soften • Vertex operations: insert edge, dissolve, delete & merge • Non-destructive & configurable mesh modifiers: mirror & subdivision • Apply complex transformations using different gizmo pivot points & orientations EASILY NAVIGATE & STAY IN FLOW WHILE DESIGNING • Carefully crafted & fully optimized for iPhone & iPad • Designed to minimize cognitive overload by only showing tools & commands that are contextually relevant • Easily navigate to any part of your model by dragging and pinching: two finger pinch to zoom and roll, and one finger drag to rotate • Pop into the standard orthographic views by tapping one of the handles of the orientation gizmo • Use two & three finger tap gestures to undo & redo • Select components by dragging or using the rectangular selection mode • Your work is saved automatically every two minutes and every time you go back to the gallery • Get an overview of your scene’s structure from the Outliner • Long press on a node in the Outliner to easily rename, duplicate, instance, delete, parent & reorder any object in your scene • Precisely adjust any node’s position, rotation & scale with the Inspector • Adjust material properties, display & modifier options with the Inspector STAY ORGANIZED ACROSS ALL YOUR DEVICES • Preview, share, duplicate, delete & rename your models from the gallery • iCloud syncing keeps all your models up to date, private & accessible across all your devices PREVIEW, MEASURE, & RENDER YOUR CREATIONS • 6 powerful rendering modes: Matcap, Modeling, Wireframe, Physically Based, X-Ray & Path Traced • Export renders in any aspect ratio & scale • Preview your model in AR in two taps • Export your scene as a USDZ & be confident it’ll look consistent on all Apple devices • Tweak your model’s material & see changes in real-time • Tweak-able scene settings: camera field of view, background type, blurriness, intensity & rotation • Get model measurements in one click • Add persistent dimensions between any two surfaces in your scene PURCHASE & COMPATIBILITY • One time purchase unlocks both iPhone & iPad versions • Apple Pencil supported on select iPads • 120 FPS supported on devices with ProMotion displays • Path Tracing is supported on iPads with M series chips & iPhones with A15 Bionic & later • Lidar Scan & Room Plan is supported on devices with a lidar sensor

Screenshots

Moves by Maxon3 screens
Valence 3D4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Moves by Maxon at Free against Valence 3D's $19.99. Moves by Maxon also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). Valence 3D's advantage is rating (4.2 vs 2.9) and ads (none vs shown). On in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Moves by Maxon is free to download; Valence 3D costs $19.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Valence 3D holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 2.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Valence 3D has 121 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 32% of Moves by Maxon's written reviews are positive against 61% of Valence 3D's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Moves by Maxon ships an update every 5 months, Valence 3D weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
Moves by Maxon versus Valence 3D: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMoves by MaxonValence 3D
PriceFree — better$19.99
Rating2.9 (7 ratings)4.2 (121 ratings) — better
Positive reviews32.4% of reviews60.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings7121 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsWeekly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank—#9 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size27 MB196 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMAXON Computer GmbHHi-Rez, LLC

Customer experience

Moves by Maxon

All ratings7 ratings
Positive42.9%
Neutral14.3%
Negative42.9%
Written reviews34 reviews
Positive32.4%
Neutral2.9%
Negative64.7%

Valence 3D

All ratings121 ratings
Positive76.0%
Neutral13.2%
Negative10.7%
Written reviews158 reviews
Positive60.8%
Neutral15.8%
Negative23.4%

Bugs and requests

Moves by Maxon

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Valence 3D

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Crashes on launch
  • Saved files not loading properly
  • Unreliable vertex/edge/face selection
  • Mesh corruption and data loss
  • Gizmo and navigation issues

Requested features

8 requests
  • Add boolean operations
  • Improve selection and navigation tools
  • Implement curve/spline primitives
  • Add more modeling modifiers (bevel, subdivision, etc.)
  • Provide more detailed documentation and tutorials
Show 3 more
  • Improve performance and stability
  • Add UV editing and texture support
  • Implement keyboard shortcuts and power user features

In-app purchases

None

Moves by Maxon

No in-app purchases

None

Valence 3D

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Moves by Maxon free?
Moves by Maxon is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Valence 3D free?
Valence 3D costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Moves by Maxon or Valence 3D?
Valence 3D is rated higher. Moves by Maxon averages 2.9 out of 5 from 7 ratings, while Valence 3D averages 4.2 from 121 ratings.
Do Moves by Maxon or Valence 3D have ads?
Moves by Maxon shows ads; Valence 3D does not.
Which is updated more often, Moves by Maxon or Valence 3D?
Moves by Maxon ships an update every 5 months, and Valence 3D weekly. Most recently, Moves by Maxon was updated on October 18, 2026 and Valence 3D on October 16, 2026.

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