Forma3D vs Forge Slicer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Forma3D
Create and edit 3D models directly on your iPhone or iPad. Prepare designs for 3D printing with precise tools and export to common formats. Ideal for beginners and experienced users alike.
- Create primitive 3D shapes
- Precise transformation controls
- Boolean operations (union, subtract)
- Mesh editing (vertices, edges, faces)
- STL and 3MF import/export
- Beginner-friendly interface
- X-Ray mode for transparency
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Forma3D is a professional 3D mesh editor for iPhone and iPad — built for makers, 3D printing enthusiasts, and anyone who needs to create, fix, or modify 3D models on the go. No laptop. No cloud. Everything runs locally on your device, offline, with desktop-grade mesh editing. ▸ PAINT & MULTI-FILAMENT 3MF EXPORT Paint with a brush directly on your model, then export a 3MF file with per-face color data ready for multi-filament printing. Bambu Studio and Creality Print read the embedded colors automatically — your paint job travels to the slicer intact. ▸ SCULPT MODE Sculpt meshes with a gesture-based brush — push, pull, and smooth with falloff presets and Apple Pencil support. ▸ SKETCH MODE Draw a shape or import an SVG and turn it into 3D geometry in one tap. ▸ LITHOPHANE GENERATOR Turn any photo into a printable lithophane — a depth-mapped relief that comes alive when backlit. ▸ SPLIT WITH JOINTS Split meshes along edge loops into printable parts with built-in joints — cylinder, square peg, cone, or ball. Perfect for models bigger than your build plate. ▸ EDGE LOOP TOOLS Select entire edge loops and fill them with clean topology: Grid Fill for quad surfaces, Bridge for connecting boundaries. ▸ MESH EDITING AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Switch between Object Mode and Edit Mode. Select and edit vertices, edges, and faces with Single, Rectangle, Oval, or Brush selection. Move, rotate, and scale with a transform gizmo or numeric input. ▸ PROFESSIONAL MODELING TOOLS • Extrude — live preview with direction toggle • Inset — adjustable depth • Bevel — custom segments and profile control • Boolean — Union and Subtract (Manifold CSG) • Cut — Line, Circle, Ellipse, Rectangle, Polygon, Freehand • Mirror — across X, Y, or Z • Revolve — lathe geometry from a profile • Subdivide / Simplify — resolution where you need it • Remesh — uniform quad topology with quality control • 3D Text — extruded text objects ▸ PRIMITIVES & FILE FORMATS Cube, Sphere, Soft variants, Cylinder, Torus, Pyramid, Plane, Tube, Bolt, Nut. Import STL, 3MF, OBJ, PLY, DAE, ABC, USD, FBX and GLB — plus native Blender .blend scenes with mirror modifiers and object transforms applied. Export to STL, 3MF (Bambu-ready), OBJ, FBX, GLB or USDZ — with colors. ▸ 3D SCANNING (LiDAR) Scan real objects and edit the mesh immediately — scan, fix, print without switching apps. ▸ PRECISION & MEASUREMENT Ruler in millimeters, 20 mm build-plate grid, snap-to-grid, keyboard numeric input. ▸ VISUALIZATION Orthographic view cube, X-Ray mode, wireframe (triangles/quads), custom lighting and viewport colors. ▸ UNDO / REDO & PROJECTS Full history, native .forma3d projects, objects list panel. ▸ APPLE PENCIL Hover tooltips and precise component editing optimized for Pencil. ▸ 21 LANGUAGES English, Deutsch, Français, 日本語, 简体中文, 繁體中文, Español, Italiano, 한국어, Português, Русский, Українська, Nederlands, Polski, Türkçe, Svenska, العربية, हिन्दी, ไทย, Tiếng Việt, Bahasa Indonesia.
Forge Slicer
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Forge is a complete 3D printing slicer that runs entirely on your iPhone. Import an STL, place it on the bed, scale and rotate it, slice it, preview the toolpaths layer by layer, and export G-code to your printer — no laptop, no account, no upload. NOTHING LEAVES YOUR PHONE Forge contains no networking code at all. Your models are parsed, sliced and exported on the device. There is no account to create, no cloud sync, no analytics and no ads. That is not a setting you switch on — it is how the app is built. A REAL SLICER, NOT A VIEWER - Draft, Standard and Fine presets to start from - Layer height and first-layer height - Wall count, top layers and bottom layers - Five infill patterns — Lines, Grid, Triangles, Gyroid and Concentric — with adjustable density - Nozzle and bed temperature, with a separate first-layer temperature - Print speed control - Automatic retraction and a first-layer skirt - True top and bottom surface detection, so solid faces land where they belong - Filament length, weight and estimated print time before you commit SET UP FOR YOUR PRINTER Bed width, depth and maximum height. Nozzle diameter. 1.75 mm or 2.85 mm filament. Heated or unheated bed. Origin at the corner or at the bed centre for delta machines and some cartesians. SEE IT BEFORE YOU PRINT Preview the generated toolpaths layer by layer. Scrub through the model and see exactly where walls, infill and solid surfaces go — before you commit filament to it. EASY TO GET MODELS IN Open an STL from Files, iCloud Drive, AirDrop, Mail or Safari — Forge appears in Open With across the system. Six sample models are built in, including a 20 mm calibration cube, so there is something to slice the moment you install it. A built-in list of model sites points you at Printables, MakerWorld, Thingiverse and Thangs. EXPORT ANYWHERE AirDrop G-code straight to your Mac, email it, or save it to Files and copy it to a USB drive or SD card. You can also export the edited mesh back out as an STL, with your scale and rotation baked in. SHORTCUTS Import, slice and open models from the Shortcuts app. BUILT FROM SCRATCH Forge's geometry kernel was written specifically for this app and is checked against a verification suite of solids with hand-computed answers. Integer-precision arithmetic means contours close reliably instead of almost closing. Forge is free. No in-app purchases, no subscriptions, no ads.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Forge Slicer at none against Forma3D's 3. On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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
Both are free to download. Forma3D sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Forge Slicer asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | Forma3D | Forge Slicer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (7 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 83.3% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 7 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 days | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 16.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 36 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Denis Vazyulya | mark jent |
In-app purchases
Forma3D
- Forma3D subscription3 Days trial$6.991 Month
- Forma3D - Year3 Days trial$49.991 Year
- Lifetime access to Forma3D$99.99
Forge Slicer
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Forma3D free?
Is Forge Slicer free?
Do Forma3D or Forge Slicer have ads?
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