Poliigon Reviews

Summary: I have been using Poliigon since 2020, originally drawn to the platform after seeing a video by Andrew Price (Blender Guru). At the time, I was amazed by the quality of the ready-to-use textures and the convenience of the Blender plugin.

However, the platform has changed drastically in recent years. It feels as though their original business model wasn't sustainable, leading them to either aggressively maximize profits or implement predatory tactics. They transitioned to a credit-based system, which isn't an issue in itself; the real problem is how they force you to stay subscribed at all costs. If you cancel, you instantly lose the credits you paid for. You can pause for up to three months, but after that, you are forced to either start paying again or watch your remaining balance vanish.

I admit I am a bit biased because during their transition from the flat-rate asset model to the credit system, all of my accumulated credits were deleted.

I cannot fault the technical work Poliigon does—they still produce some of the highest-quality textures on the market. But in an era where high-quality CC0 alternatives are thriving, a company that actively punishes users for trying to cancel is going in the completely wrong direction. It is disappointing to see creators like Blender Guru continue to heavily promote Poliigon on YouTube when there are now far better, consumer-friendly alternatives for beginners that won't hold your paid credits hostage.

If Poliigon introduced the ability to infinitely pause a subscription, it would be a major step in the right direction. Ultimately, though, the practice of deleting paid credits has to go. I would gladly accept a more expensive service or receive fewer credits per month if it meant I actually owned what I paid for without a ticking clock.

Positive: - The free Poliigon Blender plugin is an excellent, user-friendly tool.

- The asset library offers exceptionally high-quality materials.

Negative: - Restrictive Credit System: The platform relies on a credit-based subscription framework that feels highly anti-consumer.

- Punitive Cancellation Policy: If you cancel your subscription, any remaining credits you have paid for are immediately deleted rather than rolling over.

- Limited Pause Window: You are only allowed to pause your subscription for a maximum of 3 months. After that, you are forced to resume paying or lose all accumulated credits.

- Restrictive Licensing: You are strictly prohibited from selling 3D models that embed or bake in Poliigon textures. While a restrictive license is understandable for paid content, it makes the platform hard to justify when modern competitors like Poly Haven or ambientCG offer CC0 options.

- Poor Communication: In my experience, major policy changes and platform updates are not communicated clearly or transparently to the user base.

Summary: I had been using the program for 2 years and had accumulated points. However, I didn't use all of them because obviously I'm not going to download the materials just for the sake of it. So I paused my subscription so as not to continue increasing my amount of credits. What happens? I used Poliigon again weeks later and I see that I have 0 CREDITS, the site takes away every point you had paid, it is as if I bought a tool, left it at my house and the manufacturer comes in and takes it away for not using it when I already I paid for it.

Positive: Great quality images, you can decide the size of the file you just bought and also the 3d models are ready to set up.
The web design is nice, you understand very quickly where to move.

Negative: They force you to pay monthly, otherwise they steal your credits.
They don't respond to any messages.