SAM vs Connecter: which asset manager fits a 3ds Max artist?

Ask on an archviz forum which asset manager to use and someone will say Connecter. It's a fair answer. Connecter is a mature, well-built DAM from Design Connected, and its Basic plan is free for one person.

I build SAM, so read this with that in mind. I'll tell you where Connecter is the better choice, and I'd rather you pick the right tool than the one I make.

Two different bets

Connecter is built for breadth. Design Connected describe it as a local-first DAM "for all 3D artists and creative teams of any size". It works with 3ds Max, Blender, Unreal, Revit, Maya, Cinema 4D and Rhino, and it adds team features on top: web catalogues you can share with clients, a review system, version control and AI tagging.

SAM is built for depth in one place: the 3ds Max visualiser who buys models, keeps a big personal library and spends too much of every project getting those models into a scene. It's one app for Windows plus a menu inside 3ds Max 2025, 2026 and 2027. It doesn't try to serve other programs yet. A Blender connector is planned for late 2027.

That difference explains most of the table below.

Side by side

Connecter details and prices are taken from Design Connected's own pages, checked on 29 September 2026. Prices are shown in the currency their site displays and may differ where you are. If something has changed, tell me and I'll correct it.

Where SAM does more

Getting purchases into the library. If you buy from 3dsky, most of the pain happens before any asset manager sees a file: unzipping, guessing folders, renaming. SAM queues your purchases, downloads them, unpacks zip, rar and 7z, and files each model by your folder rules. It only ever touches what you've already bought.

Relinking as part of the library. Both tools fix missing maps. In SAM you can relink missing maps across a whole folder of models at once, without opening each file, so a bought pack is fixed before you ever place it. The full method, including how to do it by hand, is in how to relink 3ds Max files without opening them.

Models you can trust. SAM recognises each model, checks its real size, holds back anything that looks wrong for you to review and never edits your original file. The Set Builder then places copies that sit on the floor, ready to move as one piece.

Furnishing a room. This is the part SAM is really built for. Describe the room in a sentence ("dining for six, warm oak, black metal") and the Set Builder assembles two or three matching sets from models you already own, oriented and ready to place. You swap or lock any piece, and it places the set in 3ds Max as normal, editable objects.

Where Connecter is the better pick

• Your studio works in more than 3ds Max. If Blender, Unreal or Cinema 4D are part of the daily pipeline, Connecter covers them today. SAM doesn't.
• You work as a team and share with clients. Web catalogues, review and version control are real strengths of Connecter. SAM's Studio plan gives you seats on one invoice, but no web catalogues, client review or version control.
• You want something free today. Connecter's Basic plan costs nothing for one person, and Solo is inexpensive if you outgrow it. SAM is still in early access.

How to decide

Don't decide from a comparison post, this one included. Take the messiest pack on your drive, the one whose textures point at someone else's machine, and run it through Connecter's Basic plan. Then ask yourself where your hours actually go. If it's sharing and reviewing across a team, Connecter is built for you. If it's buying, filing, fixing and placing models in 3ds Max, that's what SAM is for.

SAM is in early access. Join the waitlist to try the beta on your own library.

Further reading: How to relink 3ds Max files without opening them · 3dsky downloads without the unzipping · Everything SAM does