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 panel 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
| SAM | Connecter | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | 3ds Max artists with a large bought library | 3D artists and teams across many programs |
| 3D programs | 3ds Max 2025–2027 (Blender planned) | 3ds Max, Blender, Unreal, Revit, Maya, Cinema 4D, Rhino |
| Browse and search | Grid with filters, search by words or by a reference image | Visual previews, interactive 3D viewer, tags |
| Tags | Suggested from real preview images, you confirm each one | AI tagging and renaming at scale |
| 3dsky purchases | Downloads, unpacks and files them for you | Not a focus |
| Relink missing maps | Across many files without opening 3ds Max | Yes, through its 3ds Max connection |
| Clean-up before merging | Real size, floor pivot and front direction worked out for every model, originals untouched | Not a focus |
| Furnishing a scene | Set Builder proposes matching sets from your own library | Not a focus |
| Team features | None at launch | Web catalogues, reviews, version control |
| Where files live | Your PC. Images and models never leave it | Your drives, with cloud or self-hosted metadata |
| Price | Not set yet (early access) | Basic free for one person with limited features. Solo from $5 a month, Duo for two, Teams per licence (minimum three) |
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 it happens when a model enters the library: SAM reads the .max file without opening 3ds Max and relinks missing maps across a whole folder at once, 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 that merge correctly. Every model in the library gets a real-world size, a pivot at floor centre and the right front direction. SAM works this out from the model itself rather than trusting how the file was saved, stores the result and never edits your original file.
Furnishing a room. This is the part nothing else does. Describe the room in a sentence ("dining for six, warm oak, black metal") and the Set Builder proposes two or three matching sets using only models you already own. You swap or lock any piece, and it places the set in 3ds Max as ordinary, editable objects in one undo step.
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 has no team features at launch.
- 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
One app for your whole 3ds Max model library.
SAM downloads and files your 3dsky purchases, finds any model by words or a picture, cleans models before you merge them, and builds furniture sets from what you already own.
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