Nuke

Overview

Nuke is Foundry's node-based compositing software for visual effects in film, animation and episodic work. It runs on Windows, macOS and Linux and is built for compositors and pipeline teams who combine plates, CG renders and 3D in one node graph. The family spans Nuke, NukeX and Nuke Studio, sold as annual subscriptions or quarterly rentals, with a lower-priced Indie licence for solo artists earning under $100,000 a year and a free non-commercial version.

Key Facts

Features

Inputs

Plates, CG renders and 3D scenes brought into a node graph, with OpenEXR, USD and Hydra support. Nuke Studio also conforms and ingests AAF, XML and EDL files, and the UnrealReader node pulls renders from Unreal Engine with render layer isolation and camera override. No video is generated from a prompt

Timeline and editing

Node-based compositing with over 200 creative nodes rather than an editing timeline. Nuke Studio adds multi-shot management, an editorial timeline and conform

Platforms

Windows 11 (64-bit), macOS Sequoia (15.x) and Tahoe (26.x), and Rocky Linux 9 (64-bit). GPU-accelerated nodes on Windows and Linux need an NVIDIA GPU with drivers for CUDA 12.8 or above, or a supported AMD Radeon PRO card. Nuke 17.1 is the final version with a build for Intel-based Macs

Formats and codecs

OpenEXR, plus USD and Hydra in the 3D system, and AAF, XML and EDL for conform in Nuke Studio. MPEG4 and H.264 are disabled in Non-commercial, and Indie does not ingest H.264 or AAC audio. No full codec list is published on the product page

Colour grading

Colour management with OpenColorIO and ACES, plus MatchGrade and GenerateLUT nodes, which do not export LUTs on the Indie and Non-commercial licences

Effects and motion graphics

Over 200 creative nodes including keyers, deep compositing that reduces re-rendering of CG elements when content changes, and an integrated 3D environment for projection work with custom geometry. NukeX adds advanced camera tracking, a Planar Tracker, the Smart Vector toolset, Furnace plug-ins, Kronos retiming, lens distortion, a 3D particle system and Cara VR for mono and stereo 360° stitching

Audio

An AudioRead node reads uncompressed WAV and AIFF files to show a waveform in the Curve Editor and Dope Sheet, turn it into keyframe curves and flipbook the comp with sound. Nuke Studio adds audio tracks on the timeline from WAV files or audio inside MOV containers, with independent volume for track headers and shots, file channels assigned to separate tracks and eight output channel options per shot, including centre and LFE

Performance and output

GPU-accelerated nodes on NVIDIA and AMD cards, and Nuke Render, a headless render-only licence at $462 a year, runs on render farms. NukeX annual subscriptions include two Nuke Render and two Nuke Assist licences

Licence and pricing model

Annual subscription or quarterly rental for Nuke, NukeX and Nuke Studio. Nuke Indie is $499 a year for one user with annual gross revenue under $100,000, with up to 4K output, Python limited to 10 commands and project files readable only by Indie or Non-commercial. Nuke Non-commercial is free, without watermark, with HD output and files that cannot be opened in the commercial version

AI features

CopyCat in NukeX trains neural networks on an artist's own shots to create custom effects, on an NVIDIA GPU or an Apple silicon GPU; inference and other machine learning plug-ins can also run on the CPU at much lower performance. No video is generated from a prompt

API

Yes. A Python API with PySide, a C++ SDK and BlinkScript

Integrations

• Unreal Engine

Deployment and Support

Deployment

• On-premise

Support

• Community forum

Onboarding

• Documentation and knowledge base

Pros and Cons

Pricing

• Nuke Non-commercial

  $0

  Non-watermarked Nuke, NukeX and Nuke Studio for non-commercial use. Output limited to HD (1920 x 1080), limited Python, no third-party plug-ins.

• Nuke Indie

  $499 / year

  For users with annual gross revenue under $100,000. One user, up to 4K output, NukeX compositing tools and Nuke Studio's editorial environment, Python limited to 10 commands, community support only.

• Nuke

  $3,839 / year

  Or $2,089 a quarter as a rental. Over 200 creative nodes, integrated 3D environment, Python API and C++ SDK.

• NukeX

  $5,219 / year

  Or $2,869 a quarter as a rental. Adds advanced camera tracking, cleanup and correction plug-ins, Cara VR and CopyCat; the annual subscription includes 2 Nuke Assist and 2 Nuke Render licences.

• Nuke Studio

  $6,379 / year

  Or $3,509 a quarter as a rental. Adds multi-shot management, an editorial timeline and conform of AAF, XML and EDL.

• Nuke Render

  $462 / year

  Headless render-only licence for render farms.

Best For

• Media & Creative

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