Ultimate Guide to Fractal Generators:

The Best Fractal Software in 2021 (Free & Paid)

What is a Fractal Generator?

A fractal art generator is software that makes it easy to create your own fractals without coding. You might have heard of some already, like Mandelbulb 3D, Apophysis, JWildFire, and others.

This guide will cover:

• The best fractal generators (with images)

• What is a fractal, in both math and nature?

• How to learn to code your own fractals

• Courses and books to learn fractal/generative art

• Fractal images to inspire your creativity

Recommended course:

The most fun and powerful way to create fractals is to code them yourself. If you want to learn how to create generative art, we recommend NYU’s excellent Creative Coding class.

We also highly recommend the book The Nature of Code, an entertaining and exceptionally practical guide to creative coding.

What is fractal art?

You’ve probably seen desktop wallpaper with spiraling geometric patterns that look almost psychedelic. These patterns that look similar when repeated at different scales are called fractals.

Fractals are a branch of mathematics that help us understand biological structures like leaves, astronomical concepts like gas clouds, accurate representations of coastlines, and much more.

What Are Fractals in Math and Nature?

Imagine the coastline of a sea. If you're miles above in a satellite, it's structure looks similar to when you're much closer in a plane. It looks similar on foot, and even retains its overall pattern under a microscope.

At each level of scale, it has the same pattern.

This is an example of a fractal: a pattern that looks similar no matter what scale you look at it. The more you zoom in, the more you see the same pattern. The same thing happens when zooming out.

In math and physics, fractal structures have a similar physical appearance at all levels of measurement. That might be the perimeter of a curve, or the flow rate in a porous medium.

Fractal sets have very simple rules that create extremely complex shapes. For example, you take a shape or a number, and apply some change to it. Then you take the result, and apply the same operation.

Although this sounds basic, it can generate truly dramatic and complicated structures.

What Are The Best Fractal Art Generators?

We looked at dozens of fractal art generators and compare them below. We try to show a screenshot of the tool in action, so you can get a sense of what it will be like to use. We also try to show an example image generated by each tool, so you can see what the output looks like.

Mandelbulb 3D (MB3D)

Mandelbulb 3D is a free 3D fractal imaging software available for Windows OS. It is a user-friendly application that generates different fractal objects from nonlinear equations. As a 3D rendering application, its features include shadow-and-glow-effects, color, depth-of-field, and specularity.

Apophysis

Apophysis is an open-source fractal generator allows you to edit, create and render fractal flames. With its scripting language, you can directly access different components of the fractal, adjust the coloring and location. You can apply random edits to the images using the software's mutations window.

Apophysis can be used in Macintosh and Windows.

JWildFire

First introduced to the world of digital art nearly 25 years ago, JWildFire is sophisticated fractal-generating software. It has a Java-based scripting interface that allows the user to formulate their own fractal generators. It also has an infinite renderer with lots of parameters you can animate using motion-curves.

JWildFire requires a 64-bit processor and Windows OS with 8 Gigabyte RAM. You can get it on Stream for $11.99.

XenoDream

XenoDream is a unique 3D fractal software that uses holons to create simple to complex fractal images. XenoDream can be used to render fractal animations and stereograms, and to export depth maps for other rendering software.

It runs well on Linux, Macintosh, and Windows with 2GB in 64bit. You can buy a copy for $119.

Jux

Developed by XenoDream software, Jux is a free 2D fractal explorer for Mandelbrot and Julia sets. It has excellent heightfield lighting effects and supports full anti-aliasing for rendering large pictures and batch rendering.

FractalNow

FractalNow is a free and open-source fractal-generating software, used for creating geometric pictures of various types. It combines a command line and graphical tool known as QFractalNow to implement advanced algorithms easily and generate the corresponding images. The command-line tool can render fractal animations from scripts without a desktop. FractalNow supports multiple types of coloring like iteration counts and average coloring methods. 

Tiera-zon

Tiera-zon is a fractal generator that creates fractals in true color, and it allows the user to blur, emboss and sharpen images. It also supports several enhancement methods including stalks and bubbles.

You can get a copy for $35. To run this software, you need a Windows OS and a 256-color graphics monitor.

Ultra Fractal

Depending on the program version, you can get a copy of Ultra Fractal for $29–$99. It offers an advanced coloring system, lets you create animations, and produces layers within a single fractal image. If you love to create unique and creative fractal art, then Ultra Fractal is a great choice. It runs well on Windows OS too. 

Fractal Fr0st

Fractal Fr0st allows you to instantly view and edit fractal flames during rendering in Linux OS. It has a simple GUI and top-level Python scripting.  

Fractal Forge

Draw your fractal images on your Windows OS with Fractal Forge. Fractal Forge is one of the fastest applications for generating fractals and also explores Mandelbrot set branches. 

FRAX

FRAX is an online fractal generator that helps you to create beautiful fractal animations with multi-touch gestures: up to 400 times faster! FRAX is free and works with OS X. 

UsefulJS

Built with mandel.js, UsefulJS is an online fractal generator you can use to create multi-threaded fractal types using different formulas. It is free to use and works with most browsers. 

Science vs Magic

Science vs Magic fractal software generates different types of base-motif fractals from 5 inputs. With this online fractal generator, users can switch background colors, animate fractals, and randomize rendering. It works with most browsers. 

Online Fractal Generator

Online Fractal Generator is native to the web and works on most browsers. You can use it to generate 2D Julia sets and Mandelbrot fractals. You can zoom in, zoom out, rotate and change the fractal resolution.

ChaosPro

ChaosPro is an instant 2D and 3D fractal generator for Windows OS running intel core i7. It is free and allows you to calculate several fractals at the same time in different windows. It also supports an unlimited color range. 

Fractal Landscapes

Fractal Landscapes is an online fractal generator that generates random fractal terrains. It does not support special effects like animation. It is compatible with Windows, Linux, and macOS. 

Fractal Map

Fractal Map is free and allows you to generate instant fractal images on your Windows 10 device. Its 8-cores support quick rendering and it also allows you to experiment with cycling animations and color cycling. 

Vision of Chaos

Vision of Chaos serves fractal newbies and enthusiasts at the same time. It creates amazing generative art including animations, orbit traps, and 3D modeling, for both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows devices. You can get this software for $45.

Mind-Boggling Fractals LE

Mind-Boggling Fractals LE, developed by Paul Carlson, this is a free fractal generator that you can use to create beautiful fractal images on Windows. It allows you to experiment with different fractal designs easily.

Chaoscope

Chaoscope was created by Nicolas Desprez, Chaoscope is free 3D fractal rendering software that runs on Windows and Linux.  You can use this strange attractors software to create sculptures.

Mandelbulber

Mandelbulber is a free software that renders 3D fractals including BulbBox, Mandelbox, and JuliaBulb. Its features include key-frame animations, depth of field, and complex 3D shading. It runs on Windows and Linux.

Incendia

Incendia is donationware that generates 3D fractal images on Windows 7, 8, or 10 OS with 4GB ram using Iterated Function Systems. You can use this software for 3D printing as well as to export fractals as meshes. It has a multicore render engine and offers color gradient support. 

Fractint

Fractint renders different types of fractals in MS-DOS, Linux, and Macintosh. It is a free fractal-generating software that can create nearly any kind of fractal image. You can get the updated version of the program for your Windows device. 

Sterling2

Sterling2 is a fractal-generating program originally created by Stephen Ferguson. It has 50 formulas that can be used to generate multiple fractal images on Windows for free. 

Fractice

Fractice is a free, open-source fractal explorer and renderer for Windows OS including XP/Vista/Windows 7. It supports navigation, deep zoom, and thumbnails. 

Mandala Explorer

Mandala Explorer is a highly-interactive fractal generator that creates fractal images in real time. Apart from creating mandala-like fractals, Mandala Explorer can be used for 3D special effects and animation. It's free and runs on Windows OS. 

Mandelbrot Explorer

Mandelbrot Explorer is free and it works well on most versions of Windows OS—up to Windows 10!  With this fractal generator, users can zoom in selected areas of the Mandelbrot and Julia sets, and color the resulting fractal images as they want. 

Kaos Rhei

Kaos Rhei is a portable freeware used to design and export different fractal images in multiple image formats including JPG, PNG, PBM, and in printed form. It allows the user to adjust the levels for brightness, contrast, and gamma for fractal images, and also applies special filters like blur, smooth, sharpen and contour. It is compatible with all Windows OS. 

Fractal Extreme

Fractal Extreme lets you explore the Mandelbrot set and discover new themes and colors. It combines a great user interface with speed and a multi-dialog design. You can start with its free 15-day trial on your Windows PC. 

Fractal Architect

Fractal Architect lets you generate multiple flame fractals or try out special effects and animations. It also has a fractal editor where users can modify the flame fractals for better artistic appeal. It is free and runs on MacOS and IOS. 

Fractal Domains

Fractal Domains is a shareware software in Macintosh OS that produces striking multiple-color images from the Mandelbrot and Julia sets. Its features include editable color maps, image rendering, and image-exports in multiple formats. 

FractalASM

FractalASM runs well on any PowerPC including Linux and IOS with 16MB RAM. Users can explore any 2D dynamical system, zoom and save image sequences. You can download it from the App Store for $19.99. 

Fractastic

Fractastic is a simple and free fractal generator for creating Julia set fractals and Mandelbrot sets on Macintosh. It allows you to magnify images, explore color ranges and save fractal images. 

You can get this high-performance fractal rendered for $9.99 on the App Store. It allows users to create a stunning 3D rendering of fractal images. You can zoom images in real time, and also adjust the color and lighting of your fractal images. 

Spangfract

Spangfract is a free 3D fractal generation software that is compatible with Windows OS. It can be used to render tetration fractals. 

Xaos

XaoS is an interactive open-source fractal program that is compatible with multiple operating systems including Windows, Mac, and Linux. Its unique zoomer feature allows the user to instantly zoom in and out of fractals. It supports animated tutorials, color cycling, and random palette generation.

Summary

With these fractal art software, you can explore your creativity and make unique fractal designs. We recommend choosing one that looks most interesting to you, and experimenting for yourself. Good luck, and have fun!