What are free tools for bake shaders 3D models?

Free tools for baking shaders on 3D models include Blender (built-in features), Substance Painter (free tier), and Marmoset Toolbag (free trial). Blender lets you bake normal, ambient occlusion, and texture maps directly in its workflow, making it seamless for existing users. Substance Painter’s free version supports basic baking for personal use, perfect for getting started with PBR texturing. Marmoset Toolbag’s trial offers high-quality baking previews to validate shader results before finalizing. If you’re new, start with Blender—it’s fully free, has extensive tutorials, and integrates baking with modeling/texturing in one app.