Silhouette is available as both a Standalone application and a plug-in, and both versions share the same core feature set. The primary differences relate to how media is loaded, how rendering is handled, input limitations, and included tools.
Core feature parity between Silhouette Standalone and plug-in
Silhouette Standalone and the Silhouette plug-in have the same compositing, rotoscoping, paint, and node-based workflow features.
This means:
Both versions include the same core tools and nodes
Projects can be created and used in either environment
The overall workflow inside Silhouette remains consistent
Input and rendering differences in Silhouette plug-in
Silhouette plug-in workflows rely on the host application for input and output.
Key differences:
The host application provides source inputs
The host application handles final rendering
The Silhouette plug-in supports up to three direct inputs from the host
Additional sources can still be:
Imported directly inside Silhouette
Managed within the Silhouette node graph
Tool availability differences in Silhouette plug-in
Silhouette plug-in does not include all tools available in the Standalone version.
Specifically:
Sapphire effects are not included
Particle Illusion is not included
These tools are only available in the Silhouette Standalone application.
Summary of differences between Silhouette Standalone and plug-in
Silhouette Standalone vs plug-in differences:
Same core feature set and workflow
Plug-in relies on host for inputs and rendering
Plug-in has input limitations (up to three host inputs)
Plug-in does not include Sapphire or Particle Illusion
For a detailed comparison, refer to the Silhouette comparison chart.