WendyShaw Before version 2.80+, Blender used to be quite a unique program, apart from just being free (both as in beer and as in speech). Since then, Blender started moving more towards the "industry standard", in part due to increasing interest from big players. Personally I liked the old Blender more, which is still available here.
Blender has gained a lot of popularity over the past decade. According to this 2015 article, Blender is in fact the most popular 3D modeling software out there. Although due to lack of marketing, I suppose this is not representative of use in education. Students are often still expected - or even forced - to pay up.
