Comparing Material Application: glTF vs. FBX in Unity | Notion

Both glTF and FBX formats store 3D model data, including materials and textures, but they handle materials differently in Unity. Here’s how they compare:

1. Material Support in glTF and FBX

Feature	glTF (.gltf / .glb)	FBX (.fbx)
Material Type	PBR (Physically-Based Rendering)	Unity Standard or Custom Shaders
Texture Support	Base Color, Metallic, Roughness, Normal, Occlusion, Emission	Diffuse, Specular, Normal, Emission, Transparency
Transparency	Uses Alpha channel (in Base Color)	Uses Alpha or separate Opacity maps
Shader Compatibility	Uses Standard Shader (URP/HDRP PBR)	Uses Unity Standard or Custom Shader
Animation Support	Fully supports animations & skinning	Fully supports animations & skinning
Material Import	Auto-applies PBR materials, but may need manual adjustments	Auto-applies Unity Standard materials but may need manual fixes

2. Key Differences in Material Application

✅ glTF (PBR Materials)

Uses PBR-based shading (Physically-Based Rendering).
Best for realistic rendering with Metallic-Roughness Workflow.
Materials are lighter and more optimized for runtime.
Works better with WebGL, VR/AR, and mobile.
glTF automatically applies materials, but metallic/roughness textures need adjustment in Unity.

✅ FBX (Legacy & Custom Shading)

Uses Standard Shader or Legacy Materials in Unity.
Can store non-PBR materials, making it flexible for older workflows.
Best for custom shaders and game engine pipelines (e.g., Unreal Engine).
Unity can sometimes import wrong shader settings, requiring manual reassignment.

3. Handling Materials in Unity

If Your Model Uses glTF