Convert OBJ to FBX
No browser tool writes FBX, so this is a Blender job. It is a simpler conversion than most on this site, because an OBJ carries no animation or rigging to worry about — but the materials need attention, and they need it on the import side rather than the export side.
We cannot write FBX. The format is closed and the only complete implementation is Autodesk’s own native library, which cannot run in a browser. We read FBX perfectly well; we cannot produce one, and we would rather say so than hand you a broken file.
Converting an OBJ to FBX in Blender
Gather all the files first
(in your file manager)
An OBJ with materials is at least two files — the .obj and the .mtl — plus an image file for every texture. Put them all in one folder before you start. This is the step that decides whether the materials survive.
Start from an empty scene
File → New → General, then press X
Delete the default cube so it does not end up in the export.
Import the OBJ
File → Import → Wavefront (.obj)
Blender reads the .mtl automatically if it is beside the .obj with the name the .obj expects. Set Up Axis to Y in the import options unless the OBJ came from a slicer or CAD, in which case set it to Z.
An OBJ records no unit and Blender reads the numbers as metres. If the OBJ was exported in millimetres, set Scale to 0.001 in the import dialog rather than scaling afterwards.
Check and fix the materials
Shading workspace → look at the Base Color input
If the model is pink, a texture path in the .mtl points somewhere that does not exist — which is normal for a file made on another computer. Add an Image Texture node, open the real image file, and connect its Color output to Base Color.
Apply all transforms
Select all (A) → Object → Apply → All Transforms
Bakes position, rotation and scale into the mesh so nothing downstream has to interpret a transform. This is what prevents most scale surprises in Unity and Unreal.
Export as FBX with the textures embedded
File → Export → FBX (.fbx) → Include → Path Mode: Copy → Embed Textures
Path Mode Copy plus the Embed Textures button packs the images into the FBX itself, so the file is self-contained. Set Object Types to Mesh only, since an OBJ has no armature.
Set scale and axis, then export
Transform → Apply Scalings: FBX All · Forward: -Z · Up: Y
The defaults for Forward and Up are correct for Unity and Unreal. Apply Scalings set to FBX All bakes the scale into the mesh rather than leaving it on the node.
Why the materials are the hard part
An OBJ does not contain its materials. It names a .mtl file, and the .mtl names image files by path — frequently an absolute path such as `C:\Users\someone\textures\wood.png`, which exists only on the machine that made it.
So an OBJ downloaded from the internet or emailed by a colleague routinely arrives with materials pointing at folders that do not exist. Blender shows the model pink, which is its way of saying an image is missing.
Blender does look in sensible places — the same folder as the .obj, and a textures subfolder — so a properly packaged OBJ imports cleanly. The failures are files where the packaging was careless.
Fixing it is manual and quick: in the Shading workspace, add an Image Texture node, open the actual file, and connect it. One node per texture. Do this before exporting, because an FBX exported from a model with broken materials has broken materials.
The check that saves time: after importing, look at the model in Material Preview shading (the third sphere icon at the top right of the viewport). If it looks right there, the export will be right.
The FBX version question
FBX has been through many versions and they are not interchangeable. Blender writes FBX 7.4 binary, which is what current software expects and what Unity, Unreal, Maya and 3ds Max all read without complaint.
Occasionally a pipeline asks for an older version — FBX 2013 or 2014 is sometimes specified by asset stores or by older studio tools. Blender cannot write those. The Autodesk FBX Converter, which is free from Autodesk’s site, converts between FBX versions and is the tool for that job.
If someone tells you an FBX "will not open", the version is worth checking before anything else. It is a more common cause than corruption.
Alternatives to Blender for this
Blender is the recommendation because it is free, it runs everywhere, and its FBX exporter is well maintained. There are other routes.
The Autodesk FBX Converter is free and reads OBJ directly, which makes it the most direct tool for exactly this conversion. It is old, Windows-only, and no longer actively developed, but it works and it comes from the company that owns the format.
Autodesk FBX Review is a free viewer and does not convert. It is useful for checking what an FBX actually contains before sending it on.
Any of Maya, 3ds Max or Cinema 4D will do it if you happen to have one. None of them is worth buying for this.
What will not work is a browser tool. It is not that nobody has built one — it is that the library needed does not exist in a form that can run in a browser.
Where we can actually help
If the destination can take something other than FBX, these run here in your browser. GLB in particular carries materials and textures in one file, and both Unity and Unreal import it.
Questions
- Why can I not convert OBJ to FBX in my browser?
- FBX is closed and the only complete implementation is Autodesk’s native library, which has no browser build. The open library that reads FBX has no exporter. Blender does it free in a minute.
- My model is pink in Blender after importing the OBJ.
- A texture is missing. The .mtl stores image paths that often point at the computer the file was made on. Add an Image Texture node in the Shading workspace, open the real image, and connect it to Base Color.
- How do I get the textures inside the FBX?
- In the FBX exporter, set Path Mode to Copy and then press the Embed Textures button that appears beside it. That packs the images into the file so it is self-contained.
- Which FBX version does Blender write?
- FBX 7.4 binary, which every current program reads. If a pipeline demands an older version such as 2013, use the free Autodesk FBX Converter to downgrade it.
Where to go next
Related guides
Tools that do part of this here
About these formats
Checked against current software versions on 2026-09-11