The best replacement for houdini is maya.

The best alternatives to houdini are rated as following:
★★★★★  maya
★★★  rabbit
★★★  rybka
★★★  blender
★★  the illusionist
★★  stockfish
★★  realflow
★  cinema 4d
★  modo
★  houdini fx
★  fumefx
★  deep blue
★  fritz
★  magnus carlsen
★  softimage
★  xsi
★  komodo
★  rabbit wine opener
★  rabbit corkscrew
★  lightwave
  david copperfield
  nuke
  alpine houdini
  copperfield
  criss angel
  chessmaster
  maya 2013
  3d max
  arcteryx squamish

Your alternative for houdini is not listed? Suggest!
Speaking about houdini, one probably shouldn't forget about arena.

Other search terms related to houdini and their ratings are:
★★★★★ arena
★★ fritz
★ winboard
You have in mind a companion for houdini and it is not yet here? Propose!



Google Trends

Scale is based on the average worldwide traffic of houdini in all years. Click on graph for more.
houdini
maya
rabbit