Recs.
Updated
SpecsUpdate
Pros
Pro It has sculpting and 3D painting features
Although blenders 3d painting and sculpting tools (mostly painting) are not at par with specialized software like Substance painter, z brush, or mari; it is more than capable of getting most jobs done if the user takes the time to learn and understand it.
Pro Has a good rendering engine
Blender runs the Cycles path tracing engine under the hood. Cycles is a very powerful rendering engine capable of full path tracing (light fall off, caustics, volumetrics). It is mostly compatible with OpenCL and CUDA rendering, and is implementing mycropolygon displacement features. The upcoming release has a viewport engine called EEVEE whereby you can see and interact with your work in render mode in real time!
Pro Has a large community
There's a huge community to help you get started immediately. Many of the people in the community are also contributors of Blender's Development. Whether it's donations, add-on creation, blend files, renders, animated videos, bug reports, or even feedback, contributions are one of the biggest reason Blender is becoming a better alternative to the industry standards of 3D Software.
Cons
Con Not all Blender add-ons are free
There are some add-ons that can speed up your workflow, but while some paid add-ons cost between $1 and $29, others cost between $30 and $300 (some are premium subscription-based). This means that those who can't afford it will have a harder time completing their Blender projects.
Con Blender is a lot of things, but it isn't usable half of the time
If you've used Blender for more than 10 minutes, you know what I'm talking about.
Blender is definitely a powerful tool-- If you get it to work.
Sculpting in real time, for an example. Sometimes it straight up doesn't work.
Con The physics engine is a bit lagging behind, especially the destruction physics
Con Game engine is deprecated
Blender originally came with a game engine suited for making Blender a AIO solution for making games as well. However, in Blender 2.8, this has been removed. However, a emerging project named Armory3D is your go-to solution if you like Blender-native workflow.
Con Newer versions require expensive hardware/computers
The latest version (2.8) is free. It has more features, a redesigned User Interface, and better functionality. But for those who don't have a computer with a advanced GPU (with OpenGL 3.3 or higher) will never be able to use that version, unless they have and can spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on new computers/devices.
Recommendations
Comments
Flagged Pros + Cons
Pro Sculpting and 3D painting features
Although Blender's 3d painting and sculpting tools (mostly painting) are not at par with specialized software like Substance Painter, ZBrush, or Mari, it is more than capable of getting most jobs done if the user takes the time to learn and understand it.
Pro Has a powerful rendering engine
Blender runs the Cycles path tracing engine under the hood. Cycles is a very powerful rendering engine capable of full path tracing (light fall off, caustics, volumetrics). It is mostly compatible with OpenCL and CUDA rendering, and is implementing mycropolygon displacement features. The upcoming release has a viewport engine called EEVEE whereby you can see and interact with your work in render mode in real time!
Con Not all Blender add-ons are free
There are some add-ons that can speed up your workflow, but most of them are expensive. This is a problem because those who can't afford them will have a hard time
completing their Blender projects.
Con Not Film/Gaming Industry Standard
If you plan on getting into the film or game industry using this- don't. Go learn Zbrush and Substance Painter or Mari. If you use this program you might have a better chance getting into a Indie studio who needs someone who can do more than just 3D modeling. Fun hobbyist tool, but not marketable for yourself.
Out of Date Pros + Cons
Con Not particularly geared towards 3D painting
Although 3D painting is possible using Blender, it can be a real pain, and it is a lot less intuitive than many competing programs. Since 3D painting is not Blender's main focus, many simple things are overlooked witch make painting seamlessly and comfortably a lot harder.
Con Too many possibilities, no unified workflow
The operations are not optimized enough for specific tasks.
Con Difficult learning curve
Blender is not a very intuitive 3D modeling software. It has its own ways of doing things, and it is often hard to guess how to achieve simple tasks.
Con User interface is unwieldy
For someone who comes from other 3D programs, blender is a nightmare. Unmanageable, non-intuitive user interface without a clearly understandable workflow.