Hello! I'm trying to figure out which version of Houdini is best for me to do personal portfolio work on, balancing what I need with price. I only need houdini on one machine.

At my last job I mostly used Houdini Core, with HDAs imported into Unreal. I'm hoping to keep working along those same lines. I wasn't able to see which version supports UE4 integration and am worried Houdini indie does not. I'm mostly interested in Houdini for procedural modeling and placement right now, though vellum looks pretty interesting (but not crucial).

Any advice? Thank you in advance!

Indie is the best choice IMHO, but there is a comparison page of all the Houdini versions, it might help choose which is best for you!

Houdini Versions Comparison [www.sidefx.com]

Are you saying Houdini Indie has UE4 integration? I already found that page and it doesn't really answer my question.

There is no such a thing as UE4 integration. There is Houdini standalone application there you can create and pack your own tools in archives(or apps) which are called Houdini Digital Assets(HDA) for inner and outside usage. To run those packages outside of Houdini you need to install separate and free plugin called Houdini Engine to your additional app (ue4, unity, maya etc.) import those assets and use them even if standalone Houdini is closed at the moment, because Houdini Engine will run its own background copy of Houdini to cook(calculate) everything.
Also, there is new additional concept called Session sync. In this case you do everything that I've said before but your Houdini stand-alone app will run web-server which communicates between Houdini and Houdini Engine to update parameters on same HDA created in Houdini and imported to additional app.
To have access to all those features you need at least Houdini indie(by price), because page for free Houdini Apprentice is clearly states that: Houdini Digital Assets created in Apprentice can not be used with Houdini Engine or Houdini Engine Indie

Excellent, that's what I wanted to know! Thank you!

christena
Are you saying Houdini Indie has UE4 integration? I already found that page and it doesn't really answer my question.

My bad, I should have mentionned that you need the Unreal Engine for Unreal support, and that Apprentice doesn't support the engine!

Not at all. Thank you for taking time to respond!