Best software for interactive 3D mockup?

I am wanting to create an interactive 3D model for the company I work for’s website. I have done a little 3D modeling before, but it was years ago and I can’t remember what software I used. What would be the best software for creating an interactive model, that customers will be able to customize with their own colors via the company website? I’ve noticed just from searching that a lot of people say you will need to create the 3D model in one software and then import it to make it interactive into another. Does anyone have experience with this? What software(s)would be the easiest and least costly?

Also, this would not be done on company time. I’d be learning the software and creating this for them outside of work. My goal is to create it, pitch it to them, and give them a price after completion. What is a typical price for something comparable? I know it will involve a lot of time and effort, so I don’t want to sell myself short.

Um, isn’t this a bit backwards? Wouldn’t you pitch it with pricing and timing worked out, and only create once you get financial approval in writing?

Comparable to what? You haven’t offered us a sense of a clearly defined deliverable, let alone quantification of the task. There is nothing “typical” of your approach here of making something, then pitching/selling it to them, so with all that said, there’s no way anyone here could help you put a price on it. Actually, you’ll be in a much better position to price it after you’ve risked doing hours and hours of work on something they might not even want.

No. If I create it they will buy it because the competition is already doing it and they need something comparable.

I’m not necessarily going to create the entire thing, maybe just an example. We are in custom apparel. So I would use one garment style as an example. Basically like this… http://flyozone.com/paramotor/en/products/gliders/roadster2/custom-colours/

Just a color picker, essentially. And it doesn’t necessarily have to be for the website. Even some type of interactive that our reps can download and use to pick colors. I was originally thinking an interactive .pdf using Indesign, but I don’t think inDesign has those capabilities.

This is where the idea originated. I don’t think I am capable of this as it probably took a team to complete. But something a little watered down would do just fine.

https://www.gkelite.com/pages/gk-gym-custom#/saved/A4Y6WJ87/design

They want it. They have already expressed that. It is going to cut my department’s workload in half, thus eliminating the need to hire more designers or cross train our sales reps in illustrator. And our biggest competitor already has it. I just need to have something to show them when I pitch it. I’m not going to do the ENTIRE thing before they pay me, just an example. Also from my experience, if you give someone a taste they are more likely to buy the whole meal. And, in the end if they decide to outsource for it then I have learned a new skill and software and have made myself more valuable as a designer.

I am confident I can learn how to create an editable graphic for web as long as I am using the right software. So if you know of one that would be best for the project I have described, please let me know.

Not to knock wind from sails here, but doesn’t retail software already exist for this? Sounds like a Point of Sale type of software with inventory item options. Something like Vend perhaps? Or similar?
(I have never used Vend. Not an endorsement. I just found it with an online search.)

I’m not sure I understand why it would have to be a 3D app. That complicates things, perhaps unnecessarily.

No it doesn’t necessarily have to be an app just something that can show a mock up of our product and make it editable for customers. We use Shopify so whatever i use should be compatible with that, ideally. And it looks like the example I gave above with the leotard from GK elite that they are using something called WebGL

I’m not familiar with these but I will look into them. Thanks!

Edit: no we need something interactive where customers can take pieces of a garment and choose a custom color or fabric. If we listed all the possible variations we would have hundreds of options in the drpdown for each style. Thanks for the idea though!