You cannot serioulsy compare Carrara to Houdini.
That"s orange to apples.

Cararra is an entry level application.
Houdini is probably the most complete simulation and animation package out there, and it is used on many
of the more complex cinematographic and VFX shots out there.
It is also complex and is takes no doubt a long time to understand.
It is fully procedural by the way, completely node based.


If you want a 3d package that is very easy to learn and intuitive, get Cinema4d, which is still my favorite general app.
The Studio version is a very complete package, and you also have access to a lot of render engines (Final Render, Vray, Maxwell, Inidigo etc....)