No, it has the almost all the features of the $8000.00 application

(actually, before March 2007 the price was $17000 per seat).
I think Houdini Apprentice and Houdini Apprentice HD a good opportunity to us, hobbyists. However, Houdini is not too good in modeling/texturing/sculpting, and as I can see, it is widely used in conjunction with Zbrush and even modo.