CAD Programs have applications to create, visualize and simulate new product designs in 3D. Professional cad programs require investment in software licensing and workstations. But if you are a student, startup, or hobbyist who doesn’t want to invest in 3D CAD software, Free cad software for beginners and experts is a good option.
These free cad programs are not the best in class, but they solve the purpose. This article covers the best free cad software for experts and beginners and guidelines to select the best cad programs.
How to choose Best Free CAD Software?
Various free 3D cad software is available in the market. The selection of the best free cad software depends on your application and user experience. You should consider the following points before the selection of free cad software for beginner and expert users.
User Expertise
Various free cad programs have different learning curves. The selection of free CAD software depends on whether you are a beginner or advanced cad user. For example, fusion-360 or blender cad programs are for professionals. Whereas, we recommend 3D Slash and TinkerCAD to beginners.
Type of Parts to be designed
Some of the free cad programs are Industry-specific or have limited features. Therefore, the selection of the best cad software for beginner and expert users is done according to the type of part you want to design.
For example, we can use Blender Software to design A-class surfaces. Whereas engineers prefer SketchUp for the construction and architectural industry.
Type of CAD Software
CAD programs are available in various cad modeling approaches: parametric or direct cad modeling. The Type of CAD modeling approach you want to follow in your product designs is a criterion during Free CAD Software Selection.
Initial Investment
Professional cad software requires powerful workstations that are very costly. Therefore for a small budget, better to go with cloud-based software.
Best Free CAD Software
| Free CAD Software for Beigners and Professionals | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| S.No. | Description | Operating System | Best Used For |
| 1 | Fusion 360 | Windows, macOS | For Professionals, Free for Students and startups |
| 2 | SketchUp Free | Windows, macOS | Architecture, Engineering and Construction Industry |
| 3 | 3D Slash | Browser Based | Hobbyist and Kids |
| 4 | FreeCAD | Windows, macOS | Architecture and Interior Design |
| 5 | OnShape | Browser Based | For Professionals |
| 6 | Blender | Windows, Linux and macOS | For Professionals (Animation, Gaming and Virtual Reality Applications) |
| 7 | DraftSight | Windows, macOS | For Beiginners, teachers, Kids and Hobbyists |
| 8 | TinkerCAD | Browser Based | For Beiginners, teachers, Kids and Hobbyists |
| 9 | Leopoly | Browser Based | For Beiginners, teachers, Kids and Hobbyists |
| 10 | Liberecad | Windows, Linux and macOS | 2D Drafting |
Fusion 360 is a professional Cloud-Based free 3D CAD, CAM, and CAE tool that connects the entire product development process. You can design parts and assembly, perform motion & structure simulations and create renders & animations infusion 360 software. Click this link to know the difference between CAD CAM and CAE.
Note: Fusion 360 software is free for students, startups, and hobbyists.
| Overview of Fusion 360 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating System | Windows, macOS | ||
| Price | Free (for Students and startups) | ||
| Format | catpart, dwg, dxf, f3d, igs, obj, pdf, sat, sldprt, STL, stp | ||
| Cloud Based | Yes | ||
| Applications | Professional Use, Free for Startups and students | ||
| Other Features | CAD, CAM, CAE | ||
| Website Link | Autodesk Fusion 360 | ||
Sketchup is the best free 3D CAD software for beginners who wants to visualize their architecture or construction plan. It is primarily used for :
- Building and architecture design.
- Engineering and Construction Industry.
- Entertainment industry.
SketchUp is best known for its ease of use. Drawing with SketchUp is as simple as drawing with a pen and paper. A vast library of SketchUp plugins allows users to use the program for various applications.
Note: Sketchup Free is available as a web-based application.
| Overview | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating System | Windows, macOS | ||
| Price | Free (with limited functionality) | ||
| Format | .skp, stl, png | ||
| Browser Based | Yes | ||
| Applications | architecture, engineering and construction industry | ||
| Photo-realistic Render | Limited | ||
| Website Link | Sketchup Free | ||
3D Slash free cad software is so much easier to learn, even kids can do 3D Modeling using a 3D slash. Therefore Hobbyists use this software for initial product designs. Users don’t need to have any technical background to use this free cad software.
- Very easy to learn.
- Pro Version is also available.
- Output .stl format can be used for 3D printing.
- Available online as well as offline.
| Overview of 3D Slash | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating System | Windows, macOS, Linux | ||
| Price | Free (pro is also available) | ||
| Format | 3dslash, stl, obj | ||
| Browser Based | Yes | ||
| Applications | Hobbyist, Kids | ||
| Photo-realistic Render | No | ||
| Website Link | 3D Slash | ||
FreeCAD is an open-source parametric Free 3D CAD software that is primarily used by architects and interior designers. Parametric modeling allows users to easily modify the design.
Onshape is a cloud based CAD, data management, and collaboration software used by professionals for product design. Android and iOS apps are also available for OnShape.
| Onshape Overview of OnShape | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating System | Browser based, Android and ios app | ||
| Price | Free (students and non professionals) | ||
| Format | |||
| Browser Based | Yes | ||
| Applications | Professionals | ||
| Photo-realistic Render | No | ||
| Website Link | onshape | ||
Blender is freely available, open-source, Direct CAD Modeling professional software that can be used to create 3D printed cad models, created motion graphics, animated films, etc.
It is used by engineers to create industrial designs (For product aesthetics) and cad models for virtual reality and computer games applications. Blender is a bit difficult to learn but can be one of the best choices for professional cad users.
| Blender Overview | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating System | Windows, Linux, macOS | ||
| Price | Free and Opensource | ||
| Format | OBJ, FBX, 3DS, PLY, STL etc | ||
| Browser Based | No | ||
| Applications | For Professionals (Animated Videos, Cad models for 3D printing, industrial design, Gmaing and virtual reality applications) | ||
| Photo-realistic Render | Yes | ||
| Website Link | Blender | ||
Draftsight from the Dassault system is a very good free alternative to AutoCAD 2D cad software. It is used by architects, engineers, and construction service providers, as well as professional CAD users, designers, educators, and hobbyists.
| Draftsight | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating System | Windows & Mac | ||
| Price | Free (now it is available at nominal price range) | ||
| Format | dwg, dxf | ||
| Applications | For beginners, teachers, kids and hobbyists. | ||
| Photo-realistic Render | No (Free 2D cad software only) | ||
| Website Link | Draftsight | ||
Tinkercad from Autodesk is a free, easy-to-use cloud based software for 3D design, electronics, and coding. It is a good option for beginners, teachers, kids, and hobbyists. You don’t need to worry about downloading and installing tinkercad software. You can access tinkercad for your browser.
Tinkercad is the best choice if you are looking for basic cad modeling for 3D printing without any previous experience.
| Tinkercad Overview | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating System | Browser Based | ||
| Price | Free to Use | ||
| Format | STL and OBJ | ||
| Applications | For beginners, teachers, kids and hobbyists. | ||
| Photo-realistic Render | No | ||
| Website Link | TINKERCAD | ||
Leopoly is easy-to-use free browser-based cad software for beginners. For commercial purposes a paid version is available. In this, you can create cad models from scratch, browse libraries or import your cad model. Leopoly also comes with some virtual reality and augmented reality features.
| Leopoly Overview | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating System | Browser Based | ||
| Price | Free For Beigners (But Paid for Business use) | ||
| Format | STL and OBJ | ||
| Applications | For beginners, teachers, kids and hobbyists, Paid version for business use. | ||
| Photo-realistic Render | No | ||
| Website Link | Leopoly | ||
LibreCAD is an open-source free 2D cad software available for Mac, Windows, and Linux users. It is easy to use and can be a good alternative to draftsight and AutoCAD.
| Librecad Overview | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating System | Mac, Windows and Linux | ||
| Price | Open-source and Free | ||
| Format | Read dwg, Write dxf and export to PDF, PNG, JPG etc. | ||
| Applications | For 2D Drafting. | ||
| Website Link | Librecad | ||
To sum up, if you are a startup, Student, or Hobbyist and don’t want to invest in costly cad software. Free cad software is a good choice for product design and design reviews. You can use Cloud-based CAD software if you don’t want to invest in costly hardware. If you only want to review cad models, you can use these free available 2D and 3D cad viewers.
We will continue updating this article on Best free cad software for beginners and experts. Feel free to ask your questions on free cad programs in the Comment Box.
ActCADis 2D & 3D CAD Software Built With intellicad 10.1 Engine.
https://actcad.com
ActCAD2D Drafting and 3D Modelling cad software with an economical price with various advantages.
Actcad 2022 software with Intellicad 10.1a engine
ActCAD is 2D & 3D CAD Software Built With intellicad 10.1 Engine.