CCADAlts

Free alternatives to SolidWorks, AutoCAD and Altium

Open-source and free CAD, PCB, simulation and 3D-printing tools, plus an honest look at the new AI CAD tools. Built for makers, students and small engineering firms.

Fusion 360 alternativesANSYS alternativesSolidWorks alternativesAltium Designer alternativesEagle alternativesSimplify3D alternativesOrCAD alternativesAbaqus alternatives

AI CAD tools View all →

Honest take: AI CAD is good for concept models, simple parametric parts, scan-to-CAD and engineering look-ups. It is not a replacement for a trained engineer. Generated geometry, tolerances and drawings still need checking, and in a 2026 ACM survey 67% of CAD designers said AI-generated models were a good start but lacked specifics. Most tools here are paid, with free tiers or trials.

Adam

AI CAD tools

AI CAD copilot for Onshape and Fusion, plus open-source CADAM

Stars
5.3k
Licence
GPL-3.0
Status
Freemium

Zoo Design Studio

AI CAD tools

CAD-as-code modeller with a built-in Text-to-CAD AI agent

Stars
1.3k
Licence
MIT
Status
Freemium

Backflip

AI CAD tools

AI that turns 3D scans, sketches and prompts into CAD

Licence
Proprietary
Status
Paid (free trial credits)

Leo AI

AI CAD tools

AI assistant for mechanical engineers, grounded in engineering sources

Licence
Proprietary
Status
Paid (team plans)

Simulation (FEA & CFD) View all 7 →

OpenFOAM

Simulation (FEA & CFD)

Free, open-source computational fluid dynamics toolbox

Stars
2.3k
Licence
GPL-3.0
Status
Open source

Alternative to ANSYS

E

Elmer FEM

Simulation (FEA & CFD)

Open-source multiphysics simulation software

Stars
1.7k
Licence
GPL-2.0
Status
Open source

Alternative to COMSOL

ParaView

Simulation (FEA & CFD)

Open-source data analysis and visualisation for simulation results

Stars
1.7k
Licence
BSD-3-Clause
Status
Open source

Alternative to Tecplot

C

CalculiX

Simulation (FEA & CFD)

Free three-dimensional structural finite-element program

Licence
GPL-2.0
Status
Open source

Alternative to Abaqus, ANSYS

C

code_aster

Simulation (FEA & CFD)

Structural and thermomechanical FEA solver developed by EDF

Licence
GPL-3.0
Status
Open source

Alternative to Abaqus, ANSYS

Gmsh

Simulation (FEA & CFD)

3D finite-element mesh generator with a built-in CAD engine

Licence
GPL-2.0+
Status
Open source

Alternative to ANSYS

3D & parametric CAD View all 6 →

FreeCAD

3D & parametric CAD

Open-source parametric 3D modeller for real-life objects

Stars
34k
Licence
LGPL-2.1+
Status
Open source

Alternative to SolidWorks, Fusion 360

S

SolveSpace

3D & parametric CAD

Lightweight parametric 2D/3D CAD with a constraint solver

Stars
4.2k
Licence
GPL-3.0
Status
Open source

Alternative to SolidWorks, Fusion 360

Dune 3D

3D & parametric CAD

Modern parametric 3D CAD built on SolveSpace's solver and OpenCascade

Stars
2.1k
Licence
GPL-3.0
Status
Open source

Alternative to Fusion 360, SolidWorks

BRL-CAD

3D & parametric CAD

Constructive solid geometry modelling system with decades of history

Licence
LGPL-2.1
Status
Open source

Alternative to CATIA

Onshape Free

3D & parametric CAD

Free plan of PTC's browser-based professional CAD

Licence
Proprietary
Status
Free (proprietary)

Alternative to SolidWorks, Fusion 360

Solid Edge Community Edition

3D & parametric CAD

Free edition of Siemens' professional CAD for hobbyists and makers

Licence
Proprietary
Status
Free (proprietary)

Alternative to SolidWorks, Inventor

PCB & electronics View all 6 →

KiCad

PCB & electronics

Open-source electronics design automation suite

Stars
3k
Licence
GPL-3.0
Status
Open source

Alternative to Altium Designer, Eagle

LibrePCB

PCB & electronics

Beginner-friendly open-source EDA suite

Stars
3k
Licence
GPL-3.0
Status
Open source

Alternative to Altium Designer, Eagle

Q

Qucs-S

PCB & electronics

Circuit simulator GUI using ngspice, Xyce and other engines

Stars
1.4k
Licence
GPL-2.0
Status
Open source

Alternative to OrCAD

Horizon EDA

PCB & electronics

Modern EDA package for schematics and PCB layout

Stars
1.3k
Licence
GPL-3.0
Status
Open source

Alternative to Altium Designer, Eagle

EasyEDA

PCB & electronics

Free browser-based schematic and PCB design

Licence
Proprietary
Status
Free (proprietary)

Alternative to Altium Designer, Eagle

N

ngspice

PCB & electronics

Open-source mixed-signal SPICE circuit simulator

Licence
BSD-3-Clause
Status
Open source

Alternative to OrCAD

3D printing & CAM View all 4 →

O

OrcaSlicer

3D printing & CAM

Open-source slicer with built-in printer calibration tools

Stars
16k
Licence
AGPL-3.0
Status
Open source

Alternative to Simplify3D

PrusaSlicer

3D printing & CAM

Feature-rich open-source slicer for FFF and resin printers

Stars
9.4k
Licence
AGPL-3.0
Status
Open source

Alternative to Simplify3D

UltiMaker Cura

3D printing & CAM

Popular open-source 3D-printing slicer

Stars
7.1k
Licence
LGPL-3.0
Status
Open source

Alternative to Simplify3D

Kiri:Moto

3D printing & CAM

Browser-based slicer and CAM for 3D printers, CNC and lasers

Stars
921
Licence
MIT
Status
Open source

Alternative to Simplify3D, Fusion 360

Code CAD View all 3 →

OpenSCAD

Code CAD

The programmers' solid 3D CAD modeller

Stars
10k
Licence
GPL-2.0
Status
Open source

Alternative to Fusion 360

CadQuery

Code CAD

Python library for building parametric 3D CAD models

Stars
6k
Licence
Apache-2.0
Status
Open source

Alternative to Fusion 360

build123d

Code CAD

Pythonic code-CAD framework on the OpenCascade kernel

Stars
3.5k
Licence
Apache-2.0
Status
Open source

Alternative to Fusion 360

2D drafting View all 2 →

LibreCAD

2D drafting

Open-source 2D CAD application

Stars
6.5k
Licence
GPL-2.0
Status
Open source

Alternative to AutoCAD

QCAD

2D drafting

Free, open-source 2D CAD for technical drawings

Stars
1.9k
Licence
GPL-3.0
Status
Open source

Alternative to AutoCAD

Architecture & BIM View all 2 →

Bonsai (BlenderBIM)

Architecture & BIM

Native IFC BIM authoring inside Blender

Stars
2.9k
Licence
GPL-3.0
Status
Open source

Alternative to Revit

Sweet Home 3D

Architecture & BIM

Free interior design and floor-plan app with 3D preview

Licence
GPL-2.0
Status
Open source

Alternative to SketchUp

Mesh & visualisation View all 2 →

Blender

Mesh & visualisation

Free and open-source 3D creation suite

Stars
21k
Licence
GPL-2.0+
Status
Open source

Alternative to 3ds Max, Rhino

MeshLab

Mesh & visualisation

Open-source system for processing and editing 3D meshes

Stars
5.9k
Licence
GPL-3.0
Status
Open source

Alternative to Geomagic Design X

Why free CAD software? More →

Commercial CAD seats commonly cost hundreds or thousands of pounds per user per year. That's a lot for a hobbyist, a student whose education licence runs out at graduation, or a five-person engineering shop.

Free and open-source tools have matured fast. FreeCAD reached version 1.0 in late 2024, and KiCad is used for professional PCB work. Your files stay in open formats you control, and the licence can't be withdrawn.

Some listings are free-to-use proprietary tools with limits (for example non-commercial use only, or public documents only). Each listing says which, so you can check it suits your work.

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