Alternatives to SketchUp for all platforms with any license

  • FreeCAD

    FreeCAD is a general purpose parametric 3D CAD modeler. The development is completely Open Source (LGPL License). FreeCAD is aimed directly at mechanical engineering and...

    • Not the same audience. Just try to build a pyramid with FreeCAD and you will understand how far it is from sketchup. Guest • Jan 2020 • 2 agrees and 0 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Love this software for 3d printing. Guest • Oct 2018 • 8 agrees and 9 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • FreeCAD is not nearly as simple to use. Guest • Jan 2016 • 9 agrees and 13 disagrees Disagree   Agree

    Free Open Source Mac Windows Linux

    Parametric Modeling DWG support Windows XP Compatibility 3d Drawing ... 3D modelling Bim Drawing 2D Procedural modeling Add a feature

    FreeCAD icon

  • Sweet Home 3D

    Sweet Home 3D is a free interior design Java application that helps you draw the plan of your house, arrange furniture on it and visit the results in 3D.

    • Sketchup is far more generic and can be used for creating 3D printing models. Sweet Home 3D is a targeted application designed for laying out house designs. Guest • Jun 2016 • 29 agrees and 5 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Its not general purpose, its to specific to be an alternative to virtually any other CAD program Guest • Dec 2019 • 2 agrees and 0 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • If you are looking for something related to home design, SweetHome3D is an excellent solution. But it is not a general purpose cad suite. Guest • Jan 2017 • 20 agrees and 4 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Not a general purpose CAD program Guest • Aug 2018 • 4 agrees and 2 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Very easy to learn. Has a huge library of "furniture" and other assets developed and shared by users. Has 3D photo's and video virtual tours. May not be that great for detailed framing plans and elevations. Guest • Feb 2018 • 1 agrees and 1 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Sketchup is a more generic 3D modeller. Sweet Home 3D is a tool for house and furniture designs. Guest • Mar 2017 • 8 agrees and 1 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • SH3D is great for home projects but lacks a lot when compared to Sketchup. Simply don't share enough features to be comparable. Guest • Mar 2018 • 1 agrees and 0 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • one is a modeling software that alows to make anything from scratch the other(sweet home 3d) is specifically to make house and furniture arrangements and while it has some freedom, it is still limited to that idea Guest • Feb 2017 • 5 agrees and 1 disagrees Disagree   Agree

    Freemium Open Source Mac Windows Linux Web Solaris

    3D modelling Customizable Extensible by Plugins/Extensions Import furniture from web ... Interior Design Multiple languages Open Source apps Export to PDF Add a feature

    Sweet Home 3D icon

  • 123D

    Autodesk 123D is a suite of hobbyist CAD and modelling tools created by Autodesk. As well as the more basic drawing and modelling capabilities it also has assembly and...

    • Discontinued
      Autodesk has discontinued their line of 123d apps.

    Free Personal Mac Windows iPad

    3D modelling Add a feature

    123D icon

  • LibreCAD

    LibreCAD (originally QCad then CADuntu) is an open source 2D CAD application for Windows, Apple and Linux. It is based on Qt, which is a leading cross-platform...

    • LibreCAD is a 2D CAD software. Sketchup is a 3D software. Guest • Jun 2017 • 29 agrees and 3 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Good 2D drawing, has isometrics as well, reads DXF but isn't an alternative to a 3D CAD software assembling blocks. FreeCAD is better but a difficult to make the parts. Guest • Mar 2017 • 5 agrees and 3 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Not 3D. Otherwise, fine program. Guest • Apr 2017 • 5 agrees and 1 disagrees Disagree   Agree

    Free Open Source Mac Windows Linux PortableApps.com

    Bim Construction layers Drawing Portable Add a feature

    LibreCAD icon

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  • pCon.planner

    The professional furnishing 2D-/3D-tool for everybody: The pCon.planner is a cost-free application allowing you to comfortably and professionally create complex...

    • Beautifully designed interface, very intuitive, wide gallery of 3D objetcs to use, and free... What's not to like. Guest • May 2018 • 3 agrees and 1 disagrees Disagree   Agree

    Free Windows

    Drawing WYSIWYG Support Add a feature

    pCon.planner icon

  • BRL-CAD

    Open source 3D geometry modeling system with a robust feature set developed over 20 years.

    • The manner in which you draw a shape, enter dimensions, and push/pull a flat plane shape are the most similar to the SketchUp workflow of any 3D/CAD program I have used. Guest • May 2019 • 0 agrees and 4 disagrees Disagree   Agree

    Free Open Source Mac Windows Linux

    Benchmark analytics Image Processing Add a feature

    BRL-CAD icon

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SketchUp Comments

Comment by joshuapetersen
about SketchUp and Blender · Aug 2017 · Helpful Not helpful 3 Helpful Report as spam

I'm in a weird position on the alternatives here.

Initially, I agree with a lot of the comments on Blender that it and sketchup are in two VERY different categories of 3d development suite. Blender is the massive powerhouse for pros, sketchup is the 3d design equivilent of microsoft paint.

Comparing the two is like suggesting Photoshop as an alternative to MS Paint, the former just being too much of a skill level jump to be considered a viable alternative.

That said, there IS an addon (that includes instructions on how to install it) located here: https://blendermarket.com/products/snap-utilities .

It basically includes the core simple tools like those of sketchup into Blender, making Blender COMPLETELY capable of "stupid simple" 3d design like sketchup (and at a much lower pricetag... the addon is only about 20 bucks to extend an open source program as opposed to the $700-$900 price-tag necessary to do anything with sketchup commercially.)

WITH the addon, I'd say blender moves from not being an alternative to sketchup to being THE alternative to sketchup (and superior to sketchup at that, as you do still have access to all the more complex tools once you eventually need them.) In fact, I'd go so far to say that I prefer Blender with the addon over both sketchup AND over 3DstudioMax (with a few more addons), moving Blender to the top of the ease/capability charts for a 3D editor.

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phillipsalf · Sep 2017

"moving Blender to the top of the ease/capability charts for a 3D editor."

Sorry, Blender's interface does not allow it to move to the top of any "ease of use" charts. It works great for some and is a botch-job for others.

dimitril · Nov 2017

They are indeed VERY different categories of 3D development tools. But not for the reason you mention. They are different because they address a different set of problems, not because one is simpler than the other. Of course, Blender allows you to define complex shadings, model smooth shapes, and render ultra-realistic scenes, which Sketchup can't.
But you don't need that at all when you are an architect, or when you need to design a technical part/assembly. What you need in this case is to efficently and accurately place the elements against each other, usually with some geometric constraints. For example, you must ensure that this specific point of this part is located exactly at the cross of this plane and this imaginary line, itself defined by those two points, etc... And you will also need to measure things all the time, eventually look things through a section cut, etc... And I know of no other tool that does it more efficiently than Sketchup.
I whish there was an open-source equivalent os Sketchup, but there actually isn't. Because, although I know Blender, I wouldn't use it to design a technical assembly.


Comment by SarvesvaraDasa
about SketchUp · Nov 2013 · Helpful Not helpful 2 Helpful Report as spam

It is no more 'google'...

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Sketchup output formats

Comment by hugmyster
about SketchUp · Nov 2011 · Helpful Not helpful 2 Helpful Report as spam

Sketchup is very easy to use once you get the hang of it. Sometimes it's just a question of thinking outside the box! One problem is that I need to generate an ASE file and it only does SKP and KML formats. Is there either a converter or a similar program which will give ASE format?
Even better, one which will take SKP or KML input and save me redesigning my project!

Many thanks,
Huggy

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i tried downloading it...

Comment by jubjub99
about SketchUp · Sep 2012 · Helpful Not helpful Report as spam

The downloads successfull but It did not work on my tablet. I'm using android galaxy tab7", 4.0 ice cream sandwich.

[Edited by jubjub99, September 27]

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