SketchUp Alternatives for Linux
SketchUp is not available for Linux but there are plenty of alternatives that runs on Linux with similar functionality. The best Linux alternative is Blender, which is both free and Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to SketchUp and many of them are available for Linux so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Linux alternatives to SketchUp are Sweet Home 3D, FreeCAD, Wings 3D and MakeHuman.
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SketchUp alternatives are mainly 3D Modelers but may also be CAD Software or Interior Design Apps. Other popular filters includes iPad + Free and Mac + Free. Filter by these or use the filter bar below if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of SketchUp.- 3D Modeler
- Freemium • Proprietary
152 Blender alternativesA comprehensive open-source 3D software suite for modeling, UV unwrapping, texturing, rigging, and animating. It supports renderings, simulations including fluid and cloth dynamics, complex compositing, video editing, and Python scripting, running across all major operating systems.
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- BSD
- Flathub
- PortableApps.com
- Haiku
- Steam
- Flatpak
Top Blender Features
- 3D Sculpting
- 3D Animation
- Real time rendering
- Compositor
- Community-based
- Keyframe Animation
- Texturing
- Animation Rigging
- Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
- 3D Renderer
- Texture painting
- Grease Pencil
Blender VS SketchUp
Is Blender a good alternative to SketchUp?
65 Sweet Home 3D alternativesSweet 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.
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- Solaris
Top Sweet Home 3D Features
- Interior Design
- Import furniture from web
- Customizable
- Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
- 3D Sculpting
- Portable
- Multiple languages
- No Coding Required
- Ad-free
- Works Offline
- Export to PDF
- Java based
Sweet Home 3D VS SketchUp
Is Sweet Home 3D a good alternative to SketchUp?Comments about Sweet Home 3D as an Alternative to SketchUp
If you are looking for something related to home design, SweetHome3D is an excellent solution. But it is not a general purpose cad suite.
22Very 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.
1Sketchup 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.
38Its not general purpose, its to specific to be an alternative to virtually any other CAD program
5Not a general purpose CAD program
2
111 FreeCAD alternativesFreeCAD is a general purpose parametric 3D CAD modeler. The development is completely Open Source (LGPL License). FreeCAD is aimed directly at mechanical engineering and product design but also fits in a wider range of uses around engineering, such as architecture or other...
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- BSD
- PortableApps.com
Top FreeCAD Features
- Parametric Modeling
- Drawing 2D
- Interior Design
- FEM
- Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM)
- Parametric
- 3d Drawing
- DWG support
- Ad-free
- Procedural Modeling
- No registration required
- Dark Mode
FreeCAD VS SketchUp
Is FreeCAD a good alternative to SketchUp?Comments about FreeCAD as an Alternative to SketchUp
FreeCAD is a rich program for mechanical components or structures. There is more of a learning curve than Sketchup but can create professional drawings, analysis, simulation, assemblies, and more.
3Love this software for 3d printing.
6ph softSketchup is for quick drawing, to think in 3D. Not for blueprints or super accurate things. Freecad can resolve constraints but is anything but intuitive of fast. They can't be compared.
5FreeCAD is a lot more difficult to use
5I use both and they are not alternatives. Sktechup excels at drawing things realtime (to think in 3D). Freecad is cumbersome for that. Sketchup cannot do easily parametric modelling (with constraints, etc) or print blueprints. It only deals with triangles. Sketchup is easy to learn while Freecad has a steep learning curve.
4
53 Wings 3D alternativesWings 3D is a subdivision modeler inspired by Nendo and Mirai from Izware.
It is possible to assign materials, vertex color, UV coordinates and textures, but there will be improvements in those features before Wings goes 1.0.
There is no support in Wings for doing animations.
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application type
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
Wings 3D Features
- Uv mapping
Wings 3D VS SketchUp
Is Wings 3D a good alternative to SketchUp?
50 MakeHuman alternativesMakeHuman is an interactive modelling tool for creating realistic 3D human characters. These models can be exported to several computer graphics and animation platforms including Blender, Unity 3D, Unreal Engine, OpenSim and Second Life.
MakeHuman Features
- 3D Sculpting
- Parametric Modeling
- Rendering
- Texture painting
- Club Recommendation
MakeHuman VS SketchUp
Is MakeHuman a good alternative to SketchUp?Comments about MakeHuman as an Alternative to SketchUp
Completely different scope. SketchUp is a general modeller with a hard surface / architecture focus while MakeHuman is strictly for creating realistic human models.
4Makehuman makes 3D human models only whereas sketchup is intended for 3D objects like furniture or buildings.
1
112 LibreCAD alternativesLibreCAD is an open source 2D CAD application for Windows, Apple and Linux. It is based on Qt, which is a leading cross-platform application and UI development framework.
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- BSD
- PortableApps.com
Top LibreCAD Features
- Digital Painting
- Portable
- Bim
- Construction layers
- No registration required
- Parametric Modeling
- Lightweight
- Support for Layers
- Customizable
- Isometric view
- Export to SVG
- QT Based
LibreCAD VS SketchUp
Is LibreCAD a good alternative to SketchUp?Comments about LibreCAD as an Alternative to SketchUp
LibreCAD is a 2D CAD software. Sketchup is a 3D software.
36Not 3D. Otherwise, fine program.
6Good 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.
2LibreCAD is only a 2D CAD software
0
72 BRL-CAD alternativesBRL-CAD is a powerful cross-platform open source solid modeling system that includes interactive geometry editing, high-performance ray-tracing for rendering and geometric analysis, image and signal-processing tools, a system performance analysis benchmark suite, libraries for...
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- BSD
BRL-CAD Features
- Image Processing
- Benchmark analytics
- Ray Tracing
BRL-CAD VS SketchUp
Is BRL-CAD a good alternative to SketchUp?Comments about BRL-CAD as an Alternative to SketchUp
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.
-5
Comments about Blender as an Alternative to SketchUp
Good generic 3D modeller, but not as suited for quick space modelling.
Blender has more features than most other free and open source applications that I've seen. The fact that it has so many bundled capabilities is amazing. It's been used by itself to create feature-length movies!
Sketchup has useful features for designing houses, furniture and similar objects quickly. It has an intuitive, simplified CAD UX and you can easily add measurements of important parts. Blender is very complex and intended for 3D CGI, not quickly designing objects. I'm sure Blender has plugins for putting measurements in and so on but it has a huge learning curve.
Although it seems like it has progressed a lot and there are plugins to reduce the gap with sketchup, it is not an alternative unless you already use Blender all the time. Sketchup is like paint for 3D: perhaps not the most powerful, but it does not get in your way. Blender complexity does not solve Sketchup limitations (accuracy, constraints, etc). Freecad would be better for that.
It's a bit complicated but way more powerful booleans, arrays. You can draw shapes just like in SU. Get comfortable with the snapping system. Try measureit-arch , archipack, cad-transform free addons for a similar experience. There is also construction lines for like 10USD which adds the ability to draw lines and rectangles.