The Best Open Source SOLIDWORKS AlternativesTop CAD Software & 3D Modelers like SOLIDWORKS

The best open source alternative to SOLIDWORKS is FreeCAD. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to SOLIDWORKS and 15 is open source so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source alternatives to SOLIDWORKS are LibreCAD, Dune 3D, OpenSCAD and SolveSpace.

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SOLIDWORKS alternatives are mainly CAD Software, but if you're looking for 3D Modelers or Interior Design Apps you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Mac + Free. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to SOLIDWORKS.
SOLIDWORKS iconSOLIDWORKS
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Leading 3D CAD software facilitating design, analysis, and product data management. Boosts productivity and accelerates time to market through seamless integration.

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SOLIDWORKS alternatives page was last updated Oct 11, 2024
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  1. FreeCAD icon

    FreeCAD

     447 likes
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    A powerful open-source parametric 3D modeler ideal for mechanical engineering, supporting Python scripting, running on Windows, Linux, and Mac, with modular architecture allowing extensive adaptability and use with scientific computing libraries.

    111 FreeCAD alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • DE flagGermany
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • Flatpak
    FreeCAD screenshot 1

    Top FreeCAD Features

    1.  Parametric Modeling
    2.  Drawing 2D
    3.  Interior Design
    4.  FEM
    5.  Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM)
    6.  Parametric
    7.  3d Drawing
    8.  DWG support
    9.  Ad-free
    10.  Procedural Modeling
    11.  No registration required
    12.  Dark Mode

    FreeCAD VS SOLIDWORKS

     
    Comments about FreeCAD as an Alternative to SOLIDWORKS
    Most Recent Comment
    Guest
    Positive Feb 21, 2017
    8

    AS far as I have tried, FreeCAD is the only FOSS alternative to Solidworks/Catia/PTC that has a funtional workflow. It is the best of a poor bunch.

    Guest
    Positive Nov 20, 2019
    5

    It's free for both personal and commercial use

    jrmz
    Negative Dec 13, 2022
    1

    Unfortunately not usable, after several years of using freecad, I quickly saw its limits. It is not a parametric software, indeed the topological naming problem makes this software fundamentally broken. The realthunder fork fixes some of these problems. fork or not, some advanced actions are still impossible and the different workbench are too isolated, some objects created with a workbench can't be modified by another one.

    Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

    SOLIDWORKS Icon
    FreeCAD icon

    • Most users think FreeCAD is a great SOLIDWORKS alternative.

    • FreeCAD is the most popular Windows, Mac & Linux alternative to SOLIDWORKS.

    • FreeCAD is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to SOLIDWORKS.

    • FreeCAD is Free and Open SourceSOLIDWORKS is Paid and Proprietary
  2. LibreCAD icon

    LibreCAD

     166 likes
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    LibreCAD 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.

    109 LibreCAD alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • NL flagNetherlands
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • PortableApps.com
    On Mac

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Customizable

    Features

    1.  Portable
    2.  Bim
    3.  Construction layers
    4.  No registration required
    5.  Parametric Modeling
    6.  Support for Layers
    7.  Isometric view
    8.  Export to SVG
    9.  QT Based
    10.  Export to PDF

    LibreCAD VS SOLIDWORKS

     
    Comments about LibreCAD as an Alternative to SOLIDWORKS
    Seth
    Negative May 10, 2019
    0

    2D application, not 3D like Solidworks

    SOLIDWORKS Icon
    LibreCAD icon

    • Some users think LibreCAD is a great SOLIDWORKS alternative, some don't.

    • LibreCAD is Free and Open SourceSOLIDWORKS is Paid and Proprietary
    • LibreCAD is LightweightSOLIDWORKS is not according to our users
  4. Dune 3D icon

    Dune 3D

     16 likes
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    Dune 3D operates as a parametric 3D Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software. It provides users with the capability to sketch and constrain both in 2D and 3D dimensions. Furthermore, it allows for the addition of chamfers and fillets to designs.

    55 Dune 3D alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    Dune 3D screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Ad-free
    2.  No registration required
    3.  Portable
    4.  Parametric Modeling
    5.  Parametric

    Dune 3D VS SOLIDWORKS

     
  5. OpenSCAD icon

    OpenSCAD

     81 likes
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    OpenSCAD is a software for creating solid 3D CAD objects. It is free software and available for Linux/UNIX, MS Windows and MacOS.

    47 OpenSCAD alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • AT flagAustria
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    OpenSCAD screenshot 1

    OpenSCAD Features

    1.  Procedural Modeling
    2.  Parametric Modeling
    3.  Text Based Format

    OpenSCAD VS SOLIDWORKS

     
  6. SolveSpace icon

    SolveSpace

     32 likes
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    SolveSpace is a parametric 3D CAD program with extrude, revolve, union and difference functions. Save/Export as DXF, PDF, SVG, STL, STEP. Mesh generation expected by most 3d printers. Constraint solver point tracing for motion analysis.

    71 SolveSpace alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    SolveSpace screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  User friendly

    Features

    1.  Parametric Modeling
    2.  Portable
    3.  3D Sculpting
    4.  Ad-free
    5.  3D design
    6.  Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM)

    SolveSpace VS SOLIDWORKS

     
    Comments about SolveSpace as an Alternative to SOLIDWORKS
    sgtdre
    Positive Apr 22, 2017
    2

    It shows that it can open .step files and I have a few GrabCad files that I want to check out and see it I can at least save to other file formats, ;ie .dwg

    SOLIDWORKS Icon
    SolveSpace icon

    • Most users think SolveSpace is a great SOLIDWORKS alternative.

    • SolveSpace is Free and Open SourceSOLIDWORKS is Paid and Proprietary
    • SolveSpace is LightweightSOLIDWORKS is not according to our users
  7. BRL-CAD icon

    BRL-CAD

     56 likes
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    BRL-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...

    73 BRL-CAD alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    PA-63 Extractor

    BRL-CAD Features

    1.  Image Processing
    2.  Benchmark analytics
    3.  Ray Tracing

    BRL-CAD VS SOLIDWORKS

     
  9. CAD Sketcher icon

    CAD Sketcher

     5 likes
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    CAD Sketcher is a free and open-source project looking to enhance precision workflows in Blender by bringing CAD like tools, features and usability to Blender.

    52 CAD Sketcher alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • DE flagGermany
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Blender
    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    CAD Sketcher screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Works Offline
    2.  Ad-free
    3.  No registration required
    4.  Parametric Modeling
    5.  No Tracking
    6. Blender icon  Blender Integration

    CAD Sketcher VS SOLIDWORKS

     
  10. QCAD icon

    QCAD

     29 likes
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    QCAD is an application for computer aided drafting in 2D. With QCAD you can create technical drawings such as plans for buildings, interiors, mechanical parts or schemas and diagrams.

    75 QCAD alternatives

    License model

    • Free Personal • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • DE flagGermany
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    QCAD screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Support for scripting
    2.  Parametric Modeling
    3.  Drawing 2D

    QCAD VS SOLIDWORKS

     

  11. SOLIDWORKS-for-Linux

     Like
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    SolidWorks is a CAD software that can be used to create parametric models, assemblies, and drawings. It's typical to work with relationships (the alignment of elements with one another) and dimensions (alignment through values).

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Linux
    SOLIDWORKS-for-Linux screenshot 1

    SOLIDWORKS-for-Linux Features

    1.  OPENGL
    2.  International Feature

    SOLIDWORKS-for-Linux VS SOLIDWORKS

     
9 of 15 SOLIDWORKS alternatives