Cad Software reviews from Reddit

Summary

We analyzed 565 Reddit reviews across 47 subreddits and 81 posts to rank the best Cad Software brands recommended by redditors, including communities like r/3Dprinting, r/MechanicalEngineering, r/cad, r/BambuLab, r/3Dmodeling. Top-rated brands include Autodesk (4.2/5), Onshape (4.3/5), Fusion 360 (4.2/5).

Stats

Reviews565

Subreddits47

Posts81

Brands89

Products23

Top communities

r/3Dprinting183 r/MechanicalEngineering59 r/cad47 r/BambuLab45 r/3Dmodeling17

565 reviews from

and

By Brand

By Product

Autodesk

4.2

(70)

"Fusion is probably king of parametric."

"Fusion 360 is great. You can do everything with it. It also has a very generous hobby license."

"Inventor I think is the easiest to learn and transfer skills out of. Autodesk really hit it out of the park with all the online AND in software instructions/explanations."

"3DS Max (and feel free to use an older version) is capable of wonderful renders."

"I\'m pretty comfortable in fusion."

"I’d recommend Fusion 360 as well! There are complete courses on youtube to get started."

"Autodesk Fusion 360 is free and has a very good library of tutorials. It is a great first step to learning CAD."

"I base my opinion off of using many different software suites over the last 15 years and believe Fusion to be the best for the money."

"I would seriously consider Fusion 360. Yes, it's powerful and can do a lot, but it's also intuitive and there are a lot fantastic videos on YouTube that can show you how to get started relatively quickly."

"Fusion360 is way better for workflow, and also crashes wayyy less."

Onshape

4.3

(63)

"Love it. Go seamlessly between my iPad, my Mac, my windows machine, or my Vision Pro… it’s so useful"

"I use OnShape and I love it. I used to use Fusion years ago, and I think OnShape is a lot more user friendly in comparison."

"It's very very good."

"Best "free" CAD, onshape. By far."

"Onshape is excellent & web based, so it will work on pretty much any OS that has a decent browser."

"It's free if your models are public."

"OnShape is great."

"My Number one."

"Is web based and free."

Fusion 360

4.2

(59)

"Run from TinkerCAD, Fusion 360 is far better."

"Fusion 360 is quite easy to learn yet very capable."

"Learn fusion 360. Free, billions of tutorials on YouTube."

"I moved to Fusion 360 which... feels like a 1000x extension of TinkerCAD."

"I just jumped straight into Fusion360."

"I use Fusion360 been using it for my portable A/C units."

"Fusion 360 (easiest from paid apps)."

"F360 is good for functional prints."

"I would suggest Fusion 360. Probably the best CAD for beginners."

"In general, F360 is a good way to go because it's free for hobby use."

FreeCAD

3.7

(48)

"Especially now that version 1.0 is out."

"I'd definitely say FreeCAD these days. There are enough resources (videos, etc.) for it."

"I prefer FreeCAD. It's, well... free. It's parametric. It's multiplatform and runs on linux."

"Freecad"

"The only truly free one is FreeCAD."

"Freecad is completely free with all the features."

"FreeCAD"

"FreeCAD is good, but make sure to use either the 0.22 or the 1.0RC1 versions as a lot has changed since 0.21"

"Its very good, just watch some tutorials on parametric modeling in FreeCAD if your new to it"

"Freecad is actually pretty good and has good support."

SolidWorks

4.1

(37)

"SolidWorks (by far.)"

"Currently loving solidworks"

"SolidWorks had the shortest learning curve and was the most intuitive."

"Solidworks if you have a .edu email."

"Solidworks"

"Hands down."

"Solidworks"

"I use Solidworks because I use it at work and have it at home."

"I reckon Solidworks is a whole lot better than for instance freecad."

"Solidworks, Spaceclaim. Both of them are very intuitive and user friendly."

Blender

3.9

(21)

"I use Blender for modelling, mesh detailing, and management; Zbrush for sculpting, booleans."

"Blender is great for more organic shapes."

"Try Blender. It is free and has many input and output options."

"If you want to create a zero thickness surface, try Blender."

"You can definitely use Blender for a lot of things."

"I am increasingly impressed with Blender."

"Blender could be a great choice for its versatility and visual capabilities."

"Blender is the best and probably only free solution."

"I’m a big fan of corporate theft, but incase you’re not, blender will take you far, and there are so many tutorials on YouTube."

"There an extension to help with measurements."

Tinkercad

3.8

(18)

"Tinkercad is free and easy to learn."

"TinkerCAD! It's entirely free and online so no installing needed."

"If you are just making trinkets, start with Tinkercad."

"Tinkercad, Fusion 360, Solidworks."

"TinkerCAD is a great place to start."

"I really like tinkercad, but it might be TOO simple."

"Tinkercad or fusion 360."

"For creating objects use Tinkercad."

"Eventually you will use fusion 360 because lots of stuff is 10x faster and easier to do."

"Tinkercad is the best for an easy start."

Shapr3D

4.5

(15)

"I’m also a Shapr3D user, primarily because I prefer to design on my iPad. I use it all the time so it’s worth the subscription for me."

"Personally I prefer Shapr3d as it’s super easy to learn and works amazingly well."

"Shapr remains my go to. It has a super simple and intuitive UI and it had an iPad app, you can use a combo of Apple Pencil and multi touch screen."

"Shapr3d on iPad is amazing"

"The interface is by far the most intuitive."

"I use Shapr3D on my iPad. Very intuitive and was easy to learn."

"Shapr3D. If you have an iPad and a pencil it’ll be your best friend."

"Shapr3D on iPad with pencil is my all time favourite!"

"I'm using Shapr3D which is free for students."

"Try Shapr3D. It uses the Solidworks engine and is quite simple to use - I prefer it with an iPad & pencil over a Mac."

Dassault Systèmes

4.2

(13)

"Catia - Automotive and Aerospace ( due to their surfacing)"

"Programs such as CATIA, Creo and Siemens NX are considered more professional."

"Catia, NX. Inventor is quite robust also in my experience"

"Solidworks has a lot of support through their website, through YouTube, through Reddit, etc. Catia is used by many in automotive, but is clunky and complicated. And personally, I found Solidworks more intuitive than most, so that would be my vote"

"A lot of companies use SolidWorks."

"Solidworks or Onshape. Onshape is cloud based so you don’t have to worry about your hardware."

"For "assemblies" that large, CATIA works great."

"Solidworks is only 45$ a year (or 15$ a month)"

"You can get a low cost SW license through the experimental aircraft association."

"I use solidworks at work, fusion360 at home."

#10

Plasticity

3.7

(14)

"Plasticity if you want to use non polygonal modelling but don't need precise measurements (plasticity is super easy to use)"

"If you got the Money,, you buy it outright and own all your work"

"There’s a really cool new cad software called plasticity that’s native to Linux"

"I would consider Plasticity for an easy to learn less technical and more artistic CAD program."

"I’d say Plasticity would be suitable given your background."

"Plasticity is the best shapr3d alternative!"

"Plasticity 3D is the new kid on the block."

"I would recommend you check out 'Plasticity'."

"Software used is Plasticity. Nurbs solid and surface software with parasolid kernel."

"You should check out plasticity by nkallen."

#11

Solid Edge

4.2

(12)

"You can download the free version of Solidedge 2d."

"Solid Edge 2D Drafting is free even for commercial use."

"I use SolidEdge. It’s free for hobby use and it’s feature rich."

"Solid Edge Community Edition does a lot of things better than fusion and is also free for hobby use."

"Solid edge is the best in my opinion."

"I use SolidEdge. It is full featured and free for casual users."

"Look up Solid Edge 2D. They have a free version that was easy to use."

"Solid Edge can handle it."

"Download the free version of solid edge."

#12

Siemens NX

4.3

(11)

"Hands down NX is the best software!"

"I believe your best bet is NX."

"NX baby, runs circles around SW surfacing."

"I'd choose Siemens NX or CATIA V5."

"I like NX although there was a bit of a learning curve coming from Solidworks."

"NX"

"Both NX and Creo work quite well with large assemblies."

"Nx has a lattice tool. Lots of options."

"The “best” software for aerodynamic shapes is considered NX or Catia."

"I really like NX. I don't think the learning curve going from one CAD package to another is really that big of a deal."

#13

Polycam

4.4

(10)

"Polycam. works with and without lidar."

"I prefer polycam personally, it also has functionality for non LiDAR equipped iPhones."

"Polycam."

"Have you tried polycam?"

"Polycam is the only answer tbh."

"Polycam is a great app for scanning 3D surfaces like this!"

"Polycam 3D is a pretty good app to use when scanning stuff into a 3D model."

"Polycam it a good option too."

"Polycam is absolutely perfect for you."

"Polycam is a decent app."

#14

OpenSCAD

3.7

(10)

"Learning curve for OpenScad is really short."

"If you know how to code, OpenSCAD."

"Learning curve for OpenScad is really short."

"If you know how to code check openscad !!"

"Openscad for the win"

"I'm surprised that you'd consider something other than OpenSCAD for the creation of vases."

"Currently for parametric 3D I use OpenSCAD"

"It does take a while to learn how to use it, as you have to code the shapes."

"I use `openscad` for some of printing needs. But it's a bit of a learning curve."

"OpenSCAD is a script-driven parametric 3d modelling program."

#15

SketchUp

4.0

(9)

"It's very easy to learn."

"SketchUp is easy to learn and use."

"Sketchup is so damn intuitive compared to autocad."

"SketchUp is a great place to start for a free software program."

"Pretty easy to learn."

"I used sketch up for pretty much all my woodworking."

"Sketchup."

"Sketchup seems like a good fit for this application"

#16

Siemens

4.7

(7)

"My recommendation would be NX. It's used extensively in automotive (GM, Stellantis), semiconductor (AMAT, Lam Research, ASML), and consumer electronics (Google, Apple, Meta)."

"Everyone I've worked with has appreciated NX. I think it's great"

"Definitely NX and CATIA"

"Siemens - MNCs (For assembly and their ease to work)"

"NX. No issues with this."

"Solid Edge has Community edition"

"Siemens offers Solid Edge Community version, which is a full version of the latest Solid Edge software with almost no limitations"

#17

AutoCAD

4.0

(8)

"For commercial use and you want the best, buy AutoCAD."

"AutoCAD is the best."

"I still use AutoCad because I’m too old/lazy to change."

"Autocad"

"You can get away with LT version for basic drawings."

"AutoCAD is completely competent for making lighting plans"

"AutoCAD, not sure on cost"

"I always use alternativeto for this where you can see some alternatives to autocad."

#18

PTC Creo

3.4

(9)

"I'm using PTC Creo, due to the reason I learned it at school."

"Incredibly powerful but not the easiest to learn."

"You might want to take a look into Creo Direct modeling."

"Largest assembly in any CAD program I've ever heard of was on the order of 100k parts. The program running it was Creo."

"Ptc creo is free for students."

"SOLIDWORKS for me but I did really enjoy working with Catia during uni."

"Creo/Pro-E is faster even on low end systems but needs everything in a very specific manner to adjust & work."

"Creo. It’s mean. It doesn’t like you."

"CREO's....nasty."

#19

KiCad

4.1

(7)

"Kicad is really good and it's free"

"Kicad is a good starting point for circuit board design."

"Both KiCAD & FreeCAD are open source projects with first class Linux support."

"KiCAD is pretty good, and is native to Linux."

"Go with KiCAD for the team and get Altium/OrCAD for a dedicated Windows machine."

"KiCAD or Diptrace would do the trick."

"Kicad? Runs on all three major oses"

#20

CATIA

4.1

(7)

"The advanced surface modelling module is hands down the best surface tool."

"Very powerful tool 🔥 but too expensive."

"If you can get a student version of Catia that would be your best option."

"CATIA"

"CATIA regularly offers free student versions."

"CATIA's cool once you get a hang of it."

"CATIA is great for parametric surfacing."

#21

Autodesk Inventor

4.0

(7)

"Now I don t want to see Catia anymore."

"Inventor. Handles huge assemblies with ease on modest hardware."

"Autodesk Inventor."

"We are supposed to specify in the comments?"

"Inventor can do assemblies that big. So can SolidWorks."

"It works great!"

"I use inventor for 3d on the regular and I find it very easy to learn."

#22

Rhinoceros 3D

4.0

(6)

"I love Rhino 3D."

"Great all-rounder CAD program."

"Rhino is suitable for this task."

"Rhino 3D is very popular in the marine industry."

"For preliminary design many firms use rhino."

"Try Rhino3D."

#23

Rhino

4.0

(5)

"Rhino is next in line with its perpetual license."

"Rhino 8 WIP does include constraints and editing dimension functionality."

"Rhino will cover you on everything except reverse engineering."

"For 3D design i paid up for Rhino plus the CAM add-on for my cnc."

"Rhino for hull shape. Import into any CAD package you desire after that."

#24

DesignSpark Mechanical

4.3

(4)

"Free and easy to use – not Cloud based, no subscription fees."

"DesignSpark Mechanical: Free and easy to use - two steps above TinkerCad."

"It's free, easy to use, no subscription fees, not Cloud based."

"Have a look at RS Design Spark mechanical, it's free and pretty nice."

#25

Revit

4.0

(4)

"Revit. Hire me, i am proficient."

"Revit or just AutoCAD honestly."

"It’ll be the smoothest transition."

"Revit with Enscape for rendering."

#26

Chief Architect

4.0

3.3

4.0

4.0

(1)

"Otherwise, inventor/fusion work just fine"

#63

3.0

(1)

"BobCad"

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