FreeCAD is a free parametric 3D CAD modeler for mechanical design, architecture and product engineering, with full STEP/IGES support.
| Version | Size | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | ~800 MB | Stable — official channel |
| 1 | Windows 8.1+ / macOS 10.13+ / Linux |
|---|---|
| 2 | 4 GB RAM |
| 3 | OpenGL 2.0 GPU |
Get official installers (~800 MB) from freecad.org/download.php; the Microsoft Store and Flathub also carry official builds.
Completely free and open source (LGPL) — no feature limits, no watermarks, commercial use allowed.
Yes — Part Design for parametric modeling plus the Mesh workbench for repairs, with reliable STEP export.
FreeCAD is free forever with open formats; Fusion 360 adds cloud collaboration but costs money. Zero-cost learning: FreeCAD.
STEP/IGES exchange works perfectly; native SLDPRT needs add-ons and is partial — ask for a STEP export instead.
Lower viewport rendering quality, prune the model tree, and use the latest 1.0 release which has major performance work.
| Fusion 360 | Cloud CAD/CAM |
|---|---|
| Onshape | Browser CAD |
| SolveSpace | Lightweight parametric CAD |
| LibreCAD | 2D drafting |
License: Free · open source (LGPL)
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