FreeCAD

What hackers pick instead

• OpenSCADA free CAD tool where you describe models in code, loved for precise, parametric, version-controllable designs and LLM-friendliness; critics note missing fillets/chamfers and math-heavy modeling.173recommend
• OnshapeBrowser-based parametric CAD that is easy to learn, runs on any machine and has multi-user editing; the free tier makes designs public.65recommend
• Autodesk Fusion 360Recommended for fast, capable parametric 3D modeling, with a free hobbyist license and an easy learning curve. The most common caveat is that the free license could be changed or withdrawn, and Autodesk pushes paid upgrades.60recommend
• SolveSpaceFree, fast, lightweight parametric CAD praised for simple sketching and quick learning; critics say it lacks features and its booleans often fail.37recommend
• SolidWorksWidely used parametric CAD praised for its easy interface and power; critics say it is costly, proprietary, and crashes or slows on complex assemblies.36recommend

Every quote

The 40 most detailed of 414 comments. Each links to the original.

1. There's an entire working group in the project comprised of people who have spent their entire career doing CAD and now take care of making FreeCAD get on par with proprietary counterparts.

   Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “FreeCAD Version 1.1 Released”

2. Even freecad, a UI-based oss cad, is not quite ergonomic for a beginner-to-intermediate user, though it has come a long way in the past few years.

   Mixed · Nov 2025 · in “µcad: New open source programming language that can generate 2D sketches and 3D”

3. It's better. Way better than it used to be. It's also still a very complex and user unfriendly application with a long road ahead of it.

   Mixed · Mar 2026 · in “Dune3d: A parametric 3D CAD application”

4. FreeCAD is the "state of the art" in CAD, because it is the most generally available, open source, free-to-experiment-on implementation

   Recommends · Jun 2026 · in “Local Qwen isn't a worse Opus, it's a different tool”

5. The vast majority of problems are in the UI. The geometry kernel is limited, but it's good enough for an open source project.

   Mixed · Mar 2026 · in “FreeCAD Version 1.1 Released”

6. I don't think I would have gotten far without being able to ask ChatGPT for help understanding some of the quirks of FreeCAD.

   Mixed · Mar 2026 · in “Open source CAD in the browser (Solvespace)”

7. It's a fantastic feature and works really well, my problem is I can never invest the required time to learn the interface.

   Mixed · Dec 2025 · in “OpenSCAD is kinda neat”

8. FreeCAD performance would not be enough, something to do with its solver trying to work out too many constraints at once.

   Mixed · Oct 2026 · in “Show HN: Made an open-source Lego AI generator”

9. I have been moving from fusion 360/eagle to FreeCAD+Kicad for mixed electronic/mechanical designs and never looked back.

   Recommends · Oct 2026 · in “OpenSCAD the Programmers Solid 3D CAD Modeller”

10. I too feel like the latest versions are quite a big improvement and I finally lost that feeling of slowing myself down

    Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “FreeCAD is an open-source parametric 3D modeler”

11. FreeCAD is the sort of hard-won, low-governance, pure-open-source-no-corporate-bullshit project HNers should prefer.

    Recommends · Nov 2025 · in “µcad: New open source programming language that can generate 2D sketches and 3D”

12. made major strides in recent months to bring it closer to the state of the art (even if it's still not quite there)

    Mixed · Oct 2026 · in “RepRapMicron”

13. I'd say that for hobby-level creations, 1.1 now has ~80% of the usability of Solidworks, once you figure out how.

    Mixed · Mar 2026 · in “Simple Screw Counter”

14. It seems to have hit escape velocity, so to speak, and is improving rapidly in a way it hadn't for a long time.

    Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “Open source CAD in the browser (Solvespace)”

15. Freecad is fully parametric, set constraints so it's 0 degrees of freedom and you shouldn't have that problem.

    Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “OpenSCAD is kinda neat”

16. FreeCAD has come a long way in constraint based and parametric part design, and I'm able to use it exclusively

    Recommends · Jan 2026 · in “A Year of 3D Printing”

17. FreeCAD's is improving over time but it's a game of catch-up and the math and algorithms involved are complex.

    Mixed · Feb 2026 · in “Topological Naming Problem”

18. Overall FreeCAD is pretty good, but I have yet to do a FreeCAD project where I don't run into something weird

    Mixed · Nov 2025 · in “µcad: New open source programming language that can generate 2D sketches and 3D”

19. Inside an initially off-putting and frustrating UI experience is a really good application trying to get out

    Mixed · Feb 2026 · in “FreeCAD is an open-source parametric 3D modeler”

20. I'm seeing a slow but steady progress that will eventually accelerate and make both toold true alternatives

    Recommends · Nov 2025 · in “Blender 5.0”

21. it has been a really good experience so far. Lots of useful features and fixees going in all the time.

    Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “Topological Naming Problem”

22. I would be dishonest if I said it hadn't gotten more stable and better supports my Nvidia card today

    Mixed · Nov 2025 · in “Blender 5.0”

23. 1.1 is a huge leap forward. I delivered a table last year that I modeled for the client in FreeCAD.

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “FreeCAD Version 1.1 Released”

24. After doing the tut I can say that 1.1 is very nice, i can uninstall Fusion and Solid Edge finally

    Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “FreeCAD is an open-source parametric 3D modeler”

25. given the amount of parts some LDraw models have, FreeCAD performance would not be enough, something to do with its solver

    Criticizes · Oct 2026 · in “Show HN: Made an open-source Lego AI generator”

26. These are all apps with excellent fundamental underlying engines/tech which are handicapped hugely by their UI/UX.

    Criticizes · Feb 2026 · in “LibreOffice blasts OnlyOffice for working with Microsoft to lock users in”

27. Spent hours and hours learning how to use it to draw a part. Got it done, but then didn't use it for a long time.

    Criticizes · Feb 2026 · in “FreeCAD is an open-source parametric 3D modeler”

28. at the rate FreeCAD is developing and improving now, if more people would drop just 1k€/ donations into FreeCAD/OCCT, chances are your pains will ease rather sooner than later.

    Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “Open source CAD in the browser (Solvespace)”

29. the main issue with FreeCAD as with all really complex packages is that it's impossible to diagnose a problem from a description that short

    Mixed · Nov 2025 · in “µcad: New open source programming language that can generate 2D sketches and 3D”

30. The one thing which I need to see in FreeCAD to be successful with it is an interface option which doesn't require a multi-button mouse

    Mixed · Dec 2025 · in “OpenSCAD is kinda neat”

31. the emergence of the BIM Workbench (Building Information Modeling) with the release of FreeCAD 1.0 at least gives some hope

    Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “Adobe modifies hosts file to detect whether Creative Cloud is installed”

32. It did pretty good entirely on its own but a wood bench is composed of effectively a bunch of differently sized rectangles

    Mixed · Oct 2026 · in “Ask HN: CAD for wood working with LLM support?”

33. Realthunder also lets the sketchers use projected geometry as real geometry, rather than only as construction geometry.

    Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “Topological Naming Problem”

34. it loads each .so external library only once, and it will load the library only with different name or version number.

    Mixed · Mar 2026 · in “FreeCAD Version 1.1 Released”

35. I've had a lot of success with FreeCAD, no need for MCP when the LLM can just write Python code to generate the file.

    Recommends · Oct 2026 · in “Show HN: SolidCraft – Open-Source Parametric CAD in Rust (With MCP Support)”

36. it’s not bad with the right plug-ins for designing a building, but God forbid you ever have to model a threaded hole

    Mixed · Mar 2026 · in “Dune3d: A parametric 3D CAD application”

37. OpenSCAD in a FreeCAD context does address many of the limitations of OpenSCAD, but it's not perfectly compatible.

    Mixed · Nov 2025 · in “µcad: New open source programming language that can generate 2D sketches and 3D”

38. FreeCAD is a long way from perfect, but what it is, that you need, is a space where you can reason about geometry

    Mixed · Dec 2025 · in “Ask HN: What skills do you want to develop or improve in 2026?”

39. In FreeCAD you can do things like defeaturing, so if you have a hole in a rounded plate, you can delete the hole

    Recommends · Nov 2025 · in “µcad: New open source programming language that can generate 2D sketches and 3D”

40. I think the recent progress of FreeCAD and its spin-off libraries cadquery and build123d will be better to push

    Recommends · May 2026 · in “Show HN: AI CAD Harness”