# Plasticity

11 Hacker News commenters recommended Plasticity and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 7 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Visual, non-constraint 3D modeler built on SolidWorks' kernel; people praise its robustness and freeform hard-surface work. Main caveat: no free option for hobbyists, just a 30-day trial.

## Why people recommend it

- Freeform hard-surface modeling without polygons (2 comments): "Plasticity for free form hard surface CAD modeling" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47501219)) "I don't have to worry about polygons at all" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45973538))
- Enjoyable for personal hobby projects (2 comments): "for modeling outside of work I'm a much bigger fan of plasticity and blender" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47091463)) "I personally enjoy designing my own things with Plasticity" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48574617))

## What people warn about

- Paid license, no free tier (2 comments): "no free option for hobbyists (just 30 days). That's a bit of a dealbreaker for me." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47513487)) "being bamboozled into buying a Plasticity Studio license" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47501636))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [FreeCAD](https://hackerapproved.com/p/freecad.md): 199 recommend
- [OpenSCAD](https://hackerapproved.com/p/openscad.md): 173 recommend
- [Onshape](https://hackerapproved.com/p/onshape.md): 65 recommend
- [Autodesk Fusion 360](https://hackerapproved.com/p/fusion-360.md): 60 recommend
- [SolveSpace](https://hackerapproved.com/p/solvespace.md): 37 recommend

## Where to get it

- [Visit the official site](https://www.plasticity.xyz/)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Plasticity", https://hackerapproved.com/p/plasticity/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).