Tinkercad
Hacker ApprovedRanked 13 of 27 CAD software by recommenders
Easy browser-based 3D design tool for simple one-off shapes and beginners, free to use. Caveat: limited for advanced parts, lacking fillets and chamfers, and not parametric.
Easy browser-based 3D design tool for simple one-off shapes and beginners, free to use. Caveat: limited for advanced parts, lacking fillets and chamfers, and not parametric.
22 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 17
- criticize it
- 5
- approval share
- 77%
Recommended in 8 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 17 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 3.4 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 8 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Very easy to start
“it's very easy to start making simple functional designs, but when you are trying to make something more advanced it's a bit lacking”
Comment from 25 Jan 2026 in “3D printing my laptop ergonomic setup” “there is an easy to learn basic cad. It's called Tinkercad.”
Comment from 7 Nov 2025 in “Show HN: JermCAD – A YAML-powered, vibe-coded, browser-based CAD software” “very low-barrier-to-entry option here”
Comment from 20 Dec 2025 in “OpenSCAD is kinda neat” Quick for simple one-off designs
“it's quick for simple things that are one-offs, but it has exactly this issue as it's not at all parametric”
Comment from 20 Dec 2025 in “OpenSCAD is kinda neat” “It works surprisingly well for simple CAD tasks, too”
Comment from 6 May 2026 in “Inkscape 1.4.4”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Limited for advanced designs
“it's very easy to start making simple functional designs, but when you are trying to make something more advanced it's a bit lacking”
Comment from 25 Jan 2026 in “3D printing my laptop ergonomic setup” “TinkerCAD is relatively simple but clearly a lot less powerful”
Comment from 20 Dec 2025 in “OpenSCAD is kinda neat” “which is simple but limited”
Comment from 25 Mar 2026 in “FreeCAD Version 1.1 Released” Lacks fillets and chamfers
“lacks basic things like chamfer and fillets”
Comment from 31 Mar 2026 in “Open source CAD in the browser (Solvespace)” “it desperately needs fillets”
Comment from 19 Jun 2026 in “Akse3D – open-source 3D modelling anyone can master”
Other CAD software people recommend
The four most recommended other CAD software, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FreeCAD | 199 | 95 | 68% | 12 | 2 yrs13 owners | Approved |
| OpenSCAD | 173 | 87 | 66% | 12 | 9 yrs4 owners | — |
| Onshape | 65 | 21 | 76% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Autodesk Fusion 360 | 60 | 37 | 62% | 12 | — | — |
| TinkercadThis page | 17 | 5 | 77% | 8 | — | Approved |
What people said
19 of the 22 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I've been playing with TinkerCAD for a bit trying to create a sanding block that would conform to the rim and the bead but it's been harder than expected.”
“it desperately needs fillets”
“it is the standard you are working against”
“One of my main complains about tools like Tinkercad is that they are browser-based”
“It works surprisingly well for simple CAD tasks, too”
“the closest I could get was using tinkercad but couldn't match the orbit style correctly”
“I'm grateful Autodesk stepped in and kept TinkerCAD afloat”
“lacks basic things like chamfer and fillets”
“have recently started 3D printing and using deliberately limited tools like TinkerCAD and OpenSCAD and quickly find the limits”
“which is simple but limited”
“it's very easy to start making simple functional designs, but when you are trying to make something more advanced it's a bit lacking”
“I find it extremely tedious and full of unknowns”
“It can be fun to design shapes in tinkercad, but not as accessible for small children”
“very low-barrier-to-entry option here”
“it's quick for simple things that are one-offs, but it has exactly this issue as it's not at all parametric”
“TinkerCAD is relatively simple but clearly a lot less powerful”
“I designed the toy in TinkerCAD and it printed out beautifully”
“TinkerCAD only works for folks who are willing to get in bed w/ AutoDesk and use a closed source project”
“there is an easy to learn basic cad. It's called Tinkercad.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.