Open-source AutoCAD alternatives

FreeCAD is a parametric 3D modeling application for designing physical objects of any size. Parametric modeling means you can change a design by editing parameters in its model history. It can create 3D shapes from constrained 2D sketches and produce production drawings from the resulting 3D models. FreeCAD is released under the LGPL-2.1 license and written mostly in C++.

The software suits hobbyists, programmers, experienced CAD users, students and teachers working on product design, mechanical engineering and architecture. Related topics on the project include BIM, FEM, CAM, civil engineering and 3D printing. It builds on the OpenCASCADE geometry kernel, the Coin3D scene library, a Qt interface and a broad Python API for scripting. Precompiled packages for Windows, macOS and Linux are available from the releases page, and many Linux distributions include it in their software centers.

LibreCAD is a 2D CAD drawing program derived from QCAD's community edition. It uses the Qt framework, so it runs on most operating systems, and the user interface is translated into more than 30 languages.

It can read DXF and DWG files and write DXF, DWG, PDF and SVG, and supports drawing primitives such as points, lines, circles, ellipses, parabolas, hyperbolas and splines. The interface is highly customizable. LibreCAD can also act as a DXF converter, turning a drawing into PDF, PNG or SVG from the command line. Release notes explain which Qt version each branch needs, and the macOS build is a universal app for Apple Silicon and Intel with ad-hoc signing, so the first launch needs a manual approval step.

The README says LibreCAD is free software distributed under the GNU General Public License version 2, while the repository metadata lists the licence as other. Stable releases, builds from the stable branch and builds from master are linked for download.