About Printables
Printables is a 3D printing model library and community run by Prusa Research, the 3D printer maker. People use it to download printable models and to share their own designs, which makes it a common place for makers to find parts, tools, toys and other objects ready to print.
Printables is a proprietary hosted website rather than software you run yourself. As a platform built by a printer manufacturer, it focuses on the maker community, letting users browse designs, follow creators and discuss prints, and it works with models from many different 3D printer brands.
Key features
- Library of printable 3D models
- Community sharing of designs
- Browsing and search for models
- Run by Prusa Research
Good fit for
- →Downloading printable parts and tools
- →Publishing your own designs for other makers
- Tags
- 3d-printing
- models
- community
- prusa
- maker
- stl
- sharing
Printables: questions and answers
- What is Printables used for?
- Printables is a 3D printing model library and community from Prusa Research where makers share and download printable designs. It is a good fit for downloading printable parts and tools, and publishing your own designs for other makers.
- Is Printables free?
- Yes. Printables is free to use.
- Is Printables open source?
- No. Printables is proprietary (closed-source) software and can't be self-hosted. In the 3D & CAD category, open-source options include OpenSCAD, PrusaSlicer and FreeCAD.
- What are some alternatives to Printables?
- Printables competes with Thingiverse and Sketchfab.
Open-source alternatives to Printables
See all
OpenSCAD
3D & CAD
OpenSCAD - The Programmers Solid 3D CAD Modeller
OSSvs Autodesk Fusion★ 10k
PrusaSlicer
3D & CAD
G-code generator for 3D printers (RepRap, Makerbot, Ultimaker etc.)
AGPL-3.0vs Simplify3D★ 9.4k
FreeCAD
3D & CAD
Official source code of FreeCAD, a free and opensource multiplatform 3D parametric modeler
LGPL-2.1vs SolidWorks★ 34k
OrcaSlicer
3D & CAD
G-code generator for 3D printers (Bambu, Prusa, Voron, VzBot, RatRig, Creality, etc.)
AGPL-3.0vs Simplify3D★ 16k
UltiMaker Cura
3D & CAD
3D printer / slicing GUI built on top of the Uranium framework
LGPL-3.0vs Simplify3D★ 7k
Libfive
3D & CAD
Infrastructure for solid modeling
OSSvs SolidWorks★ 1.7k
SaaS alternatives to Printables
See all
Thingiverse
3D & CAD
Community library of 3D printable models from UltiMaker
SaaS
Sketchfab
3D & CAD
Platform for publishing, sharing and selling 3D models
SaaS
Vectary
3D & CAD
Browser-based 3D design and AR tool for product visuals
SaaS
3dplotter
3D & CAD
Turns a 3D printer into a pen plotter with presets, G-code generator, Hershey fonts and a pen holder library
SaaS
3D-Coat
3D & CAD
3D sculpting, retopology and texture painting software
SaaS
Meshy
3D & CAD
AI 3D model generator that creates models from text or images
SaaS
