Work · alternatives · 2026
24 alternatives to NijiCAD
A simple and lightweight 2D CAD
Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes.
- 1
Hey HN. Over the last half a year I have been working on a 3D CAD programming language called DSLCAD. Today I am here to show my first release! It is heavily inspired by OpenSCAD which got me hooked on the idea of a CAD programming language and what it can do. Please let me know what you think. Ill be in the thread to answer any questions you may have.
2023 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 2
- 3
Contribute to itta611/ChokokuCAD development by creating an account on GitHub.
2021 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 4LP
LuaCAD models solids in Lua rather than the OpenSCAD language, with operator overloading for CSG (`a + b`, `a - b`, `a * b`). It ships with a CLI and a desktop app, including a preview area and a text editor. I've always been a big fan of OpenSCAD, but the SCAD language itself is unfortunately quite cobbled-together and is a very poorly designed programming language. LuaCAD takes all the good parts of OpenSCAD and combines them with one of the best scripting languages. It has now completely replaced OpenSCAD for me, and I think it provides a better experience than OpenSCAD for all use cases.…
Aug 2026 · luacad.ad-si.com · its alternatives →
- 5CA
I'm currently developing Chili3D, an open-source, browser-based 3D CAD application. By compiling OpenCascade to WebAssembly and integrating Three.js, Chili3D delivers near-native performance for powerful online modeling, editing, and rendering—all without local installation. Access it here: https://github.com/xiangechen/chili3d Features: Modeling Tools: Create basic shapes (boxes, cylinders, cones, etc.), 2D sketches (lines, arcs, circles, etc.), and perform advanced operations (boolean operations, extrusion, revolution, etc.). Snapping and Tracking: Precisely snap to…
2025 · its alternatives →
- 6
PixelSnap 2▲543The fastest tool for measuring anything on your screen ✨
2019 · pixelsnap.com · its alternatives →
- 7
agentcad▲110A CAD design tool for coding agents (free + open source)
Jun 2026 · agentcad.dev · its alternatives →
- 8
PixyCAD ▲126Fast & precise 3D CAD built natively for iPad and Mac
Jul 2026 · pixycad.com · its alternatives →
- 9
FreeCAD 1.1▲218Extremely powerful, completely free 3D CAD modeling
Mar 2026 · wiki.freecad.org · its alternatives →
- 10
The 1st Open-source design agent that lives directly inside Cursor, Windsurf, or your favorite IDE. V0.005 is an extension with custom Paralle Claude Code agents and infinite canva UX that allows you to iterate design directly in your IDE. It can: - Generate lots of designs in Paralle (Product Mocks / UI components / Wireframes) - Fork and iterate specific designs - Deeply integrate into your IDE workflow We think design might be the killer use case for Paralle agents, and we thought the best way is to build and validate—so here we are! The V0.005 only generates static HTML pages…
Jan 2026 · superdesign.dev · its alternatives →
- 11
2019 · eschersket.ch · its alternatives →
- 12FP
Hello HN users, This is a CAD by code project I have been working on on my free time for more than year now. I built it with 3 goals in mind: - It should be familiar to CAD designers who have used other programs. Same workflow, same terminology. - Reduce the mental effort required to create models as much as possible. This is achieved by: - Provide live rendering and visual guidance as you type. - Allow the user to reference existing edges/faces on the scene instead of having to calculate everything. - Provide interactive mouse helpers for features that are hard to write by code: Only 3…
Apr 2026 · fluidcad.io · its alternatives →
- 13LG
Welcome to open documentation page for Ludigraphix !
2019 · ludigraphix.org · its alternatives →
- 14
Cadseer is in the same genre as: solidworks, inventor, freecad etc... Cadseer is alpha software, so lots of missing features, bugs, crashes, file incompatibilities etc... About me: I spent 15 years designing stamping dies on a high end cad system. During that time, I also developed and marketed extensions/plugins toward that cad system. Through that experience, I came disillusioned with 'vendor lock-in' and proprietary software in general. I basically retired, took the vow of poverty and moved all my computing to open source. I have since, and continue to, try and improve the open…
2023 · gitlab.com · its alternatives →
- 15
- 16
Hey HN! I'm Zach from Adam (https://adam.new/). We’re building an AI co-pilot for mechanical CAD software. As part of our broader research, we built a browser-based Text-to-CAD app (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44182206) and are now open sourcing it. This is a React SPA with a Supabase backend. What it does: * Generates parametric 3D models from natural language descriptions, with support for both text prompts and image references * Outputs OpenSCAD code with automatically extracted parameters that surface as interactive sliders for instant dimension…
2025 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 17
KiCad, a PCB EDA suite is now working in a browser, you can try it at the link, there's a demo project or you can bring your own. Firefox is best, Chrome is good, Safari is "working". We’re Emergence Engineering, a dev shop from Hungary, mostly working with rich text editors, CRDTs. PCBJam started as my (Viktor, CTO, ex-electrical engineer) hobby project but as time went on I put more and more energy into it, and a product started shaping up in my head, in the last few months we’ve started to focus on this project a bit more, and this is the first MVP~ish result. This project is a ton of…
Jul 2026 · demo.pcbjam.com · its alternatives →
- 18
My friend and I have been working on Arcad for some months now. It's a free browser-based parametric CAD tool aimed at hobbyists and makers. It has editable feature history, solid modeling powered by OpenCascade, STEP export and touch controls for tablets, although it's primarily made for PC use. Everything runs in the browser and you can try it without creating an account or installing anything. Currently in beta although we feel like it's ready for a full launch. Any feedback is appreciated! Link: https://app.arcad.studio Docs: https://www.arcad.studio/docs
Aug 2026 · app.arcad.studio · its alternatives →
- 19
- 20
Whisker▲94Create and edit CAD models into production-ready prototypes
Mar 2026 · whisker.spatialkittens.com · its alternatives →
- 21
- 22
Dive into the world of Python programming through our curated collection of interactive coding tutorials.
2021 · tinkerstellar.com · its alternatives →
- 23
Minimalist Electron app for designing spline curves - AntixK/Curve-Studio
2019 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 24PB
2016 · prandtl.design · its alternatives →
Also compare
- DSLCad – a programming language and interpreter for building 3D models alternatives
- Spline alternatives
- ChokokuCAD – A breakthrough CAD application on the browser alternatives
- LuaCAD – Parametric CAD Scripted in Lua alternatives
- Chili3d – A open-source, browser-based 3D CAD application alternatives
- PixelSnap 2 alternatives
Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →