Work · alternatives · 2026
24 alternatives to We made Arcad, a parametric CAD in the browser, free and no signup
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
Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes.
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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 →
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FreeCAD 1.1▲218Extremely powerful, completely free 3D CAD modeling
Mar 2026 · wiki.freecad.org · its alternatives →
- 4FP
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 →
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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 →
- 6CA
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 →
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PixyCAD ▲126Fast & precise 3D CAD built natively for iPad and Mac
Jul 2026 · pixycad.com · its alternatives →
- 8LP
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 →
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I launched NumPad v1 on here a few years ago, and back then it wasn't much more than a thin CodeMirror wrapper around the calculator engine I'd written. Now I've rewritten it as a PWA that supports multiple documents, persists them to IndexedDB, and has a syncing service for paying customers. Syncing is handled by Automerge[1] under the hood, which should make it relatively easy to get document sharing working too. [1] https://automerge.org/
2022 · numpad.io · its alternatives →
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agentcad▲110A CAD design tool for coding agents (free + open source)
Jun 2026 · agentcad.dev · its alternatives →
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I figured I needed to work on my coding skills before building the next groundbreaking AI app, so I started working on this free tool site. Its basically just an aggregation of various commonly used calculators and unit convertors. Link: https://www.calcverse.live Tech Stack: Next, React, Typescript, shadcn UI, Tailwind CSS Would greatly appreciate your feedback on the UI/UX and accessibilty. I struggled the most with navigation. I've added a search box, a sidebar, breadcrumbs and pages with grids of cards leading to the respective calculator or unit convertor, but not sure if…
2025 · calcverse.live · its alternatives →
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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 →
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SolidCraft: an open-source parametric 3D CAD application built in pure Rust. Desktop, web, and automation through MCP. - bherbruck/solidcraft
11d ago · github.com · its alternatives →
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The library to build browser based 3D models with code.
2023 · replicad.xyz · its alternatives →
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I'd like to share a new workbench I've been working on called DiffCAD. Coming from a software engineering background, not having the ability to properly diff my CAD model changes was driving me crazy. This project scratches my own itch, and maybe someone elses', too! I'm open to feedback, ideas, and contributions. Cheers!
May 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →
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Whisker▲94Create and edit CAD models into production-ready prototypes
Mar 2026 · whisker.spatialkittens.com · its alternatives →
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A program to generate isometric graphics from elevation data - Grille/2D-isometricRenderer
2017 · github.com · its alternatives →
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Contribute to itta611/ChokokuCAD development by creating an account on GitHub.
2021 · github.com · its alternatives →
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Arcadium▲24I tried to create a 3d model of my house a while ago but found it surprisingly complicated and expensive. Which contrasted sharply with games like minecraft that make 3d building so easy. I wanted to bring the simplicity of minecraft to house design.
2025 · arcadium3d.com · its alternatives →
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Hi everyone started this project a year ago to generate the CAD for a Jet Engine Axial Compressor. I am now open sourcing this tool that can take in a JSON file with specs and generate the CAD assembly. Still has a lot of work to improve designs but there isn't anything the Open Source community can't accomplish!
2023 · github.com · its alternatives →
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WebCad▲2No-install CAD with AI - design & export STEP in browser
Feb 2026 · app.webcad.ca · its alternatives →
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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 →