{ "title": "SketchUp Alternatives 2027: 11 Paid, Free & Open-Source", "url": "https://zekaiwork.com/alternatives/sketchup/", "summary": "The best SketchUp alternatives in 2027 are Rhino 3D (best overall, $995 one-time), Tinkercad (best free plan: Free web app) and FreeCAD (best open source, LGPL-2.1). SketchUp itself starts at $33.25/mo billed yearly. Zekai checked these prices on vendor pages on 13 Nov 2026; 8 more are compared below, including 4 with a free plan and 4 open source.", "tool": { "name": "SketchUp", "starting_price": "$33.25/mo billed yearly", "free_plan": "SketchUp Free: web only, non-commercial, 10 GB Trimble Connect", "price_checked": "2026-11-13", "pricing_url": "https://sketchup.trimble.com/en/plans-and-pricing" }, "task": "3D model generation and CAD", "prices_checked": "2026-11-13", "date_modified": "2026-11-13", "alternatives": [ { "name": "Rhino 3D", "type": "Paid", "starting_price": "$995 one-time", "free_plan_limit": "No free plan", "best_for": "Precise professional modeling with a one-time licence", "difference": "Sold as a $995 perpetual licence for Windows and Mac with support and service releases included, against SketchUp Pro's $33.25 a month billed yearly subscription.", "price_checked": "2026-11-13", "pricing_url": "https://www.rhino3d.com/buy/", "website": "https://www.rhino3d.com", "zekai_score": 8.1, "zekai_review": "https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/rhino-3d/" }, { "name": "Shapr3D", "type": "Free plan + paid", "starting_price": "$24.92/mo billed yearly", "free_plan_limit": "2 projects, basic-resolution STL and 3MF export, generative renders limited", "best_for": "Apple Pencil CAD on iPad, Mac and Windows", "difference": "Runs on iPad, iPhone, Mac, Windows and visionOS; the free Basic plan is limited to 2 projects and basic-resolution STL and 3MF export, with no team projects or technical drawings.", "price_checked": "2026-11-13", "pricing_url": "https://www.shapr3d.com/pricing", "website": "https://www.shapr3d.com" }, { "name": "Planner 5D", "type": "Free plan + paid", "starting_price": "$59.99/yr", "free_plan_limit": "Unlimited projects; no renders listed on the free plan", "best_for": "Home and interior planning with renders", "difference": "Premium lists unlimited HD renders and Professional unlimited 4K renders for home and interior plans; the free plan allows unlimited projects but lists no renders.", "price_checked": "2026-11-13", "pricing_url": "https://planner5d.com/pricing", "website": "https://planner5d.com", "zekai_score": 8, "zekai_review": "https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/planner-5d/" }, { "name": "Spline", "type": "Free plan + paid", "starting_price": "$12/mo billed yearly", "free_plan_limit": "Limited personal files, watermarked web exports, no AI credits", "best_for": "Interactive 3D scenes for websites", "difference": "Browser 3D design for interactive web scenes; the free plan has no AI credits and watermarks web exports, while Hobby adds 2,000 AI credits a month for 3D, texture and image generation.", "price_checked": "2026-11-13", "pricing_url": "https://spline.design/pricing", "website": "https://spline.design", "zekai_score": 9, "zekai_review": "https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/spline/" }, { "name": "Autodesk Fusion", "type": "Free", "starting_price": "Free plan; paid price not published", "free_plan_limit": "Personal use only: revenue under $1,000, limited CAM, drawings and file types", "best_for": "Mechanical parts CAD with a free hobby plan", "difference": "Its personal-use plan is free for non-commercial projects with annual revenue under $1,000 and limits CAM, electronics, 2D drawings and import-export file types; the free use lasts 1 year.", "price_checked": "2026-11-13", "pricing_url": "https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/personal", "website": "https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/overview" }, { "name": "Tinkercad", "type": "Free", "starting_price": "Free plan; paid price not published", "free_plan_limit": "Free app for 3D design, electronics and coding", "best_for": "Free beginner 3D modeling in a browser", "difference": "Autodesk's Tinkercad describes itself as a free, easy-to-use app for 3D design, electronics and coding, with no usage limits or paid tiers mentioned on its homepage.", "price_checked": "2026-11-13", "pricing_url": "https://www.tinkercad.com/", "website": "https://www.tinkercad.com" }, { "name": "FreeCAD", "type": "Open source", "starting_price": "Free (self-hosted)", "free_plan_limit": "No limit (self-hosted)", "licence": "LGPL-2.1", "best_for": "Parametric, constraint-based 3D modeling", "difference": "Parametric solid modeler built on sketches and constraints with editable history, rather than push-pull; the project publishes weekly development builds and a 26.3 release candidate.", "website": "https://www.freecad.org", "repository": "https://github.com/FreeCAD/FreeCAD", "zekai_open_source_page": "https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/freecad/", "commercial_use": "Yes (LGPL-2.1); you may use it for paid work.", "runs_on": "Windows, macOS or Linux desktop; AppImage on Linux, no GPU minimum stated.", "setup": "easy: Unpack the bundle or run the AppImage; no installer account.", "github_stars": 35420, "stars_checked": "2026-11-13", "last_commit": "2026-11-13", "zekai_score": 8.3, "zekai_review": "https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/freecad/" }, { "name": "Blender", "type": "Open source", "starting_price": "Free (self-hosted)", "free_plan_limit": "No limit (self-hosted)", "licence": "GPL-3.0 (some files under compatible licences)", "best_for": "Mesh modeling with rendering and animation included", "difference": "Mesh modeler with rendering, animation and compositing built in, whereas SketchUp's pricing page lists rendered animations and 360-degree panoramas only on Studio at $71.58 a month billed yearly.", "website": "https://www.blender.org", "repository": "https://github.com/blender/blender", "zekai_open_source_page": "https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/blender/", "commercial_use": "Yes (GPL-3.0); share source only if you distribute a modified Blender.", "runs_on": "Windows, macOS or Linux desktop; GPU advised for rendering, minimums not in README.", "setup": "easy: Installers and archives from blender.org; no account needed.", "github_stars": 21953, "stars_checked": "2026-11-13", "last_commit": "2026-11-13", "zekai_score": 8.9, "zekai_review": "https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/blender/" }, { "name": "SolveSpace", "type": "Open source", "starting_price": "Free (self-hosted)", "free_plan_limit": "No limit (self-hosted)", "licence": "GPL-3.0", "best_for": "Small constraint-based mechanical CAD", "difference": "Parametric 2D/3D CAD with dimension constraints and a command-line interface; the Emscripten web build is experimental with many known critical bugs.", "website": "https://solvespace.com", "repository": "https://github.com/solvespace/solvespace", "zekai_open_source_page": "https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/solvespace/", "commercial_use": "Yes (GPL-3.0 or later); share source if you distribute a modified build.", "runs_on": "Windows, macOS or Linux (GTK or Qt); the web build is experimental.", "setup": "easy: Release packages, Flatpak or Snap; nightly zips for Windows and macOS.", "github_stars": 4250, "stars_checked": "2026-11-13", "last_commit": "2026-11-12", "last_release": "2026-10-21", "zekai_score": 8, "zekai_review": "https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/solvespace/" }, { "name": "OpenSCAD", "type": "Open source", "starting_price": "Free (self-hosted)", "free_plan_limit": "No limit (self-hosted)", "licence": "GPL-2.0 (with CGAL linking exception)", "best_for": "Code-driven parametric solid models", "difference": "Models are scripts built with constructive solid geometry and extrusion rather than drawn with a mouse; it reads DXF outlines and exports STL and OFF.", "website": "https://openscad.org", "repository": "https://github.com/openscad/openscad", "zekai_open_source_page": "https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/openscad/", "commercial_use": "Yes (GPL-2.0); share source if you distribute a modified build.", "runs_on": "Windows, macOS or Linux desktop; WebAssembly builds exist.", "setup": "easy: Prebuilt installer, DMG or AppImage; models are written as scripts.", "github_stars": 10641, "stars_checked": "2026-11-13", "last_commit": "2026-11-13", "zekai_score": 8, "zekai_review": "https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/openscad/" }, { "name": "Bonsai", "type": "Open source", "starting_price": "Free (self-hosted)", "free_plan_limit": "No limit (self-hosted)", "licence": "GPL-3.0-or-later", "best_for": "Native IFC building models in Blender", "difference": "Authors native IFC building models in Blender with 2D drawings, schedules, 4D scheduling and cost plans; its GitHub releases are daily alpha builds marked unstable.", "website": "https://github.com/IfcOpenShell/IfcOpenShell", "repository": "https://github.com/IfcOpenShell/IfcOpenShell", "zekai_open_source_page": "https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/bonsai/", "commercial_use": "Yes (GPL-3.0-or-later add-on); share source if you redistribute.", "runs_on": "Needs Blender on Windows, macOS or Linux; no separate hardware list.", "setup": "moderate: Install Blender, then add Bonsai from Blender's Get Extensions tab.", "github_stars": 2953, "stars_checked": "2026-11-13", "last_commit": "2026-11-13", "zekai_score": 7.5, "zekai_review": "https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/bonsai/" } ], "faq": [ { "q": "What is the best alternative to SketchUp in 2027?", "a": "Rhino 3D is the best overall SketchUp alternative on this page ($995 one-time). For no cost, Tinkercad has a free plan (Free app for 3D design, electronics and coding). To self-host, FreeCAD is open source (LGPL-2.1)." }, { "q": "Is there a free version of SketchUp?", "a": "Yes. SketchUp has a free plan: SketchUp Free: web only, non-commercial, 10 GB Trimble Connect. Paid plans start at $33.25/mo billed yearly, checked on 13 Nov 2026." }, { "q": "Is there a 100% free alternative to SketchUp?", "a": "Yes. FreeCAD, Blender, SolveSpace, OpenSCAD, Bonsai are open source and free to self-host. Shapr3D, Planner 5D, Spline, Autodesk Fusion, Tinkercad have a free plan with limits, shown in the table." }, { "q": "What is cheaper than SketchUp?", "a": "Planner 5D starts at $59.99/yr, against $33.25/mo billed yearly for SketchUp, as listed on each vendor's pricing page on 13 Nov 2026." }, { "q": "How much do SketchUp alternatives cost for a team of 5?", "a": "If each of 5 people buys the entry paid plan, at the prices Zekai checked on 13 Nov 2026, the monthly cost is Planner 5D $25/mo, Spline $60/mo, Shapr3D $124.60/mo, against SketchUp $166.25/mo for SketchUp. Team and business plans can cost more per seat. The Zekai Cost Finder on this page recalculates for any team size." }, { "q": "Which is better, Rhino 3D or SketchUp?", "a": "Sold as a $995 perpetual licence for Windows and Mac with support and service releases included, against SketchUp Pro's $33.25 a month billed yearly subscription. Choose Rhino 3D if you prefer a one-time licence over a yearly subscription for professional 3D modeling. Stay with SketchUp if you want a lower yearly cost with LayOut drawings and ready components from the 3D Warehouse." }, { "q": "Why are people leaving SketchUp?", "a": "The documented reasons are: SketchUp Free is not for commercial use, free users get no SketchUp support, and Trimble Credits and some 3D Warehouse features need a paid subscription; Trimble Connect gives free users 10 GB (21 Aug 2026); SketchUp for Web does not require a subscription, but some features are unavailable to non-subscribers, and subscribers get unlimited Trimble Connect storage and SketchUp for iPad (9 Oct 2026). Each is sourced in the section above." }, { "q": "Is there an open-source alternative to SketchUp?", "a": "Yes. FreeCAD and SolveSpace are open-source CAD tools, OpenSCAD builds models from scripts, Blender is a full 3D suite, and Bonsai adds IFC building models to Blender." } ], "publisher": "Zekai (zekaiwork.com) — independently reviewed; prices read on vendor pages on the dates shown.", "licence": "Free to quote with a link to https://zekaiwork.com/alternatives/sketchup/. Bulk copying or republishing the dataset is not permitted." }