According to Gartner’s Hype Cycle for IT Evolution ( full content available to Gartner clients), cloud-native CAD applications still have five to 10 years before they reach mainstream adoption.īut fear not, Mac users. There are plenty of CAD software options for Windows-you’ll see many of them in our list of the top AutoCAD alternatives-but only a handful offer support for Mac.Īnd, if you think you’ll bypass the issue by using a cloud-based CAD tool, you’ll quickly find that CAD vendors haven’t embraced the cloud as much as other types of software vendors have, so the offerings are still largely on-premise.

You’re likely to hit a wall if you’re searching for computer-aided design (CAD) software designed for Mac. We’ve found some standout Mac and cloud-based CAD platforms for you. That being said, FreeCAD is worth a look if you want a parametric CAD program that doesn’t have huge maintenence fees (like many do) or risk having the price terms changed in the future (like Inventor Fusion).If you’re looking for CAD software for Mac, you’re not without options. Many of the open-source CAD/CAM options are a little rough because they are not incredibly popular, so they don’t get as much development attention as more popular open-source programs. (Free) FreeCAD is a totally free and open-source parametric CAD package. Googling “Sketchup STL Plugin” should give you a list of the options that are currently available. There are plugins available for free that add this function to the free version. One thing to note- only the Pro version is able to export an STL file for use in CNC applications. If you don’t have a lot of CAD experience, then you may find this to be a gentle introduction to the whole process. ($500 for Pro or Free for Standard) Sketchup is a very easy-to-use CAD program that scales well from tiny parts up to complete buildings. ($199) Via CAD is a very capable 2D/3D CAD program that uses a “real” CAD kernel and it capable of creating good parts for relatively little money. They seem to have a business model where you contact them for demos and pricing so they may only be an option if you’re really committed to learning more about their products. (Call them for pricing) solidThinking offers a number of CAD programs that seem to be very powerful. There’s a range of pricing options and for many users, it’s totally free. It runs completely in the browser so it runs on PC, OS/X or even an iPad.

(] Free - $80/Month- OnShape is a cloud-based CAD program from the same team that created Solidworks.

The list below is a good starting point for Mac-friendly 3D CAD programs: OnShape Most programs on Windows have an alternative available on the Mac with the notable exception of CAD/CAM programs there are relatively few popular CAD/CAM programs that run on OSX.

Double cad for mac