Price: Free trial and free reduced Community Edition.

We recommend LibreCAD if you’re looking to create mechanical drawings or designs for laser cutting and CNC milling. It’s not dissimilar to AutoCAD in its layout, so if you’re looking for a free alternative, it’s a solid option that you won’t need to learn entirely from scratch.Īlongside a full suite of sketching and drafting tools such as shapes, lines, dimensions, snapping, and mirrors, including fantastic multi-layering and hatching patterns, LibreCAD throws in CAM preparation tools for export to CNC software in a range of file formats. It’s backed by a supportive community that regularly produces excellent documentation, support, and in-depth guides.įor this reason, we rate LibreCAD as one of the more accessible free 2D CAD software out there. It leans heavily into the open-source tradition with users encouraged to tweak and tame the program to suit their needs. It’s compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux.

No trial period, limited license, or capped commercial use here – LibreCAD is free to download and use as you see fit. LibreCAD is one of the few no-strings-attached free 2D CAD software around.

Supported File Formats: DXF, DWG, JWW, LFF, CXF, SVG, BMP, CUR, GIF, ICO, JPEG, PNG, TIF, XPM, and more.

Operating System Compatibility: Windows, macOS, Linux.

Price: Free with no commercial restrictions.

Similarly, a 2D drawing for floor planning or facades makes more sense than a full 3D model, removing the laborious task of creating complex, dimensionally accurate models for each singular element. Unlike 3D CAD software, which allows users to create a 3D model, 2D CAD restricts dimensional manipulations to the X and Y axes.ģD CAD programs often include a 2D sketching mode for projects that benefit more from a top view, whether to save time, for collaborative reasons, or due to the nature of the application.įor example, 3D modeling for laser cutting would be a waste of time and resources as cutters and engravers only process 2D images and vectors. Top Picks Best Free 2D CAD Software – Full Round-UpĢD CAD software is a computer-aided design program that allows designers, artists, architects, and engineers to create two-dimensional drawings, drafts, and plans thanks to a suite of shapes, layers, commands, and tools tuned to simplify the process.

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