SketchUp Alternatives for 3D Modeling, Free and Paid

SketchUp is Trimble's push-pull 3D modeler, used for architectural massing, interiors, woodworking and quick concept models. It is very much alive. The plans page lists Go at $10.75 per user a month (web and iPad only), Pro at $33.25 and Studio at $71.58, all billed yearly, with Studio and several add-on bundles limited to Windows. Students and educators pay $55 a year, and SketchUp for Schools is free with a school Google or Microsoft account.

There is also a free web version. The SketchUp Free page describes the core modeler running in a browser with 10 GB of Trimble Connect storage, importing SKP, JPG and PNG and exporting SKP, PNG and STL. That is enough for hobby projects, but people outgrow it fast, or leave because the paid tiers keep climbing. The eight picks below are sorted by job: quick solid modeling first, then free tools, precision surfaces, and finally architecture and BIM.

If you are coming from the other direction and want curved surfaces rather than faces and edges, our Rhino alternatives page compares the NURBS tools in more depth.

Prices below are as of November 8, 2026. Our method is on How we review tools.

Quick comparison

Shapr3D

Shapr3D keeps what people like about SketchUp, the direct push-and-pull feel, and puts a real solid modeling kernel underneath it. You sketch with an Apple Pencil on an iPad or with a mouse on Mac and Windows. Every shape is a closed solid, so files for 3D printing and CNC come out watertight.

The pricing page lists a free Basic plan for 2 projects with basic-resolution STL and 3MF export. Pro is $299 per editor seat, billed yearly and excluding VAT, and adds STEP, IGES and Parasolid XT export. There is a 14-day Pro trial, and students and educators get it free for a renewable year.

Best for: Designers who want SketchUp's speed but with solids that manufacture cleanly.

Pricing:

• Basic: free, 2 projects, basic-resolution STL and 3MF
• Pro: $299 per editor seat per year, billed yearly, excl. VAT
• Enterprise: contact sales
• Free for students and educators

Watch out for:

• The free plan is too small for real work: 2 projects and low-resolution export only, per the pricing page.
• It has no building objects such as walls, doors and windows, so it is not a tool for plan sets.

Official site: Shapr3D.

Autodesk Fusion

Fusion suits woodworkers and makers who have outgrown SketchUp. It is parametric, so changing a board thickness updates every joint, and it adds 2D drawings, assemblies and CAM toolpaths for a CNC router in the same file. The desktop app runs on Windows and macOS.

Fusion costs $57 a month billed yearly, per the pricing page, which also runs a 25% discount on commercial one-year subscriptions bought in packs of four until January 31, 2027. Individuals earning under $1,000 a year from their work can use the free personal version for non-commercial projects, with limited CAM, limited drawings and fewer file formats.

Best for: Makers, furniture designers and anyone sending parts to a CNC machine or 3D printer.

Pricing:

• Fusion: $57 per month, billed yearly
• Personal use: free, non-commercial, under $1,000 annual revenue
• 30-day free trial

Watch out for:

• The free personal tier has limited CAM, limited 2D drawings and limited import and export formats, per the personal use page.
• History-based modeling takes longer to learn than SketchUp's push-pull, and sketches break if you change them carelessly.

Official site: Autodesk Fusion.

Blender

Blender costs nothing on Windows, Mac or Linux, and its Cycles and Eevee renderers produce the kind of images SketchUp users normally buy V-Ray or Enscape for. You can keep modeling in SketchUp and use Blender only for renders at first, then move over once its modeling tools feel familiar. The free Bonsai add-on adds IFC-based BIM on top.

The download page lists Blender 5.2.3 LTS, released October 22, 2026 with two years of long-term support. Current Mac builds need Apple Silicon and macOS 13 or later. It is GPL software, and the licence page says what you make with it is yours, including for commercial work.

Best for: Visualisation, animation and free modeling for people willing to learn a dense interface.

Pricing:

• Free and open source under the GNU GPL, commercial use allowed

Watch out for:

• It is a mesh modeler with no dimension-driven drawings, so plans and elevations for a builder need another tool.
• Intel Macs are not supported by current releases, per the download page.

Official site: Blender. Our listing: Blender.

Rhino

Rhino is where SketchUp users go when facades, furniture or products need true curves. It models NURBS surfaces, so a double-curved roof stays smooth instead of turning into facets, and Grasshopper, included at no extra cost, adds visual scripting for parametric design.

It is also the only paid pick here you buy once. The sales page lists Rhino 9 at $995 for a commercial licence, $195 for students and faculty, and $595 to upgrade from an older version ($395 until March 1, 2027), with no maintenance fees.

Best for: Architects and product designers who need precise freeform shapes and want to own the licence.

Pricing:

• Commercial: $995 one-time
• Upgrade: $595, or $395 until March 1, 2027
• Education: $195

Watch out for:

• Rhino 9 needs Windows 11 or an Apple Silicon Mac on macOS 26 or 27, per the system requirements.
• The command-line workflow is much slower to learn than SketchUp's handful of tools.

Official site: Rhino. Our listing: Rhino.

FreeCAD

FreeCAD is free, open source parametric CAD for Windows, Mac and Linux, including commercial use. For SketchUp refugees the interesting part is the built-in BIM workbench, which has walls, windows, structures and IFC import and export, next to the mechanical part design tools.

The downloads page lists version 1.1.4 for Windows 10 and later, macOS 12 and later on both Apple Silicon and Intel, and Linux AppImages. Version 1.1 shipped on March 25, 2026 with transparent previews and drag handles for fillets and chamfers.

Best for: People who need free parametric CAD or BIM on any operating system, including Intel Macs.

Pricing:

• Free and open source, commercial use included, no paid tier

Watch out for:

• OSArch's review of FreeCAD 1.1 noted the release had no BIM-specific features, so the architecture side moves slowly.
• Help comes from the forum and wiki, not a vendor support desk.

Official site: FreeCAD. Our listing: FreeCAD.

Chief Architect

Chief Architect suits a SketchUp user who designs houses, kitchens and decks and then spends hours drawing plans by hand. You place walls, doors, cabinets and roofs as building objects, and it generates floor plans, elevations, framing and material lists from the model.

The Premier page lists $1,995 a year or $229 a month, sold as a subscription only. Version X18 added an As-Built app for iPhone and iPad, automatic roof trusses and deck ledger offsets. One licence runs on Mac or Windows, with native support for Apple Silicon.

Best for: Residential designers, remodelers and builders who need construction documents.

Pricing:

• Premier: $1,995 per year, or $229 per month billed monthly
• Legacy licence upgrade: $995 for the first year, then $1,995 per year

Watch out for:

• Nearly all new features in X18 target houses: framing, decks, trusses and story poles. Commercial projects are a weak fit.
• There is no perpetual licence for new buyers.

Official site: Chief Architect.

Revit

Revit is the BIM standard in many larger firms and on projects run in Autodesk Construction Cloud. Where SketchUp gives you geometry, Revit gives you walls, floors and families with data, plus schedules and coordinated sheets that update when the model changes.

Prices on the Revit overview start at $251 a month, and Autodesk says a longer subscription term saves 33%.

Best for: Architects and engineers who exchange models with Revit-based consultants.

Pricing:

• From $251 per month
• Longer subscription terms save 33%
• Free trial

Watch out for:

• Revit runs only on Windows, so Mac users need a Windows PC or a virtual machine, per the overview.
• It is far heavier than SketchUp for early concept massing; many firms still sketch first and model in Revit later.

Official site: Revit. Our listing: Revit.

Archicad

Archicad is Graphisoft's BIM tool and the natural choice for architects on a Mac, which Revit does not support. Archicad 30, released in fall 2026, runs on macOS 15, 26 and 27 on Apple Silicon and Intel, and on Windows 11.

The US pricing page lists Archicad Studio at $345 a month on a monthly term, or $201 a month on a 1-year term ($2,414 paid upfront). Prices are per seat before tax.

Best for: Architecture offices on Macs that need full BIM and construction documents.

Pricing:

• Archicad Studio: $345 per month on a monthly term
• Archicad Studio: $201 per month on a 1-year term, $2,414 upfront

Watch out for:

• A Graphisoft community thread reports that Archicad 30 is the last version with perpetual licences and that new AI features are subscription only.
• Monthly billing costs about 70% more than the yearly term.

Official site: Archicad. Our listing: Archicad.

How to choose

When to stay with SketchUp

Stay with SketchUp if you do early design, interiors or presentation models and your clients or contractors expect SKP files. Nothing here is as quick to learn, and the 3D Warehouse library saves hours on furniture and fixtures. Pro at $33.25 a month billed yearly is still cheaper than any BIM tool on this list. If you rely on the free web version, keep local copies: in mid-2026 some free users hit caps of 2 new files and 3 downloads a month, which SketchUp staff on the forum described as an experiment.

Frequently asked questions