Autodesk Fusion vs FreeCAD

AutoCAD

SolidWorks Premium

Inventor

Creo

Tinkercad

SAP Enterprise Product Development

Compare Autodesk Fusion and FreeCAD based on features, pricing, verified reviews, integrations & more on GetApp. Find out which software is best for your business in 2026.

SolidWorks Premium is the leading 3D design solution in the industry. It seamlessly integrates powerful design tools-including industry-leading part, assembly, and drawing capabilities with built-in simulation, rendering, animation, product data management, and cost estimation. 

SolidWorks will help you get work done faster and easier than before, using innovative phases of product creation to achieve a more productive 3D design experience.

Inventor is a Windows-based 3D CAD software that assists in 3D modelling through mechanical design, documentation, and product simulation tools. Professionals can create custom design configurations and automate repetitive tasks.

Creo is an engineering CAD software that helps businesses optimize the entire product lifecycle using augmented reality, real-time simulation, additive manufacturing, and generative designing methodologies from within a unified platform.

Autodesk Fusion is a 3D CAD, CAM, and CAE tool that combines industrial and mechanical design, simulation, collaboration, and machining to connect the entire product development process in an integrated, concept-to-production toolset

2D Drawing

3D Design & Modeling

3D Modeling

Access Controls/Permissions

Annotations

Bills of Material

CAD Tools

Change Management

Collaboration Tools

Compliance Management

Component Library

Configurable Workflow

Content Library

Customizable Fields

Data Import/Export

Design Management

Document Generation

Document Management

Document Storage

Drafting

Drag & Drop

Electrical

File Management

Floor Plans & Maps

For 3D Printing

For Architects

For Manufacturers

Landscape Design

Manufacturing Design Data

Mechanical

Mobile Access

Offline Access

Parts Management

Product Data Management

Production Management

Project Management

Project Templates

Project Workflow

Quality Control

Real-Time Updates

Rendering

Reporting/Analytics

Reusable Designs

Rules-Based Workflow

Scheduling

Secure Data Storage

Sketching and Annotation Tools

Third-Party Integrations

Workflow Management

Autodesk Fusion

Android

Web-based

Windows

iPad

iPhone

UX Designer and Researcher

I loved that it worked on my mac. I wound up winning two national awards while in school with designs I created on Fusion 360.

Industrial engineer

Fusion 360 had been really easy to learn and easy to use. The ability to have updated geometry transfer to existing geometries is super helpful.

Director of Operations

Customer service is fantastic and very prompt. They do a very good job of making sure that you are integrating to exactly your needs.

Industrial and Manufacturing engineer

It consists of many features and is not a heavy software comparing it to other cad softwares. It has always worked wonderful for me with easy usage of tools and is quite is easy to learn and explore.

Software Developer

And everything is saved to the cloud so it's super easy to keep track of your files and switch between devices.

Owner

Clearly the best 3D design software for engineering-type applications. Insanely powerful parametric modeling.

Industrial Engineer 

Its a great software for rapid prototyping and product development. Being a cloud based software is the most extreme advantage.

Mechanical engineer

Considering that the program can be used for free for non commercial purposes with few limitations, it is a very practical and powerful solutions for amateurs on a budget.

Draftsman

The tools/commands are well labeled and represented. The work space is clean and nice.

student

It is best suitable for mechanical industry. Online tutorials can be found so using this is not that difficult.

Graduate Research Assistant

There is also an active community that is great at answering questions, and a lot of YouTube tutorials put out by Autodesk and others that fully explore Fusion 360's functionality.

Engineer

I like how you don't need a specific or high end graphics card to access the functionality. I also enjoy the fact that you can do work in any location and switch locations very easily.

Some specific issues with parametric modeling were noticed by me. I also noticed some problems with fillets around curves.

Research Assistant

Continous updates and patches are released frequently. Some times this becomes annoying.

Operator

The user interface at first can be a bit confusing, and there's a lot of unlabeled buttons that take time getting used to.

Technology innovation fellow

Overall what i enjoyed the most was version control feature and the electronic design feature integrated into the software.

It run on cloud so you have to have an internet connection for using this. Learning can be difficult for the beginners.

Reliability Supervisor

The price point is perfect for company users so that nobody will complain about expensive software.

Autodesk Fusion screenshot: Fusion 360 track design references

Autodesk Fusion screenshot: Fusion 360 designing

Freelancers

Large Enterprises

Mid Size Business

Public Administrations

Small Business

AutoCAD is a design and drafting platform which supports automated design tasks and offers features such as 2D drafting, drawing and annotation, 3D modeling and visualization, and more.

Tinkercad is a web-based 3D CAD software that enables educational institutes to offer constructive solid geometry courses across K-12 school grades. It allows students to create 3D designs and program, simulate, and assemble electric circuits.

SAP Enterprise Product Development helps enterprises accelerate the development of new products in industries ranging from automotive to petrochemical, from consumer electronics to pharmaceuticals. It provides actionable information so you can make decisions based on real-world data and see the connected results across your network. SAP Enterprise Product Development enables architects, engineers and business users to work together quickly, enabling a dynamic digital thread that is customized fo

FreeCAD is an on-premise open-source paramedic 3D modeler, which helps businesses design objects of all sizes. Programmers can sketch constrained 2D shapes and utilize them as a base to create other objects. It supports several file formats such as IGES, SVG, DXF, DE, IFC, STL, STEP, OBJ, and more.


3D Imaging

Modeling & Simulation

FreeCAD

Linux

Hardware Engineer

This is a good software for 3D design. It is for free and there is a great community that can give support to you, with a lot of tutorials in Youtube.

Teaching Assistant

It is free and open-source and that is great for such a useful software. It is lighter that other similar software.

FreeCAD has been a Godsend for developing and evaluating my ideas and I would definitely recommend it if you are a small business with minimal or no budget for expensive CAD software.

Cost/Project Engineer

Being a community-based free software, it's still seeing lots of improvements. Constant feedback is allowing it to better improve functionality and integration across disciplines.

Amateur engineering designer

It isn't complete (e.g. there is no dimensioning readily available), and suffers from ongoing development that results in occasional crashes.

Project Manager

If you need a drafting tool, get this one. It’s also great to learn what CAD is, and how it can help you draft.

Artist

So, I'll recommend this software for those seeking a classic and quick CAD Drawing and Viewing experience. Thank you so very much for the elegant software.

QC Technician

My problem was I don't have enough time to spend on I was working in a company and my job was not related to CAD.

Also it has many integrated tools to work with 3D and 2D designs, you can review models, import many file formats and convert some meshes like STL to a solid.

Especialista

For small design projects it is a very complete tool that helps you solve problems effectively without having to invest a penny.

Greggles

Near no customer service and sometimes sub-par tutorials. Getting the right install location can be difficult.

Although free of charge, the software offered a large variety of tools and preferences, and a user friendly interface.

Since the environment is lite, finding the right tools to have extended functions or tasks in modeling will be a little bit difficult. So, the software might be limited in handling complex CAD files.

Overall, a good experience using this software.

The most attractive feature is that it is free to use I am not very good at designing 3D projects but Free Cad seems to be for me a good platform to teach myself.

Poor and very complicated user interface. 3D surface generation can not react that you desire.

Release Manager

The interface takes a bit to get used to, but its not a huge curve by any means. Geometric constraints work great.

Civil Engineer

The Interface can generate brief difficulty when navigating without representing major inconveniences. You may experience some unstable installation especially on Mac.

Autodesk Fusion vs FreeCAD Comparison (2026)

Autodesk Fusion

FreeCAD

Overview

Video & Screenshots

Pricing

User reviews

Key features

Integrations

Alternatives