People look for a SketchUp alternative when quick massing models turn into work that needs drawings, building information or manufacturing-grade geometry, or when the plan ladder stops fitting. Some move to a building-information tool, some to a NURBS or parametric modeller, and some to free open source software.
Sebastiaan SmitsFounderShort answer: The closest replacements for SketchUp in our CAD ranking are Rhino, Archicad and Vectorworks. Choose Rhino if you model complex curved surfaces and want to buy once. All 11 alternatives below are ranked products from Best CAD Software in 2026, and each says where it differs from SketchUp.
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Trimble's plans page lists SketchUp Go at $10.75 per user per month, billed annually, but Go covers iPad and web only. The desktop 3D modeler, LayOut for 2D documentation and the extension library start at Pro, $33.25 per month. A team that thought it was buying the cheap tier discovers that the desktop application is the second one.
Studio, at $71.58 per user per month billed annually and Windows only, adds the Revit importer, point-cloud modelling and rendered animations and 360-degree panoramas. Specialist Pro plans for scanning, civil contracting and advanced workflows sit between at $41.58 to $49.92. Users who need rendering or a Revit link face a bill more than twice the base Pro price.
The plans page offers monthly or annual billing for every plan and no perpetual licence. Teams that prefer to buy software once, or that need a model to stay editable long after a subscription ends, look at tools that sell permanent licences or are free and open source.
| Alternative | Headquarters | Free option | Pricing | Key difference | Switch if | Our rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rhino | United States | No free tier | Perpetual licence per seat, published; paid version upgrades, optional | Perpetual surface modeller with no maintenance contract to renew | you model complex curved surfaces and want to buy once | #1 |
| Archicad | Hungary | No free tier | Subscription only for new licences since 2026; through country resellers or, where offered, Graphisoft's online store | Hungarian BIM authoring tool with serious IFC openness | your models need to carry building data through to documentation | #9 |
| Vectorworks | United States | No free tier | Monthly or annual subscription only; perpetual licences no longer sold; bought via the customer portal store or distributors | Design-led CAD and BIM for architecture, landscape and entertainment | you design landscapes or stage and event spaces as well as buildings | #10 |
| Octave BricsCAD | Belgium | No free tier | Perpetual licence or one- or three-year subscription, published, per edition from Lite to Ultimate | DWG-native CAD still sold as a perpetual licence, on three operating systems | your clients and consultants exchange DWG drawings every day | #5 |
| Shapr3D | Hungary | Yes | Free plan; paid per seat, published; enterprise quoted | Direct 3D modelling on iPad, Mac and Windows | you design products or fittings and want accurate solids on a tablet or desktop | #12 |
| FreeCAD | Belgium | Yes | Free and open source under LGPL; no licence or support contract | Open-source parametric modeller governed by a European non-profit | you want a free parametric modeller and will spend time learning it | #2 |
| SOLIDWORKS | France | No free tier | Yearly licence per user from $2,820, published; quarterly and perpetual licences through resellers | The mid-market mechanical standard, with the deepest supplier ecosystem | the models you make become physical products rather than buildings | #4 |
| Onshape | United States | Yes | Per-seat subscription, published: Standard $1,500 and Professional $2,500 per user per year; free plan for non-commercial use with public documents | Browser-only parametric CAD with version control built into it | you design products with a distributed team and want browser-based version control | #16 |
| Designcenter Solid Edge | Germany | No free tier | Subscription per user, bought online or through Siemens partners, prices not published; personal-use Community Edition at no cost; perpetual through resellers | Siemens mid-range MCAD with direct and history-based modelling together | you want direct editing of mechanical models with a free way to try it | #6 |
| ZWCAD | China | No free tier | Perpetual licence per seat, published: Standard from €799, Professional from €1,299, excluding VAT; optional yearly maintenance; also through resellers | Perpetual DWG-compatible drafting sold at a fraction of AutoCAD | most of your output is 2D drawings in DWG | #14 |
| QCAD | Switzerland | Yes | Free and open source Community Edition under GPLv3; Professional edition a one-off €50.82 including VAT, with a year of updates, published | Small Swiss 2D drafting tool, open source with a paid edition | you only need plans and details and want free software | #15 |
United States · Perpetual licence per seat, published; paid version upgrades, optional
Rhino is a freeform surface modeller for Windows and Mac. Licences are permanent and do not expire, at 995 euros for one commercial user in Europe, with support and service releases for the current version included. It has no subscription, and it is a modeller rather than a documentation package.
Switch from SketchUp if you model complex curved surfaces and want to buy once.
Hungary · Subscription only for new licences since 2026; through country resellers or, where offered, Graphisoft's online store
Archicad is a building-information modelling tool from Graphisoft that works on macOS and Windows with compatible file formats and Teamwork collaboration. It is a building-information tool, so a model carries building data rather than geometry alone, which is more than quick concept studies need.
Switch from SketchUp if your models need to carry building data through to documentation.
United States · Monthly or annual subscription only; perpetual licences no longer sold; bought via the customer portal store or distributors
Vectorworks combines 2D drafting, 3D modelling and BIM in one product, with versions aimed at architecture, landscape and entertainment design. SketchUp is a general modeller extended by add-ons. Vectorworks is a larger commitment, and its pricing is not shown on pages we could fetch.
Switch from SketchUp if you design landscapes or stage and event spaces as well as buildings.
Belgium · Perpetual licence or one- or three-year subscription, published, per edition from Lite to Ultimate
Octave BricsCAD is a DWG-based CAD platform offered in levels (Lite, Pro, Mechanical, BIM and an Ultimate bundle). It accepts DWG, DXF, DWT, PDF and other formats natively. It is drafting-first, so free-form push and pull modelling is less central than in SketchUp.
Switch from SketchUp if your clients and consultants exchange DWG drawings every day.
Hungary · Free plan; paid per seat, published; enterprise quoted
Shapr3D is a precise solid modeller that runs on Windows, macOS, iPadOS and visionOS. It has a free Basic plan limited to two projects, and Pro costs $299 per editor seat billed annually, excluding VAT. It imports STEP, IGES, DWG and STL, but it is built for product parts, not buildings or sites.
Switch from SketchUp if you design products or fittings and want accurate solids on a tablet or desktop.
Belgium · Free and open source under LGPL; no licence or support contract
FreeCAD is a parametric 3D modeller released under LGPL-2.1 for Windows, Mac and Linux, with no licence fee. Parametric history makes edits predictable, unlike SketchUp's direct push-pull. The interface takes longer to learn, and there is no commercial vendor to call.
Switch from SketchUp if you want a free parametric modeller and will spend time learning it.
France · Yearly licence per user from $2,820, published; quarterly and perpetual licences through resellers
SOLIDWORKS is Dassault Systèmes' mechanical design package. Its Design product pairs 3D CAD with cloud collaboration and secure file management. It is designed for assemblies and manufacturing, which SketchUp is not, and it is a poor choice for architectural massing.
Switch from SketchUp if the models you make become physical products rather than buildings.
United States · Per-seat subscription, published: Standard $1,500 and Professional $2,500 per user per year; free plan for non-commercial use with public documents
Onshape is delivered online and priced per user per year: Standard at $1,500 and Professional at $2,500. A free plan exists for non-commercial use, and everything created on it is public. It is a parametric product-design tool, not a quick concept sketcher.
Switch from SketchUp if you design products with a distributed team and want browser-based version control.
Germany · Subscription per user, bought online or through Siemens partners, prices not published; personal-use Community Edition at no cost; perpetual through resellers
Designcenter Solid Edge from Siemens combines direct and parametric modelling through what it calls synchronous technology. It has a free trial, a Community Edition and a free viewer. Aimed at machinery and product design, it offers little for site or building work.
Switch from SketchUp if you want direct editing of mechanical models with a free way to try it.
China · Perpetual licence per seat, published: Standard from €799, Professional from €1,299, excluding VAT; optional yearly maintenance; also through resellers
ZWCAD from ZWSOFT is a DWG-compatible CAD package for 2D and 3D design that reads DWG, DXF and DWT. It is a drafting tool in the AutoCAD tradition and does not offer SketchUp's quick modelling or its 3D Warehouse of ready components.
Switch from SketchUp if most of your output is 2D drawings in DWG.
Switzerland · Free and open source Community Edition under GPLv3; Professional edition a one-off €50.82 including VAT, with a year of updates, published
QCAD is a 2D CAD application, open source under GPLv3, for Windows, macOS and Linux with DXF and DWG import and export. It has no 3D modelling at all, so it replaces only the drawing side of SketchUp's workflow.
Switch from SketchUp if you only need plans and details and want free software.
SketchUp stays the better choice for fast three-dimensional thinking. Its push-and-pull modelling is quick to learn, Pro includes LayOut for turning models into 2D documents, the extension library lists more than a thousand extensions, and the 3D Warehouse supplies ready components. For schools, the vendor offers SketchUp for Schools free with a Google Workspace for Education or Microsoft Education account. If your work is concept design and presentation rather than data-rich building models, switching adds cost without removing a problem.
Export what each new tool reads best: DWG for drafting tools such as BricsCAD, ZWCAD and QCAD, IFC for building-information tools and STEP for product-design software. Check one real project first, because geometry built as loose faces often needs cleaning before a parametric or solid tool will accept it.
SketchUp's extension library and 3D Warehouse content belong to its own ecosystem. List the extensions your team uses daily and check whether the new tool has a native feature or a plug-in for each before you commit.
Trimble lists Go at $10.75, Pro at $33.25 and Studio at $71.58 per user per month, billed annually. Specialist Pro plans for scanning, civil contracting and advanced workflows cost $41.58 to $49.92. Prices exclude tax and VAT and may vary by region.
FreeCAD is free and open source for 3D parametric modelling, and QCAD is free in its Community Edition for 2D drawing. Shapr3D has a free Basic plan limited to two projects, and Onshape has a free plan for non-commercial use with public documents.
Archicad models whole buildings as data and runs on macOS and Windows. Vectorworks covers architecture and landscape in one product. BricsCAD suits practices that work mainly in DWG. All three are bigger commitments than SketchUp.
Rhino sells permanent licences that do not expire, at 995 euros for one commercial user in Europe. Check the other vendors' own pages for current terms, since several have moved to subscriptions.
SketchUp Go is for iPad and web only. The desktop modeler needs Pro or Studio, and Studio is Windows only.
Founder of The Knowledge Engineers and of 2 Steps Ahead, an AI search visibility agency. Writes, edits and checks every page on this site.
Written, edited and fact-checked by Sebastiaan Smits. Last reviewed 8 October 2026. How we review.
