The Best Free 3D Modeling Software for Each Job

For beginners and kids: Tinkercad

Tinkercad is a free web app from Autodesk for 3D design, electronics and coding. You build objects by dragging simple shapes, like boxes, cylinders and letters, onto a work plane. Any shape can also be set as a “hole” to cut into another. It is the gentlest way to learn how 3D objects are put together.

• Runs on: any modern web browser on Windows, Mac or a Chromebook, plus a free iPad app.
• Exports: STL, OBJ and glTF for 3D models, and SVG for laser cutting.
• Rules: Autodesk’s terms say a child under 13 can make an account only with a parent’s or guardian’s approval. Teachers can also add students to a class without a student email address.
• Limits: you need to be online. Large, detailed shapes like faces and animals are very hard to build from boxes and spheres.

Pick it when you are new to 3D, teaching a class, or making a simple part like a name tag or a box. Our guide on how to make an STL file walks through a first Tinkercad design.

Free CAD software for exact parts

When a part has to fit something real, like a phone, a shelf or a broken knob, use CAD. You draw a 2D sketch with exact sizes, pull it into 3D, then add holes and rounded edges.

FreeCAD

FreeCAD is an open source parametric modeler. Its website says it is made mainly to design real-life objects of any size. The latest stable version is 1.1.4, from 28 September 2026.

• Runs on: Windows 10 or newer, macOS 12 or newer, and Linux.
• Exports: STEP, IGES, OBJ, STL, DWG, DXF, SVG and more.
• Rules: free and open source under the LGPL license. Its website says the files you make with it are truly yours, forever. There are no limits on business use.
• Limits: it takes time to learn. Parts are built step by step in “workbenches”, and the screen has a lot going on at first.

Fusion for personal use

Fusion is Autodesk’s paid CAD program. It has a free personal use license with clear rules:

• Who can use it: people making less than $1,000 a year from their projects, for non-commercial, home use. Not at work or in a company.
• How long: Autodesk’s help pages say the free license lasts three years, and you can renew it in the last 30 days.
• Limits: only 10 documents can be editable at one time. Exports include STL, OBJ, 3MF, FBX and STEP. Some formats, like IGES, need a paid plan.
• Runs on: Windows 11 and macOS 14 or newer. There is no Linux version, and the browser version needs a paid or school license.

Onshape Free

Onshape runs CAD in a web browser and on phones and tablets. Its free plan is for non-commercial use, and every document you make on it is public, so anyone can see it. That is fine for learning and open projects, and a problem for anything private.

Pick FreeCAD when you want no strings attached. Pick Fusion when you want a smoother program for hobby projects and can live with its rules.

Modeling with code: OpenSCAD

OpenSCAD is free and open source, and works differently from every other program here. You do not drag shapes with a mouse. You write a short script, and OpenSCAD builds the solid from it. Its website calls it “the programmers solid 3D CAD modeller”.

Here is the bracket from the first picture, written in OpenSCAD. We built the picture’s bracket in Blender from the same sizes.

$fn = 48;  // smooth round holes
difference() {
  union() {
    cube([40, 20, 4]);  // base plate, sizes in mm
    cube([40, 4, 30]);  // upright
  }
  // two screw holes in the base
  for (x = [10, 30])
    translate([x, 12, -1]) cylinder(h = 6, d = 4.5);
  // one hole in the upright
  translate([20, -1, 20]) rotate([-90, 0, 0])
    cylinder(h = 6, d = 4.5);
}

Change the 4.5 to 5, and every hole gets bigger. That is the strength of code: one number changes the whole part.

• Runs on: Windows, macOS and Linux.
• Exports: STL, OFF and 3MF.
• Rules: free under the GPL license.
• Limits: the last stable release is 2021.01, from January 2021. The newer development builds add a much faster engine, called Manifold, which you switch on in the settings.

Pick it when you like code, or you need a part in many sizes, like a box for different cards.

Houses, rooms and furniture: SketchUp Free

SketchUp Free runs in a web browser. You draw flat shapes and pull them up into walls, shelves and roofs. It is popular for floor plans, decks, sheds and furniture.

• Rules: SketchUp’s help pages say SketchUp Free is not for commercial use. It is for personal projects.
• Storage: 10 GB of cloud storage.
• Files: it imports SKP, JPG and PNG, and exports SKP, PNG and STL. There is no OBJ, FBX or glTF export on the free plan.
• Limits: no support for free users, and the desktop app and extensions need a paid plan.

Pick it when you are planning a room or a woodworking project for yourself.

Characters, sculpting and everything else: Blender

Blender is the free 3D program that does almost everything: modeling, sculpting, painting textures, rigging, animation and rendering. It is free and open source under the GNU General Public License. Its license page says what you make with it is your own property. The current version is 5.2.2 LTS, from 15 September 2026.

• Runs on: Windows, Linux and macOS. Since version 5.0, Macs need Apple Silicon. Blender asks for at least 8 GB of memory.
• Exports: OBJ, STL, FBX, glTF and GLB, USD, PLY and more.
• Limits: it takes weeks to learn. Its tools for exact sizes are weaker than a CAD program’s.

We use Blender to check Bake3D’s exports, and we made every render on this page in it. It is the right home for mesh work: fixing an AI model, cutting a figure into parts, or lowering its polygon count. When you want the model to move, our guide to free 3D animation software picks up from here.

For blocky, low-poly game models, look at Blockbench. It is free for any kind of project, runs on Windows, Mac and Linux or in a browser, and exports OBJ, glTF, FBX and STL.

Sculpting on a tablet: Nomad Sculpt

Nomad Sculpt turns an iPad or Android tablet into a sculpting tool. You shape a ball of digital clay with your finger or a pen. It is a favorite for creatures, busts and figurines.

It is not free. On the App Store it costs $19.99, and on Android it is free to install with a $19.99 in-app purchase. To try it first, its FAQ points to a free version with saving turned off. A desktop version for Windows and macOS costs about $35 for two computers, with a free demo mode. It exports glTF and GLB, OBJ, STL, FBX, PLY and USD.

Pick it when you like to sculpt by hand with a pen, away from a desk.

AI generators: a model from a picture

AI 3D generators skip modeling. You give them a picture or a sentence, and a few minutes later you get a textured mesh model. The back of the model is a guess, because the picture does not show it. Here is what their free options looked like on 8 October 2026:

• Meshy has a free plan with 100 credits a month. Its help center says free users cannot download models made with its Meshy 6 or Meshy 7 models.
• Tripo has a free plan with 200 credits a month. Its pricing page says free models are public and for non-commercial use.
• TRELLIS.2 from Microsoft is free under the MIT license, if you run it yourself. It needs an NVIDIA graphics card with at least 24 GB of memory.
• Hunyuan3D 2.1 from Tencent is also free to run yourself, but its license does not cover the European Union, the United Kingdom or South Korea.

Bake3D is our own tool, so read this with that in mind. It is not free, and it does not try to be the cheapest way to get a still model. It is built for characters that move. It makes a model from one to four pictures or a sentence. Then it adds a skeleton planned from the model’s own shape, so a person, a dog, a dragon or a robot can walk and turn. You can check your picture for free, and try finished characters in the free 3D demo. A model costs 30 to 55 credits, a rig 25 more, and packs start at $5 for 80 credits. See pricing for the full list. It cannot rig a model you made in another program.

Pick an AI generator when you need a character, an animal or a figure and do not want to model it by hand. Our comparison of the best AI 3D model generators goes deeper. To build a character you can animate, start on the 3D character maker page.

How to pick, by the job you need done

• Your first 3D model, or a class of kids: Tinkercad.
• A part that must fit something real: FreeCAD, or Fusion for personal projects.
• A part in many sizes, or you like code: OpenSCAD.
• A room, a deck or a bookshelf: SketchUp Free.
• A character, a creature or a statue: Blender, or Nomad Sculpt on a tablet.
• A low-poly game prop: Blockbench or Blender.
• A figure from a photo, without modeling: an AI generator.

Free 3D modeling software for 3D printing

Every modeling program on this list can export an STL, the file most 3D printers use. Fusion and OpenSCAD can also export 3MF, which keeps the units in the file. Our guide to 3MF vs STL explains why that helps.

Before you slice any model, check it. Open the STL in our free STL viewer and checker to see its size in millimetres, holes and flipped faces. If it finds problems, the free STL repair tool fixes the common ones in your browser. Both run on your computer, so the file is never uploaded.

For figures, AI models and sculpts need a little more care, like thicker thin parts and a flat base. Our guides cover a figurine from a photo and 3D printed miniatures step by step.

Free 3D modeling software for Mac

Most of these run on a Mac, with a few catches:

• Blender needs a Mac with Apple Silicon and macOS 13 or newer since version 5.0. Older Intel Macs can still run older versions.
• FreeCAD needs macOS 12 or newer.
• Fusion needs macOS 14 or newer.
• OpenSCAD has a Mac version.
• Tinkercad, SketchUp Free and Onshape run in a browser, so any Mac works.