Free, open-source alternatives to SketchUp

SketchUp is 3D design software used by architects, interior designers, builders and hobbyists. You draw lines and faces, then push and pull them into volumes, which makes it quick to model a building, a room or a piece of furniture and turn the model into views and documentation. The open-source apps below share the core job of building 3D models of real-world objects and spaces.

FreeCAD is the closer fit for precise design work: models are parametric, driven by sketches and dimensions, and its workbenches include architecture and BIM tools as well as technical drawings. Blender is a general 3D creation suite whose mesh modelling is fast and free-form, and it adds rendering and animation for presenting a design, though it has no built-in notion of building elements.