BricsCAD vs. FreeCAD

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
BricsCAD
Score 9.9 out of 10
N/A
BricsCAD is a computer-aided design (CAD) toolkit, supporting 2D drawing, 3D modeling and visualizations, and is customizable as well as compatible with many 3rd party applications, developed by Belgian company Bricsys, a Hexagon company since late 2018.
$314
per year
FreeCAD
Score 7.9 out of 10
N/A
FreeCAD is an open-source CAD software that specialized in 3D design. New features are added to FreeCAD by an active community of developers.N/A
Pricing
BricsCADFreeCAD
Editions & Modules
BricsCAD Lite
$590
one-time fee
BricsCAD Pro
$1,265
one-time fee
BricsCAD Mechanical
$1,780
one-time fee
BricsCAD BIM
$1,890
one-time fee
BricsCAD Ultimate
$2,100
one-time fee
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
BricsCADFreeCAD
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
BricsCADFreeCAD
Features
BricsCADFreeCAD
Computer-Aided Design Software
Comparison of Computer-Aided Design Software features of Product A and Product B
BricsCAD
8.4
1 Ratings
15% above category average
FreeCAD
7.4
1 Ratings
3% above category average
3D Modeling9.01 Ratings7.01 Ratings
2D Drafting10.01 Ratings6.01 Ratings
Rendering and Visualization8.01 Ratings5.01 Ratings
Parametric Design7.01 Ratings7.01 Ratings
Compatibility with other software and formats9.01 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Documentation and Annotation9.01 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Customization and Extensions7.01 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Collaboration and Sharing00 Ratings5.01 Ratings
Assembly Design00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
Simulation and Analysis00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Best Alternatives
BricsCADFreeCAD
Small Businesses
Onshape
Onshape
Score 8.1 out of 10
Onshape
Onshape
Score 8.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Onshape
Onshape
Score 8.1 out of 10
Onshape
Onshape
Score 8.1 out of 10
Enterprises
Rhino
Rhino
Score 8.5 out of 10
Rhino
Rhino
Score 8.5 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
BricsCADFreeCAD
Likelihood to Recommend
10.0
(2 ratings)
8.0
(2 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(1 ratings)
6.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
BricsCADFreeCAD
Likelihood to Recommend
Hexagon AB
SMBs who do want to minimse their involvement with expensinve, inconvenient and bloated Autodesk products will find lots to love. The only hinderence is the market share of Autodesk means some 3rd party developers will not support it unfortunately, but it has it's own solutions to many things users of the AutoCAD ecosystem currenrtly rely on.
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FreeCAD
I see FreeCad as the perfect solution for a startup with limited resources that want to save as much as possible and doesn't mind using non-standard 3D CAD software, i.e., it's not required by customers to use specific software for compatibility. It's perfect for hobbyist use and makers who don't care about brands and pay monthly fees. I see it as very well suited for small businesses that need FEA (finite element analysis) and can't/don't want to pay huge amounts of money for it, just like us. I see FreeCad as less appropriate for big corporations or well-established businesses that need standardized solutions, compatibility with clients or good version management. Don't get me wrong, it can get the job done, but it will be much slower than state-of-the-art CAD systems.
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Pros
Hexagon AB
  • 3D Modeling
  • Machine learning / A.I.-assisted feature named PROPAGATE.
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FreeCAD
  • Importing CAD formats
  • Converting mesh formats to solid and surface objects geometry
  • Fixing errors in geometry cad
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Cons
Hexagon AB
  • there is not full compatibility with dynamic blocks but it isn't so bad -we can create them in AutoCAD and use them to some extent anyway
  • it doesn't look as "sexy" and the interface looks kinda orimitive in some screens but the functionality is all there and the some
  • there is the hurdle of users thinking they are getting a lesser product so more marketing pozazz is needed to get the message over it is a very capable product
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FreeCAD
  • Overall, the UI feels very old and non-polished.
  • There are some quirky behaviors, like being unable to select a plane by having the cursor over it; it has to be over the edges of the plane.
  • It's overwhelming having those many modules and options for doing things that appear to be similar.
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Usability
Hexagon AB
it's exteremly useable. AutoCAD users will carry over many eisting skills and learn some new ones on the cross over. It's fast adn lightweight meaning ot can be run on just about any PC. The help and support are realy good and problems are usually responded to within a day by experts.
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FreeCAD
Usability is awkward. Perhaps if you learn it as your first CAD, it will feel OK. Still, it comes from commercial CAD products like mine (Onshape, Solid Works, Inventor, Solid Edge). You will feel it is less intuitive, with a less polished UI, difficult to customize and, this is a subjective one, less serious. I'd love to see it improve the usability and UI. I believe the engine behind it is powerful, but how you interact with the software is still lacking.
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Alternatives Considered
Hexagon AB
Very cost-effective solution, it even supports pointclouds natively and is something we will investigate further as time goes on and may in fact utilise it to replace AutoCAD with 3rd party add-ins at some point in the future, and we hope it can further reduce costs in the long-run as it continues to develop and mature.
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FreeCAD
Freecad is used often when receiving files from multiple sources and the need to work with cad in various forms from meshes to solid cad. Often when receiving scans of 3d objects the format is easy to work with and convert to traditional cad later on. There is no other cad that can bridge the gap between all the cad formats that we found yet.
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Return on Investment
Hexagon AB
  • Evaluation and budget management
  • Better monitoring of projects
  • Respect of execution deadlines
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FreeCAD
  • It has allowed us to do some cad work that no other systems has allowed us to do and is key to getting that done fast
  • It has lots of online support through forums and blogs for trouble shooting
  • It could have an updated interface to make the functionality more user friendly for first time users
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ScreenShots