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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    FreeCAD

    Score8 out of 10
    N/AFreeCAD 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

    PTC Windchill

    Score7.1 out of 10
    N/APTC offers Windchill, the company's Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) platform that includes BOM (a digital bill of materials) for cost and product quality control via parts-centric source of truth, dynamic and updated product change and configuration management to ensure up-to-date product information, industry standards and requirements validation and control, and role-based data access among other features.N/A
    Pricing
    FreeCADPTC Windchill
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    FreeCADPTC Windchill
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    FreeCADPTC Windchill
    Considered Both Products
    Open Source
    No answer on this topic
    PTC
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    80%
    Would buy again
    4 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    80%
    Delivers good value for the price
    4 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    80%
    Happy with the feature set
    4 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    FreeCADPTC Windchill
    Computer-Aided Design Software
    Comparison of Computer-Aided Design Software features of FreeCAD and PTC Windchill
    Feature
    FreeCAD
    7.4
    1 Ratings
    1% below category average
    PTC Windchill
    -
    Ratings
    3D Modeling7.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    2D Drafting6.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Rendering and Visualization5.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Parametric Design7.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Collaboration and Sharing5.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Compatibility with other software and formats9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Assembly Design7.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Simulation and Analysis10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Documentation and Annotation8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Customization and Extensions10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    FreeCADPTC Windchill
    Small Businesses
    Onshape
    Score6.4 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Medium-sized Companies
    Onshape
    Score6.4 out of 10
    Arena PLM and QMS
    Score8.5 out of 10
    Enterprises
    PTC Creo
    Score7.6 out of 10
    SAP Integrated Product Development
    Score9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    FreeCADPTC Windchill
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.0
    (2 ratings)
    1.0
    (6 ratings)
    Usability
    6.0
    (1 ratings)
    1.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    FreeCADPTC Windchill
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Open Source
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    PTC
    This product is perhaps typical of something that seems as though it was conceived in the 90's and has seen various appendages since, none of which do their job particularly well. Nothing in this system is efficient and all its processes demand a huge, close to maximum possible level of human effort. No doubt many companies, such as my own are spend huge amounts of money for the debateable privilege of tripling their employees workload and making them as inefficient as possible to make the administration of the system seem more important than it actually is.
    Read full review
    Pros
    Open Source
    • Importing CAD formats
    • Converting mesh formats to solid and surface objects geometry
    • Fixing errors in geometry cad
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    PTC
    • It is compatible with all devices and operating systems such as web-based, Android, and iOS.
    • It allows user to customize its interface based on their requirement.
    • It provides a digital part list with all required data like Part Name, Part No., Weight, Material, etc.
    • Searching data is so facile that one can get data without any trouble.
    Read full review
    Cons
    Open Source
    • 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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    PTC
    • Extract partlist should be directly in Excel because everyone time we have to convert it to Excel.
    • ECN report formatting need improvement.
    • Many times part no doesn't go to ERP even after ERP released state.
    Read full review
    Usability
    Open Source
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    PTC
    Windchill is an extremely verbose and unintuitive system, with masses of unnecessary duplication of fields, convoluted workflows, unclear roles and terrible search capabilities. It is one of the worst software products I have ever seen to propose solving something that is actually factors quicker to do with manual writing and paper work
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Open Source
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    PTC
    Windchill is having a great market share & its UI is simple & neat, integration with Creo & ERP system. These are the main reasons of considering Windchill by our organization.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Open Source
    • 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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    PTC
    • Saves time as all of our drawings and business instructions and procedures are housed in a central location with check-in/out capability and version control.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots