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Free alternatives to AutoCAD

Swap AutoCAD for FreeCAD or LibreCAD.

2open source2run on Linux2in Arch/AUR

Prices and project data checked · How we check

Price unverified AutoCAD Checked Oct 17, 2026

2 alternatives

Open source · LGPL-2.1 Linux Arch/AUR
FreeCAD/FreeCAD34.0k★last push Oct 8, 2026checked Oct 17, 2026
Install
$ sudo pacman -S freecad
$ flatpak install flathub org.freecad.FreeCAD
Open source · GPL-2.0 Linux Arch/AUR
LibreCAD/LibreCAD6.5k★last push Oct 11, 2026checked Oct 17, 2026
Install
$ sudo pacman -S librecad
$ flatpak install flathub org.librecad.librecad

At a glance

Free alternatives to AutoCAD compared
AlternativeLicenseLinuxAURSelf-hostStars
FreeCAD LGPL-2.1 open source Yes Yes No 34.0k★
LibreCAD GPL-2.0 open source Yes Yes No 6.5k★

AutoCAD alternatives: questions

Is there a free alternative to AutoCAD?
Yes. The 2 free alternatives are FreeCAD (open source, LGPL-2.1) and LibreCAD (open source, GPL-2.0).
How much does AutoCAD cost?
AutoCAD's price couldn't be verified from the official pricing page at autodesk.com, checked Oct 17, 2026, so no price is listed. Check the vendor's page for the current price.
Which AutoCAD alternatives run on Linux?
FreeCAD (Arch extra: freecad; Flathub: org.freecad.FreeCAD) and LibreCAD (Arch extra: librecad; Flathub: org.librecad.librecad).
Can you self-host a AutoCAD alternative?
FreeCAD and LibreCAD are desktop apps that run on your own machine, so there's nothing to host.
Are these AutoCAD alternatives open source?
Yes. All 2 use OSI-approved open-source licenses: FreeCAD (LGPL-2.1) and LibreCAD (GPL-2.0).

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