BricsCAD

BricsCAD (Bricsys, part of Octave since Hexagon's software businesses spun off into an independent company in May 2026) is built around native DWG files and close compatibility with AutoCAD's commands, LISP routines, CUI menus and scripts, which is why it markets itself directly as an AutoCAD alternative: existing AutoCAD workflows mostly carry over without relearning a new interface. Its own 3D engine, built on the ACIS modelling kernel, sits underneath both the 2D drafting tools and a genuine 3D modeller.

Its 3D approach is a hybrid most of the packages on this page do not offer: modelling is direct by default — push, pull and edit geometry without a feature tree — with parametric constraints and dimensions available as an optional layer on top, rather than mandatory from the first sketch. That makes it closer in spirit to Solid Edge's synchronous technology than to SolidWorks' or Fusion's history-driven trees, but taken a step further: BricsCAD never requires the tree at all.

Five editions cover different needs: Lite for 2D-only drafting, Pro for 2D and 3D, Mechanical adds assembly and sheet-metal tools, BIM adds building-modelling tools, and Ultimate bundles all three disciplines. It runs on Windows, Mac and Linux — unlike AutoCAD, SolidWorks or Inventor, all Windows-only — and is free for students.

Against AutoCAD itself, the case is mostly price and platform: near-identical DWG workflows at a lower subscription cost, plus native Mac and Linux versions AutoCAD does not offer. Against SolidWorks, Fusion and Inventor, BricsCAD's 3D modelling trades a strict, rebuildable feature tree — the discipline this archive's exercises are built to train — for a faster, direct-first workflow with constraints layered on only where you choose to add them.