A browser Shapr3D alternative: free parametric CAD with full-quality STL and 3MF, commercial use on the free plan, threads and assemblies. No iPad, no install.
OwlCAD runs in any modern browser, on a Chromebook, a Linux laptop or a school computer, and its full editor is free: parametric history, fillets, threads and assemblies, with full-quality STL and 3MF for your slicer and commercial use on every plan.
Free editor · Commercial use included · No install
Competitor details last checked: 27 October 2026
Shapr3D is a polished direct modeller for iPad, Mac and Windows. OwlCAD is for every other machine, and for the parts you print.
Windows, macOS, Linux and ChromeOS, with nothing to install, and you can start without an account. Shapr3D is an app for iPad, Mac and Windows, with no Chromebook or Linux version.
STL, 3MF, OBJ, GLB, SVG and DXF at full quality, plus solid STEP, all on the free plan. Shapr3D’s free plan exports STL and 3MF at low resolution only; STEP needs Pro, at $299 a year.
Sell the prints, sell the files, use them in a product, on every plan. Shapr3D’s free plan is for non-commercial, personal use only.
Parametric threads and fasteners, and assemblies held together with mates, with a bill of materials and an exploded view. Shapr3D has no assemblies or dedicated thread tool yet, though both are on its roadmap.
Overhangs, thin walls, watertightness and fit to your printer’s bed, plus a filament and cost estimate, all in the modeller. Then export STL or 3MF for Bambu Studio, PrusaSlicer, Cura or OrcaSlicer.
Change a dimension and the model rebuilds, as in Shapr3D’s history-based modelling. Projects save to the cloud with version history and stay private until you share them.
OwlCAD runs a hosted MCP server, the standard that lets AI apps such as Claude Code, Claude Desktop or Cursor use outside tools, so your agent can build a part on your account: a real parametric model where every step and dimension stays editable, checked by the CAD kernel and by a render of its own work, handed back as a print-ready file plus a project you can open and edit. Part of Pro, and it spends no AI credits.
Open it in your browser on any computer, keep your designs private, and export for any slicer.
Yes. OwlCAD’s full editor is free and runs in your browser, with full-quality STL and 3MF export and commercial use on every plan. Shapr3D’s free Basic plan holds two projects, exports STL and 3MF at low resolution only and is for non-commercial use; its Pro plan is $299 a year per seat. Only OwlCAD’s AI generation is paid.
Yes. It runs in any modern browser on Windows, macOS, Linux or ChromeOS, with a mouse and keyboard, and you can start without an account. Shapr3D is an app for iPad, Mac and Windows, and has no Chromebook or Linux version.
When you design with an Apple Pencil on an iPad, or want its polished direct modelling on the Parasolid kernel. On Mac and Windows it also sends parts straight to PrusaSlicer, Bambu Studio and OrcaSlicer. OwlCAD has no Pencil-first workflow, and it exports files for your slicer rather than opening it.
Yes, as a starting point. Export STEP (a Shapr3D Pro feature) or STL and drop it into OwlCAD: a STEP assembly opens with its parts, names and colours, ready to measure, combine and cut. The Shapr3D history does not come across, as with any exchange format.