# Page 5 | Alibre Design Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra > Page 5 - Is Alibre Design the right 3D CAD solution for you? Explore 183 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/reviews --- Alibre Design 4.7 (183) [View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/alternatives/) Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/) * * * Last updated March 13th, 2026 # Page 5 - Reviews of Alibre Design ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 101-125 of 183 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use MG Martin G. Production Engineer Mechanical or Industrial Engineering Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Prodution Engineer's Review" September 23, 2022 5.0 Excellent Pros Transferring from SolidWorks was fairly easy, as Alibre is easy to use. Following the tutorials was enough to get me started, the rest I picked as I went along Cons Design management seems rather poor. There no 'vault' or card system that allows me to manage my designs through full revision control Switched from [SolidWorks Premium](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/)[SolidWorks Enterprise PDM](https://www.capterra.com/p/92707/SolidWorks-Enterprise-PDM/) Moved to a new position with the company, and SolidWorks was deemed too expensive for me to use on an occasional basis. The fact that I use Alibre every day has proven that I didn't need it and that its a cheaper suitable alternative. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Managing Partner Public Safety Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Best bang for the buck" May 25, 2019 4.0 We took a product that was purely conceptual in nature and created a design and working prototype that was used in obtaining a patent. Alibre was the key software platform we used in doing the work. Pros This software is perfect for a small design team or individual use to create products from scratch. We used this software in the design and patenting of a roadside barrier system to reduce injuries and fatalities, especially in cases where motorcyclists were involved. The software was inexpensive and was very easy to learn. Granted, there was some ramp-up to gain proficiency, but it took place very quickly. Also helpful during this process was Alibre's customer support team. They were easy to get hold of, and were able to work with us when we got stuck along the way. I would highly recommend Alibre for design work, especially work that needs to be done in order to get a product or a design patented. Cons Some features were a little cumbersome, but with customer support a workaround was nearly always available. Alternatives considered [AutoCAD](https://www.capterra.com/p/265024/AutoCAD/) Reason for choosing Alibre Design Alibre was far less expensive and the ramp-up to proficiency was far shorter than it would have been with AutoCAD. Review Source JM John M. owner Design Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Easy to use" September 26, 2022 5.0 Pros Allows me to compete in drawing of structural steel and miscellaneous streel with out the high expense. For the cost it is a great software. Cons I know that Alibre team is working hard to satisfy many needs and requests, sometimes takes a while for new releases to happen but I am confident in time it will continue to excel Reason for choosing Alibre Design I think this speaks for itself, cost and the ability to compete with other software Review Source MG Meriadec G. Graphiste Design Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Avis Alibre Design " October 14, 2023 4.0 Alibre Design m'a permis de généré de l'argent Pros Ce que j'aime le plus chez Alibre Design c'est l'équipement dont dispose Alibre Design pour la réalisation Cons Ce que j'aime pas le plus chez Alibre Design c'est la dépense du temps Review Source RM Ross M. Sr. Product Engineer Shipbuilding Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Alibre product development/engineering user" September 23, 2022 5.0 Pros Ability to wrangle data from diverse systems (solidworks,Catina,NX,inventor, Freecad , Blender, etc.) Cons Lack of Curve based surface modeling and associated continuity evaluation tools. Alternatives considered [Onshape](https://www.capterra.com/p/164681/Onshape/)[SolidWorks Premium](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/)[Inventor](https://www.capterra.com/p/236745/Inventor/)[IronCAD](https://www.capterra.com/p/158181/IronCAD-Design-Collaboration-Suite/) Reason for choosing Alibre Design 1) Strength of the translators 2) Features/Cost Switched from [NX](https://www.capterra.com/p/232212/Siemens-NX/)[CATIA](https://www.capterra.com/p/100453/CATIA/) Cost Review Source DT Donovan T. Product Development Manager Food & Beverages Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Alibre Design " September 23, 2022 5.0 I use Alibre to model and design many products in our company. It has allowed us to develop and test our products at a very quick pace which significantly reduce our time to market. Pros Easy to learn and use. Generous modelling tools and seamless transition from 3d to 2d. Reasonably priced for the robust modeling and design capabilities. Cons Could use some integrated stress analysis etc. without having to go to a third party software. Alternatives considered [SolidWorks Premium](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/) Reason for choosing Alibre Design Pricing and performance Switched from [AutoCAD](https://www.capterra.com/p/265024/AutoCAD/) AutoCad was clunky and slow at the time and was not always user friendly for the price. Review Source MC Michael C. Owner / Mechanical Engineer Mechanical or Industrial Engineering Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Alibre is an Exceptional Product" September 23, 2022 5.0 I create complex environmental testing machines and fixtures for a variety of industries (auto, medical, instrumental, etc) as well as developing products for consumers. Alibre accomplishes those tasks with ease and enjoyment. Pros Very easy and intuitive to use. Seamless design process from concept to completed drawings. Cons At one point Alibre Expert came bundled with M-files, Engineering Toolbox, Structural Analysis Software, and a few other helpful items. Sadly, those products are no longer included or supported. I continue to use M-files and could not function easily without it. However, I have not been able to upgrade or get support for it. Reason for choosing Alibre Design Much more affordable and ease of use. Review Source AMC Alvaro Mauricio C. Manager Egeneering & Technology Building Materials Used the software for: 2+ years ### "A very powerfull tool for industry funtionality over its price" September 23, 2022 5.0 It help our com'pany o study adn modify not only procucts, but tho overview injection mold designs Pros Esay to use, is intuitive and very powerfull when parameters are needed Cons Only 2D drawings are not easy to use and modify, but in simple way make a good aproximation Reason for choosing Alibre Design Same features, better price Review Source GR Geoff R. Draftsman Transportation/Trucking/Railroad Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Review title goes here" June 5, 2024 4.0 Moderately painless, with occasional "throw the monitor out of the window" moments. Pros It's reasonably easy to learn, it must be because I taught myself to use it with zero tuition and only minor levels of profanity. Cons It glitches occasionally, mainly when drawing a geometry line where many already exist, suddenly making all the geometry look like a toddler crawled through the middle of it. It also has issues where, in an assembly, it substitutes one item for another and the only solution is to completely redraw the offending item. Also I can't puzzle out the sheetmetal function, mainly because it's easier to just draw a solid and flatten it out than to sort through the menus for bend allowances. Review Source CM Colin M. Engineer Machinery Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great for Small Businesses" September 22, 2022 5.0 I love it! Pros It is easy to use, has an easy learning curve and it has a perpetual license. Cons Nothing I can think of right now. The software is very well thought out and regular updates keep adding features and improving the ones already there. Alternatives considered [Onshape](https://www.capterra.com/p/164681/Onshape/) Reason for choosing Alibre Design Once-off licensing makes it very attractive for small businesses Switched from [SketchUp](https://www.capterra.com/p/211798/SketchUp/) Alibre is much more professional and offers parametric design capabilities. Review Source JC Joseph C. Chief Builder Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Essential for proper 3D design and 2D drawings for fabrication/engineering/production" September 27, 2022 5.0 There is an ever-increasing demand for electronics to get smaller and to fit complex enclosures needed by sophisticated products. Alibre lets me get the job done. I model individual components which go on the circuit board assemblies, design and analyze complex component/sub-assembly placements, and validate the overall integration of the mechanical and electronic sub-assemblies. Pros Alibre provides the key functions that I need to quickly design, analyze and develop 3D models. Having constraints management for relationships between parts/subassemblies make it easier to ensure that my design is automatically updated when incremental changes inside the design affects the rest of the design. I also appreciate how easy it is to prepare 2D drawings. Cons The 2D sketching experience is decent and gets the job done, but it is not as easy to use and lacks 2D drawing features compared to the more drawing-focused CAD package that I sometimes use. Reason for choosing Alibre Design For my needs, Alibre lets me get the job done without Solidwork's price tag. I can import Solidworks files (as well as STEP) into Alibre, so I can usually work with customer-supplied files. Review Source TH Taslim H. Senior Instructor Higher Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Long time User" September 22, 2022 5.0 I started using Alibre many years ago, first as a trial version, and was offered an opportunity to buy with monthly installments over a year. Solidworks was out of my range, and Alibre was a very good alternative. Since then I have used the software for my own designs making small brackets and machine parts that are done on cnc mills and lathes. It does what I want. In future I would like to integrate with CAM software, as well as FEM software in future. Pros The price point is good. The features are very good, assemblies are seamless and fluid. Cons I am used to working with drafting packages that can group objects . It would be nice to have this feature in Alibre. It would make life simple for me. Sheet metal application needs more tutorials to explain all the tools available. Review Source AL Arturo L. Owner Furniture Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Great Software" September 26, 2022 5.0 Realy great. It help me to much in the design process Pros Is realy easy design and 3d modeling. In the profesional version should be include the use of assembly and Part Configurations, and should be able the use of cut feature on assemblyes, I dont need sheet metal. and is to much the costo to expert just for that features. It realy help if you can see the properties of a part or assembly before you open de file. So yo could select the right part. It shoul have Vectric Cut2d Export file, or integration Cons Assembly Expldode View, is comlicated to use and edit You should reselect (edit) plane when edit scketh When you replace a part in assembly, do not respect the relations with other parts Reason for choosing Alibre Design To much years ago, i use "cubify", i remember about it, and i found that Alibre exist. Its realy good the price vs software. Review Source TD Thomas D. Project Manager Mechanical or Industrial Engineering Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Alibre Design" September 22, 2022 4.0 Absolutely love it. Pros Love the cost for deployment and ease of use. Feature rich. Really is a hidden gem in the 3D modeling world. More people need to see how well it works. I use it for everything from generating models for rendering in Keyshot for customers to review to large assembly models/drawings for manufacturing. Cons I don't have anything that really bugs me about the software, small refinements are really all that is needed. Switched from [SolidWorks Premium](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/) As a one man show I switched originally for the overall cost, but keep using because it does everything I need it to do, and more. Review Source RC Robert C. CTO Aviation & Aerospace Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Long time Alibre user" September 24, 2022 4.0 It has been a good relationship, but Alibre isn't keeping up with the competition. Pros I started on Alibre when it was free. This was so long ago, our office still had dialup modems. I parked in a hotel parking lot and used their internet to download my first copy. It has reasonable capability compared with other similar tools. Cons The cost is starting to exceed the capability compared to other similar products like SolidWorks. We will likely switch at the beginning of our next big project. Reason for choosing Alibre Design It was less expensive Review Source CT Curtis T. home hobbyist Arts and Crafts Used the software for: 2+ years ### "A Home Hobbyist's REView" October 21, 2022 5.0 It does everything I expect of it. Pros Although it has far more capabilities than I need, I have been using Alibre for about 15 years.I find it easy to use and reliable and virtually trouble free. It has allowed me to design and build a multitude of things from small 3d printed objects, tools for my workshop, garages, and a house extensions. Over a hundred things. Cons Some of the features are difficult for me to grasp, but I suspect that for the engineers they are a breeze.It may be hard for me to justify the expense, but I would be lost without it. Review Source PS Phillip S. Application Security Engineer Financial Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Best software purchase I've ever made" September 28, 2022 4.0 I use the software primarily as a hobbyist. It has opened a new world for me when it comes to scratchbuilding components for my models. In the old days, I had to scratchbuild those components out of styrene, and the results were frequently flawed. With Alibre, I can design parts that match my concepts perfectly to a fraction of a millimeter. Pros The software is easy to learn, easy to use. I've used it for over 10 years now, having purchased it to pursue a business idea that ultimately came to naught. I continue to use it intensely as a hobbyist and artist and think the world of it. It has brought me more creative enjoyment than any other application I've ever owned. Cons The software has been buggy historically and there are some user-unfriendly aspects to it. The bugs have diminished with each release, however, some persistent ones remain. Additionally, when flaws exist in a sketch, the software's ability to identify those flaws for manual remediation is often ambiguous. The way that sketch lines automatically snap to nodes is annoying. The lack of a feature to precisely scale up or scale down a sketch is a real oversight - I often use a transparency utility when using Alibre to trace objects and sizing the Alibre sketch to match the source drawing is painstaking and difficult. Reason for choosing Alibre Design Price Review Source PM Pat M. VP R&D Textiles Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Fantastic Alternative" August 17, 2023 5.0 Pros I've been using this software for years and highly recommend it! The learning curve isn't steep for such a powerful platform. Cons No cons on my list. The programs great and is a huge value for the money!! Review Source Eugene B. Product Engineer Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Functional Value" January 7, 2021 4.0 We were recently approached by a SolidWorks VAR. The cost to move to two licenses of SW was almost $11,000 USD. Annual maintenance was quoted at about $1,300 for each license. That is a non-starter. For our use; the value proposition just isn't there for a move to SolidWorks. Pros Alibre Design was purchase in 2013 because it included 3D CAD and CAM. We weathered the transition when the company was sold to 3D Systems and then when it was bought back. The software languished under 3D systems and become a real problem. Alibre Design is reasonable mechanical CAD. Exports to STP, SLT, and IGS have all been good and are easy to generate. The software becomes slow when we import electronic models from Altium Designer, but that is expected due to the size of these files. Cons Modeling errors are often ambiguous. Stability has occasionally been an issue, especially with more complicated geometries. A couple of times over the years, I've had to completely scrap a design are restart when the software would crash repeatedly. Review Source PP Paul P. CTO Computer Hardware Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Best kept secret for 3D design " September 22, 2022 5.0 We use Alibre to design computer chassis, motorcycle parts, and assembly jigs. Our parts are fabricated by outside shops and in-house using CNC, 3D Printing, or press brakes. We have always been able to design the component required and have it fabricated. The value of the software is incredible and the tech support team never lets us down when we need help. Pros Alibre Design is the best-kept secret for 3D design regardless of the end product manufacturing process. We use Alibre for CNC, Sheet Metal, and 3D printing. The software is full-featured and easy to use. The purchase cost is very affordable for a small business or individual and the software maintenance is minimal. Alibre's tech support is fast and does what is required to help you with usage or software issues. Cons Every software package has its own idiocrasies but there are none that are not easily overcome with a question to tech support. Review Source LL Lee L. President Utilities Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great product at a reasonable price" May 22, 2024 5.0 Customer service has been excellent. I began using Alibre as a CAD novice, and I became a proficient user fairly quickly. Pros Simple, easy to use user interface. It’s not too complex, but has the needed features for most activities. Cons Converting a file to a DXF is somewhat awkward, but can be done. This comment is for the Atom3d version. Reason for choosing Alibre Design The Alibre product has a good price point, and during the trial version I found Alibre easier to use than the other products I tried. Review Source PR Paul R. Owner Design Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Alibre for 3d modeling" September 22, 2022 4.0 Great product. I use it everyday in my engineering and design. It intuitive to use and there are plenty of tutorials and help through the knowledge base to get up the learning curve on features such as sheet metal parts Pros I purchased Alibre after using other modeling software (AutoDesk Inventor, SolidWorks). Alibre is the best value for the buck. It offers all the tools you need to create 3d models and assemblies in varying complexity. The drawing tool makes clear and easily annotated drawings. Cons I would like to see easier tools for threading and fasteners Reason for choosing Alibre Design Ease of purchase, less expensive than the other CAD packages Review Source DH Dave H. Owner Food Production Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Alibre Design works well." September 22, 2022 5.0 I design one-off designs for specific machine applications. The machines work and my customers are happy. Pros One historical feature that I have liked,and used, is Alibre's "How-to" educational videos. My career began with a t-square and sliderule. 3D was in the mind and not on your phone. Subsequently, I had to do a lot of self learning with Alibre. Their educational presentations are great. Cons That Alibre is under appreciated in the marketplace. Reason for choosing Alibre Design Pricing was imperitive. S-W has many features, but do they work in my world. Review Source DJ David J. CEO Construction Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Gingerbread Homes Review" June 17, 2024 5.0 Great. Pros Easy to use.. Cons Trying to keep up with upgrades. Switched from [AutoCAD](https://www.capterra.com/p/265024/AutoCAD/) Cost and ease of use. Review Source KG Kyle G. ENGINEER Mechanical or Industrial Engineering Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great affordable software" September 22, 2022 5.0 Pros Alibre is a very powerful 3D drafting software that handles simple to complex parts and assemblies well. Performs like a much more costly piece of software. Cons The 2D drafting is a little lacking, but workable. Creating a drawing is easy, but customizing it can be clunky. Alternatives considered [Inventor](https://www.capterra.com/p/236745/Inventor/) Reason for choosing Alibre Design The main reason for choosing Alibre was the cost. The ability to work closely with KeyShot was also a bonus. Review Source Similar Products Featured ## Related categories [3D CAD](https://www.capterra.com/3d-cad-software/)[Engineering CAD](https://www.capterra.com/engineering-cad-software/) ## Send me user reviews about this product ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox.