# QCAD Software Pricing, Alternatives & More 2026 | Capterra > With the help of Capterra, learn about QCAD Software - reviews, pricing plans, popular comparisons to other Architectural CAD products and more. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/172927/QCAD --- # QCAD Software Review 2026: Features, Integrations, Pros & Cons Last updated on August 24, 2025 Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. Independent research methodology Capterra’s researchers use a mix of verified reviews, independent research and objective methodologies to bring you selection and ranking information you can trust. While we may earn a referral fee when you visit a provider through our links or speak to an advisor, this has no influence on our research or methodology. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/resources/proprietary-data-research/) How Capterra verifies reviews Capterra carefully verified over 2.5 million+ reviews to bring you authentic software experiences from real users. Our human moderators verify that reviewers are real people and that reviews are authentic. They use leading tech to analyze text quality and to detect plagiarism and generative AI. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/resources/how-we-verify-reviews/) How Capterra ensures transparency Capterra lists all providers across its website—not just those that pay us—so that users can make informed purchase decisions. Capterra is free for users. Software providers pay us for sponsored profiles to receive web traffic and sales opportunities. Sponsored profiles include a link-out icon that takes users to the provider’s website. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/resources/how-we-ensure-transparency/) [Description](#description)[Use cases](#use-cases)[Alternatives](#alternatives)[Features](#features)[Pricing](#pricing)[Support](#support)[Reviews](#reviews) QCAD ## What is QCAD? QCAD is a free, open source application for computer aided drafting (CAD) in two dimensions (2D). With QCAD you can create technical drawings such as plans for buildings, interiors, mechanical parts or schematics and diagrams. QCAD works on Windows, macOS and Linux. The source code of QCAD is released under the GPL version 3 (GPLv3), a popular Open Source license. A proprietary professional version is available with DWG support and many advanced features. ## What is QCAD used for? [Architectural CAD](https://www.capterra.com/architectural-cad-software/) Top alternative Featured Overall rating Based on 7 user reviews Reviews sentiment Positive \- Neutral \- Negative \- Starting price €33 Per User, One Time Free trial available Capterra Shortlist charts the highest-rated and most popular products... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Do you work for QCAD?[Manage this product listing](https://digitalmarkets.gartner.com/get-listed/claim-bx?url=http://www.qcad.org/en&name=QCAD) ## Compare with a popular alternative Capterra selects software alternatives based on relevant features, verified user reviews and user interactions. Placement may be influenced by client status. ### QCAD 4.1 (7) VS. [4.4 (194)](https://www.capterra.com/p/156430/MacDraft-Professional-6-2/reviews/) Starting Price €33 Per User, One Time Starting Price $399 Flat Rate, One Time Free Trial Free Version Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version Ease Of Use 4.1 (7) Ease Of Use 4.3 (3,258) Value For Money 4.6 (5) Value For Money 4.5 (2,354) Customer Service 4.0 (3) Customer Service 4.5 (2,129) ## QCAD alternatives [Visio](https://www.capterra.com/p/201133/Visio/) [4.5 (3,279)](https://www.capterra.com/p/201133/Visio/reviews/) Starting price $5.00 Per User, Per Month [Learn More](https://www.capterra.com/p/201133/Visio/) [RoomSketcher](https://www.capterra.com/p/164021/RoomSketcher/) [4.4 (174)](https://www.capterra.com/p/164021/RoomSketcher/reviews/) Starting price Contact vendor for pricing [Learn More](https://www.capterra.com/p/164021/RoomSketcher/) Highest Rated [Rayon](https://www.capterra.com/p/10014220/Rayon/) [4.6 (9)](https://www.capterra.com/p/10014220/Rayon/reviews/) Starting price Contact vendor for pricing [Learn More](https://www.capterra.com/p/10014220/Rayon/) [MicroStation](https://www.capterra.com/p/192416/MicroStation/) [4.3 (176)](https://www.capterra.com/p/192416/MicroStation/reviews/) Starting price $2284.00 Per User, Per Month [Learn More](https://www.capterra.com/p/192416/MicroStation/) [View all alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/172927/QCAD/alternatives/) ## Features Features with the highest number of reviews are displayed first. Those that have no reviews appear next, sorted alphabetically. 2D Drawing 4.5 (2) 50.00% of 2 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Drawing and modeling designs within 2D flat dimensions Data Import/Export 2.5 (2) 50.00% of 2 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Import and export data to and from software applications Customizable Templates 4.0 (1) 0.00% of 1 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Pre-designed layouts that can be customized to match preferences and requirements Drafting 5.0 (1) 0.00% of 1 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Prepare preliminary versions of digital documents, technical drawings, or design mock-ups for review Drag & Drop 4.0 (1) 0.00% of 1 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Assemble applications and processes by dragging over and arranging pre-built components API Application programming interface that allows for integration with other systems/databases QCAD 8 features Drawing and modeling designs within 2D flat dimensions Application programming interface that allows for integration with other systems/databases Pre-designed layouts that can be customized to match preferences and requirements Import and export data to and from software applications Prepare preliminary versions of digital documents, technical drawings, or design mock-ups for review Assemble applications and processes by dragging over and arranging pre-built components Edit, touch up, and convert images for publishing Search and filter data across systems to locate required information by entering keywords or certain criteria Get Advice We can help you find the software with the features you need. Features 4.1 (7) 4.1 Based on 7 reviews ## Pricing Value for money 4.6 (5) Free Trial Free Version Basic €33.00 Per User,One Time Value for money 4.6 (5) 4.6 Based on 5 reviews Connect with a Capterra advisor for a free 15-minute consultation Get a personalized software list aligned to your business needs with guidance from our expert advisors. Our team has helped 1 million+ businesses like yours find options that fit their needs. ## Support, customer service and training options Customer Service 4.0 (3) Support - Email/Help Desk - FAQs/Forum - Knowledge Base - Phone Support - 24/7 (Live rep) - Chat Training - In Person - Live Online - Webinars - Documentation - Videos Deployment - Web - Android - iPhone/iPad Typical users - Freelancers - Small businesses - Mid size businesses - Enterprises Customer Service 4.0 (3) 4.0 Based on 3 reviews ## User reviews Overall rating 4.1 Based on 7 reviews Filter by rating 5(2) 4(4) 3(1) 2(0) 1(0) Mentioned topic Sorted by most recent Rowan M. Owner Construction ### "Solid, Free CAD Offering" 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 0.0 0.0 Likelihood to Recommend 8/10 December 11, 2022 For free software, QCAD gives you a solid platform to handle most CAD work. I use it for doing detailed design of some aspects of building design etc. I'm a general contractor, not an architect, and I find it easy enough to use. I watched a couple of quick YouTube videos to get started and I'd recommend that if your not coming from a CAD background. Pros Quick and easy to draw things. Decent keyboard shortcuts to avoid to much mouse work. Very stable, it's never crashed on me. Cons The ability to print and export is pretty awful and I often end up doing some tidy up in an image editor. The snapping to grid is kind of a pain at times. I find I often end up with lines that are a degree or two of from straight even though I'm using the grid snapping. Reasons for choosing QCAD This was really the only free CAD program I found that was simple enough to use but still powerful enough to cover what I needed. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. MM Marcelo M. Analista de TI Textiles ### "QCAD the alternative cost-benefit cad" 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 3.0 3.0 Likelihood to Recommend 9/10 September 14, 2022 Pros QCAD does almost everything that the most well-known tool on the market does, the main parts, it does for sure, a light and very good tool for detailing drawings. The cost of professional tool is very low. Cons The bad part is that it is possible to work only with 2D projects and it is also only possible to edit dxf files Switched from [AutoCAD](https://www.capterra.com/p/265024/AutoCAD/) for the cost Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Steven M. Tooling Engineer / CNC Programmer / Operator Design ### "It's good, however!" 3.0 Overall Rating 3.0 3.0 Ease of Use 2.0 2.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 0.0 0.0 Likelihood to Recommend 5/10 April 16, 2021 This software has potential to be amazing, especially if it stays at the same price. However updates / improvements are needed in my opinion. Mostly to do with ease of use. Simplifying some of the standard tools in my opinion would be helpful. Vcarve (which is a vector CNC software) is a great example of what I mean. I use that on a daily basis and it's extremely easy to use and is centered around the same mechanics as 2D CAD software. Unfortunately I will be sticking with DraftSight for now despite costing double the price. To be honest it costs more because at the moment it's a better software. Pros The best thing about this software is the price. I currently use DraftSight, however this is half the price for essentially the same thing. It looks professional and has a lot of features. The layout I really like. It seems to be optimized well and I haven't found any bugs as of yet. This could be used to create some really complicated and in depth drawings. Cons It might be because I'm swapping over from different software after so long, but some of the simplest tools such as trimming seem to be overly complicated. From my experience so far the auto trim is simply useless. When I want to trim a line that over laps another line, I want to select the trim option then trim the line I want to trim, that's it! This software does not operate like that. You have to do everything separately through a series of different tool editors within each tool. It's just to much. I literally spend most of the time on this software trying to figure out how to trim or get a polyline to bend or some other simple task that shouldn't take long at all. The ease of use is quite terrible and it unfortunately effects the efficiency. For me, I can draw something on DraftSight in half the time. This is probably the reason why they recommend to purchase the training document alongside this software. In my opinion 2D CAD software is 2D CAD software, the only deciding factor is the price (that's pretty much the only difference between AutoCAD and DraftSight). If I cant open this program and draw something that I have previously drawn on other software packages within relative ease then I'm at a loss. Alternatives considered [DraftSight](https://www.capterra.com/p/172808/DraftSight/) Reasons for choosing QCAD The price, However it's not enough at the current time to persuade me to switch to you. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. AU Anonymous User Founder/ Managing Director Civil Engineering ### "Great open source alternative to AutoCAD" 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 4.0 4.0 Likelihood to Recommend 7/10 November 13, 2020 This has been a joy to discover as AutoCAD is very pricey for my needs. I need a CAD software that does the basics well but I am not using it all the time. I need to work with the industry standard .dwg and convert to PDF. QCAD does all this and more. Pros Simple but robust feature set for routine 2D CAD work. Good interface, more like AutoCAD 2000 than 2021, but very usable. Dedicated advocates who develop additional features and functions. Simple annual payment gets one all the upgrades that year as a perpetual license. Good interoperability with .dwg files. Cons The UI is a little dated and some of the tools are not as polished as they could be, but these are small issues given the excellent price point. Switched from [AutoCAD](https://www.capterra.com/p/265024/AutoCAD/) The price for my budget much better. The tools were what I needed. Perpetual licencing. Alternatives considered [AutoCAD](https://www.capterra.com/p/265024/AutoCAD/) Reasons for choosing QCAD Price Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. VT Vaughan T. Engineer Education Management ### "Excellent product" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 0.0 0.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 June 29, 2020 Very simple to download. This cad software works well ... better than Autodesk LT, and Draftsight. Well done team! Pros Qcad has the best range of useable functions I have found. Lots of text options, fills, snap points and drawing tools for 2D drafting. Cons The trim functions could be a little easier to use. However the break tool is great. Switched from [AutoCAD LT](https://www.capterra.com/p/2011/AutoCAD-LT/) I have used Both AutoCAD LT and Draftsight and found them frustrating as I believe they deliberately dumb down features to push you into buying their more expensive 3D software. In many cases all we need is good 2D software. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. AU Anonymous User Research Assistant Higher Education ### "Review of QCAD" 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 3.0 3.0 Customer Service 0.0 0.0 Likelihood to Recommend 8/10 November 2, 2018 Pros It is easy to use and draw features. Even importing Cad files and modfiying them Cons If the 3D version is added it would be a revolution Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Cesar A S. Analyst ### "Design in 2 dimensions with high precision and detail" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 3.0 3.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 7/10 June 14, 2018 Pros Forget about a private software QCAD works perfect for two dimension designs, you can do simple or very complex designs, the tools are very intuitive, you can use for draws or design buildings, house, kitchens, the layout and the print option are very easy to use, it is free and very powerful. Cons It can be a little unstable sometimes, but the greatest limitation is that you can modeling anything in three dimensions, and if you want to do a render you have to use another software. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. [View all Reviews](https://www.capterra.com/p/172927/QCAD/reviews/) Popular comparisons [LibreCAD vs QCAD](https://www.capterra.com/compare/170177-172927/LibreCAD-vs-QCAD)  Independent research methodology Capterra's researchers use a mix of verified reviews, independent research and objective methodologies to bring you selection and ranking information you can trust. While we may earn a referral fee when you visit a provider through our links or speak to an advisor, this has no influence on our research or methodology. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/resources/proprietary-data-research/) How Capterra verifies reviews Capterra carefully verified over 2.5 million+ reviews to bring you authentic software experiences from real users. Our human moderators verify that reviewers are real people and that reviews are authentic. They use leading tech to analyze text quality and to detect plagiarism and generative AI. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/resources/how-we-verify-reviews/) How Capterra ensures transparency Capterra lists all providers across its website—not just those that pay us—so that users can make informed purchase decisions. Capterra is free for users. Software providers pay us for sponsored profiles to receive web traffic and sales opportunities. Sponsored profiles include a link-out icon that takes users to the provider's website. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/resources/how-we-ensure-transparency/)