Updated October 14, 2026. Written for CADCraft 0.6.2 (what changed since). Prices in USD.
- LibreCAD: free 2D CAD for Windows, macOS and Linux that opens DWG and has a keyboard command line. The safest free pick for real work today.
- QCAD Community Edition: clean 2D drafting if everything you exchange is DXF. DWG costs $48 once, in QCAD Professional.
- CADCraft: the closest to AutoCAD's own workflow, down to the command names and aliases, and the only one that runs in a browser tab. It is pre-alpha, so expect gaps.
- FreeCAD: for when the 2D drawing comes from a 3D part you also need to model.
Side by side
| Program | Cost | Runs on | DWG | DXF | Command line | In a browser | Latest version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LibreCAD | Free (GPLv2) | Windows, macOS, Linux | Opens DWG in builds with DWG support; save as DXF | Opens and saves | Yes, short commands such as li and rect | No | 2.2.1.5 (May 2026) |
| QCAD Community Edition | Free (GPLv3); Professional $48 once | Windows, macOS, Linux | No (Professional opens and saves DWG) | DXF 2000 only | Yes, commands and coordinates | No | 3.33.1 (September 2026) |
| FreeCAD | Free (LGPL-2.1) | Windows, macOS, Linux | Through a separate converter | Imports and exports | No, it is a 3D parametric modeller | No | 1.1.4 (September 2026) |
| CADCraft | Free (MIT or Apache-2.0) | Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, browser | Desktop opens and saves DWG (early); browser: no | Opens R12 to 2018 and saves | Yes, AutoCAD command names and aliases | Yes, DXF only | 0.6.2 (October 2026), pre-alpha |
LibreCAD: the everyday free 2D program
LibreCAD is a 2D-only drafting program, free under GPLv2, with no trial or subscription. It reads DXF and DWG and writes DXF, PDF and SVG; DWG support is a build option, so check that your copy has it. For drawings coming from AutoCAD users that is the deciding feature: you can open what they send without converting it first.
AutoCAD habits carry over partly. The command line takes short commands such as li for a line or rect for a rectangle, completes names with Tab, and in Keycode Mode runs two-letter commands without Enter. The names are LibreCAD's own, though, and relative coordinates can also be typed as 75..65 instead of @75,65. The current release is 2.2.1.5 from May 2026, with a 2.2.1 release candidate published on October 12.
QCAD Community Edition: tidy 2D for DXF-only work
QCAD is the program LibreCAD grew out of, and its free Community Edition (GPLv3, version 3.33.1) covers the basics well: layers, blocks, linear, aligned, radius, diameter and angle dimensions, and PDF export with multiple pages or PDF/A-1B. Its command line takes commands, x,y, @x,y and distance<angle.
The limit is files. Community Edition works with DXF in the 2000 version only and has no DWG at all. QCAD Professional adds DWG and DXF from R2.5 to the 2018 to 2026 format for $48, a perpetual licence for Windows, macOS and Linux with a year of updates.
CADCraft: AutoCAD's workflow, in a browser tab
CADCraft is an open-source, clean-room rebuild of AutoCAD, licensed MIT or Apache-2.0. What sets it apart is how closely it follows AutoCAD: the same command names (LINE, OFFSET, TRIM, DIMLINEAR), the same short aliases (L, O, TR, DLI), clickable [Keywords] at prompts, object snaps and polar tracking on the usual function keys, associative dimensions, paper-space layouts with viewports, and geometric constraints. Someone with AutoCAD habits can sit down and type. The list of AutoCAD commands that work in CADCraft shows how far that goes.
It also runs in a browser. The editor on this site is the same program compiled to WebAssembly: it opens DXF files from R12 to 2018 on your own computer, with nothing uploaded and nothing installed, which helps on a locked-down work PC or a Chromebook. The desktop app for Windows, macOS, Linux and FreeBSD adds DWG from R13 to 2018, plotting layouts to PDF and your installed fonts.
The catch is maturity. CADCraft is pre-alpha: 245 of the 491 menu items in AutoCAD for Mac have a working command, and the project puts it at about 38% ready for real work. There's no block editor or dynamic blocks, no AutoLISP, SHX fonts aren't read, the browser version has no autosave, and DWG support hasn't been checked against real AutoCAD files yet. Use it for DXF work, quick drawings and learning the AutoCAD way of drafting, and keep the originals of anything important.
FreeCAD: when the drawing comes from a 3D model
FreeCAD (LGPL-2.1, version 1.1.4) is a parametric 3D modeller. You build a part in 3D and create 2D drawings and views from it, which beats drafting each view by hand when the part keeps changing. A Draft workbench covers simple 2D drafting as well. It imports and exports DXF out of the box, but DWG needs a separate converter, either LibreDWG or the free ODA File Converter. It doesn't try to feel like AutoCAD, so for a floor plan or a flat profile the other three are quicker to pick up. Its next release changes to year-based numbering as version 26.3.
What none of them replaces
If your day is spent trading DWG files with an office that runs AutoCAD, using dynamic blocks from a supplier's library, or running AutoLISP routines, no free program here covers it. QCAD Professional reads and writes DWG, LibreCAD reads it, and the CADCraft desktop app does both at an early stage; the blocks and the scripts stay with AutoCAD. For one-off DWG files, the guide to opening a DWG for free lists the viewers and converters.
LibreCAD or CADCraft?
That's the real choice for most people coming from AutoCAD. Pick LibreCAD when you need to finish paid work this week: it opens DWG and is further along. Pick CADCraft when you want your AutoCAD muscle memory to work unchanged, need to work in a browser without installing anything, or mostly view, measure and adjust DXF files. They don't exclude each other. Both read and write DXF, so you can open the same file in either.
To try CADCraft now, open the sample drawing in the editor and type l, Enter, and two points. For the wider family of free, open-source apps it belongs to, see what the Craft apps are.