--- title: "FreeCAD: search popularity worldwide" description: "A free, open source 3D CAD modeller. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/brands/freecad" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # FreeCAD: search popularity worldwide A free, open source 3D CAD modeller. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time. ## Key facts - **Brand**: FreeCAD - **Market**: Global - **Measured month**: Sep 2026 - **Share of Search among CAD and 3D design software**: 3.3% ## Where the brand sits | Competitive set | Rank | Share of Search | Estimated monthly branded searches | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | CAD and 3D design software | 6 | 3.3% | 450K | | CAD software | 5 | 3.7% | 450K | | Architectural design software | 3 | 11.1% | 450K | - [CAD and 3D design software](/demand/global-en/categories/cad-and-3d-design-software) - [CAD software](/demand/global-en/categories/cad-software) - [Architectural design software](/demand/global-en/categories/architectural-design-software) ## Top CAD and 3D design software in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, FreeCAD was mentioned in three out of five: in two of the three ChatGPT answers and in one of the two Google AI Overviews. FreeCAD is the fifth most recommended of the 11. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Fusion 360 | 1st | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Onshape | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | SolidWorks | 3rd | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Blender | 4th | 3 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | FreeCAD | 5th | 2 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | SketchUp | 6th | 2 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Tinkercad | 7th | 1 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Rhino | 8th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | AutoCAD | 9th | 2 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Shapr3D | 10th | 1 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Revit | 11th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about CAD and 3D design software - Asked ChatGPT "Which CAD or 3D design tool should I use?": 1. Fusion 360, 2. Onshape, 3. Blender, 4. FreeCAD, 5. SketchUp, 6. Shapr3D - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best CAD and 3D design tools?": 1. Fusion 360, 2. SolidWorks, 3. Onshape, 4. FreeCAD, 5. Blender, 6. Rhino, 7. SketchUp, 8. AutoCAD, 9. Tinkercad - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best CAD or 3D design tool for product design?": 1. Fusion 360, 2. SolidWorks, 3. Rhino, 4. Onshape, 5. Blender, 6. AutoCAD, 7. Revit - Searched Google, AI Overview "best cad software": 1. Fusion 360, 2. SolidWorks, 3. Onshape, 4. AutoCAD, 5. FreeCAD, 6. Tinkercad, 7. Shapr3D - Searched Google, AI Overview "3d design software": 1. Tinkercad, 2. SketchUp, 3. Blender, 4. Fusion 360, 5. Shapr3D, 6. SolidWorks Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in the United States on October 19, 2026. ## How has branded search demand for FreeCAD changed worldwide over the last 12 months? - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, estimated monthly branded searches for FreeCAD worldwide held steady at 450K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, FreeCAD’s share of searches among CAD and 3D design software worldwide peaked at 4.2% in July 2026 and was lowest at 2.7% in May 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, FreeCAD rose from 7th to 6th among CAD and 3D design software worldwide. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, FreeCAD’s share of searches among CAD software worldwide peaked at 5% in July 2026 and was lowest at 3.2% in May 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, FreeCAD rose from 6th to 5th among CAD software worldwide. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, FreeCAD’s share of searches among architectural design software worldwide increased from 10.2% to 11.1%. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, FreeCAD’s share of searches among architectural design software worldwide peaked at 12.5% in December 2025 and was lowest at 9.4% in May 2026. ## How did search popularity change for CAD and 3D design software worldwide in September 2026? - In September 2026, Tinkercad gained share of searches among CAD and 3D design software worldwide, from 50.1% to 54.1%. - In September 2026, Onshape gained share of searches among CAD and 3D design software worldwide, from 6.7% to 8.8%. - In September 2026, AutoCAD lost share of searches among CAD and 3D design software worldwide, from 12.2% to 10.9%. - In September 2026, SketchUp lost share of searches among CAD and 3D design software worldwide, from 12.2% to 10.9%. - In September 2026, Fusion 360 lost share of searches among CAD and 3D design software worldwide, from 4.5% to 3.3%. - In September 2026, SolidWorks lost share of searches among CAD and 3D design software worldwide, from 4.5% to 4%. ## How did search popularity change for CAD software worldwide in September 2026? - In September 2026, Tinkercad gained share of searches among CAD software worldwide, from 58% to 61.2%. - In September 2026, Onshape gained share of searches among CAD software worldwide, from 7.8% to 10%. - In September 2026, AutoCAD lost share of searches among CAD software worldwide, from 14.2% to 12.3%. - In September 2026, Fusion 360 lost share of searches among CAD software worldwide, from 5.2% to 3.7%. - In September 2026, SolidWorks lost share of searches among CAD software worldwide, from 5.2% to 4.5%. - In September 2026, FreeCAD lost share of searches among CAD software worldwide, from 4.3% to 3.7%. ## How did search popularity change for architectural design software worldwide in September 2026? - Estimated monthly branded searches for Chief Architect worldwide fell 18.3% over 12 measured months, from 24.1K to 19.7K in September 2026. - Estimated monthly branded searches for ArchiCAD worldwide fell 18.2% over 12 measured months, from 165K to 135K in September 2026. - Estimated monthly branded searches for SketchUp worldwide fell 18% over 12 measured months, from 1.8M to 1.5M in September 2026. ## Historical estimated branded-search demand | Month | Competitive set | Estimated monthly branded searches | Share of Search | Rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | CAD and 3D design software | 450K | 2.8% | 7 | | Nov 2025 | CAD and 3D design software | 450K | 3.2% | 7 | | Dec 2025 | CAD and 3D design software | 450K | 3.9% | 6 | | Jan 2026 | CAD and 3D design software | 450K | 3.6% | 7 | | Feb 2026 | CAD and 3D design software | 450K | 3.3% | 7 | | Mar 2026 | CAD and 3D design software | 450K | 3.2% | 7 | | Apr 2026 | CAD and 3D design software | 450K | 3.3% | 6 | | May 2026 | CAD and 3D design software | 368K | 2.7% | 7 | | Jun 2026 | CAD and 3D design software | 368K | 3.2% | 7 | | Jul 2026 | CAD and 3D design software | 368K | 4.2% | 7 | | Aug 2026 | CAD and 3D design software | 368K | 3.7% | 7 | | Sep 2026 | CAD and 3D design software | 450K | 3.3% | 6 | | Oct 2025 | CAD software | 450K | 3.2% | 6 | | Nov 2025 | CAD software | 450K | 3.8% | 6 | | Dec 2025 | CAD software | 450K | 4.5% | 5 | | Jan 2026 | CAD software | 450K | 4.3% | 6 | | Feb 2026 | CAD software | 450K | 3.8% | 6 | | Mar 2026 | CAD software | 450K | 3.7% | 6 | | Apr 2026 | CAD software | 450K | 3.9% | 5 | | May 2026 | CAD software | 368K | 3.2% | 6 | | Jun 2026 | CAD software | 368K | 3.8% | 6 | | Jul 2026 | CAD software | 368K | 5% | 6 | | Aug 2026 | CAD software | 368K | 4.3% | 6 | | Sep 2026 | CAD software | 450K | 3.7% | 5 | | Oct 2025 | Architectural design software | 450K | 10.2% | 3 | | Nov 2025 | Architectural design software | 450K | 10.3% | 3 | | Dec 2025 | Architectural design software | 450K | 12.5% | 3 | | Jan 2026 | Architectural design software | 450K | 11.1% | 3 | | Feb 2026 | Architectural design software | 450K | 11.2% | 3 | | Mar 2026 | Architectural design software | 450K | 10.3% | 3 | | Apr 2026 | Architectural design software | 450K | 11.2% | 3 | | May 2026 | Architectural design software | 368K | 9.4% | 3 | | Jun 2026 | Architectural design software | 368K | 10.3% | 3 | | Jul 2026 | Architectural design software | 368K | 12% | 3 | | Aug 2026 | Architectural design software | 368K | 11.1% | 3 | | Sep 2026 | Architectural design software | 450K | 11.1% | 3 | ## How are FreeCAD’s branded searches counted? Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using FreeCAD’s name. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for this branded term can be used to understand whether interest in the brand is growing, holding steady, or fading. - “freecad” ## Which CAD and 3D design software compete with FreeCAD? - [Tinkercad](/demand/global-en/brands/tinkercad) - [AutoCAD](/demand/global-en/brands/autocad) - [SketchUp](/demand/global-en/brands/sketchup): Head-to-head: /demand/global-en/compare/freecad-vs-sketchup - [Onshape](/demand/global-en/brands/onshape): Head-to-head: /demand/global-en/compare/freecad-vs-onshape - [SolidWorks](/demand/global-en/brands/solidworks): Head-to-head: /demand/global-en/compare/freecad-vs-solidworks - [Fusion 360](/demand/global-en/brands/fusion-360): Head-to-head: /demand/global-en/compare/freecad-vs-fusion-360 - [Revit](/demand/global-en/brands/revit): Head-to-head: /demand/global-en/compare/freecad-vs-revit - [Blender](/demand/global-en/brands/blender) - [Shapr3D](/demand/global-en/brands/shapr3d) - [Rhino](/demand/global-en/brands/rhino-3d) ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "FreeCAD: search popularity worldwide". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/brands/freecad This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/brands/freecad. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.