LibreCAD

Overview

LibreCAD is a free and open-source 2D CAD (Computer-Aided Design) software focused on the creation and editing of engineering drawings, architectural plans, mechanical part drawings, and simple technical drawings. It is a lightweight tool based on Open CASCADE technology, with a simple interface suitable for both beginners and professional users. LibreCAD is maintained by a global community of developers, hosted on librecad.org and GitHub, licensed under GPL v2, and supports Windows, macOS, and Linux platforms.

History and Development

• Origins:
  • 2010: The LibreCAD project forked from QCAD Community Edition, created by developers such as Rallaz and R. van Twisk, with the goal of a fully open-source 2D CAD (QCAD commercial version is closed-source).
  • 2011: LibreCAD 2.0 was released, supporting DXF 2007 format and multiple languages.
• Key Milestones:
  • 2012: Version 2.0.0 optimized the interface and layer management.
  • 2015: Version 2.0.9 improved printing and block management.
  • 2021: Version 2.2.0 was released, based on Qt5, supporting high DPI screens and dark mode.
  • 2023-2025: Community-maintained versions (2.2.1-rc1) fixed bugs and optimized macOS and Linux compatibility.
• Current Status:
  • The project is active on GitHub (4k+ stars), maintained by community contributors, with minor updates still being released in 2025.
  • X posts claim "LibreCAD 2.2 is the best free alternative to AutoCAD 2D".

Main Features

1. 2D Drawing Tools:
   • Supports lines, circles, arcs, polylines, splines, text, dimensions, layers, blocks, etc.
   • Application: Mechanical part drawings.
2. DXF Support:
   • Native DXF read and write (2000-2018 formats), compatible with AutoCAD.
   • Application: Exchanging files with other CAD software.
3. Layer and Block Management:
   • Multiple layers, customizable colors/linetypes, block library.
   • Application: Layering of architectural floor plans.
4. Printing and Export:
   • Supports PDF, SVG, and PNG export, print scaling.
   • Application: Engineering drawing output.
5. Plugins and Extensions:
   • Supports custom plugins (C++), community provides additional tools.
6. Cross-Platform Compatibility:
   • Windows/macOS/Linux, Qt5 interface.
7. Hardware Compatibility:
   • Minimum: 1 GHz CPU, 512 MB RAM.

Advantages and Limitations

Advantages:

• Completely free and open-source: GPL v2, no subscription, commercially usable.
• Lightweight and fast: 30-50 MB, starts in <5 seconds, better than AutoCAD.
• DXF compatibility: Perfect read and write, suitable for engineering drawings.
• Community support: Active on GitHub, abundant tutorials.
• Education-friendly: Simple interface, suitable for teaching.

Limitations:

• 2D only: No 3D modeling (can be supplemented with FreeCAD).
• Slow updates: Maintenance has been slow since 2.2.0.
• Basic functionality: No advanced parametric features (not as good as FreeCAD).
• Compared to other software:
  • FreeCAD: 3D parametric modeling.
  • AutoCAD: Professional paid software.
  • QCAD: Commercial version is more powerful.
  • DraftSight: Free but closed-source.

Summary

LibreCAD is a free and open-source 2D CAD software. The latest version 2.2.0 (2021) is based on Qt5 and supports DXF reading and writing, layers, and annotations. It is suitable for engineering drawing and education. Compared to FreeCAD (3D), AutoCAD (professional paid), QCAD (commercial), and DraftSight (closed-source), LibreCAD stands out for its lightweight design and DXF compatibility, but it is limited to 2D and has slow updates. It is suitable for mechanical/architectural 2D drawings and works perfectly in combination with FreeCAD.