FreeCAD-0.20-29177
FreeCAD is a free, open-source parametric 3D CAD and modelling software designed for engineers, architects, product designers and hobbyists. It supports solid modelling, surface design, sketching, sheet-metal design, rendering, and finite-element analysis (FEA) through various workbenches. FreeCAD is widely used in mechanical design, architectural planning, and manufacturing workflows, and its parametric approach allows designers to modify models by changing underlying design constraints rather than redrawing from scratch. The software is actively developed by the FreeCAD community and runs on Windows, macOS and Linux.
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1 suggestionFreeCAD has had ongoing development efforts for Apple Silicon support, and the project maintains a public issue tracker and development roadmap. Check the official FreeCAD website and GitHub repository for the latest information on native Apple Silicon builds — the project's status changes regularly as maintainers contribute improvements. If a native build is not yet available for the version you need, the current Intel build will continue to work under Rosetta 2 for now, but Apple is removing Rosetta in macOS 28 (late 2027), so you should plan to migrate to a native-capable version before that deadline. Watch the FreeCAD forums and release notes periodically to catch the announcement of a stable native Apple Silicon release, or consider testing newer development builds if you are willing to use pre-release versions. As a fallback, consider Fusion 360 (Autodesk's cloud-based CAD platform, which has native Apple Silicon support) or Onshape (another browser-based parametric CAD with native Apple Silicon performance), though these require cloud connectivity and differ in pricing and workflow from FreeCAD's desktop-centric approach.
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