Alternatives to UltiMaker Cura
The most widely used free slicer for filament 3D printers, with profiles for hundreds of machines. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
UltiMaker Cura
The most widely used free slicer for filament 3D printers, with profiles for hundreds of machines.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as UltiMaker Cura.
OrcaSlicer
A slicer built around calibration, with temperature towers and flow tests you run from inside the program.
OrcaSlicer is also free and open source, under AGPL-3.0, and adds built-in calibration tests for temperature, flow, retraction and pressure advance, where Cura's calibration tooling is thin.
PrusaSlicer
Prusa Research's slicer, based on Slic3r, for both filament and resin printers and no account required.
PrusaSlicer is AGPL-3.0 rather than LGPL-3.0, also slices resin printers and adds painted supports and seams, but it is tuned first for Prusa hardware.
Bambu Studio
Bambu Lab's slicer, built on PrusaSlicer, with project-based workflows, multi-material painting and remote printer monitoring.
Bambu Studio adds multi-material painting and remote printer monitoring, but it is built around Bambu Lab hardware, and other printers need profiles set up by hand.
SuperSlicer
A PrusaSlicer fork with extra fine-tuning settings, generated calibration tests and better thin-wall handling.
SuperSlicer, a PrusaSlicer fork, offers finer top-surface and thin-wall settings plus generated calibration prints, though its last stable release is from 2024 and one person maintains it.
Simplify3D
Prepare and preview print jobs with a commercial 3D slicer.
Simplify3D replaces free open-source software with a closed-source commercial slicer that requires a paid license, offering configurable processes, support generation and toolpath controls.
ideaMaker
Prepare 3D models for printing with Raise3D's slicer.
ideaMaker is free but closed source and made by Raise3D. Its printer profiles and advanced features depend on supported hardware rather than covering hundreds of machines.
Kiri:Moto
Generate 3D-printing and CNC toolpaths in a browser.
Kiri:Moto runs in a web browser under the MIT license and also generates CNC toolpaths, but machine configuration and generated toolpaths must be checked before use.
KISSlicer
Fast, compact slicer that converts STL models into G-code for filament printers.
KISSlicer is quicker and simpler than Cura but closed source, and its free version supports a single extruder only, with advanced features in paid licences.
Also worth comparing
These listings name UltiMaker Cura as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
Creality Print
Creality's official slicer for preparing models and sending prints to its FDM 3D printers.
UltiMaker Cura is LGPL-3.0 with profiles for hundreds of printers and a plugin marketplace, though it is slower to start and has thinner calibration tooling.
ElegooSlicer
ELEGOO's open-source FDM slicer, based on OrcaSlicer, for Centauri, Neptune and other FDM printers.
UltiMaker Cura is an LGPL-3.0 slicer with profiles for hundreds of printers and a plugin marketplace, though it is heavier to start and has thinner calibration tooling.
GrabCAD Print
Stratasys print-preparation software that slices CAD files and sends them to Stratasys 3D printers.
UltiMaker Cura is a free LGPL-3.0 slicer for Windows, macOS and Linux with profiles for hundreds of filament printers, but it does not target Stratasys machines.
IceSL
Slicer with built-in modelling that turns STL files into printer-ready G-code.
UltiMaker Cura is open source under LGPL-3.0 with profiles for hundreds of printers, but it has no built-in scriptable modeller for procedural geometry.
MatterControl
Open-source desktop app for designing, slicing and controlling 3D prints on Windows, Mac and Linux.
UltiMaker Cura is an LGPL-3.0 slicer with profiles for hundreds of printers and a plugin marketplace, but it drops MatterControl's built-in design and printer control tools.
Orca-Flashforge
Flashforge's slicer based on OrcaSlicer, tuned for its Adventurer and AD5X 3D printers.
UltiMaker Cura is an LGPL-3.0 slicer with profiles for hundreds of printers and a plugin marketplace, though it is heavier to start and has thinner calibration tooling.
QIDI Studio
QIDI's official open-source slicer that prepares 3D models for printing on QIDI printers.
UltiMaker Cura has profiles for hundreds of printers and a plugin marketplace with a larger community, but is heavier and slower to start.
Repetier-Host
Desktop host software that places, slices, previews and prints models on FDM 3D printers.
UltiMaker Cura is an open-source slicer with profiles for hundreds of printers and a layer preview, focused on slicing rather than directly driving the printer.
Snapmaker Luban
Open-source 3-in-1 slicer and machine control software for Snapmaker 3D printing, laser and CNC machines.
UltiMaker Cura is an LGPL-3.0 filament slicer with profiles for hundreds of printers and plugins, but it handles only 3D printing, not laser or CNC.
Snapmaker Orca
Snapmaker's fork of the OrcaSlicer slicer, tuned for Snapmaker 3D printers.
UltiMaker Cura is an LGPL-3.0 slicer with profiles for hundreds of printers and a plugin marketplace, but thinner calibration tooling than the Orca codebase.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
Blender
The free 3D creation suite: modelling, sculpting, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing and video editing.
Teaching Tech 3D Printer Calibration
Web-based 3D printer calibration walkthrough with a gcode generator for custom test towers and prints.
OctoPrint
Control and monitor a 3D printer from a browser.
Klipper
Run 3D-printer control across a Linux host and the printer's microcontroller.
