Alternatives to QCAD
A 2D CAD program for technical drawings: floor plans, mechanical parts, schematics and diagrams, with DXF and DWG in and out. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
QCAD
A 2D CAD program for technical drawings: floor plans, mechanical parts, schematics and diagrams, with DXF and DWG in and out.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as QCAD.
LibreCAD
A 2D CAD program for DXF and DWG drawings, built from the free edition of QCAD.
LibreCAD is a fully free GPL-2.0 program built from QCAD's free edition that reads DWG and writes DWG, PDF and SVG without a paid edition, though its interface feels dated.
BricsCAD
Native-DWG CAD software with 2D drafting, 3D modeling, BIM, and mechanical variants.
BricsCAD adds native DWG, 3D modeling and BIM on Windows, macOS and Linux, but it is closed source and requires a paid license after its 30-day trial.
AutoCAD
Autodesk's 2D drafting and 3D CAD application, available on the desktop and in the browser.
AutoCAD adds 3D modelling and native DWG with desktop and web versions, but requires expensive commercial licensing and an Autodesk account.
DraftSight
A commercial 2D CAD desktop application for drafting and editing DWG drawings, from Dassault Systèmes.
DraftSight from Dassault Systèmes offers full DWG support and 2D drafting on Windows, but it is closed source and paid after the trial.
ZWCAD
Commercial 2D drafting and 3D CAD software with native DWG compatibility, offered as an AutoCAD alternative.
ZWCAD offers native DWG compatibility and 3D work with a perpetual licence option, but it is closed source, Windows-only and has a high upfront cost.
TurboCAD
Commercial 2D and 3D CAD software for drafting and mechanical and architectural design on Windows and Mac.
TurboCAD covers 2D drafting and 3D modelling in several paid editions for Windows and Mac, with no free edition and separate products per platform.
Also worth comparing
These listings name QCAD as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
Sweet Home 3D
Interior design software for drawing a floor plan, arranging furniture on it, and walking through the result in 3D.
QCAD draws accurate 2D floor plans with DXF input and output, but offers no 3D view or furniture models, and DWG support needs the paid edition.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
FreeCAD
A parametric 3D modeller for real objects: design by sketching constrained 2D shapes, then change the parameters later.
SolveSpace
A tiny parametric 2D and 3D CAD program built around a constraint solver, for designing real parts.
