--- description: Learn more about Alibre Design price, benefits, and disadvantages for businesses in Australia. Read reviews from verified users and discover similar tools that fit your business needs. image: https://gdm-localsites-assets-gfprod.imgix.net/images/capterra/og_logo-e5a8c001ed0bd1bb922639230fcea71a.png?auto=format%2Cenhance%2Ccompress title: Alibre Design Cost & Reviews - Capterra Australia 2026 --- Breadcrumb: [Home](/) > [Engineering CAD Software](/directory/30556/engineering-cad/software) > [Alibre Design](/software/172312/alibre-design) # Alibre Design Canonical: https://www.capterra.com.au/software/172312/alibre-design Page: 1 / 9\ Next: [Next page](https://www.capterra.com.au/software/172312/alibre-design?page=2) > Comprehensive mechanical CAD including modeling, sheet metal, drawings, rendering, scripting, automation, design libraries, API \& more. > > Verdict: Rated **4.7/5** by 183 users. Top-rated for **Likelihood to recommend**. ----- ## Overview ### Who Uses Alibre Design? From SMBs, startups, labs, educational institutions, and machine shops all the way to Sandia National Laboratories. Organizations of 1 to 1000 choose Alibre for economical, powerful 3D engineering. ## Quick Stats & Ratings | Metric | Rating | Detail | | **Overall** | **4.7/5** | 183 Reviews | | Ease of Use | 4.6/5 | Based on overall reviews | | Customer Support | 4.8/5 | Based on overall reviews | | Value for Money | 4.8/5 | Based on overall reviews | | Features | 4.6/5 | Based on overall reviews | | Recommendation percentage | 90% | (9/10 Likelihood to recommend) | ## About the vendor - **Company**: Alibre - **Founded**: 1997 ## Commercial Context - **Starting Price**: USD 10.00 - **Pricing model**: Flat Rate (Free Trial) - **Target Audience**: Self Employed, 2–10, 11–50, 51–200, 201–500, 501–1,000, 1,001–5,000, 5,001–10,000, 10,000+ - **Deployment & Platforms**: Windows (Desktop), Windows (On-Premise) - **Supported Languages**: Czech, Danish, English, French, German, Greek, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish - **Available Countries**: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, American Samoa, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium and 208 more ## Features - 2D Drawing - 3D Design & Modeling - 3D Imaging - Animation - Annotations - CAD Tools - Component Library - Data Import/Export - Design Analysis - Design Management - Manufacturing Design Data - Sketching and Annotation Tools - Third-Party Integrations ## Integrations (4 total) - KeyShot - SimLab - SimWise 4D - SprutCAM ## Support Options - Email/Help Desk - FAQs/Forum - Knowledge Base - Phone Support - Chat ## Category - [Engineering CAD Software](https://www.capterra.com.au/directory/30556/engineering-cad/software) ## Related Categories - [Engineering CAD Software](https://www.capterra.com.au/directory/30556/engineering-cad/software) - [3D CAD Software](https://www.capterra.com.au/directory/31236/3d-cad/software) ## Alternatives 1. [AutoCAD](https://www.capterra.com.au/software/174021/autocad) — 4.7/5 (3207 reviews) 2. [SolidWorks Premium](https://www.capterra.com.au/software/93121/solidworks-premium) — 4.6/5 (756 reviews) 3. [Inventor](https://www.capterra.com.au/software/174020/inventor) — 4.5/5 (277 reviews) 4. [Autodesk Fusion](https://www.capterra.com.au/software/178416/fusion-360) — 4.5/5 (269 reviews) 5. [SketchUp](https://www.capterra.com.au/software/211798/sketchup) — 4.5/5 (1046 reviews) ## Reviews ### "Long term User" — 5.0/5 > **Dennis** | *12 October 2024* | Industrial Automation | Recommendation rating: 9.0/10 > > **Pros**: ease of use and lack of temperamental issues > > **Cons**: Has difficulty handling medium to large sketches > > It has enabled entry into world of 3D engineering design ----- ### "Powerful easy to use CAD with flexible licensing" — 5.0/5 > **Gareth** | *5 September 2024* | Mechanical or Industrial Engineering | Recommendation rating: 10.0/10 > > **Pros**: Powerful and easy to use software / not subscription based. > > **Cons**: N/A - my experience has been entirely positive. ----- ### "Review title goes here" — 4.0/5 > **Geoff** | *5 June 2024* | Transportation/Trucking/Railroad | Recommendation rating: 8.0/10 > > **Pros**: It's reasonably easy to learn, it must be because I taught myself to use it with zero tuition and only minor levels of profanity. > > **Cons**: It glitches occasionally, mainly when drawing a geometry line where many already exist, suddenly making all the geometry look like a toddler crawled through the middle of it. It also has issues where, in an assembly, it substitutes one item for another and the only solution is to completely redraw the offending item. Also I can't puzzle out the sheetmetal function, mainly because it's easier to just draw a solid and flatten it out than to sort through the menus for bend allowances. > > Moderately painless, with occasional "throw the monitor out of the window" moments. ----- ### "Reasons why you should be a convert to Alibre Design" — 5.0/5 > **Sam** | *16 May 2026* | Design | Recommendation rating: 10.0/10 > > **Pros**: Being a SolidWorks user since 2004, when I retired from my company I had no viable alternative for personal use. Like many I searched the internet for "Free" 3D CAD programs but found that the real cost in "Free" is the steep leaning curve and the sometimes rather arcane GUI or text based input and little or no support. So I purchased Alibre Design Expert as I wanted the closest product to SW I could find. As they say "80+% of SW functionality at 20% of the cost". I did not need the advanced finite analysis features nor did I want a subscription or a product expires that could hold my designs hostage. A really big one for me as I could buy it at no interest over a 10 month period AND I own it. No subscription and I can buy maintenance when I need it also on the 10 month plan. And it does not expire. One of the side things I found out is Alibre as I undertand it by the employees who bought out the prior owners of the company. As in the CAD world they are a really small company that can turn on a dime and have ownership in the product they produce. It's a great thing to see and talk to people that have a stake and real pride in what they do. The enthusiasm shines everytime I see a live or training video. I recommend Alibre to everyone I know who needs a 3D CAD program or is currently using a costly 3D CAD program and needs to switch\! > > **Cons**: One of the things I wish it would do is automatically refresh the design when exiting a sketch as SW does. I brought this up recently in a Alibre Live YouTube. I said maybe they can make this a checkbox option as if you are working on a large model/assembly you may not want to auto refresh but I think you should at least have the option. One thing they should add to all of their 3DCAD products is rectangle by center as I understand that Atom does not have this. Even though I use the Expert version I think all version should have the same sketching tools. I think that would also make it easier for Alibre to maintain the software and have basic common software source code between versions. Sketch tools should be the same and perhaps have modeling tools between the Atom/Pro/Expert from basic to advanced as it is today. These comments aside I would still would recommend that prospective buyers download and try a copy for the demo period. I am sure that they will see the value in the product. I would like to be able to install my product on two machines and as long as it is only used on one at a time (like a book) the license remains valid without having to move the license back and forth. There are situations where I could be off line for more than a month and I would like that flexibility. Maybe by default a license should be good for two machines like a really powerful desktop and the ubiquitous laptop for presentations, etc. The advanage to Alibre for this is more people in corporate and private environments really get to see what Alibre can do\! > > I use Alibre Design Expert almost on a daily basis for designing parts for test and mechanical fixtures for the various electronic products I design. These parts are then printed out of various materials on my BambuLab X1C FDM printer. I always use the STEP model output in millimeters as that seems to work best. I have tried the STL output but for some reason the STL files are huge (much larger than the STL files from SolidWorks). I believe this is due to configuration but I really do not know how to configure the output to be the same as SW was and STEP appears to work just fine. I have also designed mechanical screw machine parts where the CAD models and drawings were sent out to a CNC based swiss screw machine shop for manufacture, also flawless. I have also designed bent up sheet metal parts that were uploaded to vendors like SendCutSend and came out perfect. These were the first sheet metal parts I designed in Alibre. On the customer support side getting a real person that cares is a HUGE plus. Although I have had very few issues, mostly due to concept learning on my part, the support staff has always gotten back and usually within a few hours or the same day. Never had that level of support before from any CAD company. In addtion the YouTube training videos are very good and the live ask the engineers/users is amazing, they make you feel like you are part of the product improvement and development process. I do have a word of advice: Keep your company employee owned and employee driven and never go public as that is the beginning of the end of a great company (been there done that, got no tee shirt and I don't recommend it\!) ----- ### "Simply the Best for Anyone Who Respects Their Money and Their Data" — 5.0/5 > **Adam** | *23 January 2026* | Broadcast Media | Recommendation rating: 10.0/10 > > **Pros**: Alibre Design Pro/Expert is software that respects its users. With pricing options for every budget, friendly upgrade options, and nearly every tool the other guys have, Alibre is a no-brainer. It's easy to use, doesn't send your data to the cloud, and doesn't send your data to AI for machine learning. In a world where we're all getting sick of subscriptions, online-only software, forced cloud storage, and AI learning, Alibre is a huge breath of fresh air. > > **Cons**: Windows only right now, but they're working on fixing that\! With v29, Alibre intends to remove their Windows dependencies and consider other operating systems in the future\! ----- Page: 1 / 9\ Next: [Next page](https://www.capterra.com.au/software/172312/alibre-design?page=2) ## Links - [View on Capterra](https://www.capterra.com.au/software/172312/alibre-design) ## This page is available in the following languages | Locale | URL | | de | | | de-AT | | | de-CH | | | en | | | en-AE | | | en-AU | | | en-CA | | | en-GB | | | en-IE | | | en-IL | | | en-IN | | | en-NZ | | | en-SG | | | en-ZA | | | es | | | es-AR | | | es-CL | | | es-CO | | | es-CR | | | es-DO | | | es-EC | | | es-MX | | | es-PA | | | es-PE | | | fr | | | fr-BE | | | fr-CA | | | fr-LU | | | ko | | ----- ## Structured Data