Autodesk Maya vs FreeCAD
Autodesk Maya and FreeCAD are both 3D and CAD software. Autodesk Maya is a commercial product from Autodesk. FreeCAD is open source under LGPL-2.1, with 35k GitHub stars.
Which to pick
- Pick Autodesk Maya when
- You work in or train for film, TV or game animation pipelines where Maya is the expected tool.
- Pick FreeCAD when
- Engineers, makers or small firms need free parametric CAD without SolidWorks or Fusion licences.
Side by side
3D modelling, animation, rigging and rendering software, standard in film visual effects and game studios.
A parametric 3D CAD modeller for mechanical parts, architecture (BIM), FEM analysis, CAM and 3D printing, built on OpenCascade with Python scripting.
Very expensive, and Blender now covers much of the same ground for free.
Steeper learning curve and rougher edges than commercial CAD, though version 1.x fixed many long-standing issues.
Production-ready (both)
Desktop app (both)
Not published
C++, Python, OpenCascade and Qt
Closed source, sold by Autodesk
Open source, LGPL-2.1 (weak copyleft)
Closed source: you use it under the maker's terms and cannot change or resell the code.
You can use it inside a product you sell; changes you make to its own files must be shared.
2.7k Wikipedia readers a month on phones
35k GitHub stars
Not known
Established: started 14 years ago, latest release 1.1.4.
Other comparisons
More 3D modeling and CAD software
Both sides were judged on 2026-11-03 from makers' descriptions, Wikipedia, READMEs and GitHub data. License, age and popularity lines are worked out directly.