10 Best CAD App Options For iPhone

These options for the best CAD app for iPhone are perfect for anyone who wants to use CAD whenever, wherever.

The birth of CAD or Computer-Aided Design gave rise to a lot of advances in design.

CAD apps became the #1 allies for architects when it came to jumping from paper to tablet. 

Each app has pros and cons, but they all do their job: to provide you with tools to design 3D and 2D models. 

Some others work for showcasing your designs and jobs to the world.

In the sea of apps, let us introduce to you the 10 options for the best CAD app for iPhone.

1. AutoCAD 360

With this app, you’ll have the AutoCAD on your phone or tablet.

Thanks to AutoCAD 360, you can visualize .DWG files that you work with on your computer and modify them.

To open these files, you just have to upload them from the computer where you have AutoCAD and then open them on your phone.

These files can be uploaded to Dropbox, OneDrive, or Google Drive.

AutoCAD 360 has countless drawing tools that are easy to use and manage.

You can draw lines with unmatched accuracy also also draw vectors with one command.

The drawings you do can be transported at different scales, as you wish.

You can create sets of objects and move them around.

It gives you the ability to work even when you’re offline.

You can create layers to work with order and be able to visualize your project quickly.

Working in either 2D or 3D isn’t a problem as this application is intuitive and easy to understand.

You can export your projects as vector drawings to use them wherever you want.

This app comes with two versions with which you can have more tools and options for your designs.

These options are the Premium and the Ultimate.

Each one has different tools to make your life as a designer a little easier.

The Premium version costs US$49.99 per year, and the Ultimate version costs US$99.99 per year.

2. Concepts 

What’s striking about Concepts isn’t only the tools they have to perform CADs.

Concepts take the “sitting in front of a sheet of paper” to another level.

You can express your ideas and work as if you had paper and a pencil in front of you.

Asking what’s so special about this app?

Well, it’s the combination of your hand-made projects with the versatility of a digital drawing tool.

It is an app that is perfectly optimized and works perfectly with the Apple Pencil.

The best thing about it: it’s free.

But if you want more tools and a lot of new possibilities, you can subscribe to the app.

Concepts not only stands out for its performance, but it also has a lot of uses when modifying elements already drawn.

Cut, move, measure, copy, or simply discard all these thanks to the vectorial drawing that Concepts handles.

It’s not even complicated when you start drawing.

Just download the app, and let your imagination flow.

Infinite color palettes, five layers for better visualization, various brushes are all in the app.

But when it seems that Concepts has stopped there, it still has one more trick up its sleeve.

Inside the website, you’ll find courses about the app.

It also includes a very explanatory PDF so that you can start drawing without complications.

Its different articles and tutorials can help you read and carry out your projects.

This app is for people who want to do draws and are tired of using paper and pencil.

3. Morpholio Trace

The main attraction of Morpholio Trace is that you can use your environment as a drawing template.

From the camera of your device, you can visualize the space you want, and on top of this image, you can draw everything you want to.

This is so useful whenever you want to make sketches from something that already exists.

You save excessive amounts of time and resources.

The app also has a mode in which it converts any image into a custom template in a matter of seconds.

You will get a complete user guide on its website to take advantage of every aspect of this application.

It’s perfectly optimized for your Apple Pencil, so you don’t have to worry about that.

You can adjust the strokes you make in the sketchbook of this application as if you had countless amounts of drawing pencils at hand.

The ability to generate custom sets of colors to your liking, using the classic RGB scale is also in your hands.

With Morpholio Trace, you can set up grids for your drawings, useful for making perfect strokes, and arranging each space into grids.

In addition to all this, you can scale your projects instantly and effortlessly.

It is quite simple to move through this app, as it is intuitive and easy to use.

One of its main attractions is the ability to visualize 3D objects with the “Drag’ n’Fly” 3D Viewer.

With this tool, you can visualize every aspect of a 3D model you have made by simply dragging the Apple Pencil around the screen.

You can also set perspective grids for these models.

This app is complete and perfect for CAD lovers.

4. Archisketch

Archisketch is designed mostly for the moment when you have to show all your work to your client.

It has a lot of tools at hand to bring out the designs you have in your mind.

This app features an HD 3D model viewer where you can view your work from any angle because you can see it in 360 degrees.

With Archisketch, you can make a complete catalog thanks to its system in which you can render images in 4K resolution.

One of the main attractions of Archisketch is “Panorama 3D”.

With this, you can visualize the interior of, for example, an entire house.

With “Panorama 3D”, you can see every specific detail of a plan, starting from a system called Cloud Rendering System.

Speaking of this system, you can plan a whole house, as if we were simply watching a blueprint.

To decorate each room of your project, Archisketch has a library of complete materials and furniture.

This application has a free version with the basic.

But if you are a professional designer, the best thing would be to invest in buying the plus version, because it is worth it.

And if you want to interact with other designers, Archisketch has a blog where you can see updates and what’s new.

Having trouble with the app?

Then check out the forums, where you’ll find more people interested in Archisketch.

You can also learn how to use different Archisketch basics.

This is an excellent option for interior design.

5. Onshape

Of all these apps, Onshape is the most complete you’ll get if you’re looking to organize your workspace.

This app not only includes the work and design tools, but it also brings a lot of uses to manage a whole work team.

With Onshape, a complete team of designers can make and modify 3D designs with professional tools in real-time.

It also creates a safe space to share data from different projects.

The focus of Onshape is for industrial machine designers and engineers.

You can create complete structures in hardware that are easy to understand, manage, and share.

In addition to all these features, you can also create a configuration for each separate design with its custom scales and sizes.

Now comes the most crucial part,

With Onshape, you can create a budget for your projects.

If you insert exact sizes and quantities of a material you want to make a design, Onshape will tell you how much that project will cost in real life.

Thanks to its design, Onshape has a lot of extra utilities, implemented for a whole team to use it without problems.

With Onshape, you can see the workers’ real-time statistics inside the page and see if the objectives are being met.

Onshape creates a secure work platform where sharing and receiving feedback from your colleagues is extremely easy.

Besides all this, it has two security phases.

First, only people with your permission can enter and see what is being worked on inside the app.

Second is it consists of two-factor authentication.

It also brings to the mix AES-256 encryption, full security.  

Onshape exists by and for engineers and teams.

6. Sketchup

Sketchup is the best app you’ll get along with.

It’s quite friendly and effortless to understand.

This makes any drawing and design enthusiast do excellent work without struggling to understand how the app works.

With Sketchup, you can design models for any use, from architecture to even video games.

You can draw anything you can imagine.

If you need a small object, the app has a vast gallery of textures and objects available for use.

This app can be used with virtual reality helmets, giving you a different perspective of your designs and creations.

If you still have questions about the app, it includes a video tutorial to help you understand this powerful tool.

And these are not just any videos; they are intensive courses, called Sketchup Campus, where you will learn everything about the use of this app.

If you want to learn how to draw professionally, the app has a lot of recommended designers.

Each one of them is willing to teach you everything you need to know about Sketchup.

Sketchup has an active YouTube channel that shows your designs and comparisons, showcasing everything you can do with this useful app.

After drawing in 3D, you can document all your designs and works and explain everything you’ve done.

It also has a significant forum for you to interact and share your designs with other architects and designers.

Sketchup has a free version, with the most basic implementations to drawing.

But if you’re looking for something more professional, Sketchup offers a lot of plans for one person or a team.

It even has plans for college students or elementary and high school students.

7. BIMx 

BIMx is presented to us as an app to take a virtual tour through the designs that you have made.

It is a part of a more extensive application called ArchiCAD, but it can also be used alone.

BIMx features a unique technology that allows you to navigate through your project in 3D.

This app has a system called Hyper-model; thanks to this system, we can access drawing sheets made in 2D.

Hyper-model takes your projects and transforms them into a 3D environment, so you can visualize all your work and find and fix errors if there are any.

So you know what is needed or what you can remove from your work because navigating in BIMx is extremely easy.

This is useful when you want to present your project to your client in a simple way, so they don’t have any doubts about your work.

It’s the easiest and most customer-friendly way to present your designs and works.

BIMx gives us a vision through your projects as if they were made in a video game.

It has good optimization, so you won’t have problems navigating through your work as if you were inside the tablet.

You can explore the house of your client’s dreams and make him feel like he already has it with BIMx.

Exporting your work is as easy as saving the file to BIMx and opening it with the app.

You’ll be navigating through your projects as if they were already built with just your iPhone or iPad.

So how expensive is this powerful tool?

Well, it’s free.

8. Shapr3D

Shapr3D presents the most entertaining and useful way, in equal parts, to make your 3D models.

This app has a lot of tools to model in 3D and to be able to carry out all those projects that are lodged in your head.

Tools to create symmetrical, mathematically accurate objects, customization of lines, lines, and arcs are included in the app.

You can move, rotate, and copy models with ease, by merely pointing to the point that serves as an axis for what you’re moving.

This app is straightforward to use if you got used to 3D design and modeling.

It also supports a variety of file formats, so you can quickly move your work from your computer to your tablet.

One of the features is that you can make a trial to try the pro version for 14 days, totally free.

It includes the ability to export 3D designs in any format, an extensive color palette, and priority when requesting any error.

They even have a web page dedicated exclusively to give you support when you need help with any problem or error of the application.

It will also refund your money if the pro version subscription does not convince you.

But the most essential part of all this is that, if you are a student, you can get a license to use the app for one year.

Shapr3D exists for those who are professionalizing in graphic design and for those who have time working with it.

9. uMake

uMake is made for beginners in the vast world of design.

Those who love to draw and want to get into graphic design but don’t know how to start.

It has the necessary tools for drawing, such as straight-line drawing, thanks to the use and perfect calibration with the Apple Pencil.

Idealise what you want to draw in 2D, and uMake will take it to 3D without any problems.

After having it done as a sketch, you can draw lines and make more precise shapes.

You can draw exact circles and different shapes in 3D, with impressive convenience.

After you have drawn everything you want, you can give it color and texture.

Thanks to this, all your projects will come to life and look spectacular.

After you have finished your project, you can export it to any CAD app or present it in the same application.

It supports a lot of formats, which makes it ideal for designers who are already used to AutoCAD, for example.

The developers themselves define uMake as the link between the hand drawing and the CAD.

uMake is compatible with almost any CAD app, and it is also compatible with 3D printer programs so that you can take your design to real life.

This app also features online courses and forums to chat with other designers and share your work with them, creating a very comfortable community to interact with.

There is a 14-day trial for you to try the app, and after that, it costs US$16 a month.

uMake is the perfect choice if you want to start getting into the world of graphic design.

10. iRhino 3D

iRhino 3D is another app to show your designs in 3D; the difference is that it is free.

That’s right, no monthly subscriptions or payments, it’s free.

iRhino 3D is part of a suite of applications called Rhinoceros, which is another recommended CAD app.

With iRhino 3D, you can view any .3DM file format.       

It has a single hub where you can browse your jobs and your designs to see them all.

The app is easy to use.

You will not get lost in this app because it is quite intuitive.

It is compatible with DropBox, Google Drive, or your gallery on your iPhone or iPad.

Models are rendered quite quickly, so you don’t have to wait long to see your masterpiece in glorious 3D.

It has up to five layers of control so that you can see every piece and every corner of your model in order.

Shadows are rendered without any problems.

You can even set the background color so that you can see your work better.

It has its support page in case of errors with the application.

There are also active forums where you can find other designers who specialize in Rhinoceros and the use of iRhino3D.

You can interact with them if you want to talk about your designs or if you have any problems using iRhino 3D.

This may not be the best option, but what matters about iRhino 3D is that it is free and easy to use.

It has some limitations, but the basics are there, and it works great.

This is the preferred option when you have a low budget to start working.

Final Thoughts

After you’ve read this article, we’re pretty much sure you’ll wonder which app is right for you.

Well, it’s simple to know

Use the best CAD app for iPhone that has caught your attention.

As said in the beginning, each app is more specialized for the work you need, but each one is made for you to succeed as a designer.

Read our other interesting articles below.

What Degree Do You Need To Be A UX Designer? It’s Not What You Might Think

10 Best CRM UI Kit Options For Sketch & Figma

Does Graphic Design Require Math?