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12 Best Free AutoCAD

(DWG) Viewers in 2019

by Max von Übel

3 weeks ago

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12 Best Free AutoCAD (DWG) Viewers in 2019

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• LibreCAD • A360 • Bentley View • Free AutoCAD Viewers - File

Formats Explained
• FreeCAD • Autodesk Viewer • DraftSight
• DWG TrueView • OnShape • Fusion 360
• Design Review • IrfanView • QCAD

Looking for a free DWG viewer? Check out our 2019 guide to the best free AutoCAD
viewers. Plus an explanation of the le formats: DWG, DXF, and DWF.

A
utoCAD les are everywhere – from engineering to design there are many
applications for electronic technical drawings.

Too bad that AutoCAD can cost upwards of $1,260 per year. However, if all you
want to do is view, annotate and perhaps even modify AutoCAD les originally
spat out by Autodesk’s pricy software, a number of free programs on multiple
platforms and systems are suitable for the job. Some of them are even from
Autodesk itself!

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To Buy or to not to Buy

2019 AutoCAD Free Download – Is There a Free Full Version?

For a breakdown of the native le formats used in AutoCAD and their purposes,
jump to the bottom of this article.

12 BEST FREE AUTOCAD (DWG) VIEWERS IN 2019

SKIP TABLE SEARCH:

Product Features OS

LibreCAD Viewing, Editing, Measuring, Conversion, Commenting Windows, Mac, Linux

FreeCAD Viewing, Editing, Measuring, Conversion, Commenting Windows, Mac, Linux

DWG Viewing, Measuring, Conversion Windows

TrueView

Design Viewing, Measuring, Commenting Windows

Review

A360 Viewing, Measuring, Commenting Android, iOS

Autodesk Viewing, Measuring, Commenting, Screenshots, Collaboration Browser

Viewer

OnShape Editing, Viewing, Measuring, Commenting, Screenshots, Windows, macOS, Linux, and
Collaboration Browser

IrfanView Viewing Windows

Bentley Viewing, Measuring, Commenting Windows

View

DraftSight Editing, Viewing, Measuring, Commenting Windows, macOS and Linux

Fusion 360 Editing, Viewing, Measuring Windows and macOS

QCAD Editing, Viewing, Measuring all in 2D Windows, macOS and Linux

FREE AUTOCAD (DWG) VIEWER

LibreCAD
1
Features Viewing, Editing, OS Windows, Mac, Linux
Measuring, Conversion,
Commenting

LibreCAD is so much more than a free AutoCAD viewer. It is designed as an open

source CAD software. This means you can not only view existing DWG les, but
you can model and modify your own designs. Since LibreCAD displays only 2D
views, it has a slim le size of only 30 MB. But not to worry, it can display
isometric views. Though the free CAD program satis es common drawing needs,
the functionality will not overwhelm you, unlike other free CAD software. On the
other hand, LibreCAD is the perfect choice for beginners, since its user interface
is uncluttered.

FREE AUTOCAD (DWG) VIEWER

FreeCAD
2
Features Viewing, Editing, OS Windows, Mac, Linux
Measuring, Conversion,
Commenting

FreeCAD is not a mere AutoCAD viewer, but a fully edged parametric solid free
CAD software. It can be used by experienced designers and engineers to draw
real-life objects of any size. Its parametric modeling capability allows you to
easily modify your 3D design by going back into your model history and changing
its dimensions. With a rich feature set such as this, be prepared that FreeCAD
can be a bit overwhelming at rst. However, if you make an effort to dig deeper
into the free CAD software, you will be rewarded with an amazing free tool.

FREE AUTOCAD (DWG) VIEWER

DWG TrueView
3
Features Viewing, Measuring, OS Windows
Conversion

DWG TrueView is the o cial free AutoCAD viewer by Autodesk. It is also a le

converter that is designed to ensure the interoperability between different DWG
versions and different releases of AutoCAD. Just like the software, so did the le
format evolve over the three decades since their release. Although third party
CAD programs like FreeCAD and LibreCAD can read and write DWG les,
Autodesk claims that it alone can guaranty full functionality over the entire line of
AutoCAD versions.

FREE AUTOCAD (DWG) VIEWER

Design Review
4
Features Viewing, Measuring, OS Windows
Commenting

Basically, Design Review is an add-on to DWG TrueView that extends its feature
set: Apart from viewing the les, you can also measure lengths, angles and
areas. More importantly, this free AutoCAD viewer allows users to add
comments, information, and ideas for design changes to AutoCAD les. This
makes Design Review an indispensable asset whenever it is necessary to
exchange DWG les with collaborators.

FREE AUTOCAD (DWG) VIEWER

A360
5
Features Viewing, Measuring, OS Android, iOS
Commenting

Autodesk has also released a free app for viewing DWF and DWG les on
Android and iOS devices. Moreover, another 50 CAD le formats can be viewed.
This includes drawings from CAD software like Inventor, Revit, SolidWorks,
Navisworks, CATIA, Fusion 360, and many more. Compared with most of the
desktop apps, A360 is quite powerful: You can make annotations, navigate to
layers and components, measure distances, surfaces, and angles, but you
cannot edit the les. As can be expected, this free AutoCAD viewer can be
connected to major cloud services.

FREE AUTOCAD (DWG) VIEWER

Autodesk Viewer
6
Features Viewing, Measuring, OS Browser
Commenting,
Screenshots,
Collaboration

If you want to view AutoCAD les without going through the hassle of
downloading and installing a new program, you should take a look at this online
AutoCAD viewer. Moreover, you can inspect designs, create screenshots for use
in presentations, and even measure components with this viewer. Autodesk
Viewer is also a useful tool in collaborative projects, since AutoCAD les can be
shared via URLs. The recipients can then view the les instantly without
registering with Autodesk rst.

FREE AUTOCAD (DWG) VIEWER

OnShape
7
OnShape offers multipart assembly and stress test integration Source: OnShape

Features Editing, Viewing, OS Windows, macOS, Linux,

Measuring, and Browser
Commenting,
Screenshots,
Collaboration

With OnShape you get far much more than a free AutoCAD viewer. Free for open-
source projects, Onshape is, in fact, equipped with a feature-set tting for
enterprise-grade CAD software. It is aimed at professional level users, who want
version control, and collaboration tools to work in large teams. Onshape is
delivered over the cloud as a service. This free AutoCAD viewer works on pretty
much every system you can imagine – even on iOS, and Android phones.

One of the most interesting features of this free AutoCAD viewer is its
collaborative mode. Unlike installed CAD and PDM, Onshape gives everyone on
the team instant access to the same CAD workspace and same CAD data in one
central place in the cloud. Another nifty feature is the ability to manage a master
design without the need to save copies or keep track of numerous different le
versions.

FREE AUTOCAD (DWG) VIEWER

IrfanView
8
Features Viewing OS Windows

Basically, IrfanView is your swiss-army knife viewer. It supports more than 130
le formats, so chances are that it can open most les you throw at it. To some
extent, you can even edit les. With IrfanView, you can rotate, apply watermarks,
tweak lters, add brightness, modify the color depth, ip, and much more.

Although it is better known for viewing images, IrfanView is also capable of

displaying CAD les. To enable this feature you simply need to install a free
plugin – and voilà, your free AutoCAD viewer! To be sure, it is not as powerful as
AutoCAD or Photoshop. But the advantage of using this free AutoCAD viewer is
that it is light-weight and takes up only very little of your disk. Overall, IrfanView is
a great tool for viewing a huge number of les formats.

FREE AUTOCAD (DWG) VIEWER

Bentley View
9
Features Viewing, Measuring, OS Windows
Commenting

Mircostation developer Bentley offers its powerful take on AutoCAD viewer tools
as “Bentley View”. The program features comprehensive different view modes
that t your puposes. For example, the X-ray view allows to see through objects
and study the components inside them.

However, Bentley View is one of the more powerful AutoCAD viewers on this list.
It does not only allow you DWG and 50 other CAD le formats, but you can also
open entire BIM (Building Information Modelling) projects. Each object within
these projects can be selected individually, allowing you inspect measurements
and material properties alike. In addition, this free AutoCAD viewer boasts
powerful search options to nd the elements that match your speci cations. All
the values can be exported as spread sheets. If you need a powerful and
versatile free AutoCAD viewer, Bentley View should be on top your list.

FREE AUTOCAD (DWG) VIEWER

DraftSight
10
Features Editing, Viewing, OS Windows, macOS and
Measuring, Commenting Linux

DraftSight is a free AutoCAD viewer from Dassault Systèmes, the publisher of

popular software such as CATIA, and Solidworks. Thanks to its clear user
interface, anyone can learn the program quickly. DraftSight is not only a AutoCAD
viewer but it also has all the necessary tools to create 2D CAD drawings. To
enable accurate revisions, the elements of designs are stored in layers.

Dassault Systèmes offers support for users of the free AutoCAD viewer. Among
many other features, the commercial version of DraftSight can compare designs,
and display the differences, append PDFs to the project le, and add standard
hardware symbols to your design.

FREE AUTOCAD (DWG) VIEWER

Fusion 360
11
Features Editing, Viewing, OS Windows and macOS
Measuring

Fusion 360 is a cloud-based 3D modeling CAD/ CAM software. Advertised as

“the rst 3D modeling software that can handle product development from A to
Z”, Fusion 360 is taking an increasingly important role in additive manufacturing,
offering a number of veri cation and generative design features that take
advantage of the process.

3D models are typically formed through extrusion in Fusion 360, although the
import of AutoCAD DWG les is certainly possible.

Available for free to hobbyists and startups earning under a certain threshold,
plus limited educational licenses for students and educators, means Fusion 360
is possibly the most accessible, yet advanced modeling software available to
learn the eld.

FREE AUTOCAD (DWG) VIEWER

QCAD
12
Features Editing, Viewing, OS Windows, macOS and
Measuring all in 2D Linux

A free, open-source application for computer aided drafting in 2D, QCAD runs on
Windows, macOS, and Linux. Besides an intuitive user interface, offers DXF and
DWG input and output (Professional version).

A diverse array of modeling and simulation analysis tools, plus printing to scale,
measuring tools, and construction and modi cation of points, lines, different
geometries, texts, hatches, lls and raster images amongst others make QCAD a
robust option for CAD work on the cheap. It’s worth diving into the active
community forum for a sense of where the program and its users are at.

FREE AUTOCAD (DWG) VIEWER

Free AutoCAD Viewers - File Formats

Explained

DWG

DWG stands for DraWinG, it is the proprietary le format of AutoCAD that

contains all the geometrical and metadata. Due to AutoCAD’s importance in the
engineering community, the format is also supported by virtually any third party
CAD program. However, Autodesk has repeatedly tried to assert its control over
this le format: It has refused to publish the format’s speci cations and sued
developers who reverse engineered the DWG format order to offer third-party
conversion tools.

DWF

Autodesk also developed the Design Web Format to facilitate distribution and
communication of AutoCAD data in large engineering and design projects that
seek to restrict access to intellectual property. Therefore, publishers can
selectively export components of the le can limit that the recipient will be able
to see. In this sense, these les are not “full” AutoCAD drawings.

DXF

Finally, the Drawing Exchange Format was designed to enable the interoperability
of AutoCAD les with third-party software. However, as this format does not
cover the entire feature set of AutoCAD, it is less useful than the DWG format.
Plus, because of AutoCAD’s overarching role, DWG is supported by almost all
other CAD programs.

Our table below can tell which of these free AutoCAD viewers have a feature set
that makes them suitable for professional applications since they even let you
measure components and leave comments.

License: The text of "12 Best Free AutoCAD (DWG) Viewers in 2019" by All3DP is licensed under a Creative
Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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Jone Hery • 4 months ago

Thanks to admin for the help. AutoCAD 2018 Softare is good for design. I also use
this software. and that features is so many attractive.
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Robert Takac > Jone Hery • 3 months ago

Yes, it has great design. But I personaly use LibreCAD more often. It's free.
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