Fusion 360 is a powerful platform — but it comes with a $545/year price tag, a mandatory Autodesk account, and a desktop install. BasicCAD focuses on the core parametric workflow and delivers it at a tenth of the cost, instantly, in any browser.
Try BasicCAD Free — 1 Month Trial| Differentiator | BasicCAD | Fusion 360 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $5/month · $45/year | ~$545/year |
| Installation | None — open a browser tab | Desktop app (Windows/Mac only) |
| Your files | Stored locally on your device | Autodesk cloud only — you don't control where they live |
| Account required | Google sign-in | Autodesk account + cloud terms |
| Works on Chromebook / Linux / iPad | Yes | No — Windows and Mac only |
| Internet required after first load | No — WASM is cached locally | Yes — Autodesk requires connectivity |
Fusion 360's free hobbyist tier limits you to 10 active documents and non-commercial use. The moment you use it professionally or need more files, you're paying ~$545/year. And Autodesk has a track record of tightening free-tier restrictions over time.
BasicCAD is $5/month or $45/year — all features, no document limits, no non-commercial restriction. For freelancers, students, and small teams, that's a meaningful difference: the cost of one Fusion 360 seat buys your entire team BasicCAD for a year.
Fusion 360 stores every design on Autodesk's cloud. You can't opt out — cloud storage is fundamental to their licensing model. If Autodesk changes pricing, terms, or shuts down a service tier, your files are affected.
BasicCAD runs all geometry operations client-side via WebAssembly. Your files live in your browser and on your machine. Export to STEP or STL at any time and store them wherever you want. Nothing is ever sent to BasicCAD's servers.
Fusion 360 requires a desktop install on Windows or Mac. If you're on Linux, a Chromebook, or a machine where you don't have admin rights, you can't use it.
BasicCAD runs in any modern browser on any operating system. Open the URL on a school computer, a client's laptop, or a tablet. No install, no admin rights, no platform lock-in. The WASM binary caches locally after the first load — subsequent launches are near-instant.
Fusion 360 includes CAM (CNC toolpath generation), FEA simulation, and rendering — features BasicCAD does not offer. If your workflow requires generating G-code for CNC machines or running stress analysis, Fusion 360 is the more complete platform. For pure parametric modeling — sketch, extrude, assemble, export — BasicCAD delivers equivalent capability at a fraction of the cost.
If you need CAM or FEA, Fusion 360 justifies its price. If you need parametric part design and assembly with STL/STEP export, BasicCAD gives you the same core workflow at ~10% of the cost — browser-based, cross-platform, with your files under your control.
1-month free trial. No Autodesk account, no download, no credit card.
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