Name: Shapr 3D CAD modeling
Rating: 4.74547 (27305 reviews)

User Reviews for Shapr 3D CAD modeling

4.75 out of 5

27.3K Ratings

3 years ago, Bad Kitty

Great program, horrible price

I have used many CAD program in the past, and was an early adopter of this software. But the price is absolutely ridiculous. Like other reviewers, I am also paying $50 a month (with a gun to my head) for ALL of Adobe’s graphic design software, and I resent it. We are sick and tired of subscriptions. This program is priced so far out of the range of the “ideal” target market that I don’t understand who is making these decisions. As an MBA, I’ll point the finger at either inexperienced MBAs or at least an MBA thought process. Your best pricing would take into consideration the needs of “makers” or folks with hobbyists with 3D printers...in fact, my cheapest 3D printer cost HALF of the annual subscription price of Shapr3D. I’m not saying the software isn’t worth it...it’s well-done. But you are missing out on a HUGE market of people willing to pay $9.99 a month (auto-draft, without the funny pricing games and forcing customers to pay annually to get that price). There needs to be a pricing option between the severely limited crappy free version and the $239/annual price. Quit ignoring the feedback! Take it seriously...you’ll have more people sign up, and you’ll probably make more!

5 years ago, timpappasjr

Amazed!

Stumbled across this application and after reading the description it hinted at a similarity to a highly expensive parametric design software for pc known as Solid Works. That caught my interest because that was a software I fell in love with while in school for mechanical design. So that alone made me download and try the app. I tried the free version which is fully functional when it comes to design but limits certain features and number of designs that can be created. After a few versions of a design which I completed. I decided to bite the bullet and sign up for the monthly full version. So far I am glad I did you gain extra features to not only save your designed without limited number but also adjust colors to make designs look and feel more real to get a better idea of the vision of the product you are considering constructing. This app is intuitive but I have extensive Solid-works and AutoCad exposure and that helped tremendously with designing on this because this program is a slight mixture of both applications and tooling works similar to a blend of each of those two programs. Apple Pencil is a necessity for this because it acts as a mouse/courser and is very precise.

4 years ago, ThatCuteEevee

Best 3D design app, Worst subscription options

This is by far one of the best apps I have ever used for 3D modeling. I have been learning with fusion 360 for awhile now and I find this to be so much quicker and easier to use. Using fingers to move and the Apple Pencil to work makes it very easy to move when you want to move and draw when you draw and not have one mixed with the other. It does have one flaw though, the price. First off, the free version only lets you save 2 designs, but all tutorial and even example designs count as your saved designs, that means if you want to use the free version you have to delete any tutorials or examples. If you actually want to use it you have to get the subscription. Which would be fine, honestly with all the crafted tutorials that do such a great job showing you how to use the app I think it deserves it, but not for the $300 they are asking for. I would happily pay $10 or around that ball park a month for a medium tier, and it surprises me they don’t since the questionnaire you fill in at the beginning asks if you are using it for a hobby or if you never 3D modeled before. If its only geared to professionals and you don’t want hobbiests using it then why even asking they are one? I am not even asking for you to make all the features free like fusion 360 does, just a lower cost for non-profesionals if you really do want hobbiests and non-pros using it as well

3 years ago, The dragon king himself

Amazing, but…

So let’s start with the bad, the price is really up there for only being an iPad app. I wouldn’t mind dropping $250 one time, and I have for programs such as rhino 3D but that much per year is a bit much especially when that’s easily the cost of the entire Adobe Creative Cloud and that comes with multiple programs and cloud storage. Even solidworks can be free to small businesses and design firms if they’re making under a certain amount. Full disclaimer btw I have an educational license for the program so I have not paid the full amount but I feel that other users feel the same. Now for the good. This app hands down is the best app I have ever downloaded onto an iPad since touching the gen 1 iPads. It’s so easy to use and it seems to be very well optimized (I’m using a gen 3 iPad Pro so I’m not sure how other hardware affects this) it took me a matter of a day or two to get the basics and the in app tutorial is so easy to follow. I really want to see more of those in app tutorials, but for an on the go CAD solution this one id definitely hard to beat. I can’t wait to see how this progresses. (I have also seen things saying there’s going to be a windows version of this so I’m kinda excited for that)

5 months ago, Loganacorliss

Phenomenal Software

I started using shapr3d about 8 months ago when i became fed up with fusion 360 constantly crashing. This software is a complete game changer for 3D printing and even sketches for CNC projects from your original 3D design. The new parametric beta brings in some of those features from fusion that allow for quick changes to the model without having to completely redesign something. I purchased an iPad with Apple Pencil a couple months back and it has been my go to device for designing projects with shapr3d. One feature that would be amazing to see added is having some sort of properties tab similar to fusion that allows you to enter pre-defined measurement values and assign them to your sketch as a you go along. Having the parametric history is very close to that, but still requires you to first define the measurement and doesn’t allow for mass updates like fusion does. Given the ability of the software at this point, i have no doubt we will see something like this in the future. Keep up the great work and thanks for building an awesome piece of software!

1 year ago, AshT01

Not worth it at all

The app itself is easy to use. My problem is the fact that most people looking to make some designs on an iPad probably aren’t doing it for a business and it’s outrageous for a company to demand $300 a year if I simply would like to make a case for my Apple Pencil or make a replacement joint for a baby playpen. Take the materials/colors out, limit it to 3 designs, heck even 1-3 designs to export per week, charge $10 a month max, and call it the hobbyist plan, or else it’s just a complete rip off that no individual can afford or else they’d just do modeling with their computers that cost less than this after a few years or less. This is 100% useless if you don’t pay their $300 so they can get some nice Mercedes. Couldn’t even design my Apple Pencil case because it wouldn’t let me add any more lines or anything, and certainly can’t make the joint for the playpen because you can only export crap that looks like you made it in Minecraft. Don’t know a single person who uses this app because most 3d modeling is free on pc. These people are absolutely selfish and I don’t recommend this app for anyone who plans on designing something as super duper complicated as an Apple Pencil case or anyone who plans on doing more than just staring at the design, unless you make as much money as the people at this company who are ripping it out of people’s pockets.

3 years ago, this_thadd

Pricing just isn’t feasible for hobbyists

With the new 12.9” models, I made the switch to iPad only and got rid of my laptop. The biggest thing I was worried about was losing access to modeling tools like Sketchup or Fusion 360 and I was so excited when I found Shapr3D. I went through the tutorial and it really does seem like it could be a replacement for my desktop tools until I went to actually create my first model and was faced with the subscription costs. I’m now at a point where I have to decide if I can actually justify the cost and I just don’t think I can. Hobbyist wood workers like me tinker with lots of different designs over a long time (I’ve been planning some cabinets for months), we’re not pros who work on one thing for a while. I think I could swallow $10-15 a month or even a kind of steep one-time purchase for an app of this quality, but I just can’t justify $30/mo. That’s just too much for something I’ll only spend a few hours a month using. It’s a real shame and I’m sure that the app has value for professionals, but we hobbyists are priced out. I don’t know what features they could restrict to make it viable for people like me and I’m sure the price is based on what it costs them to make the app, but sadly I’ll have to mooch my wife’s Mac and go back to Fusion 360.

5 years ago, Steve Lynch

Amazing value! Amazing App!

I’m about $3600 deep in “The big name CAD Program” product, and still don’t really know how to use it well after a year and a half. I downloaded this app, followed a tutorial, and designed a complex gear assembly in like 40 minutes. It’s insane how intuitive and easy it is. My 12 year old son is designing things to 3D print, and I’ve been cleaning up files I’ve been afraid to touch, because they were ”Close enough”, but not perfect, and I’m not good enough with my other software to fix them without potentially messing them up. CAD hasn’t changed in like 30 years. It’s ugly, it’s complicated, and it’s time consuming... I know I sound like a total fan boy. Just download it, and make something. That’s the only way you’re going to understand what I’m saying... this is exactly what I’ve been looking for! You can import and export other files, and best of all, unlike almost every other iPad app for CAD, this one uses the Apple Pencil, which is amazingly intuitive, and it does not need to be on the internet to work. 4 thumbs up guys!!!

6 years ago, InsanelyOK

Mostly Gimmick, Somewhat useful, too expensive...

Working with CAD has long been the dream of many creatives with iPads. When I found this app I was so excited. When I cracked it open and started using it, a familiar and simple interface delighted me. And then the gimmick of using my Apple Pencil to create CAD drawings wore off. The usability can be extremely tedious when you want to perform multiple actions at the same time or sequentially. You have to extrude, confirm, back out, and then enter the tool again to extrude more than once. It’s also quite difficult to get used to navigation, whether in the viewport or using the buttons. For a premium price, I’d rather forego the convenience of creating on my iPad and spend it on a full featured suite on my PC that does more and isn’t as much a hassle. Both my wife and I also tried applying for student Pro versions by providing legitimate credentials and photo proof of our ID badges only to both receive emails asking for more information and then silence. I’m very doubtful that they even provide student or educational licenses. After contacting them asking for a status update, they simply didn’t respond. If they can improve on the user experience issues, lower the price and fix the buggy nature of the 3D models themselves, I’d consider trying again.

3 years ago, UNI TIME PARTY

SO COOL!

Kid and I’m into the 3-D canister and this is so cool I am just like amazed my mind is blown and this app is just searched up 3-D and this popped up and now I’m in love with it it’s so good I’m just surprised that it’s actually like kind a good to me because I don’t like apps so many options but this one has so many options and it like works with me. Also here’s A suggestion if you can’t use this: go to the website David. li it’s all fun and games but then when you scroll down do you see a 3-D thing click it and you can do everything like this app well like kind of because that just has less options but I’d so much rather use this but you need to go to that website on a pc but overall this app is five stars it should not be 4.7 ratings and reviews it should be 5.0 it is so amazing the in app purchases like you barely even need them because you have so much to do without them I just love it it’s amazing and I just really like it

4 years ago, Sir Cubealot

Price is a deal breaker

First let me say that this is one of the most well thought out design apps I’ve used and i have used many. Its simplicity is wonderful and its effectiveness great but it is still an iPad app and that is no replacement for a professional desktop app and that is what it is claiming to be by asking the for the outrageous amount of money it is asking. Sure Autodesk products ask for much more money but are full featured applications that can never be replicated on something like an IPad. The bottom line here is that the app is fantastic but its still just an IPad app and will always be second rate compared to a desktop machine, it will always be secondary. I would question anyone who says they can support a professional design firm on an iPad only basis, its not gonna happen. Can you produce very compelling documents on and with an iPad, yes of course but never an IPad only. For an office using this app $240 a year is nothing in comparison but for a general hobbyist or 3D model printer its way out of range. I would hope the developer realizes there is a gap here and offers up the possibility of different packages for a “typical user” as opposed to a “professional” user.

1 year ago, ivynya

Intuitive and Fast CAD Software

Coming from a background of Fusion 360 and Tinkercad (because Fusion 360 does not run well on Apple Silicon Macs), this is a great software with a reasonable number of functions - fast gesture based sketching using Apple Pencil, easy access to common tools like fillet, chamfer, and various boolean operations, and a very easy to use export system with an impressive number of formats. I now use Shapr3D to design parts that I 3D print because it’s significantly faster than working with Fusion or other software. However: Rotation is nothing like other CAD programs I’ve used. Rotating on the screen does not rotate around a fixed point (ie. not orbit) - thus, if you rotate many times in a single axis, your camera will have actually shifted position. Turning on two finger rotation in the settings does not help. This sounds highly inconvenient, and it is when only viewing models, but when actually working I found myself needing to readjust so much anyway that this doesn’t actually matter too much - but it is really disorienting as a new user.

2 years ago, JKT671

Amazing app, but functionally useless without expensive subscription

Let me start by saying this CAD package is phenomenal on the iPad. It’s intuitive, easy to use, and very nice to work with. The app feels more natural than any CAD package I’ve ever worked with, and having worked in an engineering field I’ve worked with Solidworks, AutoCAD, & Fusion360, among others. The reason this is a 2 star review is for hobbyist use the app is just not worth using with the limited functionality. The 2 design limit without being able to archive designs is a pain. If I could export the files somewhere or archive them when was done would also make it usable. Also, my use case being for 3D printing, woodworking, and hobby designs around the house I can do nothing with the files I want to create. Want to 3D print it? Hope it’s not a high resolution print. Want to send the file to a laser or CAM for CNC? Not happening. Want to create a basic drawing package so you don’t have to keep your iPad in the shop? Nope. TL;DR - Amazing app, but I can’t do anything with the basic version and the pro version is out of reach of a hobbyist like me. I’ll be sticking with Fusion360 for my use case.

5 years ago, Critical acclaim100

A shame it’s a subscription service

This app is fantastic, It’s exciting to model using this, and with the added convenience on my iPad I can get a lot made in a day since I don’t have to be at a pc. The only thing I would recommend changing in terms of interface is move the mirror tool into the tools section. Having it as a transform feature is strange. Adding upon the scale tools functionality so one can scale height, width, and depth, independently would be perfect. That being said, its terribly disheartening that it’s not a one time purchase. Your target audience is confusing because engineers/designers who would have enough money for this should be using solidworks or rhinoceros to create models. This is perfect for students like myself who like to sketch with modeling, but we don’t have money to keep handing out to everyone who has a product to sell. I would pay good money to own this, but not temporarily buy into it. Substantial subscription services are ugly, they always have been and always will be. They make companies who have a good product, look bad because it comes off like they care more about profits than their customers.

5 years ago, BRENNERds.com

5 Star App but 0 Star Monitization

So I think this app is fantastic, exactly what I thought my iPad Pro apps would be. But I just hate the approach of free app that allows you to create but not export your creations? Allow users to export their .obj files at full resolution scale and detail. Nothing worse than paying $30 for a month, then not being able to use the app after. I am sure you could add a single fee ($10ish) to open up to 10 save slots with full export options? I’d add a “Tip the Dev” option and a $5-$15 a month silver level but don’t trap users creations in your app as some hostage we have to pay a $260 fee a year to liberate. So the app is great but it’s the worst concept regarding money. Lastly to put this in a professional designer context, I pay $55 a month for the entire Adobe CC Suite, so for $20 more a month I can create art, websites, animations, sound editing, vector and about 10 beta apps on the same level as this. I’d recommend this if people could at least export their models, keep limitations on color or save spots or other high end adding but it’s not right to allow creation but not give ownership to the creator, if that’s your plan then make this a pay only app up front!

3 years ago, KTGriffug36

Great app even without CAD experience

My original view was about lacking customer service, but it turns out it was my fault: I emailed the wrong address. As for the app itself, there’s a good reason for its expensive price: it’s so intuitive. I had like an hour of experience in CAD before trying this app, and that experience was trying to figure out Blender on my PC. I’m not certain Shapr3D can do the same things as Blender (like, there is no physics built into this one) but everything else it does makes so much sense for someone who has no idea what she is doing. It’s literally point and pull. I’ve been using it to design the renovations for our house and it’s come in such handy. My only complaint is the camera maneuvering. It’s nearly impossible to rotate your project to the left and right. Still have no idea if it’s possible, 8 months later. Whenever I try, it just spins the camera angle and I have to use both fingers to pan, zoom, spin, pan, spin, pan…. Very frustrating. Otherwise, highly recommend.

6 years ago, Captain Digital

Should be called ‘limited trial version’

This is a really well-thought out 3D app for iPad. It makes intelligent use of the Apple Pencil. It’s easy to use, and has a relatively flat learning curve, with a robust help system. Having said that, the Free version is nothing more than a come-on to get you to subscribe to a very expensive paid version. How expensive? Currently, I pay in the vicinity of $50/month for everything that Adobe makes: Photoshop, Illustrator, AfterEffects, Premiere Pro, et all. These guys want $30/month (or $20/month, paid yearly, in advance) for ONE APP. Explain the value proposition to me on that. Preferably without holding a gun to my head. It’s a pity. I don’t need 3D often, but when I do need it, I NEED it. If these guys would offer, say, a metered version that would let you use all the essential features for X# of models per month, I might bite. Or even a purchase price, saving you from the nickel-and-diming you to death of a subscription model. But at $30/month, I’ll have to take my 3D projects elsewhere and bite the bullet to use a product that isn’t quite as easy - but far easier on the pocketbook.

2 years ago, ZAOUYYT

Like many others said, Good app, good concept. But terrible on the price

the app itself is amazing. Don’t get me wrong. Its easy to use and I would say it’s the blender of iPad / IOS. However unlike blender sadly this app does cost quite a bit of money if you want to use this as your main sort of modeling app ( You can only export low quality / watered down files, Limit on how many models you can have, etc ). I’m disappointed by that more than anything since 250$ annually I would probably be better off to learn blender ( free ) for the long run though short term this is sort of a working gimmick. I have to work around other limitations like for example it only exports in stl if you don’t have pro so thats also quite annoying. If its like 250$ one time purchase like others said for pro then this would’ve been a 4 or 5 star easily. Though sadly this is sub-par compared to blender ( mostly price ) other than the fact I loved the simplicity to learn and how easy it is to operate ( probably due to I use iPads more than actual computers ).

2 years ago, Kal Madda

Great Features on the Basic Version!!!

I had my doubts, because I heard many of the features were hid behind the paywall, but after installing this and trying it out, I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of capability available in the free basic version! You are limited to only two projects open at once, but you can save projects, close them, and then reopen them when you need to work with them again, so that’s not as big of a drawback as I thought it would be. Of course, I’m a beginner at 3D CAD software, but this app is very intuitive and has been pretty easy to learn! The app developers have done a great job at making this easy to learn, even though it’s loaded with complex features! I like the initial interactive tutorial that shows you how to use the tools! I’d highly recommend this to anyone who wants to do CAD design on the iPad, and I hope more apps like this come to the iPad! 👍🏻

2 years ago, SigmaScott

Probably the fastest 3d app there is when its working correctly..

Really this app is quite a bit faster than normal cad modeling and is generally a very good start to move the model over to a full cad program if necessary. I have had a few problems with it however in the short time I’ve used it: notably with rectangle drawing and occasionally with line drawing. Starting a rectangle on a line already drawn was on occasion impossible to the point where I had start it off the line and then move the completed rectangle into place on the line. The line problems I was having was somewhat similar: finishing one line (then inputting the length) and then starting a new line from the endpoint of the previous line and again having a hard time doing so. 2 minor complaints: 1. I never should have allowed the app to send notifications regarding the pen’s connection to tablet - it is always putting up a red notification despite the pen working. I have know idea how to get rid of this annoyance and a search online offered no help. 2. The 1st tutorial did not sufficiently explain that zooming in and out on the workspace changed the scale (like 50mm down to 1mm), instead emphasizing that you can change from inches to mm’s etc.. took me a while to realize that I needed to zoom further in. Speaking of the tutorial’s - those are quite good, wish there were more of them. (..though yo can do them over and over to become better at using the app.)

5 years ago, Silver_82

So far, so good,

I was a little skeptic about cad apps, because of some bad experiences with other kind of apps before. But with Shapr3D my point of view changed drastically. As a Mechanical Engineering student, we required a lot of drafting and design tools, and the way you can handle it with this app, and a portable device made my student’s life easy everyday. The tools inside the app are not out of this world, if you have some experience with AutoCad, or SolidWorks, it will be super easy to understand and identify the tools quick. The use of the Apple Pencil it is a super plus on this app. And the the option that you can transfer your files to autocad, solidworks, and other softwares into other computers blown my mind. I will recommend this design app for students and drafters/modeling/design, because it is easy, and fast on how you can do the homework, and job in different places without being sitting for a whole day, or half day in job or school places.

4 years ago, prestigeworldwidewidewide

Shapr makes CAD PAINLESS!

I have been using Shapr to supplement my 3D workflow recently and i cant say enough good things about it! Coming from AutoCAD / SketchUp / Vectorworks, Shapr hands down re-invented the way we should be working in 3D. If you are working on a singular model Shapr kills the rest of the CAD platforms in terms of speed, reliability and functionality. Where Shapr doesn’t do well is when you are trying to model many objects in one single file for example lets say a theatrical production set design. Understandably the iPad has limits and I imagine that as the hardware gets better Shaprs amazing team of Developers will follow in expanding the capabilities of what the software can do. I’m currently using Shapr for jewelry design, and it has improved my time to product by 2x. My simple workflow is Shapr to Adobe Dimension to get a quick render, then off to Rapid prototyping. Our manufacturers love the models they get, with little to no tweaking needed to go to a 3D printer. THANK YOU SHAPR!

3 weeks ago, khayes1

Almost There

This app is an amazing and powerful tool, and I enjoy using it. It would be great to be able to add notes outside of the blueprint, and copy an object (or a group of objects) from one project and paste into another, like Photoshop. Huge timesaver. I had to take away a star because it seems like this new parametric update is really ruining a bunch of my projects. Sometimes it randomly just decides it isn’t going to load it correctly this time and it will completely mess up the objects, or they might not even be there anymore. Awful to lose work that way. And there is no recourse unless you happened to have exported it previously. And when working on an object (already loaded) it has started randomly messing it up in ways it never did before, AND the undo button does not fix the problem at all. It’s an awful thing when you have put so much time into something to have it ruined and have no way to fix it.

4 months ago, Comus57

Not worth it

Shapr3D started out as a very intuitive and easy to use program. But with their stubbornness to integrate Parametric has resulted is a program that gets bloated with sketches you’re unable to delete. If you do, your 3D model is deleted as well. You can only stick with simple 3D modeling, any complex models and it slows down the processors caused my 12.9” M2 iPad to overheat and stop charging until the iPad cooled down. I was working on a design for a 3D printer I was looking to build myself. It included step file models of aluminum extrusions, stepper motors, linear bearings and other items that make a 3D printer. Some of which I had to create from 2d drawings. I was in the middle of the design work when they released Parametrics. Needless to say that it was such a headache that I had to start over from scratch. The new design became so bloated with sketches I couldn’t delete without deleting my work so I decided to leave Shapr3D for Fusion 360. If Shapr3D gives the option to turn off Parametrics I may decide to come return as I really enjoyed being able to pick up my iPad and design. Signed (as I was called out on their forum) One of the Noisy Few.

1 year ago, Stinkefood14

Great app but I think the price for the subscription is waaay too high.

This is a spectacular app. Was trying to design something that I had imagined so that I can put it on my 3-D printer, but I didn’t know which app to use. Eventually, I discovered this app, and I was stunned with how great it was. It has everything that I needed and was looking for, and it was extremely simple to use. I got the hang of it right away. HOWEVER!!! if you want to be able to make it in different colors and be able to save it with good quality, you have to buy a subscription that is way too overpriced! If you get the monthly subscription, it ends up being about $450 a year but if you get the yearly subscription is $200 a year which is way too expensive just so you can use color! If the developers read this, please please please lower the price for the colors! More people would buy it and you would probably end up making more money in the long run.

3 months ago, NeilSenn

Supported Very Well

I’ve been using Shapr for visualization for about four years. The software has always been very good. As time goes on, they continue to release useful, and in some cases, mind blowing updates. Their marketing leans towards industrial production professions but the effort they put into making fine control over minute details an intuitive process lends itself well to a range of entertainment industry applications. I’m a visual information specialist working in a new media department responsible for a range of design and multimedia requirements. I like to create roughs in Nomad, import the models into a Shapr project then rough out entire “sets” I then use for visualization, storyboarding and background underlays. Using precise measurements in pre-vis is quite satisfying to the OCD brain that says measure twice cut once. No, there isn’t animated camera functions to give clients a virtual tour but I find pinch controls are enough to show what is blocked out and why. If you’re a designer, illustrator, or even a social planner of some sort, I think you’ll find how rapidly you can prototype a to-scale representation of a scene, project, layout or background to be quite satisfying. If you’re purely an illustrator, I think you’ll find diving straight into prop design without sketching first yields some really cool results. Amazingly capable software.

3 years ago, Pmex007

Great App, but way too expensive for what you get

Is a great, easy to us app, but still lack of many other functions you can find on a pc base program. I would be all for the use of this app and would put 4 star rating if it wasn’t for it’s extremely expensive price for what you get! $240usd a year and if you want to do 2D technical drawings you have to bump the price to $500usd, that is just insane! $260usd difference just be able to export a few other formats and drawings does not make sense especially for hobbits or students or even the small companies. For that price I radder stay on my PC using Solidworks for $120usd a year with all functionalities for 3D, 2D and even Assemblies and much more! Yea, is cool to use the iPad and handle with the model with a touch screen to make designs and is a step forward on this 3D modeling on tablet, but honestly you need to find another business model that is more affordable for the general user since you don’t offer pro tools. And maybe once you add pro tools like Solidworks of Fusion then create a proper pro price.

4 years ago, Luke@ct

Great program for part design

I am so glad to find this app after recent iPad Pro purchase. I use to work on Solidworks and AutoCAD on my laptop as an entry level. The purpose of mechanical part design for me is to reproduce or modify existing parts on the instruments in my lab that were damaged by students by accident. So the chances for me to load the big program like Solidworks is low especially it makes my computer slow. Eventually I ended up with hand scratching and give it to our machine shop. The Shapr3 ignited my interest to start design using software again. The concept of making parts is so close to Solidworks and the application of Apple Pencil made the process way more intuitively easier than Solidworks. Besides I can now bring my lightweight iPad and explain my design to the machine manager. It makes this job so convenient and exciting. I would also recommend this great tool to my students. Thank Shapr3D!

2 months ago, clamsarehappyathightide

Industry disruptive product

The amount of development and attention to detail, and attention to professional workflow over the last few years since we’ve been using shapr3D is amazing! Meanwhile SolidWorks doesn’t even have a decent IOS file viewer, or seem to care about how people want to work. But with Shapr3D you have a fully mobile powerhouse of 3D design. Sure, it doesn’t do everything (yet), but it doesn’t have to because they focused on the right things for quickly modeling 3D solids on a mobile platform. It works really well in both directions with SolidWorks so it fits right into an environment where SW is already being used on desktop machines. It may not make hobbyists happy that the cost isn’t free or cheap, but it’s cost is an incredibly good value in a professional setting, especially when compared to the cost of SolidWorks.

3 years ago, ZCarpenter3

Awesome

Amazing app! Thank you too the developers who are working on this. It’s already amazing but every time I open the app it seems like it gets better and I didn’t know that it could. All I want to change is the ability to invest in this business. I would invest a hefty sum into this business because it has so much potential. It’s definitely worth the price. Before this I’ve used mostly free 3D modeling software although I have used a few paid ones also but this app is truly a game changer. I’m a carpenter and it does exactly what I need to do. My business is taking off and I can give a lot of the credit to this app. Absolutely incredible. Thank you thank you thank you. When I can Invest in stock in this business please let me know. It’s already making my wallet happy. I know owning stock in this would too. Thank you again developers!

3 months ago, M.A.T.T.

It’s a real tool.

I’ve been dying for a way to do the whole 3d design flow on my iPad and finally found it. After a couple tries and maybe 30 minutes of tutorials, the interface finally clicked for me and I’m humming. It’s remarkable how often the thing you want to do is right in front of you. This is an extremely thoughtful building environment. So far it seems to be really stable and optimized on iPad. I really like it. FWIW, you can ignore complaints about the subscription pricing. This doesn’t cost any more than any other full featured maker software and the desktop application is included. You can try the whole modeling tool set for free for as long as you want. Just limited file count, visualizations and exports. If you’re mad at Adobe, be mad at them instead. Or just look up Affinity and/or Capture One and give it a rest.

1 year ago, Sybellstrange

Great app, but…

This is a pretty powerful program that makes 3d modeling on the go very easy. Like any program there is a learning curve, but it’s very straightforward, even for beginners. The biggest caveat to all this is the features available in free vs premium, coupled with the price of premium. Only 2 save files and only two types of export formats (as well as only low res .stl export) is EXTREMELY limiting. You can’t even export an image without paying for premium. The scope of this app makes upgrading to premium very compelling, but nearly $40mo/$300yr is way out of range for what this program is (as some other reviewers mentioned, the price difference between Shapr3D vs the entire adobe suite is…. Very steep). At the end of the day it’s a great program, but the price just to gain access to some very basic features makes Shapr3D largely inaccessible to anyone who isn’t already an established creator or on a payroll. Small artists and hobbyists are certainly not the target audience for this app.

3 years ago, BooWeatherChannel

A real game changer for my work

There’s been very few apps that have become so critical in my daily work flow as fast as this one. I often have to quickly sketch ideas for mechanical designs on my own and in meetings, and Shapr3D allows doing this as quickly as on a white board, with the benefits of being able to rotate the item for a better concept, and then being able to output dimensioned sketches for our mechanical team to take to manufacturing. Plus the portability of the iPad/Apple pencil format is critical and as big a benefit as the others. Finally, after struggling with multiple 3D design tools and their huge learning curves for years, I was literally producing components with Shapr3D within hours after downloading it. In my world it is a true “killer app” that justifies the cost of an iPad just to run it. 5 stars and two thumbs up!!

6 months ago, aaroncorsi

Great UI, questionable company leadership

I really like the UI of this app and it has made CAD accessible to me. I use it to design 3D printed items that I sell on Etsy as a hobby business and it has been totally worth the subscription which I have paid for four years. However, roughly once a year this company will make a baffling consumer hostile decision that makes me want to jump ship to an alternative. The previous big annoyance was them not allowing the app to be installed on two iPads at once for a single user. Not used at the same time, just switching between two iPads owned by the same person. Now they have released and loudly advertised a cool looking Vision Pro version of their app - but only for enterprise customers. It’s just the regular app with a spatial UI, there’s no reason why it wouldn’t be useful to regular people, but they are only selling it to big companies and not people like me who are paying hundreds of dollars a year for a single license. Why does that not get me all platforms? I would be happy to pay a little more for access to all platforms but their enterprise pricing is for teams of people, not just one guy. I don’t want to buy ten seats just for one feature that was gated from me for no real reason when I am ALREADY paying. This company really needs to treat their customers better. I am happy to pay a high price for good software, but not when I’m constantly getting slapped around by the company I am giving my money to.

4 years ago, Sylvester 2018

Awesome App!

I was introduced to this modeling app by one of my college teachers and it’s great. I found it to be quite easy to pick up but there are some features that I’m still trying to get used to. I highly recommend watching the tutorials offered! One of the most important aspects of my first design was color. In the free version you can only test the color but not fully apply so that was a bummer. I further investigated the free trial that was being offered and I even considered the subscription, but as a college student, that was too much money. On to the point, I found that they offered 1 year of the Pro version for FREE for educators and students. I filled out the form and provided my school ID. I did that last night and I got a confirmation email this morning! The team was super fast in replying! I highly suggest applying for the FREE 1 year if you’re someone who is using this in school!

5 years ago, GFLogic

Amazing

This program is amazing from start to finish. Even the tutorials are great. Worth every penny. Even though it’s easy to start, there is a tiny learning curve—especially if you are new to 3D. The lower ratings come from people complaining about paying a subscription and not about the quality of the product. I get that... but, it does cost a lot to produce an app like this and when there were no subscriptions for apps and programs, the updates every year were about the same cost. Being in business to make money is not greedy, it’s called business. I doubt anyone complaining does their job for free and thinks they should be breaking even when they get their paycheck. These are usually the same people who grumble but still pay nine dollars for a beer at a football game. Ironic they would probably give their team five stars if the won the Super Bowl...

12 months ago, Mark in Illinois

A 3D Modeling Gem, but Can We Get a Hobbyist Discount?

I must say, Shapr3D is like the Swiss army knife of 3D modeling and design software. It's the kind of tool that makes you feel like Tony Stark crafting Iron Man suits in your garage, minus the genius-level intellect (and the iron suits, sadly). But, as much as I'd love to keep using it, there's this little thing called "budget" that keeps tapping me on the shoulder. I get it, Shapr3D needs to make a living too, but for us hobbyist 3D printers and wannabe designers who aren't raking in the big bucks, can we please talk about a price point that won't force us into a weekend gig as a sous-chef for our better halves? I mean, come on, we're not using Shapr3D to build the next Eiffel Tower or design the latest Tesla model (although, that would be cool). We just want to bring our creative visions to life in our little hobbit holes, uh, I mean, hobby shops. We're willing to pay, honestly, but how about a more affordable entry ticket, besides the limited free version? Let's strike a deal here, Shapr3D. Give us a price point that allows us to keep our weekends free for our "real" hobbies (and maybe a TV binge or two). We promise we won't abuse the privilege. Just a little mercy for us non-pros trying to make the world a 3D-printed, slightly wonky, but undeniably creative place. 😄

2 years ago, Thesupermonkey42

The most useful app on the App Store

Shapr 3D is an amazing app. As someone who does CAD modeling for hobby projects after work, I find it very annoying to always have to sit at a desk while designing things. Shapr 3D lets me crank out 3D designs from the comfort of the couch. The interface is beautiful and intuitive, in a way that is only possible with the Apple Pencil. Sure, it’s missing features from full-featured desktop CAD programs, but for designing prototypes or models to 3D print, it’s perfect. It can import and export a large number of file types, which is very useful for sharing your work with others or preparing files for 3D printing. The pricing is the one sticking point. This is probably the most expensive subscription I’ve ever seen for an iOS app. It’s a bit hard to swallow, but if you compare it to the pricing of other CAD programs it seems more reasonable. Plus, it’s not like this is a quick and dirty port or anything. The devs have put a lot of work into tailoring the 3D CAD experience to iPad and it shows. (Note for students and educators: there are free education licenses available on the app’s website!) Overall, Shapr 3D has been a great experience so far. I’ll update this review if I find anything that detracts from the experience as I continue using it.

5 years ago, kylekane

Good for Professional users, difficult price point for most others

I used to use Shapr3D to created quick assets that I brought into ZBrush. While ZBrush can do it, it was at the time, faster in Shapr3D and fun to use. I had a subscription but cancelled it because I couldn’t justify the extra cost at the time. I just came back to Shapr3D only to find that the subscription has gone up even more, by almost $100 a year. It was $150 when I subscribed. It’s $240 now. Luckily I am an educator and will switch to an education license I hope if possible. For a professional engineer or product designer, I think it’s probably an acceptable price considering other cad options. It really is an amazing piece of software. If there was a subscription model with just obj export, I could easily see jumping back on if the cost was around $100 to $150.

4 years ago, M1N3CR4FT1001

Service that exceeds expectation

I am a bit late making this review but I have plenty of good to say about the app and support team. First of all, the team of people behind this app are quite amazing and supportive. Despite being a college student who isn’t currently majoring in engineering, they granted me the student service. You guys are awesome, special thanks to Victor, you’re the man! I’ve been spending so long coming up with ideas for what to make with this software, so far I’ve just been playing with shapes and angles and getting my feet wet. So far, so good, no complaints. This is a great introductory software to the realm of engineering and 3D modeling (I’m sure it serves those who are advanced as well). Complaints? None. The software runs smoothly and effectively on my iPad pro 2 and I recommend it to all beginners that are able to use it on their devices. Two thumbs up 👍👍

5 years ago, Jmj chaos

Fantastic product & student rates for pro!

I love this application and all that it does. I approached with caution but since it had a free version i figured i would try it out. Once i was in and playing around for a bit i realized i really liked it and went to check pricing (btw you can do a LOT with the free version). Pricing for the software with the wide range of projects possible seemed completely fair. However they even offer a full year free simply by proving you are a student. That’s what i did and it took me longer to log into my portal than to submit the request for the year subscription. Victor was very nice in the approval email and they are very up front about ended a trial period if you started one. Already trying to prevent billing issues after giving me a year! Thank you for the service and product devs, this app is amazing.

1 week ago, Anon grumps

Partially great

Please add the ability to lock folders and turn their contents into outline/wireframes to be used as snappable but not modifiable guides. It’s a basic but critical feature that’s missing. Not as flashy or cute as the other features that have been added like AR and plan drawings but far more important and useful to users. Also the workflow is getting corrupted, from elegant to hacking in new features. It needs cleanup again, creating inconsistent workflow. For instance you’re told you can select regions, but all you get is sketches now sometimes with a line, sometimes with a circle. Make things explicit. Always have the last “sketch” tool you used be the active sketch tool for sketches till you pick another for instance. The automatic jumping between modes, translate, sketch etc needs to be rethought out now you have more tools and workflows. Right now it makes things feel finicky. Why can you only manipulate one measurement on a newly created object and keep that? If you’re modifying e.g. a rectangle’s side lengths then you shouldn’t make the other measurement disappear. Right now this tool is still useable, but it’s fiddly and feels untrustworthy. Like I’m making four times as many clicks as necessary because I’m always having to undo and redo to overcome it trying to be helpful but getting it wrong, to just get things to work right or be precise.

4 years ago, Mötohack

Wow

As a retired engineer, I’ve had to gain proficiency in a wide range of design tools. My first professional tools were pencils and an electric eraser. Then came command line interfaced computer programs with output to a large format plotter. If you didn’t stay current, you got rusty on syntax and variable formats. In 2010, I had to master SolidWorks. It took a while, but I did appreciate the user interface even though the numerical tedium was still extant behind the graphical curtain. I’ve sampled a few cloud-based parametric solid modelers and none inspired me to gain mastery. Tumblr is by far the most intuitive and capable offering to date. I read the introduction on fingers and pen and was off to the races. Finally, the promise of contextually aware AI deriving most likely design intent is here. This program knows my next moves and I will use it exclusively from now on.

6 years ago, M7471188

Better get it right the first time

This app is not a viable 3D modeling solution. There is no means to go back in the history of operations and edit your drawing. Recently, I just found out that the rudimentary forward and back arrows give up after a difficult operation. Some fillets generated improperly in my drawing now I am left with a broken model. Shapr3D has given up after that operation and now I can’t go back and fix it. I understand the concept of being able to just sketch and the app figures out what you want but it’s too clunky. Often times the app chooses the wrong plane, wrong sketch, wrong operation etc. There needs to be a way to manually select the operation I want. The view is also limiting because if I want to perform an operation on the inside of a hollow body the only way I can get to that view to see what I’m doing is to cut a hole in the side of what I am working on and try to fix it later. I would love to be able to do CAD work on my iPad but it looks like I’m going back to my Mac. For the price this app is seriously lacking functionality.

3 years ago, xAtKxWondrBread

Great but…

This application fundamentally is making it so much easier to use CAD and I do see constant development, however for certain applications at the time of this review are not available that I wish were. Such as linking parts together with joints so I can see how moving parts work with each other. Like moving gears, car suspension, etc. For my work at least if it were possible in the future to add some kind of fluid dynamics software or even create a separate app to prevent crashes that would be awesome. Also would be great to allow sketches to be made in a 3 dimensional plane and extrusion to be able to be manipulated by multiple points to create specific curves. The App is fantastic and easy and is still in the process of being made better and I love that. Please don’t stop and keep moving forward with development.

6 years ago, Parta1960

By far the easiest mechanical design CAD to learn and use for non-experts.

At 10% of cost of the next lowest professional CAD I found this tool to be most intuitive and easiest to learn and use. Their on-demand tutorials is next to none. I don’t use design CAD tools often enough and forget how to use certain functions. This is where this tool shines where an animated demonstration magically shows how that function works and in 30 seconds I am up and running again. I like to call this “lean learning”. No videos of some expert telling a long story. All other CAD tools require digging in through hrs of video and google search listening to experts hoping they eventually answer your questions and taking so long you may decide it is too hard and time consuming. My hats off to the designer. By: Occasional User

5 years ago, Moriturimax

Be very careful subscribing, you may get screwed out of your money

UPDATE: As for the developer telling me I have to get my refund through Apple, I tried the day after I got the notice that I had been charged for a year instead of a month, and Apple refused the refund. So yeah, that didn’t work and the developer kept my money. They also demanded I jump through hoops to prove I “deserved” a refund. I just finally gave up. I accidentally went with the year subscription just by downloading the app, didn’t notice the default was the 260$ yearly subscription. Then after trying for a refund from apple they told me I wasn’t eligible for a refund, a day after I got the receipt. Shapr wasn’t much help, they just said try the different refund options, none of which worked, and There doesn’t seem to be any avenue that gets a reaponse from Apple. Now I’m trying to get my money back from Visa and they’re wanting me to jump through hoops to prove that I ‘deserve’ my money back. Why shapr can’t just give me my money back is beyond me. And I was even nice enough to switch over to the monthly subscri-tion. At this point, if they think ithey’re getting more money out of me than they have, EVER, they have another thing coming. I would say, if you want to try them, be very very very careful about going more than the monthly subscription. Maybe they’ll change my mind, in which case I really like the software, just their subscription refund handling is totally lacking.

3 years ago, ThisGameSucksButIStillGaveYou

Storage

I do not like that we can only have 2 projects, without having an expensive subscription. I do know that is what keeps the app running, but there should be like a thing if you want another project you have to watch an ad. I love the 3d modeling software, and that has a 5 star for that. 2 features I wish are free are: being able to export and import stuff as an OBJ, and be able to add more projects. It is extremely frustrating to net be able to import and export my stuff. Features I would like added (PLEASE FREE WITH ADS PLEASE PLEASE) are: surface editing (idk what it's called) but the thing when you can import an image and have it folded to your model, and be able to edit the faces and stuff, image import, when you can use a reference image, and (free for this part) curves for editing and converting to mesh or curves. Also, your subscription is the price of a small iPad.

11 months ago, jeffl123456

Great app but too broke to afford the subscription

Just bought a 3D printer and am a complete beginner at modeling. Still researching for the right modeling program for a hobbyist. This app (at least from going through the tutorials) seems to make it look so easy especially with an Apple Pencil. Probably the ideal app for my use case. I wish I could use it but given the extreme limitations of the free version, I’ll have to stick with the free hobbyist version of Fusion 360 for now. Sigh, I know. :( Maybe if there is ever a pricing option in the future for a hobbyist, I’d be happy to come back. Would be glad to pay $10/month for this. Otherwise, great app though for folks who can afford it. Still giving this 5 stars since the app is awesome aside from pricing!

7 years ago, Jamespinckney

Bad Update

I just started with this app. I loved the usability of this app. I did not like the cost to upgrade and the fact that exporting under my free version resulted in files that were unusable with my slicer for my 3D printer. Aside from that, the application was great until the update yesterday. The features in the update seem like great ideas, but they just don’t work. The Move function which was formerly Freeform, is not selecting entire objects most of the time and also is not allowing for vertical movement on many objects. It seems like it is just super buggy, but if this is actually some form of changed/added functionality, it makes the program rather unusable. I hope an update is released soon to fix the usability or else I will likely find another application.

Description

Make your design flow with Shapr3D. Go from sketching to production-ready 3D models and realistic previews within the same seamless workflow. Your design, just like you imagined Create accurate models true to your concept. With the combination of direct modeling and an award-winning, adaptive UI, you’ll quickly get from ideas to tangible results. Sketch to model, ready in hours Pick up the basics in minutes. From sketching to 3D modeling, Visualization to manufacturable 2D drawings - learn the entire Shapr3D workflow in hours. Your CAD goes where you go Design when and where you choose with the only truly mobile-first CAD app: model on your commute, in the workshop, or at your desktop station. With the availability of Shapr3D Sync powered by Shapr3D Cloud allowing for effortless import/export options and multiplatform use, Shapr3D fits perfectly into your existing workflow. Technical details that power your process Shapr3D’s tech stack and software combine the industrial power of traditional CAD tools and a user-friendly experience. Shapr3D users get: • Siemens™ geometric Parasolid® modeling kernel and D-Cubed™ sketch engine • Export support for X_T, STEP, STL, OBJ, 2D DXF, 2D DWG, IGES, 3MF, SVG • Import support for SLDPRT, STL, STEP, IGES, X_T, 2D DWG, 2D DXF, JPG, PNG • A modeling experience designed for pencil, and mouse and keyboard Get in touch Have a question? Contact us at [email protected] or visit our forum: https://discourse.shapr3d.com For support queries, please submit a request here: https://support.shapr3d.com/hc/en-us/requests/new Terms of Use: https://www.shapr3d.com/terms-of-use Privacy Policy: https://www.shapr3d.com/privacy-policy