Best (cheap/free) Homeshop CAD Program?

[Richard Dooling]

Hi Tim,
Do you think Fusion 360 will remain free for hobbyists? SketchUp has been awkward for me coming out of 3D Studio Max but I'd hate to put in the time if Fusion 360 goes to a pay version.

[Tim M Tuttle]

Hi Tim,
Do you think Fusion 360 will remain free for hobbyists? SketchUp has been awkward for me coming out of 3D Studio Max but I'd hate to put in the time if Fusion 360 goes to a pay version.

. I sure hope so. I think Autodesk hit a homerun with their approach for licensing Fusion 360. it's been out a while and they havent changed so hoping they stick to it. Or at least make it a monthly subscription so it's a little easier to swallow. I really like Adobe's subscription setup. It allows people to start professional services for this kind of stuff without a massive investment. I, for example, started filming my projects for YouTube, made a website and want to sell plans. Back in the day I would have to buy Photoshop ($600), Premiere Pro ($1200), After Effects ($600), SketchUp/Autocad ($700-3000), and MS Office ($350 ish?). That's a lot of money. With subscriptions I can go all in for about $100 a month and don't have to worry about upgrades.

There is no way in hell I am going to spend $700 on SketchUp so I am going all in on Fusion and, honestly, I think Fusion is a better program.