CAD · head to head
Modo vs Zoo
Zoo
CAD
Cloud CAD with a scripting language and a geometry engine exposed as an API
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Zoo has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Modo foundry announced on November 7, 2024 that it is winding down development of Modo after the Modo 17.1 release, with no further feature or maintenance releases anticipated; Zoo the geometry engine runs entirely in Zoo's cloud and there is no offline mode, so an aircraft, a customer site with no guest wifi or an outage stops modelling work completely.
- They diverge on capability: Modo covers Polygon modeling, Zoo covers KCL scripting.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Modo and Zoo actually diverge.
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (CAD).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Modo
- Polygon modeling
- Subdivision surfaces
- Sculpting
- UV tools
- Procedural modeling
- Rendering
- Animation
- MeshFusion
Only in Zoo
- KCL scripting
- Design Studio
- Design API
- Zookeeper agent
- Format conversion
- Open source client
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Modo
- Polygon and subdivision surface modelling for media and entertainment assetsnot Zoo
- Look development and rendering of product and character modelsnot Zoo
Zoo
- A hardware startup that wants part models reviewed in pull requests alongside firmwarenot Modo
- A software team generating thousands of parametric part variants programmatically rather than by handnot Modo
- A SaaS product that needs to render and convert customer CAD files without licensing a geometry kernelnot Modo
- An engineer who models occasional brackets and enclosures and does not want a four figure annual seatnot Modo
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Modo
- Foundry announced on November 7, 2024 that it is winding down development of Modo after the Modo 17.1 release, with no further feature or maintenance releases anticipated
- Support continues only until each customer's current contract term expires
- Foundry does not guarantee that Modo will keep working on future operating system updates because no patches will be issued, and recommends customers migrate to alternative 3D workflows
- Perpetual licences keep working but receive no further updates, bug fixes or support
- The Modo forums closed in December 2024 and downloads, docs and the support knowledgebase were committed only until November 2025
Zoo
- The geometry engine runs entirely in Zoo's cloud and there is no offline mode, so an aircraft, a customer site with no guest wifi or an outage stops modelling work completely.
- STEP and SLDPRT import are still labelled experimental, which means the most common way of receiving a supplier or customer model is the least reliable path into the tool.
- Drawing production, GD&T and tolerance annotation are far behind SolidWorks, Creo and NX, so most users still need a second package to release a manufacturing drawing.
- Zookeeper is billed in reasoning minutes rather than per seat, so a team cannot forecast next month's bill from headcount the way it can with conventional CAD subscriptions.
- The open source label applies only to the Design Studio client; the kernel that does the modelling is closed and hosted, so forking the repository does not give you a product you can run yourself.
Pricing, plan by plan
Modo
$29/month- Indie$599/month
- Full Modo
- Revenue limit $100K
- Modo$1898/month
- Full commercial license
Zoo
Free- FreeFree
- Design Studio access
- About 20 minutes of Zookeeper reasoning per month
- Around $10 of API calls included
- Plus$20/month
- Roughly 400 Zookeeper minutes per month
- Pay as you go beyond the allowance
- Design Studio and API access
- Pro$99/month
- Unlimited Zookeeper reasoning
- Higher API allowance
- Priority support
Which should you pick?
Choose Modo if
- You need polygon modeling.
- You work on Windows, MacOS, Linux.
- You also want subdivision surfaces.
Choose Zoo if
- You need kcl scripting.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, API.
- You also want design studio.
Questions people ask
- Is Modo or Zoo better?
- Neither clearly leads. Modo starts at $29/month and Zoo at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Modo or Zoo?
- Zoo has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $29/month for Modo and Free for Zoo.
- Does Modo or Zoo run on more platforms?
- Modo runs on Windows, MacOS, Linux. Zoo runs on Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, API.
- Can I use Zoo for free?
- Yes. Zoo has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Modo starts at $29/month.
- What is Modo best used for?
- Modo is most often used for polygon and subdivision surface modelling for media and entertainment assets, look development and rendering of product and character models. Of those, polygon and subdivision surface modelling for media and entertainment assets and look development and rendering of product and character models are not what Zoo is typically brought in for.
- What can Modo do that Zoo cannot?
- Modo covers Polygon modeling, Subdivision surfaces, Sculpting, UV tools. Zoo covers KCL scripting, Design Studio, Design API, Zookeeper agent.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Zoo: Is Zoo the same company as KittyCAD?
Yes. KittyCAD renamed itself Zoo; the GitHub organisation is still KittyCAD and the scripting language KCL keeps the old initials.
Zoo: Can I use Zoo without an internet connection?
No. The geometry engine is a cloud service, so Design Studio needs a live connection to model anything.
Zoo: Is Design Studio free?
There is a genuine free tier with a small monthly allowance of AI reasoning and API calls. Paid plans start at $20 per month.
Zoo: Can I replace SolidWorks with Zoo?
Not for drawing release, large assemblies or GD&T. Teams typically use Zoo for programmatic part generation and keep an established package for production documentation.
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