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Manufacturing · head to head

SolidWorks vs Zoo

SolidWorks logo

SolidWorks

Manufacturing

Parametric desktop 3D CAD from Dassault Systemes, now sold as named-user subscription on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform

From
$2820/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Zoo logo

Zoo

CAD

Cloud CAD with a scripting language and a geometry engine exposed as an API

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Zoo has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: SolidWorks the desktop application is Windows only, so Mac and Linux users need a virtual machine, a Windows workstation or the separate cloud xDesign product at 2,580 USD a year.; 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: SolidWorks covers 3D solid modeling, Zoo covers KCL scripting.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which SolidWorks and Zoo actually diverge.

Attributes where SolidWorks and Zoo differ
AttributeSolidWorksZoo
Starting price$2820/yearFree
Pricing modelPer user per yearPer user per month
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWindowsWeb, Windows, macOS, Linux, API
CategoryManufacturingCAD
Founded1993Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

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 SolidWorks

  • 3D solid modeling
  • Assembly design
  • Technical drawings
  • Simulation
  • Rendering
  • PDM systems
  • ERP systems
  • CAM software

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.

SolidWorks

  • Product designnot Zoo
  • Engineering analysisnot Zoo
  • Manufacturing documentationnot Zoo
  • Prototypingnot Zoo
  • Quality controlnot Zoo

Zoo

  • A hardware startup that wants part models reviewed in pull requests alongside firmwarenot SolidWorks
  • A software team generating thousands of parametric part variants programmatically rather than by handnot SolidWorks
  • A SaaS product that needs to render and convert customer CAD files without licensing a geometry kernelnot SolidWorks
  • An engineer who models occasional brackets and enclosures and does not want a four figure annual seatnot SolidWorks

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

SolidWorks

  • The desktop application is Windows only, so Mac and Linux users need a virtual machine, a Windows workstation or the separate cloud xDesign product at 2,580 USD a year.
  • Perpetual licences are no longer sold through the vendor online store and come only through resellers, and a perpetual licence still needs a paid annual service contract to get upgrades and support, so buying once and paying nothing again is not really on offer.
  • Named-user subscription is per person rather than floating, so an organisation where several engineers each use CAD occasionally pays full seats for part-time use unless it negotiates otherwise.
  • History-based parametric modelling breaks noisily: a change high in the feature tree can cascade rebuild errors through an assembly, which is a real productivity cost compared with direct modelling tools.
  • Large assemblies stress single-threaded desktop performance, and teams routinely resort to configurations, simplified representations and expensive workstations rather than the software scaling on its own.
  • The Maker licence watermarks its files so they can only be opened on other Maker licences, which means hobby work cannot be carried into a commercial seat later without exporting to neutral formats and losing the feature history.

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

SolidWorks

$2820/year
  • 3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS Standard$2820/year
    • 235 USD per month billed annually, or 846 USD per quarter
    • Per named user, excluding local tax
    • Part and assembly modelling and 2D drawings
  • 3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS Professional$3456/year
    • 288 USD per month billed annually, or 1,038 USD per quarter
    • Everything in Standard
    • Intelligent CAD libraries of standard fasteners
  • 3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS Premium$4716/year
    • 393 USD per month billed annually, or 1,416 USD per quarter
    • Everything in Professional
    • Linear static analysis for parts and assemblies
  • SOLIDWORKS xDesign$2580/year
    • 810 USD per quarter
    • Browser-based cloud modelling, no local install
    • Runs on Mac, Chromebook and tablets as well as Windows

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 SolidWorks if

  • You need 3d solid modeling.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want assembly design.
SolidWorks review

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.
Zoo review

Questions people ask

Is SolidWorks or Zoo better?
Neither clearly leads. SolidWorks starts at $2820/year and Zoo at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, SolidWorks or Zoo?
Zoo has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $2820/year for SolidWorks and Free for Zoo.
Does SolidWorks or Zoo run on more platforms?
SolidWorks runs on Windows. 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. SolidWorks starts at $2820/year.
What is SolidWorks best used for?
SolidWorks is most often used for product design, engineering analysis, manufacturing documentation, prototyping. Of those, product design and engineering analysis are not what Zoo is typically brought in for.
What can SolidWorks do that Zoo cannot?
SolidWorks covers 3D solid modeling, Assembly design, Technical drawings, Simulation. Zoo covers KCL scripting, Design Studio, Design API, Zookeeper agent.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

SolidWorks: Can you still buy a SOLIDWORKS perpetual licence?

Not from the vendor online store, which sells only term subscriptions. Perpetual licences remain available through resellers, but they still require a paid annual subscription service contract for upgrades and support.

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.

SolidWorks: How much does SOLIDWORKS cost per year?

The 3DS store lists Standard at 2,820 USD, Professional at 3,456 USD and Premium at 4,716 USD per named user per year, excluding local tax. Quarterly terms are 846, 1,038 and 1,416 USD.

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.

SolidWorks: What is the difference between desktop SOLIDWORKS and the 3DEXPERIENCE cloud tiers?

The desktop application still does the modelling and installs locally on Windows. The 3DEXPERIENCE platform adds cloud storage, versioning, mark-up and shared review around it. SOLIDWORKS xDesign is the separate browser-native modeller at 2,580 USD a year, and it runs on Mac and Chromebook.

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.

SolidWorks: Is there a cheap version for hobbyists?

Yes. 3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS for Makers is 48 USD a year or 15 USD a month, limited to personal use with project sales under 2,000 USD a year, and its files are watermarked for Maker licences only.

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.

SolidWorks: Does SOLIDWORKS run on a Mac?

Not natively. Use the browser-based xDesign, or run the desktop application in a Windows virtual machine.

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