eDrawings vs STEP Viewer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
eDrawings
View native CAD files, including SolidWorks, DWG, and DXF, on your mobile device. Utilize augmented reality to visualize 3D models in real-world settings. Easily share designs via email for enhanced collaboration.
- View native CAD files (SolidWorks, DWG, DXF)
- Augmented Reality (AR) for 3D model visualization
- Email-enabled file sharing for collaboration
- Multi-touch gestures for navigation
- Support for configurations, drawing sheets, and exploded views
- Open files from various sources (email, cloud, web)
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eDrawings® is the only CAD viewer on iPad, iPad mini, iPhone and iPod Touch that allows you to view native eDrawings files as well as native SolidWorks® parts, assemblies and drawings files. In addition, eDrawings allows convenient viewing of DWG and DXF files. eDrawings includes Augmented Reality (AR). This allows you to view your 3D models in 1:1 scale into the real world. By simply activating the device’s camera, you can bring your virtual 3D designs in a real context and see them in situ, sitting on your desk or on your conference room table or even in the palm of your hand, through your iPad, Pad mini, iPhone or iPod Touch’s screen. Move around the room and see your design from any perspective. eDrawings is the email-enabled communication tool that dramatically eases sharing of product design information. You can load and send files via email to collaborate more effectively with everyone involved in product development, including people who are not regular CAD software users to interpret and understand 2D and 3D designs. Multi-touch gestures let you pan, zoom, and rotate models easily. eDrawings also supports configurations, drawing sheets, and exploded views for eDrawings files published from SolidWorks® and all other supported CAD software. Features: * Intuitive and easy-to-use user interface * Visualize your 3D models in real context with Augmented Reality (AR) * Open 3D (EASM, EPRT, SLDASM, SLDPRT, IGES, IGS, JT, STEP, STP, IFC), 2D (EDRW, SLDDRW, DWG, DXF) and associated files from any source: email attachments, cloud storage services (Dropbox™, SkyDrive®, Google Drive, YouSendIt®, and others), web and FTP sites, networks, and iTunes® File Sharing. * Zoom, pan and rotate your 2D or 3D CAD data using multi-touch * Animate 3D standard views as well as 2D drawing views. * Browse your assembly components tree, configurations and drawing sheets * View your designs in full screen and double tap to fit it on screen * Adapt the scale of your 3D model in AR mode * Freeze the background in AR mode with viewpoint lock to prolong AR experience without holding up your device. * Sample files included For more information, visit: http://www.edrawingsviewer.com
STEP Viewer
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STEP Viewer opens STEP (.step, .stp) CAD files in 3D on your phone. No desktop CAD software needed. Everything is free. There are no in-app purchases. Credits only skip the ad; without credits you can still open every file after watching a short ad. Key features * Open .step and .stp files straight from your file manager - just tap the file * Measure your model: a bounding box with all three side lengths, in mm or m * Six fixed views (front, right, back, left, top, bottom), plus pinch to zoom, pan and rotate * Save the converted model as GLB whenever you need it * Large files show the estimated time and memory before conversion starts, and progress while it runs * If a file cannot be opened, the app tells you why instead of failing silently * Available in 12 languages, following your device settings Supported formats * Input: .stp, .step (STEP AP203, AP214) * Output: .glb (glTF Binary) How to use 1. Tap a .step file in your file manager, or open the app and tap the folder icon 2. Wait for the conversion - large files show progress and an estimate 3. Drag to rotate, pinch to zoom, tap the view button to switch sides License This app uses Open CASCADE Technology (LGPL-2.1). https://www.opencascade.com For questions or bug reports, please contact us by email.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: STEP Viewer at Free against eDrawings's $1.99. STEP Viewer also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 3 months) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.0). eDrawings's advantage is chart position (#35 vs unranked). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
STEP Viewer is free to download; eDrawings costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
eDrawings ships an update every 3 months, STEP Viewer every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | eDrawings | STEP Viewer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 2.5 (17 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 32.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 17 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Best chart rank | #35 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 185 MB | 61 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Dassault Systemes SolidWorks Corporation | Smart Cube Labs Co., Ltd. |
Bugs and requests
eDrawings
Reported bugs
4 issues- Crashes on startup
- Crashes when opening large files
- Incompatibility with iOS 14 and newer devices
- Inability to open personal files
Requested features
6 requests- Measuring tool
- Sectioning tool
- Ability to hide/show parts
- Support for more file formats
- Cloud storage integration
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- Annotation and markup tools
STEP Viewer
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
eDrawings
No in-app purchases
STEP Viewer
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is eDrawings free?
Is STEP Viewer free?
Do eDrawings or STEP Viewer have ads?
Which is updated more often, eDrawings or STEP Viewer?
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