Comparison

3D Print Designer CAD vs Shapely 3D

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

3D Print Designer CAD

Create, edit, and prepare 3D models for printing with this intuitive CAD application. Design from basic shapes, import existing files, and export in common formats. Connect directly to 3D printing services to bring your ideas to life.

Highlights
  • Create models from basic shapes
  • Import and edit existing 3D files
  • Combine, scale, and customize objects
  • Export in STL and OBJ formats
  • Direct link to 3D printing services
  • Built-in structural parts and materials
Features
Read full description

3D Print Designer – Create & Print Your Ideas Turn your ideas into real 3D objects. With 3D Print Designer, you can easily create, edit, and prepare models for 3D printing – all in one powerful CAD app. Design for 3D Printing – Simple & Powerful Create precise 3D models using an intuitive interface designed for beginners and advanced users alike. - Create models from basic shapes (cube, sphere, cylinder & more) - Import existing 3D files and continue editing - Combine, scale, rotate, and customize objects - Use real-world measurements for accurate results Ready for Real Production Prepare your designs directly for manufacturing. - Export your models in common 3D formats (e.g. STL, OBJ) - Assign materials and optimize your design - Take screenshots and previews of your models Built-In Components & Materials Speed up your workflow with ready-to-use elements. - Structural parts like wooden beams, steel components, and more - Reusable building elements for faster design - Material assignment for realistic visualization From Design to Physical Object Bring your models to life. - Direct link to 3D printing services via Treatstock - Upload your design and order a real 3D print - Perfect for prototypes, DIY projects, and custom parts Who is this app for? - Makers & DIY enthusiasts - Engineers & designers - Students & hobbyists - Anyone who wants to create and print 3D objects Why 3D Print Designer? - Easy to learn, powerful to use - Designed specifically for 3D printing workflows - All-in-one solution: design → export → print Start designing today and turn your ideas into real objects. Subscription (optional): Unlock advanced features and additional components with a subscription. This app contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you order services through external partners at no additional cost to you. Terms of Use (EULA) https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Shapely 3D

Create and sculpt 3D models directly on your iPad. Build scenes from primitives, refine them with intuitive tools, and export your creations for printing or digital use. Unlock advanced features with a Pro upgrade.

Highlights
  • Sketch and sculpt 3D models
  • Build scenes from primitives
  • On-screen gizmo for manipulation
  • Configurable grid and measurement tools
  • Export USDZ for AR and Quick Look
  • Advanced Pro features (CSG, STL export, smoothing)
Features
Read full description

Shapely 3D is a fast, native 3D modeling app built for iPad — sketch, sculpt, and export real 3D models with just your finger or Apple Pencil. Build scenes from simple primitives, then move, rotate, and scale them with an on-screen gizmo. Snap to a configurable grid, measure distances as you work, and use the orientation cube to jump straight to any view. Shapely 3D saves your work as a native document you can open again anytime, right where you left off. Before you print, tap View in Room to see the model on your desk at its actual size, through the camera, or export a USDZ for Quick Look and any USD tool. Apple Pencil Pro's squeeze switches sketch modes mid-drawing and hover shows where the next shape will land. Every project is in Spotlight, Siri and Shortcuts. Shapely 3D Pro unlocks: • CSG boolean operations — union, subtract, and intersect shapes to build more complex forms • STL export — send your models straight to a 3D printer or another CAD tool • Sketch & Extrude — draw a 2D profile and pull it into a solid • Smoothing — round any object with adjustable, non-destructive subdivision • Cut tool — slice objects apart along a face or a drawn line • Edit Faces — move, extrude, and reshape the individual faces of any object, and give any face a color of its own • Repair — find the holes, stray faces, and inside-out faces a slicer would trip on, see them in red, and fix them before you export Whether you're prototyping a part, teaching geometry, or just enjoy building things in 3D, Shapely 3D keeps the fundamentals simple and gets out of your way.

Screenshots

3D Print Designer CAD4 screens
Shapely 3D4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: 3D Print Designer CAD at 4.5 against Shapely 3D's 2.0. 3D Print Designer CAD also leads on ratings volume (18 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.0). Shapely 3D's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 75%). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. 3D Print Designer CAD sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Shapely 3D sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

3D Print Designer CAD holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 2.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: 3D Print Designer CAD has 18 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 75% of 3D Print Designer CAD's written reviews are positive against 100% of Shapely 3D's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
3D Print Designer CAD versus Shapely 3D: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameter3D Print Designer CADShapely 3D
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (18 ratings) — better2.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews75.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings18 — better1
Update frequency—Every 11 days
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS15.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size468 MB20 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSebastian KemperFabrizio Brancati

Customer experience

3D Print Designer CAD

All ratings18 ratings
Positive94.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative5.6%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%

Shapely 3D

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

3D Print Designer CAD

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Version 3D Print Designer$4.991 Month
  • Pro Version 3D Print Designer$29.991 Year
1 purchases

Shapely 3D

One-time1
  • Shapely 3D Pro$4.99

Questions

Is 3D Print Designer CAD free?
3D Print Designer CAD is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Shapely 3D free?
Shapely 3D is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, 3D Print Designer CAD or Shapely 3D?
3D Print Designer CAD is rated higher. 3D Print Designer CAD averages 4.5 out of 5 from 18 ratings, while Shapely 3D averages 2.0 from 1 ratings.
Do 3D Print Designer CAD or Shapely 3D have ads?
Both 3D Print Designer CAD and Shapely 3D show ads.

Other comparisons