OpenShape3D vs STL Workshop
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side ā with what reviewers say about each.
OpenShape3D
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openshape3d is a direct-modeling CAD app built for touch. Sketch a profile, pull it into a solid, and keep cutting, blending and patterning until the part is done ā no desktop, no subscription server, no file conversion dance. Geometry is computed by OpenCASCADE, the same open-source B-rep kernel used in professional CAD. Extrudes, primitives and booleans produce exact analytic surfaces, so a cylinder stays a true cylinder instead of a faceted approximation. SKETCHING ⢠Sketch on a world plane, on any flat body face, or on an offset construction plane pulled off a face ⢠Line, rectangle, circle, arc, ellipse, polygon and text-as-outline tools ⢠Endpoint, midpoint, centre, vertex and grid snapping ā draw with Apple Pencil ⢠Trim, move/rotate gizmo, construction geometry, and reusable symbols ⢠A full 2D constraint solver: coincident, parallel, perpendicular, tangent, equal, concentric, symmetric and more ⢠Driving dimensions with inline arithmetic (type 25.4/2) pull geometry to value ⢠The sketch tells you where it stands ā fully defined, or how many degrees of freedom remain SOLIDS ⢠Extrude a profile, or push and pull a face directly with automatic booleans: pull to add material, push to cut ⢠Revolve, sweep along a chained path, loft through sections, and helix ⢠Fillet and chamfer edges with live preview and drag-to-size ⢠Shell a body hollow, with optional open faces ⢠Union, subtract and intersect between bodies, computed off the main thread ⢠Split a body with a plane or a sketch profile ⢠Linear and circular patterns with ghost previews ⢠Move, scale, rotate, mirror, translate point-to-point and align VIEWING ⢠Orientation cube, six standard views, isometric and orthographic toggle ⢠One finger orbits, two pan, pinch zooms ā the camera never locks up ⢠Section view that clips live against a plane, with a drag arrow and flip ⢠Shaded, shaded without edges, wireframe with proper hidden-line removal, and X-ray ⢠Marquee select with window/crossing semantics, and Select Through to reach a body buried behind others ⢠Isolate to hide everything but the selection MATERIALS AND REFERENCE ⢠Material presets ā steel, aluminium, brass, plastics, rubber, wood ā plus custom colour with metallic and roughness ⢠Drop PNG or JPEG reference images onto any plane and trace over them MEASURE ⢠Face area, body volume and bounding box on selection ⢠Two-point distance with X, Y and Z deltas over snap points IMPORT AND EXPORT ⢠Import STL and DXF ⢠Export STL, OBJ, 3MF, GLB, USDZ and sketch DXF ⢠Preview your model in AR with Quick Look
STL Workshop
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STL Workshop is a 3D model viewer and editor built for 3D printing. IMPORT ⢠STL (binary, ASCII, colors), OBJ, PLY, 3MF, USDZ ⢠From Files, Mail, AirDrop ā open any model in seconds VIEW ⢠7 render modes: shaded, edges, wireframe, x-ray, normals, overhangs, wall thickness ⢠Interactive section cut, layer preview, exploded view ⢠Studio and HDR lighting, realistic materials ANALYZE ⢠Full diagnostics: watertightness, manifold topology, normals, shells ⢠Dimensions, volume, surface, weight and cost by material and infill ⢠Estimated print time, bed stability, center of gravity ⢠Precise measurements: distance, angle, diameter PREPARE ⢠Automatic repair: filled holes, fixed normals, removed debris ⢠Auto-orientation minimizing overhangs on import ⢠Scale, rotate, mirror, lay flat, automatic base ⢠Hollowing with drain holes (resin), drilling and booleans, embossed or engraved 3D text ⢠Grid duplication, predefined printer beds EXPORT ⢠STL, OBJ, USDZ and augmented reality (AR Quick Look) ⢠HD transparent captures, 360° GIF ⢠Direct upload to OctoPrint or WebDAV servers ⢠Siri Shortcuts: convert to USDZ, repair an STL Units in millimeters. No ads, no data collection.
Screenshots
Verdict
OpenShape3D and STL Workshop are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters ā price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them ā neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.
Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
| Parameter | OpenShape3D | STL Workshop |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | ā |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 16.0 ā better |
| Further details ā not scored | ||
| Size | 35 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Laan Labs | Dentagram |
In-app purchases
OpenShape3D
No in-app purchases
STL Workshop
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is OpenShape3D free?
Is STL Workshop free?
Do OpenShape3D or STL Workshop have ads?
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