Open Madosuite
Early development

CAD, a free 2D CAD and drafting app in your browser

Draft in 2D with a command line, object snaps, layers, dimensions, hatches and blocks, and open .dwg and .dxf drawings. A free alternative to AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT.

Open CADCAD vs AutoCAD
CAD running in Madosuite in a browser tab

What CAD does

From the app’s own documentation, version 0.15.1.

Tools

  • Command line with aliases, AutoComplete and scripts
  • LINE, PLINE, ARC, SPLINE, MTEXT and the rest of the draw set
  • TRIM, EXTEND, FILLET, OFFSET, ARRAY and the modify set
  • Object snaps, polar tracking, ortho and grid snap
  • Layers palette and Layer Properties Manager
  • Every DIM command, DIMSTYLE, MLEADER and TABLE
  • Hatches, blocks with attributes, nested blocks
  • Paper-space layouts, viewports and PDF plotting

Files it opens

DWG (R13 to 2018)DXF (R12 to 2018)

Files it saves

DWG (R2000)DXF (R2000)PDFSVGPNG

Not there yet

  • 3D modelling (the features listed are 2D drafting)
  • SHX fonts
  • Keeping entities it does not model yet when you save

What CAD replaces

The paid apps people use for the same job. Prices from the vendors’ US pages on 14 November 2026.

CAD instead of AutoCAD

AutoCAD costs US$2,095 a year (US$260 month to month).

Read the comparisonCAD instead of AutoCAD LT

AutoCAD LT costs US$540 a year (US$70 month to month).

Read the comparison

Open a file with CAD

Open .dwg files

The native drawing format of AutoCAD, the most common file in architecture and engineering drafting.

Open .dxf files

Autodesk’s exchange format for CAD drawings, read by laser cutters, CNC software and most CAD apps.

CAD questions

Is CAD free?

Yes. CAD is part of Madosuite, which is free. It runs in your browser on your own device.

Which files does CAD open?

DWG (R13 to 2018), DXF (R12 to 2018). It saves DWG (R2000), DXF (R2000), PDF, SVG, PNG.

Is CAD ready for real work?

Early development. Not there yet: 3d modelling (the features listed are 2d drafting); shx fonts; keeping entities it does not model yet when you save.

Can CAD replace AutoCAD?

For 2D drafting and DWG drawings, often yes, and free. CAD is in early development: it drafts in 2D, does not read SHX fonts, and drops objects it does not model yet when it saves.

Where are my files kept?

In the browser on your device, inside Madosuite’s own Linux machine, in its home folder. Your files are not uploaded to us. Clearing the site’s data in your browser deletes them, so download what you want to keep.

Who makes the apps?

The suite apps are the ArtCraft team’s open-source Crafting Apps, under the MIT or Apache-2.0 licence. Madosuite puts them on one desktop in your browser, with Files, a Terminal and Edix, the code editor. See credits.

More apps in Madosuite

Word

Write and lay out documents with the ribbon, styles, tables, track changes and references you already know, and save real .docx files.

Grid

Spreadsheets with 500+ functions, dynamic arrays, pivot tables and charts, saved as .xlsx.

Deck

Build slide decks with themes, charts, transitions and animations, open and save .pptx, and present full screen.

Photo

Edit images with layers, masks, adjustment layers, layer styles and type, and open and save real .psd files.

CAD is CADCraft 0.15.1 by the ArtCraft team, open source under MIT or Apache-2.0. Credits.