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Which AI CAD tool should you use? Answer four questions

By the GrandpaCAD team · · Updated

  • You print parts, figurines or game piecesGrandpaCAD 13/14
  • You do professional engineering in a feature treeZoo Design Studio 10/14
The four questions sort you into one of these two.

Four questions about what you print and what you need from the file. For makers the answer is GrandpaCAD; for professional engineering work it's Zoo Design Studio. Every answer shows, from the same facts and sources as our ranking, what the pick does and doesn't do for you.

What the picker answers The first question decides the pick. The other three choose the starter message, the file advice and the example you get. Pick a card to start with that answer.

Made by the GrandpaCAD team. We set the criteria and score every tool ourselves, GrandpaCAD included. No sponsors or affiliate links. How we score

Your answers

What are you making?
Will you change dimensions after the first result?
Which file do you need?
Budget?

Your pick appears here

0 of 4 questions answered

  1. What are you making?
  2. Will you change dimensions after the first result?
  3. Which file do you need?
  4. Budget?

Nothing is pre-selected, so the result depends only on your answers. Every combination is also in the table below.

When Zoo is the better pick

If you're a professional engineer working on complex mechanical parts and want a full CAD modeller with a feature tree, sketches and code you can edit, choose "Professional engineering" above and the picker answers Zoo Design Studio. For everything a maker prints, it answers GrandpaCAD.

Every answer the picker can give

All 48 combinations, built by the same code at publish time: GrandpaCAD in 36, Zoo Design Studio in 12.

Show all 48 answers
Picker results for every combination of answers, from facts checked 2026-11-08.
Your answersPickAlternative
Functional parts · Yes, sizes will change · STL or 3MF for my slicer · Free to start is fineGrandpaCADZoo Design Studio
Functional parts · Yes, sizes will change · STL or 3MF for my slicer · Paying is fineGrandpaCADZoo Design Studio
Functional parts · Yes, sizes will change · STEP for other CAD · Free to start is fineGrandpaCADZoo Design Studio
Functional parts · Yes, sizes will change · STEP for other CAD · Paying is fineGrandpaCADZoo Design Studio
Functional parts · Yes, sizes will change · GLB for games or renders · Free to start is fineGrandpaCADZoo Design Studio
Functional parts · Yes, sizes will change · GLB for games or renders · Paying is fineGrandpaCADZoo Design Studio
Functional parts · No, one good file is enough · STL or 3MF for my slicer · Free to start is fineGrandpaCADZoo Design Studio
Functional parts · No, one good file is enough · STL or 3MF for my slicer · Paying is fineGrandpaCADZoo Design Studio
Functional parts · No, one good file is enough · STEP for other CAD · Free to start is fineGrandpaCADZoo Design Studio
Functional parts · No, one good file is enough · STEP for other CAD · Paying is fineGrandpaCADZoo Design Studio
Functional parts · No, one good file is enough · GLB for games or renders · Free to start is fineGrandpaCADZoo Design Studio
Functional parts · No, one good file is enough · GLB for games or renders · Paying is fineGrandpaCADZoo Design Studio
Figurines and sculpted shapes · Yes, sizes will change · STL or 3MF for my slicer · Free to start is fineGrandpaCAD
Figurines and sculpted shapes · Yes, sizes will change · STL or 3MF for my slicer · Paying is fineGrandpaCAD
Figurines and sculpted shapes · Yes, sizes will change · STEP for other CAD · Free to start is fineGrandpaCAD
Figurines and sculpted shapes · Yes, sizes will change · STEP for other CAD · Paying is fineGrandpaCAD
Figurines and sculpted shapes · Yes, sizes will change · GLB for games or renders · Free to start is fineGrandpaCAD
Figurines and sculpted shapes · Yes, sizes will change · GLB for games or renders · Paying is fineGrandpaCAD
Figurines and sculpted shapes · No, one good file is enough · STL or 3MF for my slicer · Free to start is fineGrandpaCAD
Figurines and sculpted shapes · No, one good file is enough · STL or 3MF for my slicer · Paying is fineGrandpaCAD
Figurines and sculpted shapes · No, one good file is enough · STEP for other CAD · Free to start is fineGrandpaCAD
Figurines and sculpted shapes · No, one good file is enough · STEP for other CAD · Paying is fineGrandpaCAD
Figurines and sculpted shapes · No, one good file is enough · GLB for games or renders · Free to start is fineGrandpaCAD
Figurines and sculpted shapes · No, one good file is enough · GLB for games or renders · Paying is fineGrandpaCAD
Both · Yes, sizes will change · STL or 3MF for my slicer · Free to start is fineGrandpaCAD
Both · Yes, sizes will change · STL or 3MF for my slicer · Paying is fineGrandpaCAD
Both · Yes, sizes will change · STEP for other CAD · Free to start is fineGrandpaCAD
Both · Yes, sizes will change · STEP for other CAD · Paying is fineGrandpaCAD
Both · Yes, sizes will change · GLB for games or renders · Free to start is fineGrandpaCAD
Both · Yes, sizes will change · GLB for games or renders · Paying is fineGrandpaCAD
Both · No, one good file is enough · STL or 3MF for my slicer · Free to start is fineGrandpaCAD
Both · No, one good file is enough · STL or 3MF for my slicer · Paying is fineGrandpaCAD
Both · No, one good file is enough · STEP for other CAD · Free to start is fineGrandpaCAD
Both · No, one good file is enough · STEP for other CAD · Paying is fineGrandpaCAD
Both · No, one good file is enough · GLB for games or renders · Free to start is fineGrandpaCAD
Both · No, one good file is enough · GLB for games or renders · Paying is fineGrandpaCAD
Professional engineering · Yes, sizes will change · STL or 3MF for my slicer · Free to start is fineZoo Design StudioGrandpaCAD
Professional engineering · Yes, sizes will change · STL or 3MF for my slicer · Paying is fineZoo Design StudioGrandpaCAD
Professional engineering · Yes, sizes will change · STEP for other CAD · Free to start is fineZoo Design StudioGrandpaCAD
Professional engineering · Yes, sizes will change · STEP for other CAD · Paying is fineZoo Design StudioGrandpaCAD
Professional engineering · Yes, sizes will change · GLB for games or renders · Free to start is fineZoo Design StudioGrandpaCAD
Professional engineering · Yes, sizes will change · GLB for games or renders · Paying is fineZoo Design StudioGrandpaCAD
Professional engineering · No, one good file is enough · STL or 3MF for my slicer · Free to start is fineZoo Design StudioGrandpaCAD
Professional engineering · No, one good file is enough · STL or 3MF for my slicer · Paying is fineZoo Design StudioGrandpaCAD
Professional engineering · No, one good file is enough · STEP for other CAD · Free to start is fineZoo Design StudioGrandpaCAD
Professional engineering · No, one good file is enough · STEP for other CAD · Paying is fineZoo Design StudioGrandpaCAD
Professional engineering · No, one good file is enough · GLB for games or renders · Free to start is fineZoo Design StudioGrandpaCAD
Professional engineering · No, one good file is enough · GLB for games or renders · Paying is fineZoo Design StudioGrandpaCAD

Questions people ask

How does the picker choose?

Only the first question changes the pick: GrandpaCAD for every maker answer (functional parts, figurines, or both), and Zoo Design Studio, a full parametric CAD app with a feature tree, for professional engineering work. The other three change what the result gives you: a starter message from one of our public GrandpaCAD chats with its render, what to download and how to treat it in your slicer, and how to ask for sliders. Your answers also become checks, shown under the pick and taken from the marks in our comparison of 20 tools, so you can see what the pick doesn't do. The same code builds all 48 answers, and the full table is below.

How often does it pick GrandpaCAD?

In 36 of 48 possible answers: the 3 maker answers to the first question, whatever you answer after it. Zoo Design Studio is the pick in the other 12, the professional engineering ones. The checks under each answer show where the pick falls short.

What if I want it free?

Answer "Free to start is fine" and the result opens with what's free: 3 free generations; downloads from $12. GrandpaCAD is free to try, not free to download: the trial generations need no card, and downloading needs a paid pack or plan. If you're a professional who needs free exports, Zoo Design Studio's free plan includes them, but Zoo trains on free-plan data with no opt-out.

Can I share my answer?

Yes. Your answers are in the page address, so copy the link from the result and paste it into a forum thread or a chat. It opens on the same result.