As of November 2026, Zoo Text-to-CAD is Zookeeper, an AI agent inside Zoo Design Studio. If you're a professional engineer who wants a full CAD modeller with a feature tree, stay with Zoo. If you print, the alternative we'd use is GrandpaCAD, and we think it's the easiest: a plain chat that builds in real millimetres with sliders, gives you 3MF and STL that open 1:1 in Bambu Studio, PrusaSlicer and OrcaSlicer, or STEP, and sculpts multi-colour figurines in the same chat.
GrandpaCADif the part goes to your slicer: a chat instead of a modeller, 3MF, sliders, colour and STEP.
Zoo Design Studiostay if you're a professional engineer who wants a feature tree and a full CAD workflow, and don't mind Zoo training on free-plan data (Plus, $20 a month, opts out).
Zoo Design Studio and GrandpaCAD on our eight criteriaBar length is the points each earns; the faint track is what the criterion is worth.
YesPartlyNoNot listed
Zoo Design Studio and GrandpaCAD on our eight criteria, with the points each earns out of the criterion's weight.
Made by the GrandpaCAD team. We set the criteria and score every tool ourselves, GrandpaCAD included. No sponsors or affiliate links. How we score
What happened to Zoo Text-to-CAD
Zoo launched Text-to-CAD as a standalone web app and API. In February 2026 it announced Zookeeper, "a conversational CAD agent" built into Zoo Design Studio, Source: Zoo: announcing Zookeeper (2026-02-05), checked and zoo.dev/text-to-cad now leads to the Zookeeper page. Source: Zoo Text-to-CAD (now the Zookeeper page), checked A reply on Zoo's community forum (March 2025) says the standalone app "will be deprecated in favor of the one in the modeling app", Source: Zoo community forum thread (reply dated 2025-03-11), checked and Zoo's current API specification has no text-to-CAD generation endpoint, only ways to read past results. Source: Zoo API specification, checked So "Zoo Text-to-CAD" today means Zookeeper: prompts, images and sketches in; a B-rep model with a feature tree and readable KCL code out.
Four kinds of Zoo alternative
Built for printing: 3MF and sliders: GrandpaCAD, BuildCAD AI. Zoo exports STL but no 3MF and no multi-colour file. These tools are built around the slicer.
Open source and code-first: CADAM, ModelRift, ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini + OpenSCAD. Zoo's models are KCL code, but the app isn't something you self-host. These are, or run on OpenSCAD you can read.
AI inside the CAD you already use: Adam, Onshape (AI Advisor, FeatureScript MCP), Autodesk Fusion + Assistant. These put an agent inside Fusion, Onshape or SOLIDWORKS instead of a new modeller.
Scans and broken parts: Backflip AI. Zoo is text-first. Reverse engineering a mesh into STEP is a different job.
Our pick for printing, Zoo, and every other tool
Ranked on the same weights as every page on this site, Zoo included. For a part that goes to your slicer we'd use GrandpaCAD; for professional engineering we'd stay with Zoo.
Zoo and 9 alternatives, scoredOut of 14, on our published weights. Facts checked 8 Nov 2026.
Anyone who can describe a part in a chat: functional parts in real millimetres with a slider per dimension, threads and fits, and sculpted multi-colour figurines, from the same chat.
Exact mm: Yes. Dimensions in your message land as real millimetres.
Edit after: Yes. Sliders rebuild CAD parts without a new generation. Sculpted parts need a re-cut.
Sculpts: Yes. Photo or prompt to a sculpted figurine.
STL/3MF: Yes. 3MF and STL open 1:1 in Bambu Studio, PrusaSlicer and OrcaSlicer.
No CAD skills: Yes. Describe the part; no CAD skills needed.
Multi-colour: Yes. Four filaments by default, one slot per region.
STEP: Yes. STEP download on a paid pack or plan.
Free files: No. 3 free generations, but downloads need a paid pack or plan.
Strengths, gaps, exports and price
Where it wins
Builds to your millimetres. Dimensions in your message land as real millimetres.
Change sizes without re-prompting. Sliders rebuild CAD parts without a new generation. Sculpted parts need a re-cut.
Where it falls short
Free plan includes downloads: 3 free generations, but downloads need a paid pack or plan.
Exports
3MF, STL, STEP, OBJ, GLB and GLTF downloads on a paid pack or plan.
Free plan
3 trial generations, no card, same output quality as paid. No downloads on the free account.
Paid from
$12 one-off for 25 generations (valid 1 year); $24/month for 70; $228/year for 840. Prices exclude tax.
Our pick for professional engineers working on complex mechanical parts: a full parametric CAD app with a feature tree, where the AI's model stays real CAD you can keep editing and export as STEP.
Best for professional engineers and complex mechanical parts
Exact mm: Yes. B-rep solids at modelled dimensions; missing ones get guessed.
Edit after: Yes. Feature tree and KCL code.
Sculpts: Not listed. Mechanical CAD; no sculpting listed.
STL/3MF: Yes. STL export of closed solids.
No CAD skills: Partly. Prompts work, but you land in a full CAD app; Zoo's FAQ suggests building a part one feature at a time.
Multi-colour: No. No 3MF or colour export.
STEP: Yes. STEP export.
Free files: Yes. Free plan exports; Zoo trains on free-plan data.
Strengths, gaps, exports and price
Where it wins
Builds to your millimetres. B-rep solids at modelled dimensions; missing ones get guessed.
Change sizes without re-prompting. Feature tree and KCL code.
Where it falls short
Sculpted shapes: Mechanical CAD; no sculpting listed.
Multi-colour 3MF: No 3MF or colour export.
Exports
STEP, STL, glTF/GLB, OBJ and PLY; FBX through the API only. No 3MF.
Free plan
$0/month: unlimited modelling plus $10/month of metered Zookeeper and API usage. On Free, Zoo trains on your data with no opt-out.
Paid from
Plus $20/month ($200 usage value, training opt-out); Pro $99/month; Team $399/user/month.
In score order, out of 14, with what each one does from its own documentation. Each name links to its row in the comparison table, with every fact and source.
Rank 2: BuildCAD AI11 / 14Web AI agent that builds parametric CAD from text or a photo, with sliders and click-a-face edits. The kernel isn't disclosed. Source: BuildCAD AI pricing, checked
Rank 3, tied: CADAM10 / 14Open-source text- and image-to-CAD web app on OpenSCAD compiled to WebAssembly; GPL-3.0, 5.4k GitHub stars, last pushed 2026-10-15. Source: CADAM on GitHub, checked
Rank 5, tied: Adam8 / 14"An AI CAD copilot for hardware teams" that edits native models in Onshape, Fusion, SOLIDWORKS, NX, Inventor and CATIA V5. Source: Adam llms.txt, checked
Rank 5, tied: ModelRift8 / 14AI writes OpenSCAD; you annotate the rendered model with pen and arrow tools to request changes. Source: ModelRift pricing, checked
Rank 7, tied: Autodesk Fusion + Assistant7 / 14Full parametric CAD; the Assistant writes and runs Fusion API scripts and basic features (extrude, fillet, shell). Text-to-geometry "neural CAD" was announced but we found no confirmation it's generally available. Source: makers101: ChatGPT and Fusion 360 (2026-10-10), checked
Rank 9: ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini + OpenSCAD6.5 / 14A chat model writes OpenSCAD (or CadQuery/build123d); you paste it into OpenSCAD, render, describe what's wrong and repeat. Source: OpenSCAD, checked
Rank 10: Backflip AI5.5 / 14Rebuilds scans and meshes, engineering drawings, or a phone photo with one known dimension into feature-tree CAD. Not text-first. Source: Backflip AI, checked
Zoo vs AdamCAD
They used to be compared as two text-to-CAD apps; as of November 2026 they've gone separate ways. Zoo built its own CAD app around the agent. Adam, formerly AdamCAD, repositioned as "an AI CAD copilot for hardware teams" that edits native models inside Onshape, Fusion, SOLIDWORKS, NX, Inventor and CATIA V5, Source: Adam: AI CAD copilot for hardware teams, checked and its maker-friendly text-to-CAD lives on as CADAM, an open-source OpenSCAD app the founder told Hacker News "is not at all a revenue driver". Source: Launch HN: Adam, checked So Adam lives inside a CAD app you already pay for, and Zoo is its own app. For professional engineering we'd point you to Zoo; for printing at home, GrandpaCAD.
Zoo Design Studio vs Adam (formerly AdamCAD). Checked 2026-11-08.
What
Zoo Design Studio
Adam
What it is
A full parametric CAD app with Zookeeper, a conversational agent that creates and edits B-rep models with a feature tree; the source is KCL code.Src: Zoo FAQ, checked
"An AI CAD copilot for hardware teams" that edits native models in Onshape, Fusion, SOLIDWORKS, NX, Inventor and CATIA V5.Src: Adam llms.txt, checked
Native CAD in the connected app; STEP for standalone tasks.Src: Adam docs: modeling, checked
Free tier
$0/month: unlimited modelling plus $10/month of metered Zookeeper and API usage. On Free, Zoo trains on your data with no opt-out.Src: Zoo pricing API, checked
Free plan with a daily usage pool and the "Lite" model only.Src: Adam docs: billing, checked
Paid from
Plus $20/month ($200 usage value, training opt-out); Pro $99/month; Team $399/user/month.Src: Zoo pricing API, checked
For professional engineers working on complex mechanical parts, Zoo is the better pick. Against GrandpaCAD it has two real advantages: a complete parametric modeller with a feature tree around the AI, and a free plan that lets you export without paying. Source: Zoo FAQ, checked Also: Zoo pricing API, checked It also runs as a desktop app on Windows, macOS and Linux as well as in the browser. Its weak spots for printing are no 3MF, no colour export, and a reply on Zoo's forum saying angle-defined geometry is at the edge of what Zookeeper can reliably generate. Source: Zoo community forum thread (reply dated 2025-03-11), checked For a part you print at home, our pick is GrandpaCAD. If you'd rather learn CAD properly, see the best CAD software for 3D printing.
Zoo and its alternatives compared
Show all 10 tools against our eight criteria
Showing 10 of 10 tools
Zoo Design Studio and alternatives, ranked by score. Facts checked 2026-11-08.
No tool matches every filter. Turn one off to see the closest options.
Questions people ask
What's the best Zoo Text-to-CAD alternative for 3D printing?
As of November 2026, Zoo Text-to-CAD is Zookeeper, an AI agent inside Zoo Design Studio. If you're a professional engineer who wants a full CAD modeller with a feature tree, stay with Zoo. If you print, the alternative we'd use is GrandpaCAD, and we think it's the easiest: a plain chat that builds in real millimetres with sliders, gives you 3MF and STL that open 1:1 in Bambu Studio, PrusaSlicer and OrcaSlicer, or STEP, and sculpts multi-colour figurines in the same chat. Free accounts get 3 trial generations; downloads need a paid pack or plan.
What happened to Zoo Text-to-CAD?
Zoo folded it into Zoo Design Studio. Its conversational agent, Zookeeper, announced in February 2026, creates and edits parametric models from prompts, images and sketches inside the app, and zoo.dev/text-to-cad now leads to the Zookeeper page. A reply on Zoo's forum says the older standalone Text-to-CAD web app will be deprecated in favour of the app, and Zoo's current API lists no text-to-CAD generation endpoint.
Is Zoo Design Studio free?
Yes: the free plan includes unlimited modelling, $10 a month of metered Zookeeper and API usage, and exports including STEP and STL. On the free plan Zoo can train on your data with no opt-out; Plus ($20 a month) adds an opt-out.
Does Zoo export 3MF or STL for 3D printing?
STL yes, 3MF no. Zoo Design Studio exports STEP, STL, glTF/GLB, OBJ and PLY, with a unit-scale option. There's no multi-colour print export.
Is Adam the same as AdamCAD?
Yes, Adam (adam.new) was formerly AdamCAD. It now calls itself an AI CAD copilot for hardware teams, working inside Onshape, Fusion, SOLIDWORKS and other pro CAD apps. Its open-source maker tool is CADAM.
Is there an open-source alternative to Zoo Text-to-CAD?
Yes: CADAM, made by the Adam team, is GPL-3.0, generates OpenSCAD from text or images, adds sliders, and exports STL, SCAD and DXF. It has no STEP or 3MF. GrandpaCAD isn't open source; for printing it's the one we recommend.