I use Microsoft 3D Builder for most of my modeling stuff. Mainly for things like hardware type stuff. Or simple modifications to existing models if I need.

It has a simple interface, really easy to use. Builds models from simple shapes, no needing to learn a programming language or weird clunky interfaces.

I use FreeCAD.

I follow Mango Jelly Solutions and DeltaHedra on YouTube for tutorials.

I've had excellent results designing items for 3D prints.

FreeCAD. It's janky, absolutely, but it's quite powerful once you get used to it. Improved a lot with the latest major update as well.

I also tried OpenSCAD for a bit. As someone with a programming background, I really like the principle of how it works. But ultimately, I found it way too limiting.

I absolutely love freecad. There are dozens of us that actually really like it

FreeCAD, and I recommend you give it a second try, while watching the excellent tutorials from Deltahedra and Mangojelly on YouTube. Lots of the jank can be avoided if you only know how, so the tutorials are extremely useful.

FreeCAD has gotten exponentially better with each release the last few years, and both active developers and funding/donations from users have increased exponentially. The future is bright. And unlike the "free" commercial programs, FreeCAD is immune to future rug-pulls and enshitification.

You might also want to try https://dune3d.org/ , a relatively new 3D CAD software

I'm using OpenSCAD because I want to program a fish!

OnShape is what I use. Fusion is fine, but a little heavy for me.

FreeCAD is just slightly too clunky for what I use it for, but I'll keep trying every release to see if I change my mind.

In the meantime, OnShape is cross platform cause it's all in browser and I don't care about my designs being public. I actually post them all free anyway.

Do make sure to retry freecad if you havent in a while - they finally merged their big update that made faces not break - its still got a learning curve but its far less frustrating now

OpenSCAD. Nothing for the faint of heart, you need to know what you are doing, but it is perfect for programmers like me.

FreeCAD and OpenSCAD. FreeCAD is steadily getting better and better.

Blender for most things, freecad sometimes

OpenScad because I do simple things like funnels or part bins.

I'm still learning FreeCAD, but so far is seems just fine to me! Just different from what I am used to. But there are a few good channels on YouTube that do good tutorials

I mainly use Blender and manually type in the sizes for things, make heavy use of the boolean operators to make holes and cutouts. I would like to learn FreeCAD eventually. I refuse to use proprietary products and services for my hobby projects.

Some of it will depend on what your goals and OS are. OnShape is pretty good, and being in-browser it's inherently cross-platform. BUT... their free tier has the single worst licensing setup imaginable: your designs are public, you can't make a single cent off them, BUT any paying customer (and arguably any other user at all) can. They also jump straight from free to enterprise pricing.

Fusion you know. Licensewise, the free version gives you a small grace zone to make a couple of bucks without issues, and you can at elast keep your designs to yourself.

SolidWorks has an extremely heavy and unfriendly web interface, but their in-browser parametric 3D CAD is better than it used to be, and you can get a maker plan for $25-$50 a year that gives you a little wiggle room to sell a few trinkets and not get blasted if someone or something rats you out to Dassault. If you're on Windows, you'll also be able to install proper SolidWorks (though files will be watermarked to limit them to a hobbyist/maker install.

Solid Edge is a bit clunkier than (real) SolidWorks or Fusion, is windows only, and there's also a doughnut hole for limited commercial use, but it's the full software and it's free as in beer.

Since they cleared up the worst of the toponaming issue, FreeCAD is way better than it used to be. I still feel like the moment you have to do anything more than draw/extrude/fillet, then all the clunkiness comes back, though. It's a brilliant project in its way, but it remains a mixed bag, shall we say.

I paid for a permanent license for my version of Alibre Design, and that's what I generally use. It's somewhere between SolidEdge and Solidworks in user-friendliness, and more than powerful enough for my keyboards and random widgets. I also do like the simplicity of owning my license and therefore fully controlling my designs, but it wasn't cheap, probably two years' worth of monthly payments on the Shapr3D usable tier or the fancy Fusion tier, so I will probably keep plugging along for a while yet. They have a more basic product (Atom) that's missing some fairly useful features, but is still parametric and is rather cheap. It's also all Windows only, though I keep hearing the next version will play nice with Wine/Proton. For now, my investment with Alibre is pretty much THE reason I occasionally boot back into Windows.

TinkerCAD (opwned by Autodesk like Fusion is) is great for certain things, and the "make shape, set solid or hole" workflow is much more intuitive for the abject beginner, but if you're on Fusion you're already past the need for it, i'd think.

There are other players (Rhino, Plasticity, DesignSpark, SolveSpace, among others), but Fusion, Shapr3D (for single parts only, no assemblies),OnShape, SolidEdge, FreeCAD, Alibre, and Solidworks pretty much cover mechanical CAD that's (1) full-featured, (2) 3D, (3) got parametric history and (4) available with usable free or maker versions.

FreeCAD, but basically because it was free and open source when I started learning (which wasn't long ago anyways)

I use FreeCAD, Fusion, and Solidworks. I don’t love freecad as it’s unintuitive and clunky. Solidworks is powerful and okay but I often find myself fighting with it.

Fusion, so far has been the one I like most, but it doesn’t run on Linux which forces me to keep my MacBook around. The collaboration features in fusion are good and it handles step files way better than solidworks does.

I know Rhino is really good for the price, so maybe consider testing it out. I believe the licensing is perpetual.

FreeCAD, but (from a pure usability perspective) OnShape is quite good if you just want something done (note my CAD usage is fairly limited).

FreeCAD for most things. Microcad for anything I need to script. I hear OpenSCAD is promising.

OnShape. If you're familiar with Fusion360, OnShape requires almost no additional learning. Workflows are pretty much the exact same. It's free under the guise that everything you make is OnShapes IP. But if you're looking to model casually and aren't making things you wish to patent, it's great.

Not open source if that's a requirement.

FreeCAD, runs on a damn potato. Fusion bakes it into charcoal instead. At least that is my experience on a kinda low-end laptop.

What sort of precision are you not getting from blender?

Once you set the parameters (I set mine to mm), I have found it to be accurate enough to make additional tools with which to measure.

Mind you, I don't need accuracy down past a mm.

I use autodesk inventor, which is like the more professional version of fusion360. But there is no free version and it is very expensive, i have a free student licence.

I like it way more than fusion360, and it is much better at Assembly's. Still clumsy sometimes.

It doesn't run on linux so i just remote into an old windows laptop when i need it.

I have tried freecad and onshape a lillte but i am just so used to inventor that its harder to use them.

Fusion 360 as well. I think it's great for rapid development, I'd love some of the paid options but not enough. Haven't found anything else that comes close to its power whilst still costing nothing.

Onshape is the way to go for free tier CAD.

Otherwise TinkerCAD can work, it's just more of an MS Paint version of CAD.

90% fusion

9% tinkercad

1% dicking around in OnShape, getting frustrated, and giving up

Fusion360 for non-organic and Blender (with add-ons) for organic. I don't like fusion360 for organic stuff. FreeCAD was supposed to get a big update at some point but I never tried it. Autodesk Inventor was alright but I didn't like it as much as Fusion360.

Everyone is wrong. OpenSCAD is so much better than anything else. It's so much easier to just write code. I regret wasting so much time learning Fusion.

Plasticity. It's the best balance I've found between cost and usability. And it doesn't force you to save your files on someone's cloud.

You pay annually and get updates but when your year is up you can choose to pay less for each subsequent year or stop paying and continue using the version you currently have indefinitely without future updates.

I bounced pretty hard off Free ad and ended up using OnShape. I don't feel great about it though.