--- title: "Why re-downloading after a fix is free (and how we decide what counts as a fix)" description: "Every plan includes downloads. Without a plan, the first download of a design spends 4 credits and re-downloads after small edits are free. Here is the exact rule, the thresholds, and why." canonical: https://speakcad.com/blog/free-re-download-credit-rule published: 2026-09-03 updated: 2026-10-13 publisher: SpeakCAD --- # Why re-downloading after a fix is free (and how we decide what counts as a fix) > Every plan includes downloads. Without a plan, the first download of a design spends 4 credits and re-downloads after small edits are free. Here is the exact rule, the thresholds, and why. ## Since 13 October 2026: downloads included in every plan STL and 3MF downloads are now included in every plan (Maker, Pro and Unlimited): no credits, however often you download. Since 18 October 2026, G-code sliced for your printer is included too: it costs the same as the STL on every account, and the slicing itself spends nothing extra. The rule below now applies to accounts without a plan: a free account, or credits kept after cancelling. ## The problem with pay-per-download Charging per file is honest: you pay when you get value. But 3D printing is iterative. The first print reveals the hole is 0.3 mm tight; paying again for a 0.3 mm change feels wrong, and it pushes people to over-think before downloading. We wanted the opposite: download early, test, fix, download again. ## The rule Without a plan, when you download a design for the first time, 4 credits are charged and we store a **paid snapshot**: the program, its hash, the part's volume and bounding box. Every later download of that model is compared with the snapshot: - **Identical program** → free. Both STL and 3MF of the same design are covered by that one payment. - **A version you downloaded before** → free. Going back to an earlier version of the project (an undo, a restored version) is a file you already have. - **Small edit** → free. The program is at least 65% similar (line by line, ignoring formatting), the volume changed by less than 30%, and no dimension of the part changed by more than 25%. - **Otherwise** → 4 credits again, and a new snapshot. The rule covers the file, not the work that changes it. The chat request that makes a fix spends 2 credits (1 for a quick edit that only changes a size or a number); typing the number in the viewer or answering Fit Check is free. G-code sliced for your printer follows the same rule as the STL: the same design sliced again (other print settings, a retry) is not charged again. ## Why those thresholds They come from looking at what "fixing a print" actually looks like: a tolerance, a wall thickness, a longer lip, one more hole. Those edits touch a few lines and barely move the volume. Turning a phone stand into a tablet stand, or a box into a two-part enclosure, rewrites most of the program and changes the volume a lot. The thresholds sit comfortably between the two. ## What does not count The part itself decides, not how the request was worded. Until October 2026 the AI's own label on an answer ("minor" or "major") could charge an edit that left most of the program as it was; it no longer does. Dimensions are compared smallest to smallest, so a part turned on the bed to print with fewer supports is the same part. ## What you see The download button tells you before you click: whether this export is covered by your last download or will spend credits. No surprises. The credits page shows every download with its cost. ## What if I disagree with a charge? Write to us. If the barrier misfired on a small fix, we refund the credits. ## About SpeakCAD SpeakCAD is the most intuitive CAD for 3D printing, made for people who own a 3D printer and need a part that fits something they have: tap a face and type a size to shape it with simple tools, or describe it to the AI, on your phone or computer, and download a print-ready STL, 3MF or G-code sliced for your printer. SpeakCAD works inside ChatGPT and Claude as a plugin (an MCP server): ask the assistant for a part with its measurements and SpeakCAD's own CAD AI designs it, shows it in 3D in the chat and hands over a print-ready STL, 3MF or G-code sliced for your printer. - Live demo, no account: https://speakcad.com/demo - In ChatGPT, Claude and other MCP clients: https://speakcad.com/chatgpt-plugin, https://speakcad.com/claude-connector, https://speakcad.com/mcp-server - Pricing: https://speakcad.com/pricing - FAQ: https://speakcad.com/faq - Site index for AI assistants: https://speakcad.com/llms.txt