Tinkercad vs SpeakCAD for the classroom: an honest comparison for teachers
Tinkercad is free and great for first shapes; SpeakCAD is for parts with real dimensions that fit something. Both side by side, and when to use which.Tinkercad is in more classrooms than any other 3D design tool, and for good reasons: it is free, it runs in a browser, and a ten-year-old can drag a box onto the workplane and print it the same day. Its class features (class codes, nicknames for younger students, lesson plans) were built for teachers. If your students are learning what a 3D shape is, Tinkercad is the right tool and this article will not talk you out of it.
SpeakCAD answers a different classroom question: how does a student who has never used CAD make a part with real dimensions that fits something, such as a project enclosure, a robot bracket, a phone stand or a replacement part, without a CAD course first?
Side by side
| Tinkercad | SpeakCAD | |
|---|---|---|
| Price for schools | Free | Hand tools free; Education seats $3 a student a month or $30 a year for the AI and downloads of AI work |
| Runs on | Browser on a computer or Chromebook | Browser on a computer, Chromebook, iPad or phone |
| How a part starts | Drag shapes, group, set some as holes | A sentence with the numbers, a photo next to a ruler, or a starter shape shaped by hand |
| Sizes | Fields per shape, not linked to each other | Every size and position typed in millimetres from a face's edges |
| Rounded edges | Radius slider on the Box shape | Round (corners) and Fillet (edges around a flat face) |
| Screw holes | Cylinders set as holes, sized by hand | Hole with M2 to M8 presets, counterbore or countersink |
| Clearances | Yours to add | The AI adds them from the fit you describe; Fit Check prints a test slice |
| Print files | STL, OBJ and SVG, among others | STL, 3MF and G-code sliced for 380+ printers |
| Class management | Class codes, nicknames, lesson plans | Join link or invitation, any e-mail, credits, models and last activity per student |
| Best age | Younger pupils learning shapes | Secondary school, university, makerspace members |
Both are useful. They are not the same tool.
Where Tinkercad is the better choice
- Young pupils. Dragging and grouping shapes is the right first lesson in 3D, and Tinkercad's class nicknames suit students who should not use an e-mail address.
- Zero budget. Tinkercad is free in full. SpeakCAD's hand tools are free too, but the AI is paid.
- Circuits and code blocks. Tinkercad has electronics simulation and block-based modelling that SpeakCAD does not have.
- Shapes by eye. A nameplate, a simple box, a model of a building: drag, resize, export.
Where SpeakCAD is the better choice
- The part has to fit something. A case for a board with holes in the right places, a bracket for a sensor, a knob for a 6 mm shaft. In Tinkercad that means typing coordinates into each shape and redoing the holes when the size changes. In SpeakCAD the student types the numbers once, or describes the part, and the dimensions panel shows what was built.
- Students who have never used CAD. A sentence with numbers gets a first model in minutes, which keeps the lesson about the design rather than the interface.
- Chromebooks, iPads, phones. Tinkercad needs a computer-sized window. SpeakCAD works on a phone browser, which matters when the device cart is short.
- Printing in the same browser. The online slicer turns the part into G-code for the class printer, with the print time and grams, on a managed Chromebook. how to 3D print from a Chromebook shows the route.
- Seeing who is stuck. The class page shows each student's credits, number of models and last activity, so a student with no model after two lessons is easy to spot. The models stay private unless the student publishes them.
What about Onshape and Fusion?
Both are free for students and educators. Onshape runs in the browser, Chromebooks included, and Fusion is a desktop program for Windows and macOS. They are real parametric CAD with sketches, constraints, assemblies and drawings, which SpeakCAD does not have. They are the right next step for students heading into engineering. They take weeks to become productive in, which is why many teachers start beginners elsewhere. How to teach CAD to beginners describes a sequence that leads into them.
Using both
Many classes will use both: Tinkercad in the first years, SpeakCAD when projects need dimensions and fits, Onshape or Fusion for students who want to go further. The skills carry over; measuring and clearance do not belong to any one program.
What SpeakCAD costs a class
The hand tools (hole, cut, add, extrude, text, round, fillet, shell and measure) are free on any account, and so is downloading what you shape with them. With the AI, a new part spends 4 credits on a plan with its first 3 small changes free, a design change 3, a small change 2, a quick edit 1, so a seat's 25 credits cover 5 or 6 new AI parts a month with their small changes. An Education seat is $3 a month, or $30 a year (2 months free), taxes included. Each seat puts 25 credits a month on the student's own account, with every STL, 3MF and sliced G-code download included and the online slicer up to 60 files a day. The teacher applies for the class in SpeakCAD with the school, its website and their role; once it is approved (usually within a day) they pick the number of seats (from 2 to 300, your own seat included) and pays through Stripe; the invoice carries the school's name, address and tax ID. Students join with the class link you put on the board, in the LMS or in the class chat, or with an e-mailed invitation, and they sign up with any e-mail address: no school e-mail needed.
The Tinkercad alternative page compares the two for individual makers; Education seats has the school setup.
Prompts to start from
Open one in the builder, change the numbers to yours, and the model renders in your browser, usually within a minute or two. Keep adjusting in the chat before you print.A case for a Raspberry Pi 4 85 x 56 mm with standoffs on its 58 x 49 mm hole pattern, cutouts for the USB-C, two micro HDMI and the USB and Ethernet ports, vent slots in the lid
A bracket that holds a 28 mm round sensor at 90 degrees to a 3 mm plate, two M3 holes 20 mm apart in the base, 3 mm thick
Questions
For first shapes and simple prints, yes, and it is free. For parts with real dimensions that must fit a board, a sensor or a shaft, students hit its limits: sizes per shape are not linked and there is no fillet or screw-hole tool. That is where SpeakCAD, Onshape or Fusion fit better.
Onshape runs in Chrome and is free for education, with a real CAD learning curve. SpeakCAD runs in Chrome too and lets a student start from a sentence with numbers or shape the part by hand, then slice it for the class printer in the same browser.
The hand tools and the files they make are free on any account. The AI and the downloads of AI work come with Education seats at $3 per student a month or $30 a year, taxes included.