SpeakCAD vs Shapr3D: CAD on a tablet with a pencil, or on a phone with a sentence
Shapr3D proved that serious CAD can live on a tablet. It is a direct-modelling tool with a professional geometry kernel, designed for an iPad and an Apple Pencil, and it is genuinely good. It is also a full CAD program to learn, it wants a stylus and a large screen, and its paid tiers are priced for professionals. SpeakCAD approaches mobile from the other side: no drawing at all, so a phone screen and a thumb are enough.| Criterion | SpeakCAD | Shapr3D |
|---|---|---|
| Devices | Any phone, tablet or computer with a browser | iPad, Mac, Windows and Vision Pro apps; iPad is the flagship. No web editor: the browser only opens review links in a viewer |
| Input | Plain-English chat, photos with a ruler, STL/3MF/.scad uploads | Sketch and push-pull with Apple Pencil or mouse |
| Learning curve | Nine hand tools in millimetres, or describe it and say what to change | Real CAD: sketches, constraints, history-free direct modelling |
| Install | None: runs in Safari or Chrome | App download; needs a capable iPad |
| Precision | Exact millimetres from your description; every dimension is a named parameter | Exact; professional Parasolid kernel |
| Output | STL, 3MF, G-code sliced for your printer | STEP, STL, 3MF, OBJ, IGES and more (export limits on the free tier) |
| Organic shapes | No: functional parts only | Limited: it is a solid modeller, not a sculptor |
| Best for | Functional 3D-printed parts in minutes, from wherever the part is | Designers who draw, need STEP, and work on an iPad |
| Test the fit before a long print | Fit Check: free 5-minute test slice of the fit, then your printer's calibration is applied to every model | No: reprint, or cut a test piece yourself |
| Price | Maker $7.99/mo (50 credits); Pro $14.99/mo; Unlimited $79.99/mo | Free Basic plan (2 projects, basic-resolution STL and 3MF exports); Pro $299 a year per editor (check their site) |
Two answers to "CAD on a mobile device"
Shapr3D's answer is to make the tablet as good as a workstation: a fast kernel, a pencil for sketching, gestures for push-pull. It works because an iPad is large and precise enough to draw on. The cost is that it is still CAD: you learn sketching, dimensioning and Boolean operations, and you need the tablet and the pencil.
SpeakCAD's answer is to remove drawing. The part is described in a sentence with the numbers you measured; the AI writes a parametric program and the browser compiles it into a mesh. The interface that needs is a text box and a viewer, which fit on a phone. There is no pencil because there is no sketch.
Where Shapr3D wins
If you design by drawing, need STEP files for a machinist or an assembly, work on organic-ish surfaces with fillets you place by hand, or want a professional history-free modeller on an iPad, Shapr3D is the better tool and the free tier lets you find out. It also handles large assemblies in a way a text description never will.
Where SpeakCAD wins
If what you need is a bracket, a case, an organizer or a replacement part for a 3D printer, and you would rather not learn CAD or carry a tablet, you describe the part in a sentence on the phone in your pocket. A typical functional part, with a couple of edits and a dimension check, is a downloaded file in about 10 to 15 minutes. Every dimension is a parameter you can change by chat afterwards, fits and printability rules are applied without being asked, and a fix after a test print re-downloads free. It also copies a part from two phone photos and a ruler, which no drawing tool does.
Using both
Shapr3D imports STL and OpenSCAD-derived meshes poorly, as any CAD does, so the two do not share files well. A sensible split is SpeakCAD for the quick functional parts and Shapr3D for the design that needs STEP or careful surfacing.