Shapr3D CAD modeling 17+

This is the gold standard for getting creative with an Apple Pencil. I’ve used it for various woodworking and construction projects at home over the last year and loved it. Unfortunately, with the pricing increasing drastically I won’t be continuing to subscribe. I wish there was a tier between free which doesn’t let me print 2d plans and the full on version. As a hobbyist not generating an income and only using this every few weeks or months as I complete a project and move to the next it’s just not justifiable to spend so much when that money could go to the projects themselves. I hope to see this change in future. I haven’t deducted points because ultimately that has no bearing on what a great product this is.

I’ve been using Shapr3D for several years now and have been a big advocate of its usability, particularly the way this tool can bridge the gap from a novice to a very experienced CAD designer and intuitively allow each to grow and Improve. However many of the frustrations that were excusable years ago are becoming less acceptable as the subscription cost a has climbed.

A great example is the lack of any way to sort, classify, organise or search for your designs within the app. As someone with many hundreds of designs within Shapr3D I often find myself spending frustrating amounts of time searching through a massive list of designs trying to find what I’m after. It may seem like a small problem but the app has several of these small oversights that begin to add up. Despite promises for almost 4 years on the Shapr3D support forum that simple features like the ability to create a folder are on the way, the developers seem to continually overlook these basic features.

I’m therefore a little torn on my opinion of Shapr3D. It really does has a lot to offer, but after a while you may (like me) begin to ask yourself that if they can’t seem to implement some of the basics - is it going to be the tool for you into the long term.

I found this through the Concepts blog and was initially really excited. Went through the tutorial which was great.

Then I got to the subscription. Don’t get me wrong, compared to other CAD tools this is clearly a great buy.

The problem is I’m not a professional, and even at the price point offered it’s an order of magnitude beyond what most non-professionals doing 3d scribbles for fun will likely be willing to invest.

The mobile market is predominantly based on micro transactions. The pricing model for this more closely resembles the professional desktop tools moving to tablet, similar to what Adobe has done.

For the moment i’ll have to be content with sketchup on desktop.

For the developers I’m sure you’ve agonised over the possible pricing models and arrived at the one you feel best balances your costs versus growth of your user base.

I’m not suggesting you should change anything but I’m sure I’m not the only potential user priced out of the market.

For what it’s worth, some things I probably would have bought straight up as one-off unlocks:

* import jpeg/png
* export skp
* up to 10-ish save files

For hobbyists and casual users, what we’re looking to buy is the convenience of doing things on a tablet that we’re already able to do for free on a desktop (or a Surface Pro).

This might not be that tool, but one will come along to fill that gap soon enough.