Category: CAD & Engineering
8 European alternatives to SOLIDWORKS (Dassault Systemes) — GDPR-compliant & EU-hosted.
3D CAD design software for mechanical engineering and product development
Facts
- Headquarters
- FR (EU)
- Category
- CAD & Engineering
- Type
- Product
- GDPR-compliant
- Yes
- Open-source
- No
- Data hosting
- EU, US
Top EU-based & GDPR-compliant alternatives to SOLIDWORKS (Dassault Systemes)
- CATIA (Dassault Systemes)↗
Advanced multi-platform CAD/CAM/CAE software for product design and engineering
FR · commercial
- COMSOL Multiphysics↗
Swedish simulation platform for multi-physics modeling and finite element analysis
SE · commercial
- ELITECAD (XEOMETRIC)↗
Austrian professional 3D CAD software developed by XEOMETRIC GmbH (Linz), offering ELITECAD Architecture and ELITECAD Mechanics with BIM2COST/BIM2AVA cost-estimation modules for architecture and mechanical/plant engineering.
AT · commercial
- Graebert ARES↗
German family-owned CAD software company headquartered in Berlin (founded 1977), developing the ARES Trinity of DWG-native CAD tools: ARES Commander (desktop), ARES Touch (mobile) and ARES Kudo (cloud), plus industry-specific verticals. Actively sold via subscription in 2026, with operations in 100+ countries.
DE · commercial
Frequently asked questions
What is the best European alternative to SOLIDWORKS (Dassault Systemes)?
It depends on your use case. Strong EU alternatives to SOLIDWORKS (Dassault Systemes) include Blender, BricsCAD and Cadwork. On this page you can compare 8 EU alternatives by jurisdiction, data residency and open-source status.
Are there open-source alternatives to SOLIDWORKS (Dassault Systemes)?
Yes. Open-source EU alternatives to SOLIDWORKS (Dassault Systemes) include Blender and FreeCAD. These keep your data fully under your own control and let you self-host if you want to.
Is SOLIDWORKS (Dassault Systemes) GDPR-compliant and where is the data hosted?
SOLIDWORKS (Dassault Systemes) is headquartered in FR (EU) and hosts data in EU, US. That makes SOLIDWORKS (Dassault Systemes) an EU-sovereign choice in its own right; the EU alternatives on this page are comparable European tools.