head to head · open source
open-design vs QymCAD
open-design has 99,698 GitHub stars, 11,510 forks, 1,090 open issues and last shipped yesterday. QymCAD has 539 stars, 26 forks, 35 open issues and last shipped yesterday. open-design leads on adoption by 18,397% (99,698 vs 539 stars). open-design is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; QymCAD is written in Rust under AGPL-3.0. open-design has attracted 12% as many forks as stars, QymCAD 5%. open-design was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (desktop-app), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| open-design | QymCAD | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 100K | ★ 539 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-10-06 | 2026-10-06 |
| Forks | ⑂ 12K | ⑂ 26 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick open-design if
- You weight community size — 100K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick QymCAD if
- You want the QymCAD feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and QymCAD fits your workflow better
About open-design
OpenDesign is an open source, local first desktop design application for macOS and Windows that turns the coding agent already installed on a developer's machine into the design engine, producing prototypes, dashboards, decks, images, and motion graphics as real files exported to HTML, PDF, PPTX, and MP4.
read the full open-design overview →
About QymCAD
QymCAD is a free, self contained parametric 3D CAD desktop application for mechanical designers, makers, and 3D printing hobbyists who want exact B rep modelling without a cloud account or a subscription.
read the full QymCAD overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is open-design or QymCAD more popular?
open-design has 99,698 GitHub stars and QymCAD has 539. open-design has the larger community by that measure.
Are open-design and QymCAD free?
Both are open source. open-design is licensed under Apache-2.0 and QymCAD under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between open-design and QymCAD?
open-design is written in TypeScript and QymCAD in Rust. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, open-design or QymCAD?
Choose open-design if you want the larger community (99,698 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose QymCAD if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.