2D CAD on iPad, with Apple Pencil
Draftly CAD for iPhone and iPad is on the App Store. It is the same 2D drafting app as the browser version: an AutoCAD-style command line, nine object-snap families, layers, and DXF import and export (Pro). On iPad the Pencil draws and your fingers move the sheet. It needs iOS 15.0 or later.
What you can draw
Lines, polylines, rectangles, polygons, circles, arcs, Bezier
curves, text, and linear and aligned dimensions. Move, copy,
rotate, scale, mirror, trim, extend, offset, fillet, chamfer,
array, stretch and explode work on what you have drawn. Type a
command or its alias at the command line (L,
TR, O) the same way you would at a desk,
or pick the tool from the toolbar. Sketch mode turns a freehand
Pencil stroke into a single polyline on the active layer.
Snaps cover endpoint, midpoint, center, intersection, perpendicular, nearest, quadrant, tangent and node. Layers lock, freeze and turn off. PDF export plots to a fixed scale.
Apple Pencil and touch
- The Pencil draws, two fingers navigate. Pan and pinch-zoom with two fingers while the Pencil stays ready to place the next point.
- Palm rejection. While the Pencil tip is on the glass, a resting hand never pans, selects or draws.
- Fingers still work. Pencil mode only holds back a finger on the drawing tools, and it ends 10 seconds after the Pencil was last used. Until you first use the Pencil, a finger draws normally.
- Hover preview. On an iPad that supports Pencil hover, holding the tip just above the glass shows the crosshair and the snap you are about to hit.
- Two-finger double-tap undoes one step.
- A finger-sized snap target. A fingertip looks for snap points within 30 px; the Pencil keeps the tighter 15 px a mouse uses.
DXF in and out
DXF import and export are Pro features. Draftly reads ASCII DXF, not
binary. There is no DWG reader or writer, in either direction; to
open a DWG, convert it to DXF first with the free ODA File
Converter. PDF and SVG export are on every tier, and Draftly's
own .drft files are readable JSON.
Free and Pro
Free
- [x] Every drawing and editing command above
- [x] All nine snap families
- [x] 5 layers
- [x] Watermarked PDF / SVG export
- [ ] No DXF import or export
Pro
- [x] Unlimited layers
- [x] DXF import & export
- [x] Watermark-free PDF / SVG
- [x] One account, every device
In the app, Pro is an App Store in-app purchase. On draftlycad.com it is $72 a year, or $179 once for a lifetime seat while those are on sale. Either purchase grants the same account entitlement, so you do not need to buy twice. In the web app, a signed-in account can press Start free trial for 14 days of Pro, no card required.
Other devices
Everywhere else, Draftly runs in a current desktop or mobile browser with nothing to install, and the macOS and Linux desktop builds are free downloads from the platforms page. A Windows build and the Google Play build are in development and are not offered here yet; platform status says where each one is.
Apple, iPad, iPhone and Apple Pencil are trademarks of Apple Inc. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc. Draftly is not affiliated with Autodesk, Inc.