About FlatCad
FlatCad is a free 2D CAD program that runs in your web browser at flatcad.com. It is made for people who cut things (laser cutters, CNC routers, plasma and vinyl cutters) and for anyone who needs an accurate floor plan or layout, without installing software or creating an account.
What it does
- Draws to exact sizes: lines, rectangles, polylines, circles and 3-point arcs, with typed lengths, coordinates, angles and arithmetic, snaps to ends, midpoints, centres, tangents, intersections and a grid, and a panel for typing exact positions and radii.
- Edits like CAD: trim, extend, fillet (lines and arcs), chamfer, move, copy, rotate, scale, mirror, rectangular and polar arrays, undo and redo.
- Prepares parts for cutting: Cut, Engrave, Score and Guide layers, kerf offset of whole outlines, single-line text for engraving, and the total cut length of any selection.
- Talks to other software: opens DXF and SVG; exports DXF with real arcs, closed polylines, layers and units, plus millimetre SVG for laser software.
- Prints to scale: PDF at fit-to-page or a true scale such as 1:1, 1:50 or 1:100, tiled across pages when needed. See drawing a floor plan.
- Keeps your work: autosave in the browser, and .flatcad files you can keep anywhere.
- Works where you are: any modern browser, Chromebooks and tablets included, offline after the first visit, in six looks from Classic to Blueprint.
File formats
| Format | Open | Save | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| DXF | Yes | Yes | Lines, polylines with arcs, circles, arcs, ellipses, splines, text and blocks in; AutoCAD 2000 with true arcs, closed polylines, layers and units out |
| SVG | Yes | Yes | Paths, shapes, text, transforms and Inkscape layers in; one group per layer in millimetres out |
| No | Yes | Through the browser's print dialog, fit-to-page or true scale | |
| .flatcad | Yes | Yes | FlatCad's own file, a small JSON document |
Privacy
There is no account and no cookie banner, because there are no cookies. Drawings stay in your browser and your own files; opening a file reads it on your computer. The site counts visits and anonymous usage events (such as "exported a DXF") without cookies or personal identifiers, to learn which features people use.
Contact
Questions, bug reports, feature ideas, or a DXF or SVG that won't open properly: email contact@flatcad.com.
Guides
- SVG to DXF with real arcs
- Kerf offset for whole outlines
- Free CAD for laser cutting and CNC parts
- Draw a floor plan to scale and print it
Questions
What is FlatCad?
A free 2D CAD program that runs in a web browser at flatcad.com, made for laser cutting, CNC routing and floor plans. It draws to exact dimensions and exports DXF with real arcs and millimetre SVG.
Does FlatCad cost anything or need an account?
No. There is no signup, no paid tier, no watermark and no export limit.
Where are my drawings stored?
In your own browser, saved automatically. You can also save .flatcad files anywhere you like. Drawings are never uploaded to a server.
Which files can it open and save?
It opens .flatcad, DXF and SVG files, and saves .flatcad, DXF (AutoCAD 2000 with arcs, layers and units), millimetre SVG, and PDF at fit-to-page or true scale.
Which browsers and devices work?
Any current browser with WebGL: Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari on Windows, macOS, Linux and ChromeOS, plus phones and tablets with touch drawing. It keeps working offline after the first visit and can be installed as an app.
Is FlatCad the same as other programs called FlatCAD?
No. This FlatCad is the browser application at flatcad.com. Other tools and research projects use similar names and are unrelated.