10 Best Product Design Software in 2023

Nuxeo is a digital asset creation and management program you can use to curate 3D and 360° assets to ensure effective supply chain management. It allows you to automate simple administrative tasks so your creative team can focus on designing products for your company.

Nuxeo has an audit trail that allows the review, annotation, and approval of designs wherever you are. Nuxeo is best for consumer packaged goods because it allows designers to quickly implement product design changes to avoid delays of product launches.

Nuxeo has an intuitive search filtering system to sort products according to materials, colors, availability, and price. Nuxeo allows users to create workspaces where creative teams can collaborate, communicate and share files with other team members.

Nuxeo’s pricing is available upon request.

Blender is a free and open-source product design platform that supports modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing and motion tracking, video editing, and 2D animation pipelines. It is used by studios and individual artists, professionals and hobbyists, scientists and students, VFX experts, and animators.

Being no-cost and open-source, Blender users need a DIY attitude when it comes to learning, training, and implementation. If you can handle the learning curve and more technical aspects of the software, it’s worth its weight in gold. IT experts have full access to the source code so customizations and integrations are virtually endless.

Newbies to product design beware, though—this tool is not for the faint of heart. Blender is free to download and use on Mac, Windows, or Linux.

Inkybay is a product design software with personalization and design tools you can use to bring your customers’ visions to life. It has embedded multiple designer themes making it ideal for use in whatever line of business you specialize in.

Inkybay is best for businesses that offer web-to-print solutions because it allows you to receive production-ready files to print files sent by customers or other product designers readily. It has a live editing tool that customers can use to choose design elements and print colors they want for product personalization.

You can use Inkybay to customize a wide variety of products, including caps, apparel, shoes, business cards, phone cases, and other items.

Inkybay Pro has a one-time license fee of $2,499 and they offer a 14-day free trial.

SketchUp is a comprehensive 3D design software that caters to a wide range of industries including architecture, commercial interiors, construction, and 3D printing. It offers a suite of products and features such as SketchUp for Web, iPad, and Schools, SketchUp Viewer, 3D Warehouse, LayOut, and Sefaira, all aimed at enabling users to visualize their ideas through smart 3D modelling.

The platform is not only equipped with resources for learning and assistance but also supports collaboration, making it an ideal tool for designing sustainable buildings and customizing 3D workspaces. SketchUp offers 2D drawing, 3D design and modelling, 3D imaging, API, access controls/permissions, animation, annotations, and an architectural symbol library. These features provide a robust platform for product design, making it a versatile tool in the industry.

What sets SketchUp apart is its user-friendly interface and detailed modelling capabilities. Also the fact that you can quickly train new people using free learning resources from their website, flattening the software's learning curve. It simplifies complex tasks, making it accessible for beginners while still offering advanced features for professionals.

As for integrations, the official website does not provide specific information about the most important integrations provided by SketchUp.

Autodesk’s Product Design and Manufacturing collection provide users with extended capabilities to AutoCAD and Inventor to run simulations and production layouts to ensure the functionality of a manufacturing system. It connects to Fusion 360, so you can produce high-quality renderings of 3D models.

Autodesk allows virtual prototyping so you can review designs without using up local resources. Autodesk is best for designing complex products, equipment, and systems because it has a tolerance analysis feature to help ensure that systems can handle operational stress. It allows industrial designers to create manufacturing documentation, ensuring that systems comply with the quality standards.

Autodesk provides users with a central storage system to view all data in the product development process ensuring collaboration between different departments.

Autodesk pricing costs $2,855/year/license and offers a free trial for 30 days.

SOLIDWORKS is a 3D CAD software you can use to create, review, and evaluate 3D designs. It allows you to create custom dashboards so other design members can review and share crucial data.

SOLIDWORKS is a cloud-based platform allowing users to access, annotate, manage, and share designs wherever they are.

SOLIDWORKS is best for 3D sculpting because it makes the design process easier through intuitive push-pull interaction. It allows industrial and mechanical engineers to collaborate on the same product model to speed up the design process. This modeling tool also helps eliminate errors by immediately updating your 3D Sculptor files as you work so other team members are aware of design changes.

SOLIDWORKS pricing is available upon request.

KRFTWRK is a product design and digital marketing agency specializing in prototyping web and mobile applications. Aside from building websites, KRFTWRK also helps companies build their brand to establish a foothold in their niche market. It has a product management feature that helps ensure your creative team meets their deadline while staying within budget.

KRFTWRK is best for app and website design because it has a drag-and-drop UI functionality that allows users to update their app or website even if they don’t have web development experience.

KRFTWRK has a generous selection of page template builds you can choose from that makes creating a website from scratch easy. It also allows you to incorporate search engine optimization in your website to ensure that your site appears on top of search results.

KRFTWRK pricing is available upon request.

Catia is a design and styling software you can use to create 3D designs or 2D sketches from scratch. It has defect detection capabilities allowing you to immediately improve your design before moving into production. It has a color and trim designer function so you can create product elements around colors, materials, finishes, and grains.

Catia is best for automotive designers because it allows users to evaluate human posture to create safe and comfortable vehicle designs. Its modeling tool lets you create computer-aided designs useful in technical reviews by mechanical engineers.

It has a style modeler feature you can use to create, edit, and analyze ergonomic shapes so you can come up with Class-A surface quality on your products.

Catia pricing is available upon request.

Adobe Creative Cloud is a collection of more than 20 design and production apps you can use to create and edit prototypes. You can use Adobe Creative Cloud to edit films and videos for advertisements, design wireframes, and build 3D product demos.

Adobe Creative Cloud includes 100GB of cloud storage you can use for saving and sharing files with other designers. Adobe Creative Cloud is best for designers who need a program they can use on the go because it has a mobile version compatible with Android and iOS devices.

It comes with 2GB of complimentary cloud storage, so you can access your files and designs on any device as long as you have an internet connection. Adobe Creative Cloud provides versatility since you can shoot pictures and videos using your mobile device and edit them immediately.

Adobe Creative Cloud pricing starts at $19.99/user/month and offers a 30-day free trial.

Onshape is a product development platform you can use to accelerate the release of new products by shortening the design process. It has data management capabilities ensuring that design teams are using the latest design data at all times. Its collaboration tools ensure that designers can work together with other team members and view changes in real-time.

Onshape is best for companies that want to increase productivity and minimize production errors through workflow automation. Onshape allows the approval and revision process automation to help promote accountability and ensure the management of all requests.

You can use Onshape to set up trigger points for notifications and emails, ensuring that you attend to critical concerns immediately.

Onshape Professional pricing starts at $2,100/user/year, and they offer a 14-day free trial.