When it comes to 3D modeling, designers have practically no limitations in transferring their vivid imaginations into the digital realm. But not everyone has the skills to translate their ideas into digital reality. Thankfully, there’s a selection of websites, 3D archives, and content repositories that help creatives source ready-made 3D models for use in video games, animation, graphic design, 3D printing, and more.
Here, we’ve listed a wealth of repositories with an impressive selection of free 3D models. Not every 3D model is suitable for every application, though. We’ve added descriptions about each website so you get an idea of what they’re offering.
We’ve separated the repositories first into categories by the ideal application for their models and then ranked them by the number of monthly visitors (measured via similarweb.com). You can jump to them directly:
Categories
- Multi-application repositories
- Animation & game assets
- Virtual staging & graphic design
- Architecture & engineering
If you are looking for free 3D printer files, here’s a dedicated overview.
And if you aren’t sure which free 3D models are suitable for your application, please read the addendum.
Multi-Application Repositories
Many of the largest 3D model repositories service a variety of applications, usually at least architectural visualization and virtual staging, graphic design, animation, and assets for game design. That variety can make them difficult to categorize, but some of the best collections across applications are hosted on these eclectic websites — so we’ve decided to list them together.
In this section, you’ll find repositories with selections of 3D models that are well-suited for at least two of the other categories in this list. Note that many websites listed elsewhere on this list will be effective resources for multiple categories too, but we feel they are particularly suited to one.
Autodesk Online Gallery
Autodesk’s Online Gallery is a place where many professional designers show off their latest projects. While some designers only upload renderings of their work, others give free access to their 3D files. Though a good number of professionals contribute here, there’s no restriction on who can upload, so the standard of quality varies widely.
Apart from free 3D models for animation and visualization, you can find files for VR, 3D printing, and even some for engineering projects.
- Highlights: Showcase for professional designers. Application-focused categories helpful to users.
Visit: Autodesk Online Gallery
CGTrader
CGTrader functions mainly as a marketplace to buy and sell 3D models, but the site also offers a selection of 260,000+ free 3D models to download.
Users who can’t find the right model “off the shelf” can also commission designers in CGTrader’s 3D modeling job market. On the flip side, if you’re a designer, CGTrader is great for both sharing your work and finding new jobs.
- Highlights: Large variety of models for many applications, plus a commission system to lean on if you can’t find what you’re looking for.
Visit: CGTrader
TurboSquid
TurboSquid is a popular marketplace for high-quality 3D models and is a popular destination for artists looking to sell their work. A unique feature of TurboSquid is its quality control, dubbed “CheckMate”, which consists of objective requirements to evaluate the quality of the 3D model (scale, clean UVs, texture resolution specified) and ensure buyers are getting what they pay for. Fortunately, there’s also a large free section of quality files you can choose from.
- Highlights: “CheckMate” 3D model quality control and $1,000,000 of indemnification for your purchase.
Visit: TurboSquid
Free3D
Free3D stands out from many other free community-driven platforms with its clear and structured UI. Its 17,000+ free 3D models and 564,900+ paid 3D models are organized by clear categories and subcategories, 3D modelers, as well as, animated, rigged, and low-poly models, though it does miss some filters that would be helpful. The site is very straightforward, so there’s not much more to say, but it’s nice that its free models take center stage on the front page.
- Highlights: Free models upfront, good organization.
Visit: Free3D
RenderHub
Though RenderHub offers any kind of 3D model you could want (including 3D printables), it has a unique focus on content for Daz, making it especially handy for users of the 3D rigging software.
Like other popular general-purpose 3D model repositories, RenderHub has a good variety of categories and sub-categories to find what you need, but there’s also a forum if you have any questions about using the models or about 3D design itself.
- Highlights: Daz-focused content for users of the rigging software.
Visit: RenderHub
3DExport
Aimed at professional designers and 3D artists, 3DExport is a marketplace for premium 3D designs, but there’s a large selection of over 10,000 free models available. Additionally, there are nearly 300 free community-created tutorials hosted on the website, making it a great place to look for both inspiration and education.
- Highlights: Large collection of free and paid 3D models, as well as free community-created tutorials.
Visit: 3DExport
3D CAD Browser
3D CAD Browser doesn’t exactly put a swish aesthetic forward, but this antique-looking website does host over 800 free 3D objects for you to download and tweak at your leisure. It’s probably not going to be a regular port of call for anyone deep into 3D hobbies, but it may well be worth checking in on from time to time.
- Highlights: A simple, old-school-looking site with some fun 3D objects.
Visit: 3D CAD Browser
ShareCG
ShareCG is a 3D model marketplace with a highly varied quality to its offerings. Fortunately, the website’s detailed filters allow you to select the skill level of a model’s designer so you only see the quality you’re searching for. There are also sections dedicated to the 3D rigging program Daz, and for Poser.
A wealth of filters make ShareCG a little easier to navigate, but it could benefit from more specific sub-categories to narrow down the content.
- Highlights: Wide variety of resources and useful filters.
Visit: ShareCG
Animation & Game Assets
When you think of 3D models, animation and video game assets are probably among the first applications that come to mind. It’s likely these are the most targeted applications you’ll see on popular model repositories as the need is so massive.
If your video game or animated work is going for a more realistic look, keep in mind that many of the websites listed under Virtual Staging & Graphic Design will have 3D models you may also be interested in. We decided to exclude models trying to imitate real life from this section because we feel ultra-realistic 3D models would be too niche in these applications.
Also, see: Multi-Application Repositories and Renderpeople.
ArtStation
Epic Games, the company behind the Unreal Engine, has its own repository and marketplace for 3D models called ArtStation; and it’s one of the most popular websites on this list. As such, the quality of assets available on this website is top-tier.
Given that it’s run by Epic, many of these models are ripe for use as 3D video game assets or for animation, but there’s a large variety. There’s also application categorization to help you find the best models for your purpose.
- Highlights: One-stop shop for 3D models and other assets. Large, popular community with a variety of other things to do.
Visit: ArtStation
Unity Asset Store
While the Unity game engine is as much a virtual reality environment for architects as it is a tool for game developers, it’s still largely known as a game engine. And though the 3D model offerings on the Unity Asset Store are as varied as the tool’s applications, we find it’s still most useful for animation and video game assets.
There’s a never-ending flow of assets, textures, tutorials, and scripts on the Unity Asset Store, including high-quality free assets — some created by Unity themselves. All told, there are over 2,800 3D assets to freely download for your projects. You can find more to suit your needs here, too, including VFX and audio.
- Highlights: Lots of high-quality models created by professional designers, including Unity itself.
Visit: Unity Asset Store
Sketchfab
Sketchfab is one of our favorite marketplaces for high-quality, user-generated 3D designs. There’s an emphasis on character design and sculpture here, but you can find just about anything you’re looking for.
You’ll find a wealth of free 3D models in the “explore” section with professional-level paid models under “buy 3D models” — but it’s worth noting there are still some paid (and un-downloadable) models in the explore section. The sections are equally easy to navigate, but, unfortunately, the models optimized for 3D printing are only a sub-category in the paid section.
- Highlights: Interactive 3D viewers for every model on the results page makes scrolling for the perfect model a breeze.
Visit: Sketchfab
OpenGameArt
OpenGameArt is a forum for game development enthusiasts. Besides message boards and tutorials, the website also provides a downloads section loaded with free assets. It features free textures, free 3D models, music, and sound effects from a variety of sources. These aren’t the highest quality assets out there, but they’re meant to be accessible first and foremost since the site is geared towards enthusiasts rather than professionals.
- Highlights: An enthusiastic and education-oriented community.
Visit: OpenGameArt
Blend Swap
Blend Swap is a platform for Blender users to upload and exchange their work, usually under the Creative Commons license. Both the type and quality of the 3D models available for download are quite broad, ranging from simple to sophisticated, depending only on the uploader’s skill level.
While Blend Swap’s 3D models are freely supplied and shared, there is a download limit before you have to purchase a subscription package. Gotta support those server fees somehow.
- Highlights: Everything is free! But with timed download limits.
Visit: Blend Swap
PixelLab
PixelLab is a publisher of plugins, textures, tools, and extensions for the CAD program Cinema 4D. It also creates high-quality 3D models and textures, some of which are given away freely just for joining its email newsletter.
All PixelLab’s models are incredibly high quality, but there’s no navigation to speak of. Just a long, long list. Pretty to scroll through, though.
- Highlights: Entirely free professional-quality 3D models.
Visit: PixelLab
Kenney
Kenney is a Dutch video game developer that specializes in low-poly games. In a truly unique move, Kenney has made not just its games, but also its development assets available for download. While downloading Kenney’s 3D models is free, the developers certainly appreciate you buying the asset bundles they also offer.
- Highlight: Professional game assets crafted by a working game studio.
Visit: Kenney
Virtual Staging & Graphic Design
Somewhat counterintuitively, one of the most popular uses of 3D models is 2D imagery. In architecture and real estate, 3D models are used to create showcase buildings and spaces for sale with a living atmosphere. Similarly, graphic designers will often render 2D work from 3D models for complete control over the composition, including shadows, lights, angles, and perspectives.
Realistic 3D models made to look like real-world furniture, people, and nature are best for these purposes, and we’ve listed the repositories best catering to that need here.
Also see: Multi-Application Repositories, Animation & Game Assets, GrabCAD, PARTcloud, and BiblioCAD.
3D Warehouse
If you’re looking for architecture, product design, or scale models, 3D Warehouse is a good starting point. The website specializes in hosting anything that was created with the popular 3D modeling software SketchUp. Since content creation is open to all users, the quality can vary greatly, but there are plenty of professional-quality 3D models to be found here.
If you’re a SketchUp user, the “selling” feature here is 3D Warehouse’s integration with the software — making it trivial to import 3D Warehous’s existing models into your own design.
- Highlights: SketchUp integration for easy and instant imports.
Visit: 3D Warehouse
3dsky
Aimed primarily at virtual staging and architectural visualization, 3dsky offers an extensive repository of over 90,000 free 3D models and well over 500,000 not-so-free 3D models. If you’re keen on the paid models, there’s a rather affordable subscription service ($18 a month) that lets you download 30 free pro models a day. Some of the models are even provided by the represented product’s original manufacturers.
- Highlights: Photo-realistic product renders, many manufacturer-provided.
Visit: 3dsky
Evermotion
Evermotion is a VFX company based out of Poland. They specialize in photo-realistic 3D renders and assets with articles, designer profiles, and portfolios making up the company’s website. Dig a little deeper, and you can find a selection of free 3D models especially useful for virtual staging under “downloads”.
- Highlights: High-quality 3D scenes and objects from a community of specialized designers.
Visit: Evermotion
3Dmili
Though the website is absolutely stuffed with ads, 3DMili does have a strong selection of high-quality 3D model sets for download. It has a heavy focus on furniture and interior design, with objects of this variety largely dominating the downloadable content available. However, you can also find other helpful design resources like textures.
- Highlights: Quality 3D models of real-world home furnishings.
Visit: 3dmili.com
Design Connected
Though the vast majority of 3D models available through Design Connected come with a price tag, there’s also a generous assortment of high-quality models under “freebies”. The focus is clearly on designer items, making it a perfect resource for virtual staging in luxury real estate.
While the paid models are organized thoughtfully into categories, the freebies are a bit more of a digital rummage bin — so stretch your scrolling finger.
- Highlights: 3D models of designer furniture in high quality — even in the freebies.
Visit: Design Connected
Renderpeople
As apt as names get, Renderpeople sells high-quality 3D models of people for you to render. Most models are already fully clothed and posed, making them easy to pop into a photorealistic scene, but others can be posed yourself if you’re particular.
The models available for free on Renderpeople are admittedly limited, functioning more like a demo than truly free model selection, but it’s so important to include people in architectural visualizations or virtual staging that we decided to include it on this list.
- Highlights: Photorealistic models ideal for setting scenes.
Visit: Renderpeople
Syncronia
Syncronia is a 3D model repository for architectural and interior design brought to you directly by the manufacturers. Its focus lies on designer furniture, kitchen appliances, and bathroom equipment.
The website prides itself on its collaboration with Autodesk, which promotes BIM (Building Information Management) technology that strives to facilitate planning. Since manufacturers want their products seen, these models are offered on Syncronia for free.
- Highlights: Specialized repository of professional CAD and BIM modeling focused on designer furnishings and provided by manufacturers.
Visit: Syncronia
Dimensiva
Dimensiva is an excellent source of 3D assets for interior design and virtual staging. It features 3D models of designer furniture — some of which have won prestigious awards — and some electronic devices to fill out your rendered room.
Most models are paid, but there’s a “free 3D models” section with some very useful models, including iPhones and smart TV’s among larger furniture.
- Highlights: Award-winning designer furniture and high-end electronics digitalized.
Visit: Dimensivia
Architecture & Engineering
There are a baffling number of small components to implement into product designs and new buildings. Unfortunately, most engineers aren’t also visual artists — or at least don’t have the time to create accurate 3D representations of every specialized screw or wire in their design. Fortunately, many manufacturers freely provide 3D models of their parts for engineers to easily integrate into their original designs. Knowing where to grab a pre-made digital part with just a name or reference number makes it just so much easier, so here are the best websites we know of.
Also see: Autodesk Online Gallery, and 3D Warehouse.
GrabCAD
GrabCAD is a website on a mission to “help mechanical engineers build great products faster.” Think of it as the engineer’s version of Thingiverse, with added community features like competitions called “challenges”. One of the website’s best features is its large library of free 3D models to download and 3D print — available in STL and other formats — created by a community of over a million engineers.
- Highlights: High-quality engineering models, a community of engineers, and regular design competitions.
Visit: GrabCAD
PARTcloud
PARTcloud offers a little bit of everything, but its bread and butter are its CAD catalogs for engineering models. You can find pretty well any part in these catalogs, including for BIM & architecture, mechanical, and electrical engineering purposes.
Also of note is PARTcloud’s “shape search” function. If you’re having trouble figuring out what to search to get the result you need, you can simply sketch the part that you’re looking for, and the website will present geometrically similar pieces. How neat!
- Highlights: A robust part catalog and innovative “shape search” function.
Visit: PARTcloud.net
BiblioCAD
BiblioCAD is a comprehensive library, designed for the exchange and download of AutoCAD’s CAD and BIM blocks. It offers a range of highly complex DWG files both for free and purchase. This website may best serve designers, architects, and engineers, given its specialized content targeting architectural projects. Nevertheless, its broad range of categories provides possibilities for other professionals and hobbyists too.
The free tier allows users to download up to 20 files per day, but past that you’ll need to pay for a subscription.
- Highlights: Massive database of free AutoCAD blocks available in DWG, 3DS MAX, RVT, SKP, and other formats.
Visit: BiblioCAD
TraceParts
TraceParts is a marketing solution for industrial manufacturers, distributors, and their clients. Suppliers upload accurate 3D models of their products so prospective clients have free access to their parts when designing their own products. It’s a great resource for free and up-to-date CAD files, datasheets, and in-depth specs.
TraceParts can even act as an intermediary for both sides when clients make purchase requests later, simplifying the process significantly.
- Highlights: Huge file repository for industrial clients with exact 3D models for demanding technical modeling.
Visit: TraceParts
3D ContentCentral
3D ContentCentral is a repository service for engineering companies hosted by Dassault Systèmes, the publisher of SolidWorks. Users can configure, download, and request 2D and 3D parts and assemblies, 2D blocks, library features, and macros. The website boasts some 2.2 million CAD users that actively contribute their free 3D models to the page, and the online viewer features advanced options like exploding and segmenting the models.
- Highlights: Highly technical library of both user and supplier-contributed CAD models with advanced model-viewing features.
Visit: 3D ContentCentral
3Dfind.it
3Dfind.it isn’t a repository but a search engine for CAD and BIM catalogs. Manufacturers list their catalogs, and users can freely search all of them through keywords, classifications, sketches, photos, parametric templates, functionalities, and more. The website also offers integrations for FreeCAD and Solidworks so users can quickly search for the parts they need without leaving their modeling program and easily insert them into their designs.
- Highlights: Wide variety of intuitive search options and CAD integrations for streamlined workflows.
Visit: 3Dfind.it
Looking for More?
This isn’t an exhaustive list of free 3D model repositories. In an effort to keep this list as useful as possible, we’ve excluded a number of fantastic resources because we found them either too niche or too vague in terms of licensing information. If you’re interested in more, here are a few of our favorites:
African Fossils
African Fossils preserves prehistory with modern technology. This organization scans African fossils using a mounted SLA camera and photogrammetry, then hosts the high-quality files for free download on its website. If you ever wanted to turn your basement into an archeological excavation site, African Fossils is the place to be.
NASA 3D Resources
NASA provides free models of some of the organization’s technology and landmarks intended for educational purposes. Heading to this repository could make that moon landing diorama a little easier.
Smithsonian 3D Digitization
The Smithsonian Institution has a program where it scans and uploads 3D models onto its website and makes them available for free download. The website is essentially a virtual museum, offering several dozen tours that highlight the historical importance of each piece.
NIH 3D Print Exchange
The National Institute for Health hosts a free biomedical CAD repository. It makes open-source scientific designs for labware and educational designs, like anatomical and molecular models, freely available.
TinkerCAD Things
TinkerCAD Things is the sharing portal for 3D modeling hobbyists working with Autodesk’s free TinkerCAD software. The designs are as diverse as the user community; you’ll find fan art and parts from various DIY projects.
Which Free 3D Models are Suited for My Application?
Free 3D Models for Architecture and Engineering
In architecture and engineering, you likely want to ensure your 3D models are true to scale. They should be dimensionally accurate and provide documentation on the materials to be used. The CAD models used for planning are not to be confused with the ones for architectural visualization and digital real estate staging. Architects design buildings down to the tiniest detail, stuffing them with miles of wiring, heating, and everything else that makes skyscrapers, football stadiums, or hospitals function. The 3D models used for visualization and virtual staging are simply the facade, some key interior spaces, and furnishings.
Free 3D Models for 3D Printing
If you intend to 3D print a 3D model, make sure the mesh is watertight and its vertices aren’t non-manifold (otherwise, your printer will be in trouble). Thankfully, you can repair most broken 3D files. If you’re not comfortable doing that yet, be sure you’re downloading a 3D model that’s optimized for 3D printing already. Also, check the wall thickness for the efficient use of material. You want a sturdy print, but don’t waste precious resin or filament.
Free 3D Models for Animation and Video Game Development
Video games try to square the circle. Their ambition is often a high degree of realism, but they also utilize real-time rendering. One way to do this more effectively is to lower the polygon count in your 3D models, making them less realistic. So, 3D modelers often remove parts and hide them from the player’s point of view or intentionally take on a different art style.
Free 3D Models for Graphic Design, Virtual Staging, and Visual Effects
Visual-effects artists and graphic designers aim at a high degree of realism, as their work is often representational. But as their works are pre-rendered, they are in a very comfortable position to allow themselves substantially higher polygon counts. In CG animation, the quality of the bone structure is paramount. You want to configure the kinematics of your mesh without encountering any issues later on during animation.
License: The text of "Free 3D Models: The Best Sites of 2023" by All3DP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.