I think the free version is a bit limited, but I don't know the details of what is different. It suits some people but it's very hard to work parametrically and hence tweaking a dimension on which other stuff depends will result in a huge amount of repeated work. Completely different way of working to parametric CAD applications. DesignSpark Mechanical: the free version is lacking a lot of (arguably) essential features so I would give it a miss.Once you've figured out you need to use the "Part Design" toolbench, it's fairly easy to transition back and forth between FreeCAD and OnShape (or SolidWorks or ZW3D or SolidEdge or.). FreeCAD: Not as capable as Fusion or OnShape, but for simple-ish models (those without complex assemblies) it's very powerful and being open source it'll stay free and available for ever.SolidEdge community edition - no idea what it's like: I haven't tried it, but SolidEdge professional is very good.It also works a little differently to many other CAD applications so can be a little hard to transition to/from it. Autodesk Fusion 360: powerful, but bear in mind that you'll have to renew the free licence every year and they have a history of removing features for the free version so you might get stung in the future.It's only likely to be an issue if you later want to patent something or possibly if your plagiarising someone else's work!
For most hobbyist applications, that really doesn't matter (in practice no one will ever find them amongst the millions of online projects). However, it's only viable if you don't mind the fact that others could (in theory) get hold of your designs - they're all available online. The best (by a wide margin) free one I've found is OnShape.
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