UKH

I'm looking for some recommendations for a simple design software package for personal home and carpentry designs. I've had a look at Sketchup[free] which looks like it could just do the job, but I'd rather get something a bit more adept, but not pay the $700 for the pro version of Sketchup. Any ideas?

Fusion 360 is free if you're not earning money from your endeavours.

I've used Onshape which is a browser based CAD package, more similar to SolidWorks, Inventor etc.  As a mechanical engineer, I get on better with it than Sketchup for my hobby tinkerings, but then I havent been back to try Sketchup in a long time.  I was able to get a free Onshape account when I signed up years ago and all accounts were free, I think a friend tried to sign up recently and it's a 30 day trial.

Edit: I also like that it doesnt need to download any software to take up space on my elderly laptop.  Similarly, I think some of the processing must be done in the cloud because I dont remember said laptop trying to melt it's way through the table like it did with my university coursework.

OpenSCAD is something you’ll either take to instantly or find totally counter-intuitive and frustrating.  It’s free so you can always have a go...  I find it useful for simple stuff, but it doesn’t take long for it to be lacking compared to conventional CAD systems.

I would suggest persisting with SketchUp until you are adept.

FreeCAD