AutoCAD

AutoCAD

Autodesk
Maya

Maya

Autodesk
+
+

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About

Autodesk AutoCAD is the world’s leading 2D and 3D CAD software, trusted by millions of architects, engineers, and construction professionals. It provides precision tools to design, draft, and document complex projects across industries. The 2026 version introduces Autodesk AI, enabling automated drafting, smart block recognition, and real-time collaboration through Autodesk Docs. With customizable workspaces, AutoLISP automation, and access to over 1,000 apps, users can streamline every stage of their design workflow. AutoCAD also offers seven specialized industry toolsets that boost productivity by up to 63%, from architecture to electrical and mechanical design. Available on desktop, web, and mobile, AutoCAD empowers professionals to design anywhere with confidence and efficiency.

About

Create expansive worlds, complex characters, and dazzling effects. Bring believable characters to life with engaging animation tools. Shape 3D objects and scenes with intuitive modeling tools in Maya® software. Create realistic effects—from explosions to cloth simulation. A new visual programming environment using dynamic solvers enables you to create blockbuster-worthy effects quickly. Build custom graphs using the Bifrost Graph Editor. Create stunning effects—from snow and sand to dust storms and explosions—with ready-to-use graphs. Render your most complex projects with Arnold. Arnold is built to manage complex characters, scenery, and lighting challenges. Arnold is integrated with Maya, so you can see high-quality previews and iterate changes quickly. Save time with Arnold’s artist-friendly UI and simple, intuitive controls.

Platforms Supported

Windows
Mac
Linux
Cloud
On-Premises
iPhone
iPad
Android
Chromebook

Platforms Supported

Windows
Mac
Linux
Cloud
On-Premises
iPhone
iPad
Android
Chromebook

Audience

Architects, engineers, designers, and construction professionals seeking AI-enhanced 2D and 3D CAD software for faster drafting, collaboration, and automation in precision-driven projects

Audience

Computer artists who need 3D animation, simulation, modeling, and rendering solution

Support

Phone Support
24/7 Live Support
Online

Support

Phone Support
24/7 Live Support
Online

API

Offers API

API

Offers API

Screenshots and Videos

Screenshots and Videos

Pricing

$1,268 per user per year
Free Version
Free Trial

Pricing

No information available.
Free Version
Free Trial

Reviews/Ratings

Overall 4.4 / 5
ease 4.6 / 5
features 4.6 / 5
design 4.4 / 5
support 4.6 / 5

Reviews/Ratings

Overall 4.2 / 5
ease 3.2 / 5
features 4.8 / 5
design 4.2 / 5
support 3.6 / 5

Pros & Cons from Real Users

Pros

  • ° It is more complete unlike many other 2D plan management software for constructions. Moreover, I consider it number one for this type of work since it is more complete in functionalities so I can detail my plans without any problem and thus deliver the final project to the client without losing any detail. I have tried free software to know how different AutoCAD was from others and the difference is abysmal, therefore, I consider that for beginners or students it is preferable to use free CAD software before entering the world of AutoCAD because of how extensive it is. ° It has a detailed documentation in case you have not learned all the functionalities or want to explore new things about this software. In addition to the fact that the documentation can be downloaded to be able to read it in offline mode while perfecting the handling of this software since it is complicated to learn. ° When I say that it is very detailed, I mean that I can count on all the elements of a construction, as well as plumbing, electricity, mechanics, architecture, etc. I can include all of this in the same plane and also that there is a space for each one since they all work differently due to their pieces. For example, in construction I have different elements such as the different profiles of a beam or if I create a special and personalized one, I can also do it. ° The design of its interface is not at all confusing despite the countless number of features it has, this is essential for me because of the convenience of being able to work on plans without having everything accumulated in one place. I like that everything is grouped into submenus to make everything more practical. I can also use keyboard shortcuts in case I want to use a function without navigating the interface to find it. Another thing that also counts with respect to the shortcuts is that I can assign key combinations in a personalized way in order to adapt this software to my needs and comforts, as well as I can modify the different elements where they show functions so that I can place the functions that I most I use just giving it a click and not going to the menus to look for them.
  • We work with this program daily and like the feature packed program that can do pretty much anything that can do anything. We use this to draft building layouts to scale and also building rendering. I have also used this program in the pass to do quantity take-offs, ground reclamation and ground works design. Awesome and powerful product to use.
  • This software is a powerful feature rich program that allows us to create amazing 2D and 3D designs. We use these designs to present amazing visuals to our clients. We also use the program to create indepth and accurate construction documents for both our employees and contractors alike.
  • If you know AutoCAD, you know the Pros. It is a powerful tool for 2d and Civil 3d drawings. I like the fact that it leaves open the ability to program more as a user.
  • You can edit and makes vectors with ease because of the interface and the tools provided by Autocad. You can use it as a photo editor too. It gives you one of the best finishing in the editing.

Cons

  • ° The 3D rendering is very good and clear, but it is very simple. I usually look for realism in terms of previewing plans to show them to my clients, so most of the time when I need clearer renders I use special software which can have more details and we make the properties that I want to show like this to get a perspective closer to the reality of the final design. ° When you are going to render a 2D plane in 3D it tends to do a full render, I mean it renders even what is not being seen inside the camera. I have verified this since I did tests eliminating the details that were not going to appear in the final image of each shot and I have drastically noticed the difference in the time it takes to render each one of the images of the plane in question. For me it is important to have a good working speed when I want to finish a project in a set time and this problem has given me many setbacks. ° It requires a great deal of experience to use this software correctly, there are much simpler CAD editors since they do not have as many plan editing functionalities or do not have 3D rendering. AutoCAD is much more complete and more complex to handle in all aspects since it is made by professionals. That is why I recommend taking a course only for this software since it involves a lot of work and time to be able to master it correctly, although you will always learn new things from so many functions that it has. ° In the case of using volumetric information this software will not have it, so you can wait for them to add that functionality or simply switch to another CAD platform. This function of volumetric models is important to be able to add to have more details of the plans without requiring them to be placed manually since it can take a long time to do so. ° The cost of the subscription seems absurd to me, unlike when AutoCAD was paid for a final price, which also had the option of subscription in case the final price could not be paid. Now it is more expensive and also it is not only by subscription, but now they have a FLEX mode which allows you to use it for days. It doesn't seem profitable to me to pay for a product like this, since if I definitely buy software it's because I required an investment for which I shouldn't pay more.
  • This is a very pricey program and will be hard on smaller companies.
  • Can seem like a large upfront expense, but pays for itself quickly with the quality of the output, as well as the time and money saved.
  • My biggest issue was that they stopped people getting the watermarked full version that allowed people to train and keep up their skills while they aren't in the field but also not in school. I recently graduated, my time ran out and now I can never use it again until I find a job that will want fresh skill more that years of rusty, outdated skills. Give me free with options to pay for tutorials and make your money making me skilled in your program so more will be sold as we make our way into the field require the businesses to have more licences. Some serious glitches seem to be building in this product over the years as they seem to just keep piecing things in over the years without really rebuilding the whole to fully integrate. In college, we hit any number of issues continually that so reminded me of Android apps continual patchwork updates that just piling on, eventually busting app or just being so bloated it wouldn't function properly on device. I believe it is in serious need of a rebuild.
  • It is costly for people who do not have a stable business and want to learn Autocad.

Pros & Cons from Real Users

Pros

  • + Nodes are the best way to create a texture procedurally, this has made it much easier for me because I don't have to pay for textures or have to go out and take photos for a texture since sometimes it doesn't work out very well the photographs at all. So with the nodes I can achieve excellent results, also giving it a more personalized touch by being able to choose any color, which in photography would have to process the image to be able to adapt the color and so that it doesn't look like an overexposed filter on the texture that I'm getting . With the notes I have also been able to create materials without so many complications, everything from blur, transparency, reflections, luminosity and many things that I can add to each material, I can also save the nodes for another time and thus have a template of materials and textures to use later and increase the workflow as I add more to my collection. + I can install Maya on virtually any computer operating system, such as Mac OS, Windows, or Linux. This gave me an advantage since I can have Maya on my different computers that are adapted for this type of software, without any limitation, it just has to be configured well, determining which processor to work with if it is the CPU or GPU depending on the characteristics of each computer. For me this was a relief because I was able to use Maya both on my heavy-duty desktop tower and on my MacBook for when I want to do quick designs that don't require as much power, nor do they need to be rendered at creation time. + The community is very united and supportive when it comes to providing solutions. I like that you can share knowledge with others and also that a community is very solid. This allows me to have more confidence with Maya, since if I don't have an answer from the technical support about the different techniques for the creation of some material or effect, then I can calmly go to the community to ask or see the different works of other 3D artists. This has also helped me a lot to better function within the interface of this software since it is complicated to handle and it may not be easy to find the answer to the question about creating an object, so with the Maya community you can find multiple solutions for any kind of problem you have. + The particle system is very simple to use, so it will not be a difficult task to be able to choose the behavior of the particles, either by having a collision object that intervenes in how it moves or simply giving it a default configuration depending on what it is what you want to achieve. In addition, I have been able to give texture to the particles both as basic materials and texture with images, I can also determine the randomness of the shapes of each particle automatically, providing more realism to the designs that are going to integrate this feature.
  • º It integrates with all Autodesk products so it makes it easy for me to have everything in one place and also have no problem importing or exporting 3D designs from this platform to another or vice versa. So I have the possibility that there will be no errors in the process of implementing other Autodesk solutions since everything is complemented correctly without any problem. º The interface can be very overwhelming and learning how to use this software can be difficult, however, everything can be tailored to the user depending on the tools that they most want to use. In addition, it has a kind of interface template for the different tasks that are carried out within this 3D platform. º I can create videos within Maya with the different 3D elements that are created, this is useful since I do not need to leave the platform to join the different clips since I can make a complete cinematic and with all its effects, texts, transitions and others with this platform without resorting to video editors. The downside is rendering all of that in one fell swoop. º The rigging is very complete, I can have different bones prepared for humans, animals or different things that need movement. This is very useful as no manual work is required, just plug the bones into place and start animating within this platform. º It has a particle system, I would say the best. I have been able to add the best effects for my animations like fire, dust, smoke and more. This is useful since I don't need to do it manually, but it's already included and I just have to choose the profile or template according to what I'm looking for.
  • The program is great, it offers impressive features as well as wonderful tools to further your designs.
  • 3D modeling, texturing, lighting, rigging, animation and some other things can be done using Autodesk Maya. You can render you seen with Maya default render engine. You can add more Plugins to maya for advance modeling or work faster. Windows, Mac and some Linux too compatible with Autodesk maya. Free 1 year license for students or for education purpose.
  • I like its advanced feature for three dimensional modeling, sculpting and animation. It is so powerful that film industries use it.

Cons

  • - Maya has included a tool for the creation of sculpture to facilitate the freehand design, however, it is not very complete, it lacks certain things to facilitate the design, such as brushes that are very limited, having the task of you have to make brushes yourself because the basic ones are less practical. - The change from a single price to a subscription price was very disappointing for me since if I want to have the new features of this platform I have to have a monthly payment, causing the return on investment to decrease over time. In addition, it would save me almost nothing by buying the 3-year plan, the savings are not so insignificant in relation to other 3D design software, likewise it seemed absurd to me to be able to pay "tokens" for using this platform for a certain amount of days, it is more expensive than a monthly subscription, making Maya very expensive for light jobs or freelance users. - The interface is very complex and does not adapt very well to the workspaces already established by this platform. Although a 3D design software has many tools, Maya should be more compact so that you can create designs faster without having an overwhelming number of tools on your face. I understand that all this is customizable, however, it would be easier if there was a compact mode to facilitate the creation, leaving only important tools or everything being more tidy.
  • º High requirements if you want to work on a serious project. If you have a desktop or laptop computer with low resources, you will not be able to do much with this software, since it currently requires medium or high range to be able to move all the 3D content smoothly, otherwise you will have to work with simple objects that do not work. require a lot of computing power. º The learning curve is quite steep so it can be difficult for many new users to be able to use this platform immediately after acquiring it. I recommend from experience if what you want to do basic 3D things is to look for YouTube videos with many examples and exercises since Maya is very extensive and has many professional tools that are difficult to use. º Calculate your expenses before purchasing this software, remember that there are always cheaper options like Cinema 4D or free ones like Blender. But if what you want is to have a program with standardization and that is technical, then this will be your platform. The bad thing is the subscriptions that have overvalued costs that I personally don't like. In addition, it now has a function which can be used for hours with the help of a few points that can be purchased from Autodesk, but I think that would be the worst investment due to the time it takes to create 3D objects professionally. º Its lighting in the renders are very poor or basic, they lack more dynamism. I preferred to export the 3D models to render on other platforms than to use the Maya rendering as it is very simple and boring and it is also very difficult to configure the lighting well within this platform. I prefer another space where I only have to place the elements and without touching anything in the configuration to have a clean, clear and professional rendering. º I would like a node editor that is easy to use to be able to generate materials more easily without having to do it manually with the functions that Maya currently has. I would prefer this way as it is more practical for me to be able to play with the material settings and not have to do it by hand using images and normal maps. In addition, I would like it to have a good performance since I have tried the Blender one and it has a lot of improvement even if I add many nodes within the same page.
  • The lack of service on phone/person is astounding, no matter which avenue is taken. I have been billed twice for a product that has not been received, payments have been blocked due to the incompetence inside of Autodesk.
  • Interface is complicated Little bit confusing for new users. System requirements are higher than normal systems. It crashes or freezes sometimes when we work on a bigger project.
  • It is too costly for single user and it requires very hi-fi PC, which is little difficult for users.

Training

Documentation
Webinars
Live Online
In Person

Training

Documentation
Webinars
Live Online
In Person

Company Information

Autodesk
Founded: 1982
United States
www.autodesk.com

Company Information

Autodesk
Founded: 1982
United States
www.autodesk.com/products/maya/overview

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Categories

Categories

3D Modeling Features

2D Drawing
Animation
Annotations
Bill of Materials
Character Modeling
Collaboration Tools
Component Library
Data Import / Export
For 3D Printing
For Architects
For Manufacturers
Reference Management
Simulation

3D Architecture Features

2D Drawing
Animation
BIM Modeling
Component Library
Data Import / Export
Landscape Design
Virtual Tour

Architectural CAD Features

2D Drawing
3D Modeling
Architectural Symbol Library
Automatic Formatting
BIM Modeling
Comparison View
Design Templates
Drafting

Architecture Features

2D Drawing
3D Modeling
Bills of material
BIM Modeling
Building Information Modeling
Client Management
Contact Management
Contract Management
Document Management
Drafting
Manufacturing Design Data
Presentation Tools
Project Management
Proposal Management
Quotes/Proposals
Visualization / Presentation

CAD Features

2 1/2-Axis Milling
2D Drawing
3-Axis Milling
3D Modeling
4-Axis Milling
5-Axis Milling
Civil
Collaboration
Database Connectivity
Design Analysis
Design Export
Document Management
Electrical
Hole Making
Mechanical
Mechatronics
Presentation Tools
Simulate Cycles
Spiral Output
Structural Engineering
Toolpath Simulation
User Defined Cycles

Electrical Design Features

CAD Tools
Change Management
Collaboration
Compliance Management
Document Generation
Drag & Drop
Electrical Parts Catalog
Functions / Calculations
One Line Diagram
PLC Tools
Reusable Designs
Symbol Library

3D Modeling Features

2D Drawing
Animation
Annotations
Bill of Materials
Character Modeling
Collaboration Tools
Component Library
Data Import / Export
For 3D Printing
For Architects
For Manufacturers
Reference Management
Simulation

Animation Features

Collaboration Tools
Customizable Branding
Drag & Drop
Media Library
Social Sharing
Templates
Text Overlay
Text to Video
Voice-Over

Simulation Features

1D Simulation
3D Modeling
3D Simulation
Agent-Based Modeling
Continuous Modeling
Design Analysis
Direct Manipulation
Discrete Event Modeling
Dynamic Modeling
Graphical Modeling
Industry Specific Database
Monte Carlo Simulation
Motion Modeling
Presentation Tools
Stochastic Modeling
Turbulence Modeling

Integrations

Autodesk Viewer
Cerebro
Designhubz
HiveDrive
OctaneRender
OpenCities Planner
Poliigon
Sangfor aDesk
SimLab CAD Viewer
SimLab Composer
Spark Cloud Studio
AutoCAD Mechanical
Autodesk PD&M Collection
Candera CGI Studio
Daz 3D
Easy CAD Viewer
Kobi Toolkit
PVCAD Mega
Stratus

Integrations

Autodesk Viewer
Cerebro
Designhubz
HiveDrive
OctaneRender
OpenCities Planner
Poliigon
Sangfor aDesk
SimLab CAD Viewer
SimLab Composer
Spark Cloud Studio
AutoCAD Mechanical
Autodesk PD&M Collection
Candera CGI Studio
Daz 3D
Easy CAD Viewer
Kobi Toolkit
PVCAD Mega
Stratus
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