AutoCAD

AutoCAD

Autodesk
SOLIDWORKS

SOLIDWORKS

Dassault Systèmes
+
+

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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

SOLIDWORKS is the industry-standard 3D CAD and product development solution, trusted by millions of designers and engineers worldwide. For over 30 years, SOLIDWORKS has empowered innovators to transform ideas into real, manufacturable products through intuitive modeling, simulation, and collaboration tools. The 2026 release introduces groundbreaking capabilities including AI-powered drawing automation, fastener recognition, and the AURA AI virtual companion. Integrated with the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, it enables seamless cloud collaboration and data-driven decision-making. From startups to global manufacturers, users rely on SOLIDWORKS to accelerate design cycles, improve accuracy, and reduce time to market. It’s the complete ecosystem for taking any product from concept to production.

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

Engineers, designers, manufacturers, educators, and product development teams seeking powerful, intuitive 3D CAD software with advanced AI-driven automation, real-time collaboration, and simulation tools for faster, smarter product creation

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 2.0 / 5
ease 2.0 / 5
features 2.2 / 5
design 1.8 / 5
support 2.0 / 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

  • Intel now I've seen some more options and additional setups And i love that the program introduced visualise to more users The ability to save to an older version is a good step but i think they know that they are playing with fire so they added it
  • After using SOLIDWORKS for 11 years now, I can safely say it only gets the job done. It is the best of the available options at the moment for a mid-size company.
  • None there is no pros to this system as it never worked. To download on your computer is a super complex process that there is no support for. Customer service is the worst and won’t help you. As soon as they get your money they will take it and stop helping you.
  • None, the system never worked and the customer service is terrible. A complete waste of time, if you need a software, you will better look somewhere else.
  • SolidWorks is the industrial standard for computer aided design. It is a go to program to create designs for customer presentations and show floor drawings.

Cons

  • When I'm editing and rendering it's important for me to have a tool to render in the application itself It's unacceptable to send every simple design to visualise to do the rendering And even visualise become worse things are missing like (fast rendering, materials, material control setups, Environments ...... Etc) and when saving, every image save in a separate folder.
  • Where do I start? Maybe that it is incredibly overpriced for the service it provides. Besides that, SOLIDWORKS has well intentioned and ever growing feature sets that lay the ground work for a potentially amazing design program and yet, every time I use it I get heartburn.... every single time. If the part or assembly starts to grow to any measurable sort of complexity the holes in the program became very apparent. It seems to me that instead of fortifying the basics, DDS just continues to add features resulting in a bloated program and basic features (like save or rename of all things) becoming unreliable or unpredictable and making for an incredibly frustrating experience.
  • System never worked. When I tried to get a refund they did not want to give one and kept giving me the runaround after I canceled they kept charging me.
  • I paid for the subscription, they sent me the access link but it never worked. When I asked for help, the customer service responded after a week. I asked for a cancellation of the subscription and a refund, they replied (after another week) that the cancellation will require two weeks and it will take additional ten days to process the refund. I had to report the transaction to Visa and have them block any further transaction from this company. Scammers.
  • More training materials would be useful for the casual user.

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

Dassault Systèmes
Founded: 1981
France
www.solidworks.com

Alternatives

MicroStation

MicroStation

Bentley Systems

Alternatives

Kenesto

Kenesto

Kenesto Corporation
iC3D

iC3D

Creative Edge Software
ActCAD Software

ActCAD Software

Jytra Technology Solutions
AutoCAD

AutoCAD

Autodesk
SOLIDWORKS

SOLIDWORKS

Dassault Systèmes
Creo

Creo

PTC

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

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

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

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

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

Engineering Features

2D Drawing
3D Modeling
Chemical Engineering
Civil Engineering
Collaboration
Design Analysis
Design Export
Document Management
Electrical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Mechatronics
Presentation Tools
Structural Engineering

Integrations

3D ContentCentral
Artec Studio
Autodesk Viewer
BeamWise
CAD Blocks Free
CAD&BIM Free Viewer
Canvas Envision
Curtain MonGuard Screen Watermark
Designhubz
ImageSite
MIDAS FEA NX
Mercura
MeshCAM
PEDYN P2000
Poliigon
SUPERVIEW
SimLab CAD Viewer
SimLab Composer
SolidView
Virtofy

Integrations

3D ContentCentral
Artec Studio
Autodesk Viewer
BeamWise
CAD Blocks Free
CAD&BIM Free Viewer
Canvas Envision
Curtain MonGuard Screen Watermark
Designhubz
ImageSite
MIDAS FEA NX
Mercura
MeshCAM
PEDYN P2000
Poliigon
SUPERVIEW
SimLab CAD Viewer
SimLab Composer
SolidView
Virtofy
Claim AutoCAD and update features and information
Claim AutoCAD and update features and information
Claim SOLIDWORKS and update features and information
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