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Comparison of computer-aided design software

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Advanced 3D CAD software allows users to create complex 3D forms

This page compares computer-aided design (CAD) software that engineers and architects use to create drawings for the fields of architecture, engineering and construction (AEC). That includes Computer-aided engineering (CAE) but usually not Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) or product design CAD. The comparison is of aspects that can be directly compared. It does not judge power, ease of use, or other user-experience aspects.

CAD refers to a specific type of drawing and modeling software application that:

  • Is designed for creating technical drawings for distribution electronically and on paper
  • Uses the accuracy inherent in a floating point, as opposed to fixed-point drawing database

For all-purpose 3D programs, see Comparison of 3D computer graphics software.

This comparison only includes software that has achieved notability on Misplaced Pages. It does not include software within beta development or software that has not been updated in the last two years.

Title and developer Latest release date and version 2D/3D or specialty fields Runs on Unix-like systems? (eg Linux / BSD / OSX) Runs on Windows? License Academic version? User Interface language/s Support for BIM? Support for IFC? (note version and certification) Imports Exports Price
(USD)
ArchiCAD by Graphisoft May 2010, Release 14 2D/3D Architecture, BIM Mac OS X Un­known Proprietary Free en, de, es, fr, it, pt, ru, ja, pl, cs, hu, nl, fi, sv, no, da, tr, el, zh-Hans, ko, zh-Hant Yes version? 3D Studio, ACIS SAT, BMP, DGN, DWF, DWG, DXF, EMF, EPS, GIF, HPGL/PLT, IFC/IFCXML, JP2, JPEG, PDF, PICT, PNG, PSD, QTIF, SketchUp, TGA/Targa, TIF/TIFF, WMF 3D Studio, Artlantis/ATL, AVI, BMP, DGN, DWF, DWG, DXF, EMF, EPS, EPX - Piranesi, FACT - ElectricImage, GIF, HPGL/PLT, IFC/IFCXML, JP2, JPEG, MOV, LP - Lightscape, OBJ, PDF, PICT, PNG, PSD, QTIF, SGI, SketchUp, TGA/Targa, TIF/TIFF, U3D, WRL, WMF $4,250
AutoCAD by Autodesk March 22, 2011, Release 2012 2D/3D AEC Only AutoCAD for Mac OS X, No for discipline-specific vertical products, e.g. AutoCAD Architecture Yes Proprietary Yes pt-BR, en, cs, fr, de, hu, it, ja, ko, pl, ru, zh-Hans, es, zh-Hant Yes IFC2x3 import and export, certified DXF, DWG (TrueDWG), DWS, DWT, WMF, SAT, 3DS, FBX, DGN 3DS (requires 3dsout), DXF, DWG (TrueDWG), PDF, DWF, FBX, BMP, DGN $4,995 (MSRP)
Autodesk Inventor by Autodesk March 2009, 2010 3D No Yes Proprietary Yes en Yes version? ACIS SAT, DXF, DWG (DWG), IGES, Pro/Engineer, STEP, .dwf, .wire, .catpart, .catproduct, .jt, .x b, .x t, .prt (Siemens NX), .asm, .g, .neu, Solidworks ACIS SAT, DXF, DWG (TrueDWG), IGES, STEP, .dwf, .catpart, .catproduct, .bmp, .gif, .jpeg, .png, .tiff, .iges, .jt, .pdf, .x b, .x t, .g, .neu, STL (file format), .xgl, .zgl $7995
Bricscad by Bricsys October 2011, V12 2D/3D AEC,
Parametric modeling,
Rendering 		Fedora
OpenSuse
Ubuntu 		2000
XP
Vista
7 		Proprietary Yes en, bg, cs, de, es, fr, hu, it, ja, ko, pl, pt-BR, ru, vi, zh-Hans, zh-Hant No No DWG 2.5 to 2010, DXF,
BMP, JPEG, PCX, PNG, GIF, TGA, TIF, JP2, J2K, ECW, SID 		DWG 2.5 to 2010, DXF, DWF,
PDF,
BMP, WMF, EMF 		Starting from $395
BRL-CAD by United States Army Research Laboratory February 9, 2011, 7.18.2 3D design and simulation for military vehicles All POSIX (BSD/Linux/Unix like OS), Packages for FreeBSD, IRIX, Linux, Mac OS X, Solaris Yes BSD licence, LGPL Free en Un­known No DXF, Elysium Neutral Facetted, EUCLID, FASTGEN, IGES, Jack, NASTRAN, Pro/E, STL, TANKILL, Unigraphics, Viewpoint Datalabs Format DXF, EUCLID, IGES, Jack, STL, TANKILL, VRML, OBJ, X3D Free
Chief Architect Software 2012, Ver. X4 2D/3D Residential / Interior Design software No XP, Vista, 7, 8 Proprietary 95US$ en Yes Un­known Yes Yes Interior / Lite version $1,495. Full Residential Version $2,195
DataCAD by DATACAD LLC June 2009, 13 2D/3D AEC No Yes Proprietary 49US$ en, pt, cs, et, fi, fr, de, hu, he, it, ru, es, and others No No DWG, DXF, SketchUp, TXT, WMF, EMF, o2c, ACO, 3DS, STL, BMP, JPEG, GIF, TIFF, Targa, PNG, PCX, PCD, and others DWG, DXF, DWF, SketchUp, TXT, WMF, EMF, o2c, ACO, 3DS, STL, BMP, JPEG, TIFF, Targa, PNG, PCX, EPS, PCD, PRN, PDF, VRML, RAY, and others $1,295 First, $495 Additional, $395 Upgrade
Digital Project by Gehry Technologies Un­known 2D/3D/4D AEC, BIM No 32bit and 64bit Proprietary Un­known en Yes IFC2x3 SDNF, DWG, DXF, IFC, IGES, HSF, 3DXML SDNF, DWG, DXF, IFC, IGES, HSF, 3DXML ?
DraftSight by Dassault Systèmes Beta I (OS X)
V11.2 (Windows) 		2D Detailing / Drafting Linux; MAC OS X (10.5.8 or above) NT, 98, ME, 2000, XP, Vista, 7 Proprietary Free en, it, ru, es, fr, de, ja, pt, cs, pl, zh-Hans, zh-Hant, ko No No DWG, DXF, BMP, JPEG, PNG, GIF, TIF/TIFF DWG, DXF, JPEG, PNG, TIF/TIFF, PDF, WMF, SVG, STL, SLD Free (Standalone license requires registration)
Drawing Express by Trial Systems Ltd 1994, Version 2018 2D/3D CAD No 2000, XP, Vista & Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit) Proprietary Yes en No Un­known DWG, DXF, JPEG, BMP, TIFF, PNG, GIF DWG, DXF, PDF, JPEG, BMP ?
Application and developer Latest version + date 2D/3D or Specialty fields Runs on POSIX style systems? Runs on Windows? License Academic version? User Interface Language(s) Support for Building Information Modelling? Support for Industry Foundation Classes? Imports Exports Price
(USD)
Electra by Radica Software December 1, 2011, Version R216 2D/3D Electrical CAD No XP, Vista, Windows 7 - 32-bit or 64-bit Proprietary Yes en, fr No No DWG, DXF, VSD, VSS, VDX, VSX, SVG, SVGZ, JPEG, GIF, PNG, TIFF, BMP, EMZ, EMF, WMF DWG, DXF, VSD, VSS, VDX, VSX, SVG, SVGZ, JPEG, GIF, PNG, TIFF, BMP, EMZ, EMF, WMF, PDF, XPS, HTML $988 Professional, $788 Standard
form•Z by AutoDesSys, Inc June 23, 2008, 6.6 2D/3D AEC Rendering Mac OS X XP, Vista
32bit and 64bit 		Proprietary Un­known en, fr, de, el, it, ja, ko, es Yes Un­known ACIS SAT, Art·Lantis, BMP, DAE, DEM Data, DWG, DXF, EPS, FACT, GIF, HPGL, IGES, Illustrator, JPEG, Keyhole Markup Language, Lightwave, Lightscape, OBJ, PDF, PICT, Piranesi, PNG, QTVR, RIB, SGI, SketchUp, STEP, STL, TGA, TIFF, ZPR ACIS SAT, Artlantis, BMP, DAE, DEM Data, DWG, DXF, EPS, FACT, GIF, HPGL, IGES, Illustrator, JPEG, Keyhole Markup Language, Lightwave, Lightscape, OBJ, PDF, PICT, Piranesi, PNG, QTVR, RIB, SGI, STEP, STL, TGA, TIFF, ZPR $1,995
HiCAD by ISD Group 2010 SP2 3D/2D No Yes Proprietary Un­known en, de, it (at release date) No No IGES, STEP, DXF, DWG, ACIS, ProE, SolidWorks, CATIA (V4/V5), Parasolid, UniGraphics, Inventor IGES, STEP, DXF, DWG, ACIS, ProE, CATIA (V4/V5), Parasolid ?
IntelliCAD by IntelliCAD Technology Consortium Jun 10, 2011. V 7.0 2D/3D AEC Un­known Yes Proprietary Un­known en Yes Un­known DWG, DXF, DWF, SAT DWG, DXF, DWF, SVG, PDF, SAT ?
MicroStation by Bentley Systems November 6, 2008, v8i 2D/3D AEC, BIM Dropped
(last was V 5.7 of 1997/1998) 		Yes Proprietary Yes en, fr, it, de, es, ja, zh, fi, cs Yes IFC2x3 DGN, DXF, DWG, SketchUP, Rhino, PDF, Revit, IFC, gbXML, IGES, STEP DGN, DXF, DWG, U3D, PDF, gbXML, IGES, STEP, SketchUP $5050
NX by Siemens PLM Software June 1, 2010, 7.5 2D/3D Mac OS X, and Novell SUSE Linux. Yes Proprietary Un­known en, fr, it, de, es, ja, zh, fi, cs Un­known Un­known JT, Parasolid, STEP, DWG, DXF, ProE, SolidWorks, I-deas, CATIA (V4/V5), STL, IGES JT, Parasolid, STEP, DWG, DXF, ProE, SolidWorks, I-deas, CATIA (V4/V5), STL, IGES ?
PowerCADD by Engineered Software August 2010, v9 2D Mac OS X No Proprietary Un­known en No Un­known DWG, DXF DXF ?
Pro/ENGINEER by Parametric Technology Corporation January 16, 2008, 5.0 2D/3D hybrid Some Yes Proprietary Yes en, fr, de, es, it, ja, ko, zh-Hant, zh-Hans (at release date) Un­known Un­known STEP, IGES, DXF, DWG, Parasolid, STL, SAT, more STEP, IGES, DXF, DWG, Parasolid, STL, SAT, more $4995 + $1500 maintenance (2009)
progeCAD by ProgeCAD November 28, 2011, 11.0.6.5 2D/3D Rendering Linux Requires Wine; MAC OS Requires Parallels Desktop for Mac Yes Proprietary Yes en, de, ru, it, cs, zh-Hans, zh-Hant, fr, pl, es, sr, hu No No DWG, DXF, PDF, DWT, DWF, SAT DWG, DXF, DWT, PDF, SAT, 3DS, POV, LWO, BMP, EMF, WMF, JPEG, KMZ, SVG, PDF $399 ~ $690
Free licence for students & teachers
QCad by Ribbon Soft 2010, Version 2011 2D Yes Yes GNU GPL Yes en Yes IFC2x3 import and export IFC, DXF, DWG IFC, DXF, DWG free
RealCADD by Eric Pousse September 2010, Version 4.10 2D Linux, Mac OS X Yes Proprietary No en, fr, de No Un­known DXF, DWG DXF, DWG $135 professional, $95 standard
Revit Architecture by Autodesk ? 2D/3D BIM AEC No Yes Proprietary 204,95US$ perpetual license pt-BR, en, cs, fr, de, hu, it, ja, ko, ru, zh-Hans, es Yes IFC2x3 DXF, DWG, SAT, SKP, DGN, JPEG, PNG, TIFF DWG, DXF, SAT, FBX, IFC, DGN, DWF, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, AVI, PDF $5,495
Revit Structure by Autodesk ? 2D/3D BIM AEC No Yes Proprietary Un­known pt-BR, en, cs, fr, de, hu, it, ja, ko, ru, zh-Hans, es Yes version? DXF, DWG, DWF, SAT, SKP, DGN, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, Bentley Systems RAM Structural System DWG, DXF, SAT, FBX, IFC, DGN, DWF, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, AVI, PDF $5,495
Revit MEP by Autodesk 2013 2D/3D BIM AEC MEP No Yes Proprietary Un­known pt-BR, en, cs, fr, de, hu, it, ja, ko, ru, zh-Hans, es Yes IFC2x3 import and export, certified DXF, DWG, SAT, SKP, DGN, JPEG, PNG, TIFF DWG, DXF, SAT, FBX, IFC, DGN, DWF, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, AVI, PDF ?
SALOME December 2010 December 2010, 5.1.5 CAE FreeBSD, Linux Yes LGPL Free EN, FR Un­known Un­known BREP, IGES, STEP Un­known ?
Solid Edge by Siemens PLM Software August 12, 2008, 1.0 3D/2D No Yes Proprietary Free en, es, ru, fr, ko (at release date) Un­known No IGES, STEP, DXF, JT, ACIS (SAT), ProE, SolidWorks, NX, SDRC, Microstation, Inventor, CATIA (V4/V5), Parasolid, Autocad, STL, XML, MDS IGES, STEP, STL, PDF, EMS, JT, XGL, XML, DXF, Parasolid, CATIA (V4/V5), ACIS (SAT), Microstation, Autocad $5300 +$1200 Maintenance (2009)
SolidWorks by SolidWorks Corp. October 15, 2010, 2011 sp0.0 2D/3D hybrid No Yes Proprietary From 129,95US$ en, es, de (at release date) Yes Un­known DXF, DWG, Parasolid, IGES, STEP, ACIS, STL, ProE, Solid Edge, IGES, STEP, ACIS, STL, ProE, Solid Edge, u3d, VRML, 3dxml, Catia, PDF $3995 + $1295/yr for optional support
TransMagic R8 sp5 File translator No XP/Vista/7 Proprietary No en, de No No CATIA V4, CATIA V5, Autodesk Inventor, Pro/E, SolidWorks, Unigraphics, ACIS (.sat, .sab, .asf, .asat, .asab), JT, Parasolid, IGES, STEP (.stp), HOOPS Meta File, HOOPS Streaming File (.hsf), PLY, STL, OBJ, Large file support CATIA V4, CATIA V5, ACIS (.sat, .sab, .asf, .asat, .asab), JT, Parasolid (.x_t, .x_b, .xmt_txt, .xmb_txt), IGES, STEP (.stp), HOOPS Meta File, HOOPS Streaming File (.hsf), NGRAIN, PLY, STL, HTML, OBJ, Enhanced Metafile, PDF, Postscript, TIFF, BMP, Large file support Un­known
TurboCAD by IMSI/Design, LLC 2011. v18 (Windows), v5 (Mac) 2D/3D Mac OS X Yes Proprietary Up to 85% off standard pricing en, cs, others? Un­known Un­known 'see PDF of compatible file formats' 'see PDF of compatible file formats' 1295US$
VariCAD by VariCAD November 10, 2011, 2012 2D 3D Linux Yes Proprietary Yes eng, ger, cze pt, ja, zh-Hans Un­known Un­known STEP (3D), DWG (2D), DXF (2D) STEP (3D), STL (3D), IGES (3D), BMP (from 3D), DWG (2D), DXF (2D) $650
Vectorworks by Nemetschek Vectorworks, Inc.,
(includes Fundamentals, Architect, Landmark, Spotlight, Designer, and Renderworks) 		September 15, 2011, 2012 2D/3D Mac OS X Yes Proprietary Free for students in U.S. institutions of higher learning en, pt-BR, fr, es, nl, de, it, ja Yes version? DWG, DXF, PDF, EPSF, 3DS, IGES, SAT, Parasolid X_T, Sketchup, IFC, SHP, JPEG, BMP, PNG, PSD, SGI, TIFF, TGA DWG, DXF, PDF, EPSF, 3DS, IGES, SAT, Parasolid X_T, STL, IFC, KML, SHP, JPEG, BMP, PNG, PSD, SGI, TIFF, TGA See online store:
https://secure.nemetschek.net/estore/
for pricing based on product type, license type, and number of seats
VisualARQ by Asuni CAD S.A. July 25, 2011, 1.4 2D/3D No Yes Proprietary $195 en, fr, es, de, it, cs Yes version? 3DM, 3DS, AI, DGN, DWG, DXF, EPS, FBX, GDF, IGS/IGES, LWO, OBJ, PDF, PLY, SDLPTR/SDLASM, SKP, STL, STP/STEP, VDA, VRML/VRL, X, ZPR 3DM, 3DS, ACIS, AI, DGN, X, DWG, DXF, EPS, FBX, GDF, IGS/IGES, IFC, LWO, OBJ, PDF, PLY, POV, RIB, SKP, SDLPTR/SDLASM, STL, STP/STEP, VDA, VRML/VRL, WMF, X_T, XGL, ZPR $495
ZWCAD by ZWCAD Software Co., Ltd. 2D/3D No Yes Proprietary Un­known eng, cze, fra, ger, hun, ita, jpn, kor, pol, rus, chs, spa, cht unknown unknown DXF, DWG DXF, DWG $800

See also

References

  1. http://www.graphisoft.com/support/archicad/system_requirements/
  2. http://www.archicadwiki.com/ArchiCAD%20Bittorrent%20Downloads
  3. http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/pc/index?siteID=123112&id=15435044
  4. http://usa.autodesk.com/autocad-architecture/system-requirements
  5. Autodesk - Licensing, Registration & Activation
  6. http://docs.autodesk.com/ARCHDESK/2011/ENU/filesAUG/WS1a9193826455f5ffa23ce210c4a30acaf-5c52.htm
  7. http://docs.autodesk.com/ARCHDESK/2011/ENU/filesAUG/WS1a9193826455f5ffa23ce210c4a30acaf-5a5d.htm
  8. ^ BRL-CAD 'Summary' page on SourceForge
  9. BRL-CAD 'Download' page
  10. Import is only possible by using proprietary Pro/E program
  11. ^ Anderson, John R.; Edwards, Eric W. (May 2004), "Converting Geometry Between BRL-CAD and Other Formats" (PDF), BRL-CAD Tutorial Series, Aberdeen Proving Ground: United States Army Research Laboratory, retrieved 2008-07-10 {{citation}}: |format= requires |url= (help)
  12. ^ Gehry Technologies Wiki, 'What are the formats supported by Digital Project ?'
  13. Bentley Systems. "MicroStation, a CAD platform for integration - Available Languages". Retrieved 2008-08-06.
  14. Bentley Systems. "MicroStation from Bentley". Retrieved 2008-08-06.
  15. "Siemens PLM Software Announces Availability of NX for Mac OS X". Siemens PLM Software. 2009-06-11. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
  16. "UGS Ships NX 4 and Delivers Industry's First Complete Digital Product Development Solution on Linux". 2009-04-04. Retrieved 2009-06-20.
  17. See Platform Support - Parametric Technology Corporation and PTC customer support
  18. Parametric Technology Corporation. "Pro/ENGINEER Language Support". Retrieved 2009-05-13.
  19. 'BIM and the U.S. GSA (1-2-3 Revit Tutorial'
  20. http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/cvsweb.cgi/ports/cad/salome/
  21. VariCAD. "VariCAD German website". Retrieved 2010-05-13.
  22. VariCAD. "VariCAD Czech website". Retrieved 2008-07-21.
  23. ^ VariCAD - CAD system description
  24. http://classic.zwcad.org/cad-software-support/cad-faqs2.html
  25. http://www.zwcad.org/others.php?act=about
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