Comparison of computer-aided design software
The table below provides an overview of computer-aided design software. It does not judge power, ease of use, or other user-experience aspects. The table does not include software that is still in development. For all-purpose 3D programs, see Comparison of 3D computer graphics software.
CAD refers to a specific type of drawing and modeling software application that is used for creating designs and technical drawings. These can be 3D drawings or 2D drawings.
| Title and developer | Latest release date and version | 2D/3D or specialty fields | Runs on Unix-like systems? | Runs on Windows? | Other platforms? | License | Academic version? | User Interface language/s | Support for Building Information Modelling? | Support for Industry Foundation Classes? | Support for AutoCAD DXF? | Imports | Exports | Price |
| ABViewer by CADSoftTools | / Version 12 | 2D | en, fr, de, ru and others | DWG, DXF, DWF, DXT, 3DS, ACIS SAT, STL, IGES, STEP, OBJ, GTS, TIN, ASE, B3D, GLM, GLX, GLA, LMTS, LWO, NURBS, NMF, OCT, PLY, VRML, MDC, MD2, MD3, MD5, SMD, BSP, WMF, EMF, PDF, CGM, SVG, SVGZ, EPS, PS, Hewlett-Packard HPGL, GED, RLA, RPF, CEL, PIC, CAL, CG4, GP4, GIF, CUT, PAL, DDS, FAX, HDR, IFF, ICO, EXR, IMB, JPG, JPEG, J2K, J2C, JNG, JP2, KOA, PCT, PICT, MNG, PSP, PCD, PSD, PDD, PNG, PPM, PGM, PBM, RAW, G3, BW, RGB, RGBA, SGI, RAS, TIF, TIFF, TGA, VST, ICB, VDA, WIN, BMP, RLE, DIB, WAP, WBMP, WBM, XBM, XPM, PCX | PDF, DWG, DXF, SWF, CGM, DXT, SVG, PLT, STL, OBJ, OBJF, NMF, LMTS, NC, BMP, GIF, JPG, PNG, TIF, TIFF, WMF, EMF, SWF | Varies depending on the license type | ||||||||
| Advance Design by GRAITEC | / Version 2018 | 3D, CAE, FEA | en, fr, ro, pl, cs | CIS/2, SDNF, PSS, DXF, GTC | CIS/2, SDNF, PSS, DXF, GTC | ? | ||||||||
| Advance Steel by Autodesk | / Version 2018 | 3D, CAE, CAM, steel detailing | en, de, ja, fr, zh-Hant, hu, pl, cs, es, du, ro, ru, it | IFC, CIS/2, PSS, SDNF, KISS, DSTV, DXF, DWG | IFC, CIS/2, PSS, SDNF, KISS, DSTV, DXF, DWG | ? | ||||||||
| Advance Concrete by Autodesk | / Version 2017 | 3D, CAE, CAM, concrete detailing | en, de, fr, pl, cs, ro | IFC, DXF, DWG | IFC, DXF, DWG | ? | ||||||||
| Alibre Design by Alibre, LLC | , Version 2017.1.2 | 2D/3D | en, de, ja, fr, zh-Hant, pl, cs, es, da, pt-BR, sv | DXF, DWG, STEP, IGES, SAT, 3DM, STL, OBJ, PLY, 3DS, WRL, Inventor, ProE, SolidEdge, CATIA, Parasolid, Solidworks | DXF, DWG, STEP, IGES, SAT, BIP, EMF, PDF, STL, Solidworks, Parasolid | $1,000 - $2,000 | ||||||||
| ArchiCAD by Graphisoft | / Version 21 | 2D/3D Architecture, BIM | en, de, es, fr, it, pt, ru, ja, pl, cs, hu, nl, fi, sv, no, da, tr, el, zh-Hans, ko, zh-Hant | Import certified. Export certified. | 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 | / Release 2018 | 2D/3D, Architecture, Drafting | pt-BR, en, cs, fr, de, hu, it, ja, ko, pl, ru, zh-Hans, es, zh-Hant | DXF, DWG, DWS, DWT, WMF, SAT, 3DS, FBX, DGN | 3DS, DXF, DWG, PDF, DWF, FBX, BMP, DGN | $1,470 per year; $4,410 per 3 years | ||||||||
| Inventor by Autodesk | / 2018 | 3D | en and others | ACIS SAT, DXF, DWG, IGES, Pro/Engineer, STEP,.dwf,.wire,.catpart,.catproduct,.jt,.x b,.x t,.prt,.asm,.g,.neu, Solidworks, ProE, Catia,.stl | ACIS SAT, DXF, DWG, IGES, STEP,.dwf,.catpart,.catproduct,.bmp,.gif,.jpeg,.png,.tiff,.iges,.jt,.pdf,.x b,.x t,.g,.neu, STL,.xgl,.zgl | $1935 per year; $5805 per 3 years | ||||||||
| BricsCAD by Bricsys | V17 | 2D/3D AEC, Parametric direct modeling, BIM, Mechanical, Sheet metal, Rendering | en, cs, de, es, fr, hu, it, ja, ko, lt, pl, pt-BR, ru, vi, zh-Hans, zh-Hant | DWG 2.5 to 2013, DXF, ACIS SAT, DAE , BMP, JPEG, PCX, PNG, GIF, TGA, TIF, JP2, J2K, ECW, SID With extra Communicator license: STE, STP, STEP, IGS, IGES, CATIA V4/V5, VDA, IAM, IPT, PARASOLID, PAR, PSM, PRT, ASM, PRT, SLDASM, SLDPRT | DWG 2.5 to 2013, DXF, DWF, ACIS SAT, DAE , SLT , PDF, BMP, WMF, EMF With extra Communicator license: STE, STP, STEP, IGS, IGES, CATIA V4/V5, VDA, 3D PDF | $1020 Platinum, $680 Pro, $550 Classic, $610 Communicator | ||||||||
| BRL-CAD by United States Army Research Laboratory | / 7.26.0 | 3D design and simulation for military vehicles | en | 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 | ||||||||
| Caddie Professional by Advanced Computer Solutions | , 20 | 2D/3D CAE, Rendering | en | DWG, DXF, DRW, JPEG, BMP, TIFF, PNG, GIF, ECW, JPEG2000, ASCII, XLS | DWG, DXF, DRW, DWF, WMF, PDF, JPEG, BMP, TIFF, PNG, GIF | $106 - $3022 | ||||||||
| Cadwork by Cadwork informatik AG | / 26 | 2D/3D/4D/5D/6D CAE, Rendering, CAM, BIM | en, cs, fr, de, it, ja, pl, pt, ru, zh-Hans, es | DWG, DXF, PDF, JPEG, TIFF, PNG, SAT, IFC | DWG, DXF, PDF, JPEG, TIFF, SAT, IFC | $1000 to $20000 | ||||||||
| CATIA by Dassault Systèmes | , R2018x | 2D/3D CAE | en, fr, de, ja | $9000 to $65000 | ||||||||||
| Cobalt by Ashlar-Vellum | / v9 | 2D/3D Rendering CAE CAM | en, bre, fr, de, it, pt, ru, sl, sv | 3DS, ACIS SAT, AI, ASCII Text, BMP, CATIA v4, CGM, CCAD, CO , Drawing board, DWG/DXF, Facet, GIF, Grid Surface, IGS , JPEG, Parasolid XT, PICT, 2D PDF, PNG, PPM, Pro/E, Rhino 3DM, Spline, STP , VRML, XBM, XPM | ACIS SAT, AI, ASCII Text, BMP, CATIA v4, CGM, CO , Drawing board, DWG/DXF, EPS, Facet, GIF, Grid Surface, IGS , JPEG, Parasolid XT, 2D & 3D PDF, PICT, PNG, PPM, Pro/E, RAW Triangle, Shockwave 3D, STP , STL, VRML, XBM, XPM | $2,495 buy, or $995/year rent, or $94.95/month rent | ||||||||
| Creo by Parametric Technology Corporation | / Creo 4.0 | 2D/3D hybrid | en, fr, de, es, it, ja, ko, zh-Hant, zh-Hans | STEP, IGES, DXF, DWG, Parasolid, STL, SAT, more | STEP, IGES, DXF, DWG, Parasolid, STL, SAT, more | $4,995, $1,500 maintenance | ||||||||
| DataCAD by DATACAD LLC | / 19 | 2D/3D AEC | en, pt, cs, et, fi, fr, de, hu, he, it, ru, es, and others | 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 | ||||||||
| DesignSpark Mechanical by RS Components | , 2.0.1 | 2D/3D hybrid | en, cz, de, es, fr, it, jp, kr, pl, pt, zh-cn, zh-tw | ECAD, OBJ, Point curve text files, SKP, STL, STEP | AMF, DXF, OBJ, 3D PDF, SKP, STL, XAML, JPEG, PNG | FREE base package | ||||||||
| Digital Project by Gehry Technologies | , Version R5 | 2D/3D/4D AEC | en | SDNF, DWG, DXF, IFC, IGES, HSF, 3DXML | SDNF, DWG, DXF, IFC, IGES, HSF, 3DXML | ? | ||||||||
| Drawing Express by Trial Systems Ltd | , Version 2019 | 2D/3D CAD | en | DWG, DXF, JPEG, BMP, TIFF, PNG, GIF | DWG, DXF, PDF, JPEG, BMP | ? | ||||||||
| FINE MEP by 4M | , v. 14 | 2D/3D, BIM, MEP Design | en, fr, tr, gr, bg | DXF, DWG, IFC, ACIS, BMP, JPG, TGA, GIF | DXF, DWG, IFC, ACIS, Collada, 3DS, PDF, BLD, JPG, BMP, TGA, PNG, TIFF | $1,220, $720 | ||||||||
| FreeCAD | / 0.18 | 3D | en, af, cn, hr, nl, fi, fr, de, it, no, pt, ru, es, se, ua | IFC, IGES, STEP, BRep, OBJ, DXF, SVG, U3D | IFC, IGES, STEP, BRep, OBJ, DXF, SVG, U3D | Free | ||||||||
| form•Z by AutoDesSys, Inc | , 6.6 | 2D/3D AEC Rendering | en, fr, de, el, it, ja, ko, es | 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 | / 2017 | 2D/3D | en, de, it, fr, pl, jp | IGES, STEP, DXF, DWG, ACIS, ProE, SolidWorks, CATIA, Parasolid, UniGraphics, Inventor, IFC, PC-Draft, Technovision, Procad, Proren, Babcad, ME10, JT, STL, DSTV, SDNF | IGES, STEP, DXF, DWG, ACIS, ProE, CATIA, Parasolid, IFC, VRML, STL, JT, Gamma-Ray, STL, DSTV, Tops Geo, SDNF | ? | ||||||||
| IntelliCAD by IntelliCAD Technology Consortium | , V 8.0 | 2D/3D AEC | en | DWG, DXF, DWF, SAT | DWG, DXF, DWF, SVG, PDF, SAT | ? | ||||||||
| IRONCAD by IronCAD LLC | / 2017 | 2D/3D hybrid | en, jp, ko, de | DXF, DWG, Parasolid, IGES, STEP, SAT, STL, ProE, Solid Edge, Inventor, Rhino, Catia | DXF, DWG, Parasolid, IGES, STEP, SAT, STL, u3d, VRML, 3dxml, Catia, PDF | $3,970, $1,295/yr for optional support | ||||||||
| LibreCAD | / Version 2.1.3 | 2D | en, fr, it, de, es, ja, zh, fi, cs, pt, lv | DWG, DXF | DXF, JPEG, PNG, SVG, BMP | Free, | ||||||||
| MicroStation by Bentley Systems | / CONNECT Edition | 2D/3D AEC | en, fr, it, de, es, ja, zh, ru, tu, pl, pt, ko, fi, cs | DGN, DGNlib, RDL, DXF, DWG, FBX, OBJ, 3DS, SKP, 3DM, JT, Mapinfo MIF/MID, imodel, RFA, IFC, SHP, TAB, IGES, Parasolid, CGM, STEP, STL, Terrain Land XML, ACIS.SAT, 3DM, STL | Google Earth, LXO, SVG, VRML, VOB, ACIS, OBJ, STL, gbXML, IGES, STEP, SKP | $5,050 | ||||||||
| NX by Siemens PLM Software | , 11.0 | 2D/3D, Parametric | Mac OS X, and RedHat Linux / SUSE Linux. | en, fr, it, de, es, ja, zh, fi, cs | JT, Parasolid, STEP, DWG, DXF, ProE, SolidWorks, I-deas, CATIA, STL, IGES | JT, Parasolid, STEP, DWG, DXF, ProE, SolidWorks, I-deas, CATIA, STL, IGES | Unknown | |||||||
| Onshape by Onshape | Mechanical CAD, 3D printing | , via Web Browser | en, de, ko, zh-Hant, zh-Hans | DWG, DXF, Parasolid mesh, ACIS, STEP, IGES, CATIA, SolidWorks, Inventor, Pro/E, JT, Rhino, STL,OBJ, NXSolid Edge | DWG, DXF, Parasolid mesh, ACIS, STEP, IGES, SolidWorks, Rhino, STL, COLLADA, PDF | $1500 - $2100, Contact for Enterprise Version | ||||||||
| OpenSCAD | / 2015.03-3 | 2D/3D | en | DXF, STL, OFF | PNG, DXF, STL, OFF | Free | ||||||||
| OrthoGraph | / 3.1.2 | 2D/3D | en, fr, de, hu, it, ja, nl, ru, es | PNG, DXF, JPG, IFC | $29.99 per month | |||||||||
| PowerCADD by Engineered Software | / v9 | 2D | Mac OS X | en, fr, it, es,... | DWG, DXF, PDF, EPSF, PS, Bitmap, VectorPict, JPG, PNG, TIF, SGI, TGA, Adobe Photoshop, *SHP, *GPX, ASCII Topo Survey | DXF, DWG, PDF, EPSF, PS, Bitmap, VectorPict, JPG, PNG, TIF, SGI, TGA, Adobe Photoshop, | $995-$1250 | |||||||
| QCAD by Ribbon Soft | / 3.20 | 2D | en | IFC, DXF, DWG | IFC, DXF, DWG | Free, $42 for Commercial | ||||||||
| Autodesk Revit | / 2017.2 | 2D/3D BIM AEC | pt-BR, en, cs, fr, de, hu, it, ja, ko, ru, zh-Hans, es | Import certified. Export certified. | DXF, DWG, SAT, SKP, DGN, JPEG, PNG, TIFF | DWG, DXF, SAT, FBX, IFC, DGN, DWF, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, AVI, PDF | Varies | |||||||
| Rhinoceros 3D by Robert McNeel and Associates | / Rhino 5 SR Service Release | 2D/3D CAD | en, fr, de, it, es, pl, cs, zh, ja, kr | DXF, DWG,.3ds, SAT, SketchUp, IGES, STEP, STL, DGN, FBX, OBJ, sldprt | DXF, DWG,.3ds, SAT, SketchUp, IGES, STEP, STL, COLLADA, Parasolid | $995 | ||||||||
| SALOME | / 9.3.0 | CAE | EN, FR, JA | BREP, IGES, STEP, XAO | IGES, STEP, BREP, STL, MED, UNV, DAT, XAO | Free | ||||||||
| SketchUp by Trimble | / 2018, 18.0.16975, 18.0.16976 | 3D | EN, FR, IT, DE, ES, PT, JA, KO, ZH, ZH | DWG, DXF, DEM, DDF, 3DS, DAE, KMZ, IFC, JPG, PNG, PSD, TIF, TGA, BMP | DAE, KMZ, 3DS, DWG, DXF, FBX, OBJ, WRL, XSI, PDF, EPS, BMP, JPG, TIF, PNG, EPX, | SketchUp Make: Free SketchUp Pro: $700 | ||||||||
| Solid Edge by Siemens PLM Software | / ST9 | 3D/2D | en, es, ru, fr, ko | IGES, STEP, DXF, JT, ACIS, ProE, SolidWorks, NX, SDRC, Microstation, Inventor, CATIA, Parasolid, Autocad, STL, XML, MDS | IGES, STEP, STL, PDF, EMS, JT, XGL, XML, DXF, Parasolid, CATIA, ACIS, Microstation, Autocad | $5,300, $1,200 Maintenance | ||||||||
| SolidWorks by SolidWorks Corp. | / 2018 SP4 | 2D/3D hybrid | en, es, de, fr | DXF, DWG, DXF, Parasolid, IGES, STEP, ACIS, STL, ProE, Creo, Solid Edge, Siemens NX, Autodesk Inventor, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Rhino, IDF, VDA, WRL, Meshfiles, 3MF, CGR, catpart/catproduct, Rhino, JT, sldxml, IFC | DXF, DWG, Parasolid, IGES, STEP, ACIS, STL, u3d, VRML, 3dxml, Catia, PDF, IFC, | $3,995, $1,295/yr for optional support | ||||||||
| SolveSpace by Jonathan Westhues | / v.2.3 | 2D/3D parametric | en | 2D as DXF, EPS, PDF, SVG, HPGL, STEP; 3D wireframe as DXF, STEP; triangle mesh as STL, Wavefront OBJ; NURBS surfaces as STEP | Free | |||||||||
| SpaceClaim Engineer by SpaceClaim Corp. | / 2017.1 | 2D/3D hybrid | en | DXF, DWG, Parasolid, IGES, STEP, ACIS, STL, ProE, Solid Edge, VRML, OBJ, STL, NX, CATIA, Solidworks, Rhinoceros | , Acrobat PDF 3D, Acrobat - PDF 2D, AutoCAD - DWG and DXF, CATIA V5, , JT Open, Keyshot, Parasolid, POV-Ray, PowerPoint, Rhino, SketchUp, , STL, VDA-VS, VRML, OBJ, XAML, XPS | ? | ||||||||
| Tekla Structures by Tekla | / Version 2017 SP2 | 3D/4D/5D CAE, CAM, steel detailing, concrete detailing | en, cs, zh-Hans, zh-Hant, du, fr, de, hu, it, ja, ko, pl, pt, pt-BR, ru, es | Export certified. | IFC, IFCXML, IFCZIP, DWG, DXF, DGN, PDF, STEP, IGES, CIS/2, ISM, FabTrol KISS, DSTV, Steel Detailing Neutral Format, Eliplan ELI, Primavera P6, Trimble LM80 | IFC, IFCXML, IFCZIP, DWG, DXF, DGN, CIS/2, ISM, FabTrol KISS, DSTV, Steel Detailing Neutral Format, Eliplan ELI, Primavera P6, Trimble LM80, HMS | ? | |||||||
| Tinkercad by Autodesk | 3D modeling, constructive solid geometry | Browser default | SVG, STL, OBJ | STL, OBJ | Free | |||||||||
| T-FLEX CAD by Top Systems Ltd. | / Version 17.0.21.0 | 2D/3D Parametric | en, ru, de, pl, cs, it | DWG, DXF, DXB, Parasolid, STEP, IGES, ACIS, SolidWork, Autodesk Inventor, Siemens NX, CATIA, Creo, Solid Edge, Rhino, VDA-FS, JT, PRC, 3dxml, CGR, U3D, IFC, TF3D, Open Inventor, VRML, X3D, 3DS, PLY, OBJ, STL. | 2D documents: PDF, DXF, DXB, DWG, EMF, WMF, BMF 3D documents: Parasolid, STEP, IGES, ACIS, JT, PRC 3D documents with mesh geometry: DXF 3D, STL, OBJ, PLY, VRML 2.0, 3D PDF, U3D, X3D, 3DM, POV, Open Inventor, IFC, 3MF Raster images: BMP, JPEG, PNG, GIF, TIFF | - | ||||||||
| TransMagic | R11 | File translator | en, de | CATIA V4, CATIA V5, Autodesk Inventor, Pro/E, SolidWorks, Unigraphics, ACIS, JT, Parasolid, IGES, STEP , HOOPS Meta File, HOOPS Streaming File, PLY, STL, OBJ, Large file support | CATIA V4, CATIA V5, ACIS, JT, Parasolid, IGES, STEP , HOOPS Meta File, HOOPS Streaming File, NGRAIN, PLY, STL, HTML, OBJ, Enhanced Metafile, PDF, PostScript, TIFF, BMP, Large file support | ? | ||||||||
| TurboCAD by IMSI/Design, LLC | / V2018, 2017 Mac V10 | 2D/3D | en, cs, de, es, ja, fr, pl, zh-Hant | $1,495 Pro, $1,695 Pro Platinum | ||||||||||
| VariCAD by VariCAD | / 2019-3.0 | 2D/3D parametric | en, de, cs, pt, ja | STEP, DWG, DXF, DWB | STEP, STL, IGES, BMP, DWG, DXF, DWB | $780 | ||||||||
| VisualARQ by Asuni CAD S.A. | / 1.9.7 | 2D/3D | en, fr, es, de, it, cs | 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 | ||||||||
| VisualARQ by Asuni CAD S.A. | / 1.9.7 | 2D/3D | en, fr, es, de, it, cs | 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 |
