CAD Alternatives in 2022

[nrz13]

I'm exploring AutoCAD alternatives now that Autodesk no longer offers the Maintenance plan to update our software (we do not want subscription).

I'm currently looking at BricsCAD Pro, IntelliCAD PE+, DraftSight Premium, and ProgeCAD Professional, which all still offer perpetual licenses.  If anyone has experience working with any of these programs and are familiar with their interoperability (or lack thereof) with AutoCAD .dwg files and features, I'd appreciate your insight.  There would likely be an interim period where drawings are being edited by both AutoCAD and an alternate program.  I'll begin testing these programs in a Windows Sandbox later this week, but if anyone knows of any showstoppers right off the bat with one or more of them, then that would save me some testing time.

Features we need:
● Runs on at least Windows 10 x64 (with Windows 11 support available or expected)
● Opens and saves natively in .dwg format (preferably 2018 format compatible)
● LISP support, or at the very least, custom keyboard commands
● Customizable user interface (remove toolbars/ribbon, model space & paper space colors, cursor, etc.)
● X-ref support (in model space and paper space)
● Dynamic block and block support that's compatible with AutoCAD
● Wipeouts and compatibility with AutoCAD's wipeouts
● 2D OSNAP support (at least endpoint, midpoint, center, and intersection); 3D OSNAP would be a plus
● Polyline grips with editing (moving/adding/removing grips, converting from line to arc and vice versa)
● Support inserting, displaying, and printing .pdf, .png, and .jpg files at full quality
● Assign RGB colors by layer as well as by object (manual override)
● Assign printing thicknesses to linework based on color (i.e. .ctb system of some sort)
● Hatch support
● Full mouse wheel/button support (for in-command zoom and pan)
● Basic 3D modeling with at least basic shading/rendering
● MTEXT features and interoperability (style, font, bold, italics, underline, etc.)
● Customizable dimension settings (suffix, units, etc.)
● Floating Layers and Properties palettes that allow working while left open

I'm sure there will be some other things I think of later, but this should be a good start.  Our focus is architecture, but we use vanilla AutoCAD and do not need BIM features at this time.  We don't need sheet sets.  We also don't need any online features (work off of a local server only).  If you know of any other core functionality features (whatever you think that means) that you know these alternatives can't do (or do well), please let me know.  Conversely, if you know of any really useful features one or more of the alternates have that AutoCAD doesn't, I'd be interested in that as well. 

I'd like to narrow my shortlist down to one or maybe two programs to thoroughly test. Thanks!

[AVCPlugins]

It's rather strange to ask for alternative programs in the official Autodesk forum...

The only thing that I will allow myself to note is that BricsCAD fully meets your requirements. Just check the creation of dynamic blocks - I do not use this, because there is a full-fledged 3D parameterization there.

[ennujozlagam]

you can try this?

https://www.zwsoft.com/

[martti.halminen]

I took a look at ProgeCAD a few years ago from a Lisp programming viewpoint.

While it has the capability for simple programs, I wouldn't use it for any serious work. Among other things, if it has any kind of compiler or debugger, the documentation carefully omits mentioning it.

- No mention of VLA- -functions.

- Some VL- , VLR- and VLAX- functions "are supported by progeCAD but are not yet documented".

- Their function documentation seems occasionally spotty. For example the writer seems confused about the difference between "first", "FIRST" and FIRST.

[RobDraw]

Why look for alternatives instead of preparing for the future?

Go BIM and get Revit or get left behind. That writing was on the wall a long time ago.

[pendean]

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@nrz13 wrote:

Features we need:
● Basic 3D modeling with at least basic shading/rendering
Our focus is architecture, but we use vanilla AutoCAD and do not need BIM features at this time.  We don't need sheet sets. 

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What you seek is not a secret anymore, start here https://www.google.com/search?q=autocad+alternatives then download and test each thoroughly in-house with your files with your people with your workflows to determine what works for you.

Good luck.

[nrz13]

Thanks for the replies so far.  I've been in meetings all day and have more soon, but I'll be back tomorrow to respond to any new posts.

@AVCPluginsPerhaps it's a bit odd, but I know there's a lot of expertise with many different CAD softwares on this forum and people who have come to AutoCAD from other products.  I'll check a lot of our dynamic blocks.

@ennujozlagamI did see ZWCAD, but had ruled it out because it's a Chinese company.  I'm concerned about possible issues with US-China relations (our company is in the US).  Have you used it, though?  How does it compare to AutoCAD?

@martti.halminenThanks for the LISP tip.  We only have a few more "complicated" routines that aren't mission critical, but I'll be sure to test them anyway.  I say "complicated" because they're more involved than a keyboard shortcut toggle or running a few commands, but they're still pretty basic in terms of what can be done with LISP.

@RobDrawI've been hearing Revit is the future for 20 years now (and it is).  I know some day I may have no choice, but I hope to be retired before it does.  In any case, I would still want a capable perpetual-lease software I could fall back on, as Revit is still subscription.

@pendeanI know my post was long, but you didn't have to respond if you weren't going to read it.  I already started with a search, which is how I arrived at the four softwares I listed (in bold).  As I also mentioned (also in bold), I will be testing them, but my goal is to strike out 2 to 3 of them quickly so I can focus on the most viable alternative to see if it will be acceptable.

[pendean]

@nrz13 Post read at the time of my post for sure: you and only you can determine what alternatives you should consider and test, it was the tone of your post (in my own head of course) that appeared to be less inclined to perform a deep dive with each package.
And the last sentence in your reply that tagged me seems to make me think I was correct in my assumptions. Thanks for the validation.

Happy cadding.

[TerryDotson]

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@ennujozlagamI did see ZWCAD, but had ruled it out because it's a Chinese company.  I'm concerned about possible issues with US-China relations ...

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You won't find much variance in the ICAD flavors, most take the OEM engine and slap their logo on the startup.  The primary difference is price and support.  Among other reasons, a (USA based) vendor close to your working hours makes the most sense.

We only list CMS IntelliCAD (TX, USA) on our supported ICAD developers!

[nrz13 · Accepted solution]

I ended up having to test all 4 programs I listed and none are practical for our office to replace AutoCAD 2022. The biggest issue is none allow editing of AutoCAD's dynamic blocks, and all of them had varying degrees of problems using AutoCAD-generated dynamic blocks. Most standard AutoCAD blocks weren't editable if they had a reference point in them (most of ours do).

ProgeCAD 2022 Professional was the most like AutoCAD and recognized more of my custom shortcuts and LISPs than the other three without having to tweak them. The interface was familiar and customizable. If you don't use dynamic blocks, this seems to be a viable alternative to AutoCAD at a much lower price. It comes with a built-in PDF driver and supported everything else on the needed features I listed. Current cost: $500 perpetual license (1 user, 2 simultaneous installs).

BricsCAD 22 Pro was also a pretty polished program. Aside from the block issues, I found more of the default commands to be different from AutoCAD, meaning my .pgp and .lisp files with custom keyboard shortcuts didn't do much. I would have to manually reconfigure them based on BricsCAD's names for the commands. Editing polylines was problematic as well; it supposedly has a tool allowing vertices to be added/removed and other edits, but it wouldn't work for me. In any case, it's an unintuitive system when coming from AutoCAD. I was testing these programs in a virtual machine, so there's going to be a performance hit, but BricsCAD was the only one where testing 3D features was unusable. Current cost: $1,150 perpetual license (1 user, 2 simultaneous installs).

CMS IntelliCAD 10.1 Premium was generally nice to use, but had several show-stoppers and doesn't seem as developed as ProgeCAD or BricsCAD in terms of features and options. AutoCAD's dynamic blocks aren't supported; printing with transparency when using .ctb files isn't supported; hatch patterns didn't always display correctly, and table options are very limited. LISP support was like BricsCAD, where I would need to manually reconfigure my aliases to work. Current cost: $300 perpetual license (1 user, 2 simultaneous installs).

DraftSight 2022 Premium is not a serious contender. It's basic, does not allow a lot of customization of the interface (or resets it the next time the program is opened), and still uses a dialog box instead of a palette for layers. Like the others, support for AutoCAD's dynamic blocks is not there. Table support is limited. Further, it was hard to find any information about a perpetual license (it appears to only be offered through Enterprise sales now).

[maratovich]

NanoCAD

[nrz13]

The point of exploring alternatives is to avoid software subscriptions, so nanoCAD would not be a good option, unless there's some other perpetual option not advertised on their website.

[RobDraw]

Perpetual licenses aren't as attractive as they seem. Technology advances quickly. Equipment and OS's need to be updated periodically and can make it difficult to run older software. IMVHO, the advantages of staying up-to-date are much more attractive than the cost of maintaining old tech.

JMTC

[nrz13]

@RobDraw 
There's no perfect answer with operating systems being automatically updated with major updates.  Hopefully Windows 10 will last a while, or Autodesk will issue another update to improve Windows 11 compatibility, or Windows 11 will have updates that improve its backwards compatibility.

However, we can use our perpetual licenses of AutoCAD 2022 for potentially years where we're not paying an annual fee to use it.  And, most importantly, if Autodesk decides to discontinue AutoCAD to focus on Revit and other products, we'll still be able to use the software we depend on.

In a few years, maybe ProgeCAD will add a dynamic block editor and continue to improve in other ways.  Then we can pay to upgrade with them every few years as needed and only when useful features are added.  We've been paying the annual maintenance fee for AutoCAD for the last several years, but there have been barely any improvements useful to us.  A perpetual license puts the onus on the company to improve their product enough to entice customers to pay for a new version.

If none of that pans out, we still have the option of buying new AutoCAD subscriptions separately (so as to retain our perpetual licenses).

[dgorsman]

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@RobDraw wrote:

Perpetual licenses aren't as attractive as they seem. Technology advances quickly. Equipment and OS's need to be updated periodically and can make it difficult to run older software. IMVHO, the advantages of staying up-to-date are much more attractive than the cost of maintaining old tech.

JMTC

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Also makes it easy to staff up to meet project requirements, even if only short term.  If work dips back down later, you aren't sitting on a pile of perpetual licenses that may need to be updated some time in the future.  I've been there, and it becomes something of a long term debate between technical needs and management spending.  Thankfully I've only needed to provide input while others made the final decision on costs.  Switching to Enterprise/token licensing (similar to subscription, with the exception of a minimum payment) made things simpler.

[RobDraw]

Like I said, I was offering an opinion, as the "perfect" answer is very subjective. I happen to think that being current is worth more than maintaining the past. I didn't always think that way, btw.

[nrz13]

@dgorsman 
Thankfully that's not an issue we've had to deal with and won't have to now that Autodesk has discontinued the maintenance upgrade option.  But we still have the option of adding in subscriptions for short-term scenarios, if needed.

[bigcarl5000kg]

@nrz13 ,

have you tried open source CAD yet? Like LibreCAD, ...?

[nrz13]

No, it's too basic for our needs (see the features we need that I listed in my initial post).  Maybe some day, though...

[TerryDotson]

... if Autodesk decides to discontinue AutoCAD to focus on ...

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 That could be translated to "Economic Corporate Suicide".