Comparison of computer-aided design software
Updated: 5/20/2026, 7:03:01 PM Wikipedia source
The table below provides an overview of notable computer-aided design (CAD) 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 (beta software). For all-purpose 3D programs, see Comparison of 3D computer graphics software. CAD refers to a specific type of drawing and modelling software application that is used for creating designs and technical drawings. These can be 3D drawings or 2D drawings (like floor plans).
Tables
Version
Version
Title and developer
Version
2D/3D or specialty fields
Date
ABViewer by CADSoftTools
ABViewer by CADSoftTools
Title and developer
ABViewer by CADSoftTools
2D/3D or specialty fields
2D/3D
Platform
Linux with Wine
Latest release
Version 15
Latest release
2023-02-01
License
Proprietary
Academic version?
Yes
Support for building information modelling?
No
Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)?
No
Support for AutoCAD DXF?
Yes
Imports
DWG, DXF, DWF, DXT, 3DS, ACIS SAT, STL, IGES ( ), STEP ( ), OBJ, X_T, X_B, SLDPRT, 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 (PLT, HGL, HG, HPG, PLO, HP, HP1, HP2, HP3, HPGL, HPGL2, HPP, GL, GL2, PRN, SPL, RTL, PCL), GED,
Windows
Windows
Title and developer
Windows
Alibre Design by Alibre, LLC
Alibre Design by Alibre, LLC
Title and developer
Alibre Design by Alibre, LLC
2D/3D or specialty fields
2D/3D
Platform
Windows
Latest release
Version 28
Latest release
2024
License
Proprietary
Academic version?
Yes
Support for building information modelling?
No
Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)?
(version?)
Support for AutoCAD DXF?
Yes
Imports
DXF, DWG, STEP, IGES, SAT, 3DM, STL, OBJ, PLY, 3DS, WRL, Inventor, ProE, SolidEdge, CATIA, Parasolid, Solidworks
Allplan by Allplan GmbH
Allplan by Allplan GmbH
Title and developer
Allplan by Allplan GmbH
2D/3D or specialty fields
2D/3D rachitecture, engineering, road, bridge, BIM
Platform
Windows
Latest release
Version 2023
Latest release
2022
License
Proprietary
Academic version?
Yes
Support for building information modelling?
Yes
Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)?
v2x3 CV2 & v4 Import and export certified
Support for AutoCAD DXF?
Until version 2023, incl. ACIS support
Imports
DXF, DWG, IFC, DGN, PDF, STL, OBJ, C4D, SKP, WRL, LandXML
Archicad by Graphisoft
Archicad by Graphisoft
Title and developer
Archicad by Graphisoft
2D/3D or specialty fields
2D/3D architecture, BIM
Platform
macOS
Latest release
Version 27
Latest release
2023
License
Proprietary
Academic version?
Yes
No cost
Support for building information modelling?
Yes
Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)?
v2x3 CV2 & v4 Import and export certified
Support for AutoCAD DXF?
Yes
Imports
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, FBX
Windows
Windows
Title and developer
Windows
AutoCAD by Autodesk
AutoCAD by Autodesk
Title and developer
AutoCAD by Autodesk
2D/3D or specialty fields
2D/3D, architecture, drafting
Platform
macOS, No for discipline-specific vertical products, e . AutoCAD Architecture
Latest release
2026
Latest release
2025-11-06
License
Proprietary
Academic version?
Yes
Support for building information modelling?
limited for some verticals
Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)?
for some verticals
Support for AutoCAD DXF?
Yes
Imports
DXF, DWG, DWS, DWT, WMF, SAT, 3DS, FBX, DGN
Windows
Windows
Title and developer
Windows
Android
Android
Title and developer
Android
iOS
iOS
Title and developer
iOS
Autodesk Inventor by Autodesk
Autodesk Inventor by Autodesk
Title and developer
Autodesk Inventor by Autodesk
2D/3D or specialty fields
3D
Platform
Windows
Latest release
2024
Latest release
2023-08-08
License
Proprietary
Academic version?
Yes
Support for building information modelling?
Yes
Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)?
version?
Support for AutoCAD DXF?
Yes
Imports
ACIS SAT, DXF, DWG, IGES, Pro/Engineer, STEP, , , , , , b, t, (NX), , , , Solidworks, ProE, Catia,
Blender by Blender Foundation
Blender by Blender Foundation
Title and developer
Blender by Blender Foundation
2D/3D or specialty fields
2D/3D modeling, rendering, animation
Platform
Windows, macOS, Linux
Latest release
5
Latest release
2025
License
GPL
Academic version?
Yes
Support for building information modelling?
Via Bonsai Bim addon
Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)?
Via Bonsai Bim addon
Support for AutoCAD DXF?
Yes
Imports
DXF, STL, OBJ, FBX, PLY, glTF, 3DS
BricsCAD
by Bricsys
BricsCAD
by Bricsys
Title and developer
BricsCAD
by Bricsys
2D/3D or specialty fields
2D/3D AEC,
parametric direct modeling,
BIM,
mechanical,
sheet metal,
rendering
Platform
macOS
Latest release
V24 (24 English)
(64-bit, 32-bit)
Latest release
2022-03-18
License
Proprietary
Academic version?
Yes
No cost
Support for building information modelling?
Yes
Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)?
version?
Support for AutoCAD DXF?
Yes
Imports
DWG 2 to 2013,
DXF, ACIS SAT, DAE (COLLADA), 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, SLDPTR/SLDASM
Fedora
Fedora
Title and developer
Fedora
openSUSE
openSUSE
Title and developer
openSUSE
Ubuntu
Ubuntu
Title and developer
Ubuntu
Windows
10, 8, 7, Vista
Windows
10, 8, 7, Vista
Title and developer
Windows
10, 8, 7, Vista
BRL-CAD by United States Army Research Laboratory
BRL-CAD by United States Army Research Laboratory
Title and developer
BRL-CAD by United States Army Research Laboratory
2D/3D or specialty fields
3D design and simulation for military vehicles
Platform
POSIX (BSD–Linux–Unix like OS), Packages for FreeBSD, IRIX, Linux, macOS, Solaris
Latest release
7
Latest release
2026-04-19
License
LGPL-2
Academic version?
Yes
No cost
Support for building information modelling?
Unknown
Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)?
No
Support for AutoCAD DXF?
Yes
Imports
DXF, Elysium Neutral Facetted, Euclid, FASTGEN, IGES, Jack, NASTRAN, Pro/E, STL, TANKILL, Unigraphics, Viewpoint Datalabs Format
Windows
Windows
Title and developer
Windows
Others
Others
Title and developer
Others
Caddie Professional by Advanced Computer Solutions
Caddie Professional by Advanced Computer Solutions
Title and developer
Caddie Professional by Advanced Computer Solutions
2D/3D or specialty fields
2D/3D CAE, rendering
Platform
Windows
Latest release
27
Latest release
2021
License
Proprietary
Academic version?
Foc
Support for building information modelling?
Yes
Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)?
Yes
Support for AutoCAD DXF?
Yes
Imports
DWG, DXF, DRW, JPEG, BMP, TIFF, PNG, GIF, ECW, JPEG2000, ASCII, XLS
Cadwork by Cadwork informatik AG
Cadwork by Cadwork informatik AG
Title and developer
Cadwork by Cadwork informatik AG
2D/3D or specialty fields
2D/3D/4D/5D/6D CAE, rendering, CAM, BIM
Platform
HP-UX
Latest release
30
Latest release
2023
License
Proprietary
Academic version?
Yes
Support for building information modelling?
Yes
Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)?
Yes
Support for AutoCAD DXF?
Yes
Imports
DWG, DXF, PDF, JPEG, TIFF, PNG, SAT, IFC
Windows
Windows
Title and developer
Windows
CATIA by Dassault Systèmes
CATIA by Dassault Systèmes
Title and developer
CATIA by Dassault Systèmes
2D/3D or specialty fields
2D/3D CAE
Platform
IBM AIX
Latest release
R2023x
Latest release
2023-11
License
Proprietary
Academic version?
€99, US$99, £89
Support for building information modelling?
Yes
Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)?
version?
Support for AutoCAD DXF?
Yes
Imports
some formats require extra license
HP-UX
HP-UX
Title and developer
HP-UX
Solaris
Solaris
Title and developer
Solaris
Windows
Windows
Title and developer
Windows
V4 runs on mainframe
V4 runs on mainframe
Title and developer
V4 runs on mainframe
Cobalt by Ashlar-Vellum
Cobalt by Ashlar-Vellum
Title and developer
Cobalt by Ashlar-Vellum
2D/3D or specialty fields
2D/3D rendering, CAE, CAM
Platform
macOS, 10 +, fully hyper-threaded ray tracing
Latest release
v12
Latest release
2023-08-17
License
Proprietary
Academic version?
Yes
Support for building information modelling?
No
Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)?
No
Support for AutoCAD DXF?
Yes
Imports
3DS, ACIS SAT, AI, ASCII Text, BMP, CATIA v4, CGM, CCAD, CO (native), Drawing board, DWG/DXF, Facet, GIF, Grid Surface, IGS (IGES), JPEG, Parasolid XT, PICT, 2D PDF, PNG, PPM, Pro/E, Rhino 3DM, Spline, STP (STEP), VRML, XBM, XPM
Windows
10, 11 (64-bit)
Windows
10, 11 (64-bit)
Title and developer
Windows
10, 11 (64-bit)
Creo by Parametric Technology Corporation
Creo by Parametric Technology Corporation
Title and developer
Creo by Parametric Technology Corporation
2D/3D or specialty fields
2D/3D hybrid
Platform
POSIX (some)
Latest release
Creo 12
Latest release
2025-06-04
License
Proprietary
Academic version?
Yes
Support for building information modelling?
No
Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)?
No
Support for AutoCAD DXF?
Yes
Imports
STEP, IGES, DXF, DWG, Parasolid, STL, SAT, more
Windows
Windows
Title and developer
Windows
DataCAD by DATACAD LLC
DataCAD by DATACAD LLC
Title and developer
DataCAD by DATACAD LLC
2D/3D or specialty fields
2D/3D AEC
Platform
Windows
Latest release
19
Latest release
2016-10
License
Proprietary
Academic version?
US$49
Support for building information modelling?
No
Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)?
No
Support for AutoCAD DXF?
Yes
Imports
DWG, DXF, SketchUp, TXT, WMF, EMF, o2c, ACO, 3DS, STL, BMP, JPEG, GIF, TIFF, Targa, PNG, PCX, PCD, and others
DesignSpark Mechanical by RS Components
DesignSpark Mechanical by RS Components
Title and developer
DesignSpark Mechanical by RS Components
2D/3D or specialty fields
2D/3D hybrid
Platform
Windows
Latest release
2
Latest release
2015-11-18
License
Proprietary
Academic version?
Yes
Support for building information modelling?
No
Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)?
No
Support for AutoCAD DXF?
Yes
Imports
ECAD (IDF, IDB, EMN), OBJ, Point curve text files (TXT), SKP, STL, STEP (read-only)
Digital Project by Gehry Technologies
Digital Project by Gehry Technologies
Title and developer
Digital Project by Gehry Technologies
2D/3D or specialty fields
2D/3D/4D AEC
Platform
Windows
32-bit and 64-bit
Latest release
Version R5
Latest release
2013
License
Proprietary
Academic version?
Unknown
Support for building information modelling?
Yes
Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)?
v2x3
Support for AutoCAD DXF?
Yes(2D + 3D)
Imports
SDNF, DWG, DXF, IFC, IGES, HSF, 3DXML
FINE MEP by 4M
FINE MEP by 4M
Title and developer
FINE MEP by 4M
2D/3D or specialty fields
2D/3D, BIM, MEP design
Platform
Windows
Latest release
v. 14
Latest release
2014
License
Proprietary
Academic version?
Yes
Support for building information modelling?
Yes
Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)?
v2x3)
Support for AutoCAD DXF?
Yes
Imports
DXF, DWG, IFC, ACIS, BMP, JPG, TGA, GIF
FreeCAD
FreeCAD
Title and developer
FreeCAD
2D/3D or specialty fields
3D
Platform
Unix-like OSes; Packages for FreeBSD, Linux
Latest release
1
Latest release
2026-03-25
License
LGPL-2
Academic version?
Yes
No cost
Support for building information modelling?
Yes
Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)?
version?
Support for AutoCAD DXF?
Yes
Imports
IFC, IGES, STEP, BRep, OBJ, DXF, SVG, U3D
Windows
Windows
Title and developer
Windows
Others with OpenGL as a prerequisite
Others with OpenGL as a prerequisite
Title and developer
Others with OpenGL as a prerequisite
form•Z by AutoDesSys, Inc
form•Z by AutoDesSys, Inc
Title and developer
form•Z by AutoDesSys, Inc
2D/3D or specialty fields
2D/3D AEC rendering
Platform
macOS
Latest release
6
Latest release
2008-06-23
License
Proprietary
Academic version?
Unknown
Support for building information modelling?
Yes
Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)?
Unknown
Support for AutoCAD DXF?
Yes
Imports
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
Windows
XP, Vista
32-bit and 64-bit
Windows
XP, Vista
32-bit and 64-bit
Title and developer
Windows
XP, Vista
32-bit and 64-bit
HiCAD by ISD Group
HiCAD by ISD Group
Title and developer
HiCAD by ISD Group
2D/3D or specialty fields
2D/3D
Platform
Windows
Latest release
2026
Latest release
2025-10-30
License
Proprietary
Academic version?
Yes
Support for building information modelling?
Yes
Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)?
version?
Support for AutoCAD DXF?
Yes
Imports
IGES, STEP, DXF, DWG, IFC, ACIS, ProE, SolidWorks, CATIA (V4/V5), Parasolid, UniGraphics, Inventor, IFC, PC-Draft, Technovision, Procad, Proren, Babcad, ME10, JT, STL, DSTV, SDNF
IntelliCAD by IntelliCAD Technology Consortium
IntelliCAD by IntelliCAD Technology Consortium
Title and developer
IntelliCAD by IntelliCAD Technology Consortium
2D/3D or specialty fields
2D/3D AEC BIM
Platform
Windows
Latest release
V 10
Latest release
2020-10-29
License
Proprietary
Academic version?
Varies by vendor
Support for building information modelling?
Yes
Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)?
version?
Support for AutoCAD DXF?
Yes
Imports
DXF, DWF, SAT, DXB, DWT, DGN, DAE, IGES, STEP, OBJ, STL, IFC, RVT/RFA
IRONCAD by IronCAD LLC
IRONCAD by IronCAD LLC
Title and developer
IRONCAD by IronCAD LLC
2D/3D or specialty fields
2D/3D hybrid
Platform
Windows
Latest release
2023
Latest release
2022-12-19
License
Proprietary
Academic version?
From US$124
Support for building information modelling?
No
Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)?
No
Support for AutoCAD DXF?
Yes
Imports
DXF, DWG, Parasolid, IGES, STEP, SAT, STL, ProE, Solid Edge, Inventor, Rhino (3dm), Catia
KeyCreator by Kubotek
KeyCreator by Kubotek
Title and developer
KeyCreator by Kubotek
2D/3D or specialty fields
3D direct modeling, mechanical, drafting
Platform
Windows
Latest release
2021 SP1
Latest release
2021-03-17
License
Proprietary
Academic version?
Yes
Support for building information modelling?
Yes
Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)?
Yes
Support for AutoCAD DXF?
Yes
Imports
STEP, IGES, SAT, Parasolid, DXF, DWG, Catia, Creo/ProE, NX, Solid Edge, JT, SolidWorks, Inventor, CADKEY, IFC, STL, U3D, OBJ
LibreCAD
LibreCAD
Title and developer
LibreCAD
2D/3D or specialty fields
2D
Platform
POSIX
Latest release
2
Latest release
2026-03-03
License
GPL-2
Academic version?
Yes
No cost
Support for building information modelling?
No
Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)?
No
Support for AutoCAD DXF?
Yes
Imports
DWG, DXF
Windows
Windows
Title and developer
Windows
Others
Others
Title and developer
Others
MicroStation by Bentley Systems
MicroStation by Bentley Systems
Title and developer
MicroStation by Bentley Systems
2D/3D or specialty fields
2D/3D AEC
Platform
Windows
Latest release
CONNECT Edition (Update 9)
Latest release
2017-01-17
License
Proprietary
Academic version?
Yes
Support for building information modelling?
Yes
Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)?
v2x3
Support for AutoCAD DXF?
Yes
Imports
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 , 3DM, STL
Other systems dropped (last was V 5 of 1997/1998)
Other systems dropped (last was V 5 of 1997/1998)
Title and developer
Other systems dropped (last was V 5 of 1997/1998)
NX by Siemens Digital Industries Software
NX by Siemens Digital Industries Software
Title and developer
NX by Siemens Digital Industries Software
2D/3D or specialty fields
2D/3D, parametric
Platform
macOS
Latest release
11
Latest release
2016-06-29
License
Proprietary
Academic version?
Unknown
Support for building information modelling?
Unknown
Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)?
Unknown
Support for AutoCAD DXF?
Yes
Imports
JT, Parasolid, STEP, DWG, DXF, ProE, SolidWorks, I-deas, CATIA (V4/V5), STL, IGES
Red Hat Linux
Red Hat Linux
Title and developer
Red Hat Linux
SUSE Linux
SUSE Linux
Title and developer
SUSE Linux
Windows
Windows
Title and developer
Windows
Onshape by PTC
Onshape by PTC
Title and developer
Onshape by PTC
2D/3D or specialty fields
Mechanical CAD (MCAD), 3D printing
Platform
Web browser
Latest release
1
Latest release
2022-02-18
License
Proprietary, some parts MIT
Academic version?
Yes
No cost
Support for building information modelling?
Unknown
Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)?
Unknown
Support for AutoCAD DXF?
Yes
Imports
DWG, DXF, Parasolid mesh ( or ), ACIS ( ), STEP ( ), IGES ( or ), CATIA, SolidWorks ( ), Inventor, Pro/E, JT ( ), Rhino ( ), STL ( ), OBJ ( ), NXSolid Edge ( and )
Android
Android
Title and developer
Android
iOS
iOS
Title and developer
iOS
OpenSCAD
OpenSCAD
Title and developer
OpenSCAD
2D/3D or specialty fields
2D/3D
Platform
POSIX (BSD–Linux–Unix like OS), Packages for Linux
Latest release
2021
Latest release
2021-01-31
License
GPL-2
Academic version?
Yes
No cost
Support for building information modelling?
No
Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)?
No
Support for AutoCAD DXF?
Partial
Imports
DXF, STL, OFF
macOS
macOS
Title and developer
macOS
Windows
Windows
Title and developer
Windows
OrthoGraph
OrthoGraph
Title and developer
OrthoGraph
2D/3D or specialty fields
2D/3D
Platform
Android
Latest release
3
Latest release
2020-05-08
License
Proprietary
Academic version?
No
Support for building information modelling?
Yes
Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)?
version?
Support for AutoCAD DXF?
Yes
iOS
iOS
Title and developer
iOS
PowerCADD by Engineered Software
PowerCADD by Engineered Software
Title and developer
PowerCADD by Engineered Software
2D/3D or specialty fields
2D
Platform
macOS
Latest release
v9
Latest release
2010-08
License
Proprietary
Academic version?
No
Support for building information modelling?
No
Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)?
No
Support for AutoCAD DXF?
Yes
Imports
DWG, DXF, PDF, EPSF, PS, Bitmap, VectorPict, JPG, PNG, TIF, SGI, TGA, Adobe Photoshop, *SHP, *GPX, ASCII Topo Survey (*with WildTools)
QCAD by Ribbon Soft
QCAD by Ribbon Soft
Title and developer
QCAD by Ribbon Soft
2D/3D or specialty fields
2D
Platform
POSIX
Latest release
3
Latest release
2025-07-17
License
GPL-3
Academic version?
Yes
Support for building information modelling?
Yes
Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)?
v2 import and export
Support for AutoCAD DXF?
Yes
Imports
IFC, DXF, DWG
macOS
macOS
Title and developer
macOS
Windows
Windows
Title and developer
Windows
Autodesk Revit
Autodesk Revit
Title and developer
Autodesk Revit
2D/3D or specialty fields
2D/3D BIM AEC
Platform
Windows
Latest release
2024
Latest release
2023-07-11
License
Proprietary
Academic version?
Yes
Support for building information modelling?
Yes
Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)?
version? Import and export certified
Support for AutoCAD DXF?
Yes
Imports
DXF, DWG, SAT, SKP, DGN, JPEG, PNG, TIFF
Rhinoceros 3D by Robert McNeel and Associates
Rhinoceros 3D by Robert McNeel and Associates
Title and developer
Rhinoceros 3D by Robert McNeel and Associates
2D/3D or specialty fields
2D/3D CAD
Platform
macOS
Latest release
Rhino 8
SR8
Latest release
2024-06-18
License
Proprietary
Academic version?
Yes
Support for building information modelling?
Unknown
Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)?
Unknown
Support for AutoCAD DXF?
Yes
Imports
DXF, DWG, , SAT, SketchUp, IGES, STEP, STL, DGN, FBX, OBJ, sldprt
Windows
Windows
Title and developer
Windows
Salome
Salome
Title and developer
Salome
2D/3D or specialty fields
CAE
Platform
Linux
Latest release
9
Latest release
2025-09
License
LGPL-2
Academic version?
Yes
No cost
Support for building information modelling?
Unknown
Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)?
Unknown
Support for AutoCAD DXF?
No
Imports
BREP, IGES, STEP, XAO
FreeBSD
FreeBSD
Title and developer
FreeBSD
Windows
Windows
Title and developer
Windows
SketchUp by Trimble
SketchUp by Trimble
Title and developer
SketchUp by Trimble
2D/3D or specialty fields
3D
Platform
macOS
Latest release
18
Latest release
2017-11-14
License
Proprietary
Academic version?
Yes
Support for building information modelling?
Yes
Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)?
import and export, version?
Support for AutoCAD DXF?
Yes
Imports
DWG, DXF, DEM, DDF, 3DS, DAE, KMZ, IFC, JPG, PNG, PSD, TIF, TGA, BMP
Windows
Windows
Title and developer
Windows
2D/3D or specialty fields
18
Platform
2017-11-14
Solid Edge by Siemens Digital Industries Software
Solid Edge by Siemens Digital Industries Software
Title and developer
Solid Edge by Siemens Digital Industries Software
2D/3D or specialty fields
2D/3D
Platform
Windows
Latest release
Solid Edge 2023
Latest release
2022-10
License
Proprietary
Academic version?
Yes
No cost
Support for building information modelling?
Unknown
Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)?
No
Support for AutoCAD DXF?
Yes
Imports
IGES, STEP, DXF, JT, ACIS (SAT), ProE, SolidWorks, NX, SDRC, Microstation, Inventor, CATIA (V4/V5), Parasolid, Autocad, STL, XML, MDS
SolidWorks by Dassault Systèmes
SolidWorks by Dassault Systèmes
Title and developer
SolidWorks by Dassault Systèmes
2D/3D or specialty fields
2D/3D hybrid
Platform
Windows
Latest release
2023 SP3
Latest release
2023-07-10
License
Proprietary
Academic version?
From US$12,995
Support for building information modelling?
Yes
Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)?
import: ifc2x3, export: ifc4
Support for AutoCAD DXF?
Yes
Imports
DXF, DWG, DXF, Parasolid, IGES, STEP, ACIS (SAT), STL, ProE, Creo, Solid Edge, Siemens NX, Autodesk Inventor, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Rhino (3dm), IDF (emn, brd, bdf, idb, idx), VDA, WRL, Meshfiles (stl,obj,off,ply,ply2), 3MF, CGR, catpart/catproduct, Rhino (3dm), JT, sldxml, IFC
SolveSpace by Jonathan Westhues
SolveSpace by Jonathan Westhues
Title and developer
SolveSpace by Jonathan Westhues
2D/3D or specialty fields
2D/3D parametric
Platform
Linux
Latest release
3
Latest release
2026-03-26
License
GPL-3
Academic version?
Yes
No cost
Support for building information modelling?
No
Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)?
No
Support for AutoCAD DXF?
Export only
macOS
macOS
Title and developer
macOS
| Title and developer | 2D/3D or specialty fields | Platform | Latest release | License | Academic version? | User interface languages | Support for building information modelling? | Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)? | Support for AutoCAD DXF? | Imports | Exports | |
| Version | Date | |||||||||||
| ABViewer by CADSoftTools | 2D/3D | Linux with Wine | Version 15 | 2023-02-01 | Proprietary | Yes | en, fr, de, ru and others | No | No | Yes | DWG, DXF, DWF, DXT, 3DS, ACIS SAT, STL, IGES ( ), STEP ( ), OBJ, X_T, X_B, SLDPRT, 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 (PLT, HGL, HG, HPG, PLO, HP, HP1, HP2, HP3, HPGL, HPGL2, HPP, GL, GL2, PRN, SPL, RTL, PCL), GED, | |
| Windows | ||||||||||||
| Alibre Design by Alibre, LLC | 2D/3D | Windows | Version 28 | 2024 | Proprietary | Yes | en, de, ja, fr, zh-Hant, pl, cs, es, da, pt-BR, sv | No | (version?) | Yes | DXF, DWG, STEP, IGES, SAT, 3DM, STL, OBJ, PLY, 3DS, WRL, Inventor, ProE, SolidEdge, CATIA, Parasolid, Solidworks | |
| Allplan by Allplan GmbH | 2D/3D rachitecture, engineering, road, bridge, BIM | Windows | Version 2023 | 2022 | Proprietary | Yes | en, es, fr, de, ru, zh-Hant, ja, pl, cs, it, pt-BR and others | Yes | v2x3 CV2 & v4 Import and export certified | Until version 2023, incl. ACIS support | DXF, DWG, IFC, DGN, PDF, STL, OBJ, C4D, SKP, WRL, LandXML | |
| Archicad by Graphisoft | 2D/3D architecture, BIM | macOS | Version 27 | 2023 | Proprietary | Yes No cost | en, de, es, fr, it, pt, ru, ja, pl, cs, hu, nl, fi, sv, no, da, tr, el, zh-Hans, ko, zh-Hant | Yes | v2x3 CV2 & v4 Import and export certified | Yes | 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, FBX | |
| Windows | ||||||||||||
| AutoCAD by Autodesk | 2D/3D, architecture, drafting | macOS, No for discipline-specific vertical products, e . AutoCAD Architecture | 2026 | 2025-11-06 | Proprietary | Yes | pt-BR, en, cs, fr, de, hu, it, ja, ko, pl, ru, zh-Hans, es, zh-Hant | limited for some verticals | for some verticals | Yes | DXF, DWG, DWS, DWT, WMF, SAT, 3DS, FBX, DGN | |
| Windows | ||||||||||||
| Android | ||||||||||||
| iOS | ||||||||||||
| Autodesk Inventor by Autodesk | 3D | Windows | 2024 | 2023-08-08 | Proprietary | Yes | en and others | Yes | version? | Yes | ACIS SAT, DXF, DWG, IGES, Pro/Engineer, STEP, , , , , , b, t, (NX), , , , Solidworks, ProE, Catia, | |
| Blender by Blender Foundation | 2D/3D modeling, rendering, animation | Windows, macOS, Linux | 5 | 2025 | GPL | Yes | Multiple | Via Bonsai Bim addon | Via Bonsai Bim addon | Yes | DXF, STL, OBJ, FBX, PLY, glTF, 3DS | |
| BricsCAD by Bricsys | 2D/3D AEC, parametric direct modeling, BIM, mechanical, sheet metal, rendering | macOS | V24 (24 English) (64-bit, 32-bit) | 2022-03-18 | Proprietary | Yes No cost | en, cs, de, es, fr, hu, it, ja, ko, lt, pl, pt-BR, ru, vi, zh-Hans, zh-Hant | Yes | version? | Yes | DWG 2 to 2013, DXF, ACIS SAT, DAE (COLLADA), 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, SLDPTR/SLDASM | |
| Fedora | ||||||||||||
| openSUSE | ||||||||||||
| Ubuntu | ||||||||||||
| Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista | ||||||||||||
| BRL-CAD by United States Army Research Laboratory | 3D design and simulation for military vehicles | POSIX (BSD–Linux–Unix like OS), Packages for FreeBSD, IRIX, Linux, macOS, Solaris | 7 | 2026-04-19 | LGPL-2 | Yes No cost | en | Unknown | No | Yes | DXF, Elysium Neutral Facetted, Euclid, FASTGEN, IGES, Jack, NASTRAN, Pro/E, STL, TANKILL, Unigraphics, Viewpoint Datalabs Format | |
| Windows | ||||||||||||
| Others | ||||||||||||
| Caddie Professional by Advanced Computer Solutions | 2D/3D CAE, rendering | Windows | 27 | 2021 | Proprietary | Foc | en | Yes | Yes | Yes | DWG, DXF, DRW, JPEG, BMP, TIFF, PNG, GIF, ECW, JPEG2000, ASCII, XLS | |
| Cadwork by Cadwork informatik AG | 2D/3D/4D/5D/6D CAE, rendering, CAM, BIM | HP-UX | 30 | 2023 | Proprietary | Yes | en, cs, fr, de, it, ja, pl, pt, ru, zh-Hans, es | Yes | Yes | Yes | DWG, DXF, PDF, JPEG, TIFF, PNG, SAT, IFC | |
| Windows | ||||||||||||
| CATIA by Dassault Systèmes | 2D/3D CAE | IBM AIX | R2023x | 2023-11 | Proprietary | €99, US$99, £89 | en, fr, de, ja (at release date) | Yes | version? | Yes | some formats require extra license | |
| HP-UX | ||||||||||||
| Solaris | ||||||||||||
| Windows | ||||||||||||
| V4 runs on mainframe | ||||||||||||
| Cobalt by Ashlar-Vellum | 2D/3D rendering, CAE, CAM | macOS, 10 +, fully hyper-threaded ray tracing | v12 | 2023-08-17 | Proprietary | Yes | en, bre, fr, de, it, pt, ru, sl, sv | No | No | Yes | 3DS, ACIS SAT, AI, ASCII Text, BMP, CATIA v4, CGM, CCAD, CO (native), Drawing board, DWG/DXF, Facet, GIF, Grid Surface, IGS (IGES), JPEG, Parasolid XT, PICT, 2D PDF, PNG, PPM, Pro/E, Rhino 3DM, Spline, STP (STEP), VRML, XBM, XPM | |
| Windows 10, 11 (64-bit) | ||||||||||||
| Creo by Parametric Technology Corporation | 2D/3D hybrid | POSIX (some) | Creo 12 | 2025-06-04 | Proprietary | Yes | en, fr, de, es, it, ja, ko, zh-Hant, zh-Hans (at release date) | No | No | Yes | STEP, IGES, DXF, DWG, Parasolid, STL, SAT, more | |
| Windows | ||||||||||||
| DataCAD by DATACAD LLC | 2D/3D AEC | Windows | 19 | 2016-10 | Proprietary | US$49 | en, pt, cs, et, fi, fr, de, hu, he, it, ru, es, and others | No | No | Yes | DWG, DXF, SketchUp, TXT, WMF, EMF, o2c, ACO, 3DS, STL, BMP, JPEG, GIF, TIFF, Targa, PNG, PCX, PCD, and others | |
| DesignSpark Mechanical by RS Components | 2D/3D hybrid | Windows | 2 | 2015-11-18 | Proprietary | Yes | en, cz, de, es, fr, it, jp, kr, pl, pt, zh-cn, zh-tw | No | No | Yes | ECAD (IDF, IDB, EMN), OBJ, Point curve text files (TXT), SKP, STL, STEP (read-only) | |
| Digital Project by Gehry Technologies | 2D/3D/4D AEC | Windows 32-bit and 64-bit | Version R5 | 2013 | Proprietary | Unknown | en | Yes | v2x3 | Yes(2D + 3D) | SDNF, DWG, DXF, IFC, IGES, HSF, 3DXML | |
| FINE MEP by 4M | 2D/3D, BIM, MEP design | Windows | v. 14 | 2014 | Proprietary | Yes | en, fr, tr, gr, bg | Yes | v2x3) | Yes | DXF, DWG, IFC, ACIS, BMP, JPG, TGA, GIF | |
| FreeCAD | 3D | Unix-like OSes; Packages for FreeBSD, Linux | 1 | 2026-03-25 | LGPL-2 | Yes No cost | en, af, cn, hr, nl, fi, fr, de, it, no, pt, ru, es, se, ua | Yes | version? | Yes | IFC, IGES, STEP, BRep, OBJ, DXF, SVG, U3D | |
| Windows | ||||||||||||
| Others with OpenGL as a prerequisite | ||||||||||||
| form•Z by AutoDesSys, Inc | 2D/3D AEC rendering | macOS | 6 | 2008-06-23 | Proprietary | Unknown | en, fr, de, el, it, ja, ko, es | Yes | Unknown | Yes | 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 | |
| Windows XP, Vista 32-bit and 64-bit | ||||||||||||
| HiCAD by ISD Group | 2D/3D | Windows | 2026 | 2025-10-30 | Proprietary | Yes | en, de, it, fr, pl, jp (at release date) | Yes | version? | Yes | IGES, STEP, DXF, DWG, IFC, ACIS, ProE, SolidWorks, CATIA (V4/V5), Parasolid, UniGraphics, Inventor, IFC, PC-Draft, Technovision, Procad, Proren, Babcad, ME10, JT, STL, DSTV, SDNF | |
| IntelliCAD by IntelliCAD Technology Consortium | 2D/3D AEC BIM | Windows | V 10 | 2020-10-29 | Proprietary | Varies by vendor | en (more options vary by vendor) | Yes | version? | Yes | DXF, DWF, SAT, DXB, DWT, DGN, DAE, IGES, STEP, OBJ, STL, IFC, RVT/RFA | |
| IRONCAD by IronCAD LLC | 2D/3D hybrid | Windows | 2023 | 2022-12-19 | Proprietary | From US$124 | en, jp, ko, de (at release date) | No | No | Yes | DXF, DWG, Parasolid, IGES, STEP, SAT, STL, ProE, Solid Edge, Inventor, Rhino (3dm), Catia | |
| KeyCreator by Kubotek | 3D direct modeling, mechanical, drafting | Windows | 2021 SP1 | 2021-03-17 | Proprietary | Yes | en, jp, it, de (at release date) | Yes | Yes | Yes | STEP, IGES, SAT, Parasolid, DXF, DWG, Catia, Creo/ProE, NX, Solid Edge, JT, SolidWorks, Inventor, CADKEY, IFC, STL, U3D, OBJ | |
| LibreCAD | 2D | POSIX | 2 | 2026-03-03 | GPL-2 | Yes No cost | en, fr, it, de, es, ja, zh, fi, cs, pt, lv | No | No | Yes | DWG, DXF | |
| Windows | ||||||||||||
| Others | ||||||||||||
References
- "CADSoftTools Releases ABViewer v15 "https://web.archive.org/web/20230209122308/https://www.tenlinks.com/news/cadsofttools-releases-abviewer-v15-1/
- wwwhttps://www.allplan.com/us_en/system/data-exchange-formats/
- wwwhttps://graphisoft.com/resources-and-support/downloads
- wwwhttps://graphisoft.com/solutions/whatsnew
- "ArchiCAD Bittorrent Downloads"http://www.archicadwiki.com/ArchiCAD%20Bittorrent%20Downloads
- "Participants"https://web.archive.org/web/20160124114242/http://www.buildingsmart-tech.org/certification/ifc-certification-2.0/ifc2x3-cv-v2.0-certification/participants
- usahttps://web.archive.org/web/20101019075918/http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/pc/index?siteID=123112&id=15435044
- "AutoCAD Architecture 2013 - System Requirements - Autodesk"https://web.archive.org/web/20130317062021/http://usa.autodesk.com/autocad-architecture/system-requirements/
- "What's New in AutoCAD 2026 : Experience the Connected Sheet Set Manager and Enhanced Smart Blocks"https://www.autodesk.com/blogs/autocad/autocad-2026-1-1/
- "Autodesk - Licensing, Registration & Activation"https://web.archive.org/web/20140803083034/http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=3969608
- "Import Other File Formats"http://docs.autodesk.com/ARCHDESK/2011/ENU/filesAUG/WS1a9193826455f5ffa23ce210c4a30acaf-5c52.htm
- "Export Drawings to Other File Formats"http://docs.autodesk.com/ARCHDESK/2011/ENU/filesAUG/WS1a9193826455f5ffa23ce210c4a30acaf-5a5d.htm
- helphttps://help.autodesk.com/view/INVNTOR/2024/ENU/?guid=Inventor_ReleaseNotes_updates_2024_1_1_fixed_bugs_august_html
- "Bonsai -Free, open source, native IFC authoring platform"https://bonsaibim.org/
- SourceForgehttps://sourceforge.net/projects/brlcad/
- "BRL-CAD 'Download' page"https://web.archive.org/web/20181018054335/http://brlcad.org/d/download
- "Release 7 "https://github.com/BRL-CAD/brlcad/releases/tag/rel-7-42-2
- sourceforgehttps://sourceforge.net/p/brlcad/code/HEAD/tree/brlcad/trunk/COPYING
- sourceforgehttps://sourceforge.net/p/brlcad/discussion/362510/thread/b0c97fda/
- BRL-CAD Tutorial Serieshttp://brlcad.org/w/images/6/66/Converting_Geometry.pdf