ARCHICAD vs. Blender

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
ARCHICAD
Score 9.1 out of 10
N/A
ARCHICAD is a 3D architectural design application and BIM from Graphisoft, a Nemetschek Group company headquartered in Budapest.
$240
per month
Blender
Score 9.2 out of 10
N/A
Blender is a free and open source 3D creation suite available in under the GNU General Public License. It supports the entirety of the 3D pipeline—modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing and motion tracking, video editing and 2D animation pipeline. Blender Cloud is a related service accessible via subscription, and is a training and content platform providing access to expertise from the Blender Institute for advancing one's use of Blender.
$11.50
per month
Pricing
ARCHICADBlender
Editions & Modules
Archicad Solo Version
$240
per month
Archicad Full Version
$280
per month
Blender Cloud Membership
$11.50
per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
ARCHICADBlender
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Best Alternatives
ARCHICADBlender
Small Businesses
Onshape
Onshape
Score 9.0 out of 10
Autodesk Maya
Autodesk Maya
Score 7.9 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Onshape
Onshape
Score 9.0 out of 10
Onshape
Onshape
Score 9.0 out of 10
Enterprises
Rhino
Rhino
Score 9.1 out of 10
Rhino
Rhino
Score 9.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
ARCHICADBlender
Likelihood to Recommend
9.2
(8 ratings)
9.6
(23 ratings)
Support Rating
10.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
ARCHICADBlender
Likelihood to Recommend
Graphisoft
ARCHICAD, is well suited in presenting all desired projects in building and construction works more so where the client has just an idea but lacks the actual picture in mind. When doing all commercial buildings where proper records and evidence is record is needed, ARCHICAD should be considered. Projects which involve complex and large volumes of labor require well-presented drawings or representation done with ARCHICAD for proper and easy execution. ARCHICAD is less appropriate for small jobs like shades which are not complex and need less attention.
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Open Source
Blender is an excellent tool for everything from simple to complex 3D animations, the creation of 3D images, etc. It performs excellently in all of these areas. In the realm of 3D modelling, animation and rendering, there is very little that Blender is not suited for.
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Pros
Graphisoft
  • User interface is super cool. It helps you customize any new theme on your architectural objects.
  • Minimalistic approach in the toolkit helps in quick editing.
  • Render realistic images.
  • Collaboration with other team members is an awesome feature.
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Open Source
  • Creating complex polygonal geometries is very easy in Blender.
  • Edit Mode and Sculpt Mode helps in creating non uniform surfaces for objects like rocks, surfaces, terrains etc.
  • Blender can use various external plugins to make it work in more smoother way. For example to import any 3d object one can use sketchfab plugin and easily import the free assets from web after logging in.
  • Blender has a better rendering engine known as Cycles, it is far more better than any other stock rendering engine which can generate realistic lightning, shadows and reflections.
  • The animations can easily be generated with blender animation toolbar and also it incorporate any other animations made in any other software.
  • The bone generation and its behavior of animations can be achieved easily in blender.
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Cons
Graphisoft
  • ArchiCAD lacks a few feature sets, including an automatic Keynote database extraction system, an expandable Phasing/Options manager, and an easy way to transfer standard details into a project.
  • The Revision/Change Manager, as well as the new Stair and Railing tools, while impressively flexible, are too complex to set up and customize.
  • It is an underdog product. Revit has a market share because it spends more money on marketing, and less on product development.
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Open Source
  • It's really a hard question, but it could be: a game engine. Older versions used to have it; I would use it to simulate machines game-like.
  • I'm struggling to find another one; maybe the fact that it is so powerful and has so many features that learning it can be daunting; better documentation WITH examples and/or a map of Blender capabilities would help to know where you are in terms of knowledge and the planning the roadmap to where you want to go.
  • Precision modeling. Coming from CAD and using Blender as part of my design workflow, I'd love to be able to model inside Blender as I model with CAD tools. At this moment, it's simply impossible.
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Support Rating
Graphisoft
We have rapid responses from their support team, and they often go the extra mile to pinpoint the root cause of an issue and assist the team in resolving it. They are honest when a problem is down to user error, or a glitch on the version we are on.
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Open Source
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Graphisoft
AutoCAD uses line works in actual presentation whiles ARCHICAD uses real structural walls which are easy to use and present compared to line works. Revit largely and mainly focused on structural design and is more complex to use compared to ARCHICAD which helps one focus on different aspects of drawing and is easy to integrate with rendering software like Lumion 360 panorama.
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Open Source
We've only used the consumer (non-pro) version of SketchUp, which we love, but is very limited in features and output capabilities compared to Blender. While Blender's learning curve is MUCH steeper than SketchUp, it feels like truly complete, professional design software.
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Return on Investment
Graphisoft
  • This product allows us to draft on a Mac OS.
  • The tool we use to make our product (Architectural Plans).
  • Helps 3D model and render images for clients.
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Open Source
  • As it is a beginner-friendly software with increasing demand in the animation sector again, it positively impacts the business.
  • Except in some specific cases, no one will use Blender on their own at a professional level.
  • When I was a beginner, it took me a lot of time to learn, consequently designing the creation. But if we want to learn to master Blender, we can do it. As long as we have time and a lot of willpower, since, we repeat, it is not a simple program and hides thousands of tools and possibilities.
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ScreenShots