AutoCAD LT vs. DraftSight

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
AutoCAD LT
Score 8.6 out of 10
N/A
AutoCAD LT computer-aided design (CAD) software that architects, engineers, construction professionals, and designers rely on to produce solely 2D drawings, drafts, and documentation. AutoCAD LT is a CAD software used for 2D drawing, drafting, and documentation whereas AutoCAD is a CAD software used to create 2D drawings and 3D models. While AutoDesk's AutoCAD includes industry-specific toolsets that can provide productivity gains, both AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT include the AutoCAD web and…
$58
per month
DraftSight
Score 7.4 out of 10
N/A
DraftSight is a 2D and 3D CAD solution for architects, engineers and construction service providers, as well as professional CAD users, designers, educators and hobbyists. DraftSight lets users create, edit, view, and markup any kind of 2D and 3D DWG file with greater ease, speed, and efficiency. Its familiar user interface helps to facilitate a quick transition from other CAD applications. DraftSight Offerings: DraftSight Professional: the advanced 2D CAD drafting…
$249
per year
Pricing
AutoCAD LTDraftSight
Editions & Modules
Monthly Subscription
$60
per month per user
Yearly Subscription
$490
per year per user
3-Year Subscription
$1470
3 years per user
DraftSight Professional
$249
per year
DraftSight Premium (3D)
$549
per year
DraftSight Enterprise
Contact sales team
DraftSight Enterprise Plus
Contact sales team
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
AutoCAD LTDraftSight
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details—DraftSight Professional, and Premium are available to purchase online directly. DraftSight Enterprise and Enterprise Plus are available to purchase through local resellers.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
AutoCAD LTDraftSight
Considered Both Products
AutoCAD LT
Chose AutoCAD LT
AutoCAD LT can be used by non-engineers, but free programs are usually for professionals.
And other software started to introduce some tools that only AutoCAD LT had, so why waste time looking for what is fully found in AutoCAD LT.
DraftSight
Chose DraftSight
DraftSight blows AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT away with cost effective solutions and ease of use.
Three D modeling (SOLIDWORKS and Inventor) are way more complicated than our needs and the cost is way out of our budget.
Chose DraftSight
AutoCAD LT is a good product, with similar features to DraftSight, however, the value that DraftSight offers makes it a much better choice for our organization, as we can have it in use by a much larger pool of our employees vs. having LT installed on just a few workstations.
Chose DraftSight
The initial cost has AutoCAD LT beat. Draftsight functions similarly, It has been a number of years since using AutoCAD so I don't have the current experience to compare them. We selected Draftsight because, for our small business, it made no financial sense to continue with Aut…
Chose DraftSight
Being a user for almost 10 years of DraftSight, the ease of use, the distribution of functions, etc. make switching to another program a bit painful and in need of a learning period.
Chose DraftSight
We selected DraftSight because Autodesk wanted too much money for their LT software. Initially, I was impressed with the seamless integration, I could use the command line just like AutoCAD. As I became more familiar with DraftSight, and also had more exposure, I started to …
Chose DraftSight
overall my favorite since it was free. The interface is friendly and highly customizable, you can find a lot of resources on youtube because it is a widely used software, it has never betrayed me by crashing (and I have been using it for many years). I have no intention of …
Chose DraftSight
We use Draftsight in conjunction with the above products. Some users are primarily reviewing drawings and they use DraftSght while others need the 3D modelers for conceptual work and more detailed analysis.
Chose DraftSight
I picked DraftSight because I started with the free version and upgraded because it proved to have all the features I needed and the cost was great!
Chose DraftSight
I do the same with DS than I did with AutoCAD, but at a much lower price.
DS is more intuitive and powerfull than NanoCAD
Chose DraftSight
Very similar, identical user interface, seamless transition
Chose DraftSight
DraftSight is much less expensive, just as professional.
Chose DraftSight
Draftsight is way more cost-effective. I have been using it for a long time so I do know the out-of-the-box version is a lot better now, but initially, when I started it took a bit of effort to get everything to how I wanted it. One thing that would be nice would be dynamic …
Chose DraftSight
Having being used to using AutoCAD it was easy to trial and then move on to using DraftSight full time, there are slight differences in using the package but as long as you know your CAD, you will be fine using DraftSight. The reason I selected Draftsight was purely financial, …
Chose DraftSight
AutoCAD, SOLIDWORKS, and a bunch of free software.
The paid versions were super expensive and complicated with a high learning curve. The free software all had caveats and limited what you could do on the drawing. You could pay for it if needed but at this point, I've used …
Chose DraftSight
Company actually uses both products. They both have their use for us, but it stacks up pretty well compared to features and tools. The cost between the two products definitely swings in DraftSight's favor.
Chose DraftSight
Initially because it was free.
Chose DraftSight
The cost/benefit between DraftSight and AutoCAD is why I decided to use DraftSight.
Chose DraftSight
DraftSight doesn't even compare to CREO. CREO is a 3D parametric solid modeler. DraftSight is just a 2D tool. So, I guess it depends on what you want to do. If you need to do some layout work, use a 2D tool. Otherwise use a 3D tool.
Chose DraftSight
Most free CAD alternatives had serious drawbacks. We used some of them for some time before we ended up choosing DraftSight. DraftSight is surprisingly more intuitive than other well known and used applications.

As a designer I've used more expensive and complex CAD applications …
Chose DraftSight
AutoCAD is a great product, but it is very expensive to buy. We do use DraftSight because it is not very expensive. It is easy to learn.
We already use SOLIDWORKS and these to programs work great together.
Top Pros
Top Cons
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AutoCAD LTDraftSight
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Medium-sized Companies
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User Ratings
AutoCAD LTDraftSight
Likelihood to Recommend
9.9
(3 ratings)
4.0
(414 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(22 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
7.7
(19 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
8.7
(7 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
8.3
(6 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
4.0
(14 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
8.4
(15 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
8.4
(6 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
8.6
(4 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
7.6
(7 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(4 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
6.3
(5 ratings)
User Testimonials
AutoCAD LTDraftSight
Likelihood to Recommend
Autodesk
AutoCAD LT is suitable for engineers that uses DWG formats casually and don't rely on AutoCAD as the main tool to issue drawings in the workflow. AutoCAD LT is best suited for firms that do not use LISP functions in AutoCAD and do not care about 3D modeling. Although AutoCAD LT has other missing functions when compared to standard AutoCAD, these features are of less importance and can't be noticed.
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Dassault Systemes
We put it through its paces with our drawings and it works fine. We do a lot of wiring diagrams and industrial control panel layout drawings, so we use a lot of its 2D capabilities. I would not use it in a multi-user environment where you have multiple designers working on one project at a time. This software makes no provisions for allowing multiple users to work at the same time on the same drawing and has no native version control. And because of their poor software control, DraftSight many times put out versions that are "crashy", which would make a lot of people very unproductive very quickly. I would look at other products for larger projects like that.
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Pros
Autodesk
  • The library feature for all areas is to me AutoCAD LT's extra strong point, it makes it easier to find information within the program itself.
  • The fast solutions and precise development of drawings and projects is also another strong point.
  • I use the floor plans, elevations, sections and the hydraulic designs to work with my students on physics projects.
  • The software allows you to scale model and remodel as many times as you need, from simple to more complex designs
  • Importing and exporting files is also very simple to perform making corrections and quick feedback to students easy.
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Dassault Systemes
  • You can easily bring in a dwg format drawing into the programme and it will display the information just as well as AutoCAD.
  • The programme supports shortcut features or one-click buttons for the most commonly used operations.
  • Script files can be used which is a bonus.
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Cons
Autodesk
  • All individual lines are to be made a polyline to perform actions like Hatching, filling, etc which is very hectic. - Wish need not make it in the future.
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Dassault Systemes
  • Draftsight could run better on lower performace machines, even on high performance machines there can be some lag now and again.
  • There used to be a more basic subscription version which was perfect for our needs, now lowest subscription is more expensive. Bringing back the standard version would be great.
  • Including hash pattern files would be very useful.
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Likelihood to Renew
Autodesk
No answers on this topic
Dassault Systemes
It has given us, a small startup, the ability to compete effectively with far larger competitors by evening the playing field at a low cost.
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Usability
Autodesk
No answers on this topic
Dassault Systemes
Easy if you know how to use CAD software. But is not very difficult to learn using DraftSight if this is your first CAD software. As soon as you get in to it the work flow will save you a lot of time and its simple interface is very nice.
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Reliability and Availability
Autodesk
No answers on this topic
Dassault Systemes
Other than a bug created by a VAR tech support that didn't get resolved until I installed the next version, DraftSight has worked fine.
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Performance
Autodesk
No answers on this topic
Dassault Systemes
In general it's very quick to load drawings...now it depends a lot on the file we're opening or working on.
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Support Rating
Autodesk
No answers on this topic
Dassault Systemes
Technical support seems to be overseas with broken English and difficulty to read English. I asked for a trial license to try the fix but it was declined. Ask pratiksha.dahotre and gayatri.keskar for details. In summary, they released a broken version, I helped to fix by providing feedback and error logs. They claimed it is fixed but I can't test it.
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In-Person Training
Autodesk
No answers on this topic
Dassault Systemes
Based on some knowledge of AutoCad, using Draftsight took a short time before I felt comfortable using it.
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Implementation Rating
Autodesk
No answers on this topic
Dassault Systemes
Take time to get used to where commands are and how the interface can be customized to suit your needs and work style. The keyboard commands are very helpful and can make work more efficient if time is taken to learn them.
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Alternatives Considered
Autodesk
Although AutoCAD LT is the lite software when compared to standard AutoCAD, it does all the work when it comes to 2D modeling and issuing design drawings. When comparing it to BricsCAD, AutoCAD LT shines, as it works without freezing and is usually more responsive than BricsCAD, it just outclasses it.
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Dassault Systemes
While SketchUp is free, DraftSights cost is minimal and its abilities are much greater. It is so much easier to layout and modifies a system design. Since DraftSight is compatible with all versions of CAD, it makes it easy to collaborate with customers on their specific system design. We spend less time and see greater sales on our projects.
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Scalability
Autodesk
No answers on this topic
Dassault Systemes
As a startup, we really appreciate scalable software or tools, and because we use it for diverse types of projects, flexibility is key.
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Return on Investment
Autodesk
  • The impact is always positive in my case when I use AutoCAD LT, because I provide intelligent lessons with few resources
  • The negative impact usually happens with professionals who don't like to innovate, study, or put a little more effort into their work. AutoCAD LT enables the enchantment at the end of the project by the public and at the beginning by the students that are delighted with so many tools
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Dassault Systemes
  • I have been able to save countless hours by making drawing corrections myself. Previously, I would have had to wait hours or days to get drawings back from our customers.
  • In the past year I would say that DraftSight has saved roughly 200 hours. That time would have been spent waiting for our customers to make corrections and then send them back to us.
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ScreenShots

DraftSight Screenshots

Screenshot of Plate InsertScreenshot of Image TraceScreenshot of 2D and 3D DWG filesScreenshot of HomeByMe Integration