AutoCAD vs. Autodesk Maya

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
AutoCAD
Score 8.4 out of 10
N/A
AutoCAD is a CAD product from Autodesk. It allows designers to work in 2D and 3D, and is available on Windows and Mac, but with extensive online collaboration tools.
$245
per month
Autodesk Maya
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
Autodesk offers Maya, a 3D animation, modeling, simulation and rendering tool available to artists, animators, and educators, used to create realistic characters, models, and scenes, as well as effects such as explosions, cloth movement, etc.
$234
per month
Pricing
AutoCADAutodesk Maya
Editions & Modules
Monthly Subscription
$245
per month per user
Yearly Subscription
$1975
per year per user
3-Year Subscription
$5925
3 years per user
Monthly
$235
per month per user
Yearly
$1875
per year per user
3-Year
$5625
3 years per user
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
AutoCADAutodesk Maya
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsMaya is also available through Autodesk's Flex plan and pricing. Tokens expire 1 year from date of purchase. Not all products and features are available with Flex. Students and teachers at qualified academic institutions worldwide are eligible for free access to Autodesk software for one-year through the Autodesk Education Community.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
AutoCADAutodesk Maya
Considered Both Products
AutoCAD
Chose AutoCAD
I have experience with Autodesk Maya, and am familiar with their user interface with creating 3D objects. AutoCAD while from the same family, requires a steeper learning curve and more in-depth knowledge of the software.

Chose AutoCAD
It's the best solution for a 2D drawing. Much easier to create 2D plans when you [don't] need to create 3D components. Stable and Functional. Easy to use and remember. All commands are located where they make the best sense. Various access [to] commands is awesome!!! You can …
Chose AutoCAD
AutoCAD has its place as the ultimate design tool when complexity is required. However, for simpler work or getting 3D designs out quickly, I will revert to TurboCAD. For a fast 3D design that does not require overall accuracy or fidelity, I will open SketchUp. For animation, …
Autodesk Maya
Chose Autodesk Maya
You can create solids, figures in 3D, and especially organic forms, more easily and efficiently using Maya than with other programs or in specific CATIA. You can also create different pieces to later assemble them, and thus create figures even more complex or in greater detail. …
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
AutoCADAutodesk Maya
Computer-Aided Design Software
Comparison of Computer-Aided Design Software features of Product A and Product B
AutoCAD
6.1
3 Ratings
15% below category average
Autodesk Maya
-
Ratings
3D Modeling6.03 Ratings00 Ratings
2D Drafting9.03 Ratings00 Ratings
Rendering and Visualization5.33 Ratings00 Ratings
Parametric Design4.73 Ratings00 Ratings
Collaboration and Sharing5.73 Ratings00 Ratings
Compatibility with other software and formats8.03 Ratings00 Ratings
Assembly Design5.33 Ratings00 Ratings
Simulation and Analysis1.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Documentation and Annotation7.73 Ratings00 Ratings
Customization and Extensions8.33 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
AutoCADAutodesk Maya
Small Businesses
Onshape
Onshape
Score 9.4 out of 10
Onshape
Onshape
Score 9.4 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Onshape
Onshape
Score 9.4 out of 10
Onshape
Onshape
Score 9.4 out of 10
Enterprises
Rhino
Rhino
Score 8.5 out of 10
Rhino
Rhino
Score 8.5 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
AutoCADAutodesk Maya
Likelihood to Recommend
8.0
(84 ratings)
8.7
(8 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.5
(5 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
6.9
(13 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
AutoCADAutodesk Maya
Likelihood to Recommend
Autodesk
AutoCAD is great for large-scale printing, simple drawing, and manipulating exports from Revit to understand coordinate systems. We often use AutoCAD to create overlays that we then take into Navisworks. Understanding AutoCAD is crucial when working with subcontractor models. I have subs who only work in AutoCAD and I use it to make sure their models will work in my process.
Read full review
Autodesk
Autodesk Maya is a great software, it has so many tools that you can create a full movie without even jumping to any other software. Although it's pretty hard to learn but there is nothing more fun, once you get a hang of it. In general, its tools are best for modeling and animation.
Read full review
Pros
Autodesk
  • The tools are easy to use and the learning curve is fairly minimal to be able to create blueprints.
  • The 3D application is very fun to use and it is nice to be able to see your product instead of having to imagine what it will look like.
  • The speed and accuracy in which students can create plans is a huge bonus. Students can plan their industrial art projects out and use their own set of plans to build them.
Read full review
Autodesk
  • Easy to build workflow due to strong customizability.
  • Industry share. Easy to collaborate with other companies.
  • Strong cooperation with other software.
Read full review
Cons
Autodesk
  • User Interface Customisation: AutoCAD's user interface could benefit from more robust customisation options. Allowing users to rearrange toolbars, menus, and panels according to their specific workflows and preferences would enhance productivity.
  • Enhanced 3D Modeling Tools: While AutoCAD is capable of 3D modeling, it's not as intuitive or feature-rich as dedicated 3D modeling software. Streamlining the process and adding more advanced modeling tools would be a welcome improvement.
  • Enhanced Collaboration and Version Control: AutoCAD could improve its collaboration tools, such as real-time editing and version tracking, to facilitate smoother teamwork, especially in multi-disciplinary projects.
  • Intelligent Object Libraries: AutoCAD could benefit from an expanded and more intelligent library of standard objects and components. This would save time for designers who often have to create custom components from scratch.
Read full review
Autodesk
  • Right now Maya has no good viewport like Blender 2.8 has. It is good that Maya 2019 devs focused on performance and stability but it's strange to see that mainstream soft aren't on trend in developing really cool and helpful tools.
  • Maya LT is very good for artist who don't need complex FX tools. So the devs must add python API to Maya LT.
  • Add more helpful tools to modeling section especially for retopology.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Autodesk
Because rarely we [would] rather wait for a whole year to update, sometimes the new updates don't bring many new features and we are still ok with the current version. Also the change of interface is always something that takes time for every partner in the company to get comfortable with. So those are the main reasons we may want to keep the same version.
Read full review
Autodesk
No answers on this topic
Usability
Autodesk
The use case of AutoCAD as a CAD software is highly relevant today as it focuses or targets to tasks types which involve creating 2D drawings of a number of types like electrical drawings, hydraulic drawings, layout diagrams, floor plans, etc. thereby addressing a large number of industries like Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering and in most case Architectural Engineering as well
Read full review
Autodesk
As Autodesk Maya was one of the first softwares I learned, so I feel very fun to work with it. The overall usabilty feels very natural to me and I felt it's easy to learn but tough to master kind of software. Some people find it very difficult to learn, so I deduced some rating points.
Read full review
Support Rating
Autodesk
AutoCAD has the issue of crashing or slowing down the design procedure once a heavy design that includes several disciplines or multiple families/blocks is involved. Customer services gets the feedback from the crash reports but this issue seems like it has never been addressed in the software updates past several years.
Read full review
Autodesk
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Autodesk
the implementation was realy easy , to set up our workstation we pay for the licenses we are about to use , there was a little bit of delay to get the payment processed to receive the serial but after that the install runs without any problem , so you can fell secure there will be not issue with the implementation.
Read full review
Autodesk
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Autodesk
I have experience with Autodesk Maya, and am familiar with their user interface with creating 3D objects. AutoCAD while from the same family, requires a steeper learning curve and more in-depth knowledge of the software.
I have experience with this software because it is the industry standard in the jobs that I applied to, and was required to the company that I interviewed for. Part of the interview process was a proof-of-work test to create a mock solution for a client, which would demonstrate knowledge and skill with using AutoCAD.
I have little experience with CorelCAD, but I found AutoCAD to be more in-depth with your options and what you could create.
Read full review
Autodesk
We were evaluating the products within the Adobe portfolio like Adobe Animate, Adobe PhotoShop, Adobe After Effects majorly among few others before finalising on the Autodesk Maya. One of the major reasons for that was earlier experience with the Autodesk Maya tool for the engineer and also it has more to offer than Adobe with multiple products.
Read full review
Return on Investment
Autodesk
  • AutoCAD has helped our smaller firm produce lots of finished products matching that of a much larger size firm. With its many features, we have been able to do so much more and meet deadlines that much faster.
  • Since we do use AutoCAD, we're able to work with many other engineering firms to collaborate together to complete various building projects.
  • We have many clients now who expect us to provide for them at the end of a project not just printed construction drawings but also the digital AutoCAD drawing so they can in turn use it for future modifications themselves.
Read full review
Autodesk
  • Effectively able to get the designs created and visualised
  • Video creation for concepts has become easy
  • ROI has been good, but if the costing is brought down then its even more amazing
Read full review
ScreenShots