AutoCAD vs. Bluebeam

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
AutoCAD
Score 8.7 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
Bluebeam
Score 8.5 out of 10
N/A
Bluebeam Revu is a PDF management, control, and editing tool. It enables collaboration and markup within shared documents across projects’ life cycles and has takeoff and bid creation capabilities.
$240
per year per user
Pricing
AutoCADBluebeam
Editions & Modules
Monthly Subscription
$245
per month per user
Yearly Subscription
$1975
per year per user
3-Year Subscription
$5925
3 years per user
Revu Standard
$349
per seat
Revu CAD
$449
per seat
Revu eXtreme
$599
per seat
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
AutoCADBluebeam
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
AutoCADBluebeam
Considered Both Products
AutoCAD
Chose AutoCAD
All of the alternatives above work well if you are starting from scratch and are in the market for new software. DraftSight is no longer free. If you have any legacy AutoCAD drawings you are going to encounter problems as we did. Sometimes old files won't open or save …
Chose AutoCAD
Our design engineers have their choice of software to work with and never once was AutoCAD not part of this.
Chose AutoCAD
AutoCAD is easy to operate for small to medium sized projects whereas Revit requires more knowledge to operate and design floor plans.
Chose AutoCAD
AutoCAD is the old industry standard that likely will disappear from use someday but somehow manages relevancy in certain isolated use-cases. It is incredibly likely that Revit (BIM) will supplant it entirely in the long run.
Chose AutoCAD
AutoCAD is one of the original go-to programs for construction documents. It is great when you're using it in the right application. Our company does a lot of smaller tenant renovations in our city so using AutoCAD allows us to produce a high volume of quality drawings to be …
Chose AutoCAD
AutoCAD is the best of the bunch, but the older versions are easier to learn. We choose to stay with AutoCAD because the learning curve to switch to another software product would not be.
Chose AutoCAD
AutoCAD works well with Revit and SketchUp. We have attempted to migrate to Revit-only, however, AutoCAD offers certain features that make it more efficient for production. Many experienced users have invested significant amounts of time learning and keeping with AutoCAD, also …
Bluebeam
Chose Bluebeam
There is no comparison. The editing tools, batch tools drafting tools, personal environment profiles, settings, printing, calibrating, direct connecting apps that links Bluebeam to AutoCAD and Revit. This is an extremely powerful program that is amazingly helpful and I probably …
Chose Bluebeam
Bluebeam Revu has essentially replaced Adobe Acrobat as our default PDF viewer and editor, because its robust suite of architecturally-focused tools allow for better review of documents and creation of simple graphic diagrams. The scale and measurement tools are especially …
Chose Bluebeam
It is better than Acrobat in my opinion. More features and more user-friendly.
Chose Bluebeam
PDF file sharing is really easy and simple, so users can markup and others can view them in real-time. Also, editing PDF files to crop, batch, remove, or replace pages is really efficient compared to Adobe Acrobat DC. Plus, the licensing fee is pretty small compared to Adobe …
Chose Bluebeam

Revu was much easier to use, more cost-effective, and is more generally used in the construction and design industry than Adobe. We found Adobe to be more of a resource hog, as well as being bloated with offers for other Adobe applications, which many times would slow down a …

Chose Bluebeam
Bluebeam is a good in-between of Adobe and Photoshop. If you're not looking to do photo editing, but need more capabilities than just line work, Bluebeam is perfect.
Chose Bluebeam
Bluebeam Revu is easy to use and a lot cheaper compared to other products available in the market.
Chose Bluebeam
This program directly replaces our use of Adobe company wide. We have also phased out PlanGrid for the most part as the tools of Procore and Bluebeam both have been more user friendly for our teams.
Chose Bluebeam
If Bluebeam can be compared to any other PDF editing software, the closest competitor would be Adobe Acrobat. Unfortunately, this really isn't a fair comparison because to tools available (and user interface) in Bluebeam FAR outweigh the ones available in Adobe Acrobat. This …
Chose Bluebeam
Bluebeam is Adobe on steroids. It offers way more options and is more user-friendly. I will admit it takes a little to learn the interface of Bluebeam because it offers so much but coming from AutoCad this was nothing new to me. Once you get a handle on that aspect, Bluebeam is …
Chose Bluebeam
Bluebeam Revu simply blows away all of the other on-screen take-off software programs I have used in the past. There really is no comparison. Bluebeam Revu also is far more robust for the AEC industry than other PDF editors (i.e. Adobe products). They also have excellent …
Chose Bluebeam
Bluebeam Revu beats DWF review hand down. Bluebeam can communicate with any program that can create a PDF while DWF is exclusive to AutoDesk products thus forcing you to use a different software when working with other programs. The features of Bluebeam Revu compared to Adobe …
Chose Bluebeam
I see no purpose to check out alternative programs. It would take company policy to get me to use a different pdf viewer. I went from Adobe Pro or Adobe X to Bluebeam Revu and never looked back. Maybe I did not know how to use all of the functions of Adobe, but that is Adobe's …
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
AutoCADBluebeam
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
AutoCAD
-
Ratings
Bluebeam
8.7
1 Ratings
6% above category average
Standard reports00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Custom reports00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Data exportability00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Construction Project & Field Management
Comparison of Construction Project & Field Management features of Product A and Product B
AutoCAD
-
Ratings
Bluebeam
8.8
50 Ratings
17% above category average
Plan distribution & viewing00 Ratings9.048 Ratings
Plan markups & sharing00 Ratings9.150 Ratings
Issue tracking & punchlists00 Ratings9.030 Ratings
Photo documentation00 Ratings9.033 Ratings
Jobsite reports00 Ratings9.028 Ratings
Document sharing00 Ratings9.044 Ratings
RFI tools00 Ratings8.932 Ratings
Collaboration & approvals00 Ratings9.139 Ratings
As-built drawings00 Ratings9.042 Ratings
Mobile app00 Ratings7.827 Ratings
Submittal design and management00 Ratings8.918 Ratings
Checklists00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Change orders00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Estimating
Comparison of Estimating features of Product A and Product B
AutoCAD
-
Ratings
Bluebeam
8.9
27 Ratings
8% above category average
Takeoff tools00 Ratings7.025 Ratings
Job costing00 Ratings8.45 Ratings
Cost databases00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Cost calculator00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Bid creation00 Ratings9.07 Ratings
Best Alternatives
AutoCADBluebeam
Small Businesses
Rhino
Rhino
Score 9.1 out of 10
FollowUp CRM
FollowUp CRM
Score 9.5 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Rhino
Rhino
Score 9.1 out of 10
Revit
Revit
Score 8.9 out of 10
Enterprises
Rhino
Rhino
Score 9.1 out of 10
Revit
Revit
Score 8.9 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
AutoCADBluebeam
Likelihood to Recommend
9.3
(82 ratings)
4.4
(62 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.0
(3 ratings)
1.0
(2 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(3 ratings)
8.0
(2 ratings)
Support Rating
7.2
(14 ratings)
1.0
(11 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
AutoCADBluebeam
Likelihood to Recommend
Autodesk
I think AutoCAD is great for creating precise site plans that show the layout of buildings, roads, parking lots, and other features on a piece of land. you can use it for designing roads and highways, including lane configurations, intersections, signage, and pavement markings, as well as for designing utility systems like water, sewer, and stormwater drainage. Engineers can create detailed layouts and profiles for these systems. However, I think it is less appropriate for advanced 3D modelling tasks compared to dedicated 3D modelling software, BIM (Building Information Modelling), advanced geospatial analysis.
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Bluebeam, Inc.
The program is great for editing construction drawings, stamping/approving official documents and overlaying revised documents to see design changes. You can use it as an estimating takeoff tool, estimating database, document control, cloud document storage, the list goes on! Bluebeam poses many applications for the user to utilize for the desired needs. There may be some other software that has one specific function that can perform the specific task better, but Bluebeam is a holistic program with many tools for use.
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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
Bluebeam, Inc.
  • Once you set Bluebeam Revu as your default PDF handler, it launches immediately when clicking a PDF to open. The speed with which it opens documents is impressive.
  • Creating PDF's out of other documents, such as Word, Excel, JPG's, etc. is simple.
  • Digitally signing documents is a simple, secure process. You can keep your signature password-protected, yet still access it quickly.
  • The Bluebeam Revu mobile application ( I use the iOS version on an iPad Pro), is awesome. Not only does it handle PDF's like you would expect it to, it allows for effortless digital signing of documents on the fly. Nice to be able to quickly sign a document and email right back out from the tablet no matter where I am.
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Cons
Autodesk
  • It needs more help in 3D world, eventually some parametric support
  • Better connection with Revit or Inventor
  • Dynamic blocks could get some updates
  • Parameters can be more developed; excel capabilities could be added
  • Sheet set could be more evolved to support a workflow involving data management
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Bluebeam, Inc.
  • If you have several tabs open and you try to drag one out for a side by side view then you do not have all the modification options and you have to combine them back together.
  • There is a lag time when hitting the print option.
  • There is also a lag time when opening files, sometimes I think the window is frozen.
  • I wish the basic version also had basic file editing, as in editing a document as Adobe does.
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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.
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Bluebeam, Inc.
Bluebeam is a powerful PDF viewer and mark-up tool. We are more familiar with it than Adobe Acrobat Pro or other viewers, and it has more features geared towards construction document managers than Acrobat Pro does.
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Usability
Autodesk
Is an extremely usefull and accurate software , yo certainly can do almost every task requiered to document a project drawings and specifications , the only is that to be confortable with it you need a little of practice and to be familiarized with the commands and the core functioning to get expected results.
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Bluebeam, Inc.
I'm constantly finding that Bluebeam Revu does more than I knew it could. And when I find something that it can't do, I've found that Bluebeam truly listens to its user base and will work to incorporate any good suggestion when feasible.
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.
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Bluebeam, Inc.
Its hard for me to give a rating on this one as we rarely have to use the support feature for Bluebeam. However, when we have used it, they have been ultra supportive in helping us get exactly what we needed. I know another engineer was trying to figure out a feature and the rep gave a detailed tutorial on how to complete the task
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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.
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Bluebeam, Inc.
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.
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Bluebeam, Inc.
We feel there is not another program out there that would compare to Bluebeam at this current time. Some of the other programs out there do not include studio or the overlaying process which is one of our main uses. The ease of hyperlinking makes this product stand out the most.
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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.
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Bluebeam, Inc.
  • A major positive aspect is being able to take your computer home without taking the entire set of paper drawings. They have made it so easy to navigate a set of drawings that I can work at home using only the digital drawings.
  • Collaboration with owners and architects has been a great feature. Setting up a Bluebeam studio and having everyone get in and mark things up, then having the architect be able to go in and see what markups have been added, has made the constructability review process much much better.
  • Even when not working on drawings, Bluebeam is a very good tool for working with standard PDF documents. The markup tools are very easy to use.
  • The negative aspect is the takeoff function because some people would like estimators to use the Bluebeam takeoff because it would make their job easier down the road; however, the actual act of doing a full scale takeoff in Bluebeam would require much more time.
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ScreenShots

Bluebeam Screenshots

Screenshot of Bluebeam Cloud with Markup ListScreenshot of Bluebeam Cloud with Tool ChestScreenshot of Bluebeam Revu MarkupScreenshot of Bluebeam Revu Studio Session