Autodesk AEC Collection vs. Autodesk Inventor

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Autodesk AEC Collection
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
The AEC Collection provides a set of BIM and CAD tools supported by a cloud-based common data environment that facilitates project delivery from early-stage design through to construction. The bundle includes popular Autodesk tools such as Revit, AutoCAD, FormIT, and Navisworks Manage, with access to 12 integrated CAD and BIM tools.
$435
per month
Autodesk Inventor
Score 8.5 out of 10
N/A
Autodesk Inventor 3D CAD software offers professional-grade 3D mechanical design, documentation, and product simulation tools. These blend parametric, direct, freeform, and rules-based design capabilities. Inventor includes integrated tools for sheet metal, frame design, tube and pipe, cable & harness, presentations, rendering, simulation, and machine design. It also features TrustedDWG® compatibility and Model-Based Definition capabilities for embedding manufacturing information directly in…
$300
12 days over 1 year via Flex pricing 100 tokens
Pricing
Autodesk AEC CollectionAutodesk Inventor
Editions & Modules
AEC Collection - Monthly Subscription
$435
per month per user
AEC Collection - Yearly Subscription
$3,465
per year per user
AEC Collection - 3-Year Subscription
$10,395
3 years per user
Subscription - Monthly
$305
per month per user
Subscription - Yearly
$2440
per year per user
Subscription - 3 Years
$7320
3 years per user
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Autodesk AEC CollectionAutodesk Inventor
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsAlso available for limited use through tokens on a Flex plan.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Autodesk AEC CollectionAutodesk Inventor
Features
Autodesk AEC CollectionAutodesk Inventor
Computer-Aided Design Software
Comparison of Computer-Aided Design Software features of Product A and Product B
Autodesk AEC Collection
9.4
1 Ratings
24% above category average
Autodesk Inventor
7.2
3 Ratings
2% below category average
3D Modeling10.01 Ratings8.33 Ratings
2D Drafting10.01 Ratings7.03 Ratings
Rendering and Visualization10.01 Ratings7.23 Ratings
Parametric Design9.01 Ratings7.73 Ratings
Collaboration and Sharing10.01 Ratings5.03 Ratings
Compatibility with other software and formats8.01 Ratings7.53 Ratings
Assembly Design10.01 Ratings7.23 Ratings
Simulation and Analysis8.01 Ratings7.23 Ratings
Documentation and Annotation10.01 Ratings7.23 Ratings
Customization and Extensions9.01 Ratings7.73 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Autodesk AEC CollectionAutodesk Inventor
Small Businesses
Onshape
Onshape
Score 7.6 out of 10
Onshape
Onshape
Score 7.6 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Onshape
Onshape
Score 7.6 out of 10
Onshape
Onshape
Score 7.6 out of 10
Enterprises
Rhino
Rhino
Score 8.3 out of 10
Rhino
Rhino
Score 8.3 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Autodesk AEC CollectionAutodesk Inventor
Likelihood to Recommend
10.0
(4 ratings)
8.0
(28 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(1 ratings)
9.2
(2 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(1 ratings)
8.0
(2 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
8.1
(12 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
6.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Autodesk AEC CollectionAutodesk Inventor
Likelihood to Recommend
Autodesk
If you are a commercial contractor or subcontractor, Autodesk AEC Collection, along with other Autodesk software is a must. There is no other way to design estimate and plan large construction. For residential construction, It may not be as necessary but it could still be useful if your primary construction projects are new builds rather than renovations.
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Autodesk
Autodesk Inventor is a great tool for students and faculty for engineering areas that don't require great precision or development of more thorough scientific results. Is you are conducting research, or deal with very intricate and complex systems I would recommend a more robust platform that complies more to industry standards.
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Pros
Autodesk
  • Collaboration with multiple users and
  • Software for Computer Assisted Design
  • Saving and Documentation of Plans and Blueprints
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Autodesk
  • The program is very good at simplicity. Each of the buttons, menus, and options has an explanation of exactly what the feature does, and even a more advanced description if you desire to learn more about what each one does.
  • Autodesk Inventor is a very fast program. Everything renders extremely quickly and there are no delays when examining a 3D model, part, or assembly. This is especially useful when giving a presentation about a product or design, and you need to be able to show a concept to an audience in real time.
  • The software has an extremely accurate simulation feature that lets users do stress analysis on a 3D model. It can calculate precisely where the stress concentrations are going to be in a particular model and even give you an accurate depiction of where the part could likely fracture and/or fracture during loading.
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Cons
Autodesk
  • Revit is limited in its use for civil engineering and landscape architecture.
  • There are bugs due to the complex nature of the software.
  • Use of software requires the latest high-tech computers.
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Autodesk
  • most if it still runs on a single core. Please fix this
  • Crashes. In our experience, too many crashes. We have high end machines and crashes are way too common.
  • Autosave. I think it is simply unacceptable that Autodesk Inventor combines common crashes with no autosave functionality. We feel this pain all the time.
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Likelihood to Renew
Autodesk
I gave a rating of 10 because, thus far, Autodesk AEC Collection Seems to be on the leading edge for what is required for the construction planning, implementation, and continued of real-world assets. Autodesk has been a great benefit for our organization and has allowed us to continue to improve not only ourselves but the people we work with. We have been using Autodesk AEC Collection for a number of years and hope to continue for a long time coming.
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Autodesk
Inventor continues to meet our enterprise needs. I don't see a need to change unless we change our business model significantly.
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Usability
Autodesk
The software has a significant learning curve. You also must know and understand construction standards and codes. Each member of our BIM team has spent 10+ years in construction and has had years of software training. The software also requires powerful computers to render the models. Without a BIM focused gpu and processor, the software will seem less usable when in reality, the computer is not capable of running the software properly
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Autodesk
It is quite user-friendly as long as you have the computing power to download and use it. However, this makes it quite inconvenient if you are trying to access files on different devices, as Inventor has to be loaded on all of those devices. While the program itself works just fine, it would be much better for my application if it, or a version, were web-based and allowed users to access and modify projects from anywhere.
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Support Rating
Autodesk
No answers on this topic
Autodesk
I think the support for Autodesk Inventor is very good. The staff at our reseller were very knowledgable and able to walk us through problems pretty easily. The training we received was very good also. I will say that there were a couple of times we reached out to support with a question or challenge we had, and the support agent was not able to resolve our problem, and after touching base back we found out that there was not a solution for the problems we were experiencing. One of them was just how Inventor represents colors inconsistently at times, all things being equal. Another was that Inventor would not let decals on parts transcend to the assembly level. they just would not show up.
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In-Person Training
Autodesk
No answers on this topic
Autodesk
I got the training during college, so mostly i learned on my own
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Alternatives Considered
Autodesk
Other products that have been used include Civil Designer and Model Maker for civil services. Other products for structural designs include aq product called "SEDA" These products are not included in the listings.
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Autodesk
When it comes to solid modeling, the bad choices died out years ago. So we looked at the total ecosystem and chose Autodesk Inventor because of the integration with Nastran, HSM (machining), Autodesk CFD, MoldFlow, and AutoCAD. This means our legacy data (2D) is still a valid part of our design methodologies going forward, and we have the full breadth of engineering tools at our disposal. Other solutions in this space have similar offerings but not nearly as potent of a portfolio in total. It's worth saying that we do not consider Inventor in the same space as CATIA or NX, but that the entire Autodesk portfolio (e.g. Alias, PowerMill, etc) includes a total toolset that exceeds these industry giants.
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Return on Investment
Autodesk
  • Positive impact on collaboration between disciplines.
  • Products are the industry standard, which allows for collaboration with other firms.
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Autodesk
  • Working on a project designed with Inventor provides a modular design platform that can quickly be configured or changed as required. This allows for the quick turn around time for the design and revision of drawings.
  • We've used Inventor over the years (since 2013) and the updates and newly released versions of Inventor do not require re-training or restrict use.
  • Autodesk follows an intuitive approach and users or designers who have worked on other design platforms like SolidWorks can transition easily to Inventor.
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ScreenShots