Autodesk Fusion 360 is a cloud-based 3D CAD, CAM, and CAE tool which integrates design, modeling, and simulation capabilities.
$70
per month
DraftSight
Score 7.3 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
Autodesk Fusion 360
DraftSight
Editions & Modules
Fusion 360 - Paid Monthly
$70
per month per user
Fusion 360 - Paid Annually
$545
per year per user
Fusion 360 - 3 Years
$1635
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
Autodesk Fusion 360
DraftSight
Free Trial
Yes
Yes
Free/Freemium Version
Yes
No
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
No
No
Entry-level Setup Fee
No setup fee
No 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
Autodesk Fusion 360
DraftSight
Considered Both Products
Autodesk Fusion 360
Verified User
Professional
Chose Autodesk Fusion 360
Both [Autodesk] Fusion 360 and SOLIDWORKS are far beyond any open source project or 2-D oriented software. Compared to SOLIDWORKS, [Autodesk] Fusion 360 comes packaged with more functionality without needing to purchase additional add-ons for each function.
DraftSight seems to be an equivalent software package. If you can use AutoCAD well with the command line features and drawing manipulation you will find it very easy to come up to speed in using the software. The integration of paper and model space is still dicey, but being …
DraftSight (Standard) is very similar to AutoCAD LT in form and function. The cost to purchase DraftSight was a clear winner against AutoCAD, especially for the same features. The transition from AutoCAD to DraftSight was seamless and helped make the choice clear.
We have access to both of the above. I dabbled with them but they are a lot more sluggish and I haven't put in the effort to learn to use them since DraftSight has been my go to software for 2D designs.
We used to have AutoCAD and there was nothing wrong with this until they moved to a subscription service and yes our keys would still work but we found that 3D CAD packages were using later DWG and DXF formats meaning we couldn't open the files. Hence, we moved to DraftSight, …
Over the years, I've worked with a few other CAD programs like AutoCAD, TurboCAD, and LibreCAD. I find DraftSight works equally as well and in some cases better than these other programs.
Draftsight is Free, no involvement with management to get or install. Easy to install at home or on student computers. It doesn't take a serious hardware platform to work. It runs on Macs.
This software has been so easy to use from day one! I couldn't be more thrilled with it. Being an SME, it is offered on an annual basis free of charge. My network of engineers are amazed I am able to accomplish what I have using this software when the companies they come from are paying thousands for licensing. I also would like to note that Autodesk offer an incredible specialization to really round out your skills via Coursera.
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.
The first PRO of Fusion 360 that always comes to mind is how versatile it is. Fusion 360 is the first CAD/CAM software that also includes other key features that CAD programs of this size don't have.
Fusion 360 has a generous licensing structure that gives those just starting out a place to start with a professional level CAD program. As a result, this has helped build up a huge community and user base around Fusion 360.
Fusion 360 is updated on a monthly basis. This has proven to be a huge advantage over Solidworks (something else I use) which is only updated once a year. The nice thing about monthly updates, other than regular bug fixes, is that the team can adapt quickly and no one is taken by storm with a big overhaul of the UI or features at the beginning of the year.
Fusion 360 is a very simple program, so once you begin to draw more complex 3D models, the software gets sluggish and loses its fluidity.
It would be really nice if Fusion 360 could output a model as a SolidWorks file so I can begin to draw something out in Fusion 360 and then pick it up in SolidWorks when I need to do some more advanced functions.
Because Fusion 360 is a simpler program, there are a few functions such as 3D sketches that are not intuitive like all the rest of the functions are.
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.
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.
Support is conducted via internet Q&A boards; newcomers to 3D modeling may find that articulating their questions in the language of CAD software is the tricky part — once they find the right technical term for what they're trying to accomplish, answers come quickly. Autodesk also provides a large library of educational tutorial videos that make the initial process of learning Fusion 360's interface much easier.
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.
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.
Autodesk Inventor excels at daily core engineering tasks. When integrated with Vault management systems and part libraries, Autodesk Inventor is tough to beat when you need a mechanical design solution. When Inventor and Vault are setup properly it allows for a very efficient design workflow. I think it would be difficult to achieve the same amount of workflow efficiency with Autodesk Fusion 360, that said, Autodesk Fusion 360 offers a very good toolset at a much lower cost. I can maintain a yearly subscription of Autodesk Fusion 360 and get about 85% of the functionality that is available via the Inventor design suite for the cost of about 2 months of an Inventor subscription. I then also get access to manufacturing plugins with Autodesk Fusion 360 but lose a lot in the drawing environment. Inventor beats Autodesk Fusion 360 hands down when it comes to documentation.
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.
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.
