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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Autodesk Inventor

    Score8.2 out of 10
    N/AAutodesk 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

    NanoCAD

    Score10 out of 10
    N/ANanoCAD is a free to use design software including both 2D and 3D design features. NanoCAD also includes premium features that users can upgrade to as needed.N/A
    Pricing
    Autodesk InventorNanoCAD
    Editions & Modules
    Subscription - Monthly
    $305
    per month per user
    Subscription - Yearly
    $2440
    per year per user
    Subscription - 3 Years
    $7320
    3 years per user
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Autodesk InventorNanoCAD
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    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 InventorNanoCAD
    Considered Both Products
    Autodesk
    No answer on this topic
    NanoSoft Ltd.
    Chose NanoCAD
    Nano cad is a little simpler to operate and understand how to do features. AutoCAD is what we would say a little more powerful piece of software but you end up paying more as well. Nanocad is a lot quicker to make small floor plans. It also allows you to delete layers with …
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    88%
    Would buy again
    15 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    15 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    17 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    10 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    94%
    Implementation went as expected
    15 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    Autodesk InventorNanoCAD
    Computer-Aided Design Software
    Comparison of Computer-Aided Design Software features of Autodesk Inventor and NanoCAD
    Feature
    Autodesk Inventor
    7.6
    3 Ratings
    2% above category average
    NanoCAD
    -
    Ratings
    3D Modeling8.13 Ratings00 Ratings
    2D Drafting7.73 Ratings00 Ratings
    Rendering and Visualization7.83 Ratings00 Ratings
    Parametric Design7.93 Ratings00 Ratings
    Collaboration and Sharing4.33 Ratings00 Ratings
    Compatibility with other software and formats7.93 Ratings00 Ratings
    Assembly Design7.83 Ratings00 Ratings
    Simulation and Analysis8.53 Ratings00 Ratings
    Documentation and Annotation7.83 Ratings00 Ratings
    Customization and Extensions7.93 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Autodesk InventorNanoCAD
    Small Businesses
    Onshape
    Score6.4 out of 10
    Onshape
    Score6.4 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Onshape
    Score6.4 out of 10
    Onshape
    Score6.4 out of 10
    Enterprises
    PTC Creo
    Score7.5 out of 10
    PTC Creo
    Score7.5 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Autodesk InventorNanoCAD
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.0
    (28 ratings)
    9.4
    (2 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.2
    (2 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Usability
    8.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.1
    (12 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    6.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Configurability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Autodesk InventorNanoCAD
    Likelihood to Recommend
    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.
    Incentivized
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    NanoSoft Ltd.
    It is great when cleaning up CAD files and allowing for 3rd party add-ins. It allows you to delete used layers. It would be nice if it saved to smaller file sizes when saving as an older DWG. It is easy to scale drawings and make floor plan layouts. It would be nice if it would pick up the default units that I set for my preference when opening up a converted file from pdf.
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    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.
    Incentivized
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    NanoSoft Ltd.
    • Easy to use
    • Great for Drafting
    • Opens all CAD files from other systems
    • Same commands as other CAD programs
    Incentivized
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    Cons
    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.
    Incentivized
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    NanoSoft Ltd.
    • It lacks some functions that AutoCAD has, but for the price, it could be worth it on your end.
    Incentivized
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    Likelihood to Renew
    Autodesk
    Inventor continues to meet our enterprise needs. I don't see a need to change unless we change our business model significantly.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    NanoSoft Ltd.
    We like NanoCAD for what it does for us and will renew or license when the time comes. There is no question of doubt because we are very happy with it.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    NanoSoft Ltd.
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    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.
    Incentivized
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    NanoSoft Ltd.
    No answers on this topic
    In-Person Training
    Autodesk
    I got the training during college, so mostly i learned on my own
    Incentivized
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    NanoSoft Ltd.
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    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.
    Incentivized
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    NanoSoft Ltd.
    NanoCAD has been the best solution after using other high-priced software systems. It has all the tools I need and no need to upgrade my computer system. I run it on a Windows 11, Core i5 Computer with 8 gb of ram and integrated graphics with no issues. It does not use up much space in my ssd.
    Incentivized
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    Return on Investment
    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.
    Incentivized
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    NanoSoft Ltd.
    • It's free to use
    • No need to buy special high end computers
    Incentivized
    Read full review
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