TrustRadius: an HG Insights company

Save this comparison

Save this comparison

Add Product

Recommended Comparisons

    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    BricsCAD

    Score9.4 out of 10
    N/ABricsCAD is a computer-aided design (CAD) toolkit, supporting 2D drawing, 3D modeling and visualizations, and is customizable as well as compatible with many 3rd party applications, developed by Belgian company Bricsys, a Hexagon company since late 2018.

    $314

    per year

    MicroStation

    Score6 out of 10
    Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 employees)
    Bentley Systems offers the MicroStation application and product family as a 3D and 2D modeling and computer-aided design (CAD) solution for engineers and designers.

    $250

    Per User Per Month

    Pricing
    BricsCADMicroStation
    Editions & Modules
    BricsCAD Lite
    $590
    one-time fee
    BricsCAD Pro
    $1,265
    one-time fee
    BricsCAD Mechanical
    $1,780
    one-time fee
    BricsCAD BIM
    $1,890
    one-time fee
    BricsCAD Ultimate
    $2,100
    one-time fee
    Microstation
    $250.00
    Per User Per Month
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    BricsCADMicroStation
    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
    Features
    BricsCADMicroStation
    Computer-Aided Design Software
    Comparison of Computer-Aided Design Software features of BricsCAD and MicroStation
    Feature
    BricsCAD
    8.4
    1 Ratings
    12% above category average
    MicroStation
    -
    Ratings
    3D Modeling9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    2D Drafting10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Rendering and Visualization8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Parametric Design7.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Compatibility with other software and formats9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Documentation and Annotation9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Customization and Extensions7.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    BricsCADMicroStation
    Small Businesses
    Onshape
    Score6.4 out of 10
    Civil 3D
    Score9.3 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Onshape
    Score6.4 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Enterprises
    PTC Creo
    Score7.6 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    BricsCADMicroStation
    Likelihood to Recommend
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    7.2
    (8 ratings)
    Usability
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    2.0
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    BricsCADMicroStation
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Hexagon AB
    SMBs who do want to minimse their involvement with expensinve, inconvenient and bloated Autodesk products will find lots to love. The only hinderence is the market share of Autodesk means some 3rd party developers will not support it unfortunately, but it has it's own solutions to many things users of the AutoCAD ecosystem currenrtly rely on.
    Read full review
    Bentley Systems
    MicroStation is THE program to use for roadway and corridor modeling. Most departments of transportation and municipalities in my region require that the models be delivered in the dgn format, so it is MicroStation or bust. It is an absolute pain to use some of the add-in features though. Things that are easy in other programs like making smart tables that update with the latest information usually necessitate the use of Axiom or similar outside programs/add-ins. I design storm sewer systems, and it takes us 6 months to train up new hires on this software, because it is NOT intuitive. You need to know which buttons to press, since it is not designed to be easily command-based like AutoCAD Civil 3D.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Hexagon AB
    • 3D Modeling
    • Machine learning / A.I.-assisted feature named PROPAGATE.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Bentley Systems
    • Plethora of design alternatives to choose from right from design to completed models
    • Detailed approach towards parametric, mesh and surface modelling
    • Well integrated modelling workflows
    • Intelligent parametric components with 2D and 3D designs
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Hexagon AB
    • there is not full compatibility with dynamic blocks but it isn't so bad -we can create them in AutoCAD and use them to some extent anyway
    • it doesn't look as "sexy" and the interface looks kinda orimitive in some screens but the functionality is all there and the some
    • there is the hurdle of users thinking they are getting a lesser product so more marketing pozazz is needed to get the message over it is a very capable product
    Read full review
    Bentley Systems
    • Some of the more complex models have had a few issues exporting.
    • We've struggled with external consultants using the custom Autocad engineering tools, and it plays nicely with MicroStation.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Hexagon AB
    it's exteremly useable. AutoCAD users will carry over many eisting skills and learn some new ones on the cross over. It's fast adn lightweight meaning ot can be run on just about any PC. The help and support are realy good and problems are usually responded to within a day by experts.
    Read full review
    Bentley Systems
    MicroStation is very hard to use for our newest employees. It is not intuitive, and you need to know where to find the buttons to perform the commands you would like to perform instead of typing in the commands like other similar modeling programs. Also, it has no good traffic turning add-ins. We continue to run ALL our turning in Autoturn, since this is not a usable feature with MicroStation.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Hexagon AB
    No answers on this topic
    Bentley Systems
    We haven't had to use it for many years, so not able to comment.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Hexagon AB
    Very cost-effective solution, it even supports pointclouds natively and is something we will investigate further as time goes on and may in fact utilise it to replace AutoCAD with 3rd party add-ins at some point in the future, and we hope it can further reduce costs in the long-run as it continues to develop and mature.
    Read full review
    Bentley Systems
    The only general purpose CAD program that you can compare MicroStation with would be AutoCAD. MicroStation, in my opinion, is a superior product in every way but one. That one issue is that there are just more people who have and know how to use AutoCAD than there are ones who know MicroStation. This makes AutoCAD easier to get up and running for most firms.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Hexagon AB
    • Evaluation and budget management
    • Better monitoring of projects
    • Respect of execution deadlines
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Bentley Systems
    • MicroStation usage is primarily necessitated by our major client who also uses the program.
    • Without using MicroStation there would be many times where we would not be able to provide our clients with what they need.
    • Therefore, MicroStation has had an incredibly positive impact on the business I work for as its usage has continued to secure contracts.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    MicroStation Screenshots

    Screenshot of Take advantage of built-in support for 100+ common formats and data types for 2D and 3D raster and vector geometry and associated BIM information, including trusted RealDWGScreenshot of Supporting hundreds of coordinate systems and dozens of geospatial data types, users can reliably integrate existing data quickly and confidently.Screenshot of Produce better documentation, faster, with fully integrated 2D and 3D workflows, creating a single integrated model that allows you to view drawings and other model information directly immersed within the 3D modelScreenshot of You can ensure your design intent while speeding modeling with extremely powerful and flexible constraints and a range of solid, mesh, surface, and topological modeling toolsScreenshot of MicroStation's native support for an unmatched range of file formats and data types means you can leverage any data you have to speed drafting and modeling and decision-makingScreenshot of Turn your models into polished professional presentations to win stakeholder buy-in and speed approvals on your design projects.