CATIA vs SketchUp | TrustRadius

Likelihood to Recommend

CATIA is probably the most preferred 3D modeling tool in the automotive and aerospace industries. This specific surface (it can be handled well by the experienced users) is well suited to use parametric design principles and hence result in great products. One of the issues we have in the automotive industry is to work with large surfaces for body exterior (main body, gate, hood.) or interior trim (door, headliner.) panels. CATIA enable us to design surface perfectly through the lines. Also, assembly features for intricate designs (gearbox, exhaust, engine, suspension.) are more than adequate. I did not find any inefficiency while designing products with CATIA. Only the interface and handling of the menu and mouse is not the best - or at least you need time to get used to it.

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Özgür Erkek, MSc, PRINCE2®

Exhaust Systems Supervisor

Ford Motor CompanyAutomotive, 10,001+ employees

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I've found that SketchUp is great for just about any modeling need and even quite a bit of drafting. I don't recommend it for photorealistic rendering, though I've yet to mess around with more than the >$100 plugins. I have yet to run into a document that cannot be created in LayOut, but the complex text is difficult (tables/tabs, etc) to edit.

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Verified User

Manager in Other

Construction Company, 11-50 employees

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Pros

Easy modeling with production steps in mind.
Surface modeling is pretty intuitive and makes possible to design complex geometries faster.
Model edit is practical, making possible to edit a geometry parameter and rerun the program to have the new parameters ready.
CATIA works very well for assemblies too, it makes possible to easily attach parts and bind specific parameters, also to hide parts that are not desirable for the analysis.

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Stéfano Bellote

Engenheiro de desenvolvimento de produtos Jr

ElectroluxConsumer Goods, 10,001+ employees

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Simplicity. Anyone who is familiar with a computer can jump headfirst into SketchUp and be proficient with its use within an hour.
Intuitive button design/layout. Creating 3D objects from 2D shapes is easy with the push/pull tool. More complex 3D modeling software can get overwhelming with all of the buttons on the toolbar.
3D modeling warehouse. There is an online database that allows users to see what other SketchUp users have created and download their own copy. Sharing objects with other users dramatically reduces the time required to build a very detailed model.

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Tony Grasso

Project Engineer

MortensonConstruction, 5001-10,000 employees

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Cons

Updating an existing design can become really frustrating. You have to reassign all the radiuses, for example, even if they moved slightly.
CAE function is not that good.
Radiuses are slightly bad and can cause you lots of problems.

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Umurefe Demir

D&R Engineer

Ford OtosanAutomotive, 10,001+ employees

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Ability to import Revit files and libraries.
Ability to export true curved vector linework. There are some workarounds, needs to be refined.
Create an OPEN MAPS connection. Since the split from Google, the source for high-quality aerials is limited.
Ability to dock all menus to the master window on a Mac
Ability to develop dockable menu trays on a Mac

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Anthony Pope, RA, NCARB

Principal

Atelier 7Architecture & Planning, 1-10 employees

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Support Rating

CATIA 8.0

Based on 5 answers

I gave a 9-star rating because CATIA's support system is excellent in terms of quick resolutions. As soon as we escalate any issue regarding this software, its support system resolves it in a short period. There was a scenario when we were unable to login to the CATIA server. At that time, our issue was resolved within an hour. Thus, in terms of support, CATIA is good.

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Verified User

Professional in Product Management

Mechanical Or Industrial Engineering Company, 201-500 employees

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SketchUp 8.4

Based on 27 answers

Sketchup is so intuitive; I can't recall ever looking for official support. However, there are many user forums online that can answer more questions. The usefulness of the online forums is, however, tempered by the fact that there have been many versions of the software under different ownership and support regimes, and thus finding the right information for the right version of the software can be a challenge.

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Verified User

Professional in Other

Architecture & Planning Company, 11-50 employees

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Alternatives Considered

You can create solid or 3D figures more easily and efficiently using Catia than in other programs or in specific AutoCAD. You can also create different pieces to later assemble them and thus create figures even more complex or in greater detail. In the same way, you can make 2D drawings without much complication.

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Alan Urbina

Designer

Peekaboo Design StudioDesign, 1-10 employees

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It's great to give the customer an overview of how a project will look, but it will never replace the information that a blueprint or engineering drawing can convey. SketchUp is great for the casual user or someone who is just getting started in design work. Other high powered software, such as Solidworks or Inventor is more suited for 3D modeling on a regular basis

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Verified User

Engineer in Engineering

Building Materials Company, 1001-5000 employees

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Return on Investment

If designing large assemblies or very complex ones, especially in the aerospace industry, CATIA is the way to go.
The graphics are really good, and the software offers many possibilities to view a design: 2D, 3D, bird's eye view...
Controls pan zoom rotate are easy.

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Sailender Naidu

Autocad Designer

Palni IncDesign, 51-200 employees

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Some of our clients really appreciated that we could quickly make adjustments to proposed projects or mockups.
That being said, I've definitely spent a lot of time getting lost in the weeds making very small changes because they saw that it was possible, and then we're spending hours we might not have on the job.

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Nathan Bowman

Environmental Scientist

HMB Professional Engineers, Inc.Civil Engineering, 51-200 employees

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Pricing Details

General

Free Trial

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Free/Freemium Version

—

Premium Consulting/Integration Services

—

Entry-level set up fee?

No

CATIA Editions & Modules

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Additional Pricing Details

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General

Free Trial

—

Free/Freemium Version

Yes

Premium Consulting/Integration Services

—

Entry-level set up fee?

No

SketchUp Editions & Modules

Edition

Free	$0.00¹
Shop	$119.00¹
Pro	$299.00¹
Professional	$299.00¹
Studio	$1199.00¹
For Students	$55.00¹
For Educators	$55.00¹

per year

Additional Pricing Details

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CATIA

SketchUp

Likelihood to Recommend

CATIA

SketchUp

Pros

CATIA

SketchUp

Cons

CATIA

SketchUp

Support Rating

CATIA

SketchUp

Alternatives Considered

CATIA

SketchUp

Return on Investment

CATIA

SketchUp

Pricing Details

General

Free Trial

Free/Freemium Version

Premium Consulting/Integration Services

Entry-level set up fee?

CATIA Editions & Modules

Additional Pricing Details

General

Free Trial

Free/Freemium Version

Premium Consulting/Integration Services

Entry-level set up fee?

SketchUp Editions & Modules

Edition

Additional Pricing Details

Add comparison