DraftSight

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
DraftSight
Score 7.4 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
DraftSight
Editions & Modules
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
DraftSight
Free Trial
Yes
Free/Freemium Version
No
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
No
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsDraftSight 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
DraftSight
Considered Both Products
DraftSight
Chose DraftSight
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 …
Chose DraftSight
We have used AutoCAD in the past and it often had extended hang times when working on drawings.
DraftSight has cut that almost completely out, processing and rendering times are so fast.
The cost of DraftSight compared to AutoCAD was also a huge impact for us.
Chose DraftSight
DraftSight does not have some of the features that AutoCAD has, but for most users, they aren't needed. The price difference is a major benefit in favor of DraftSight.
Chose DraftSight
Relatively identical interface to AutoCAD but at a much lower cost.
Chose DraftSight
I have used the following CAD programs: VisualCADD, AutoCAD, TurboCAD, SolidEdge 2D, and DesignCAD. I have tried a few others that I didn't like. For me, drawing from scratch, the most efficient program is VisualCADD. No other CAD program I've tried so far have matched it. …
Chose DraftSight
AutoCAD. DraftSight is a better CAD software that can handle our CAD needs at a very reasonable price. These CAD products are either very limited or crippled, or are very expensive.
Chose DraftSight
Good product affordable
Chose DraftSight
DraftSight is just as good, or better, than AutoCAD. Also at a price that is very competitive. Plus, DraftSight has new features every few releases.
Chose DraftSight
Comparisons done with AutoCAD, FreeCAD & LibreCAD. Until DraftSight sales & support address a query raised on more than occasion, I am not willing to recommend full replacement of AutoCAD with DraftSight Pro.
Chose DraftSight
Being a user for almost 10 years of DraftSight, the ease of use, the distribution of functions, etc. make switching to another program a bit painful and in need of a learning period.
Chose DraftSight
Lower price with similar performance and functions. It is extremely easy to use. I have no problem switching between Draftsight and AutoCAD. It saved me some time from learning a new software so that I can focus on the requests/tasks.
Chose DraftSight
DraftSight is more simple and very economical to use.
Chose DraftSight
We selected DraftSight because Autodesk wanted too much money for their LT software. Initially, I was impressed with the seamless integration, I could use the command line just like AutoCAD. As I became more familiar with DraftSight, and also had more exposure, I started to …
Chose DraftSight
Far simpler to use, and includes many of the same tools as AutoCAD. In our business, the ability to quickly get up and running without a long learning curve is of paramount importance. We are a startup, and don't have a lot of resources, which requires each of us to fill many …
Chose DraftSight
DraftSight is very similar to order versions of AutoCAD, so the learning curve was minimal. Of course the language and commands are different; which takes some getting used to. I still have to think "Sheet Mode" and "Model Mode". I haven't really used the 3D capabilities, but …
Chose DraftSight
Draftsight has, for our organization, the capability we require that AutoCAD has but without the excessively over-inflated price. We have been using Draftsight for many years. If Draftsight stability and LISP integration were more stable, they could easily take over the DWG/DXF …
Chose DraftSight
Draftsight is so close to the benchmark of AutoCAD it's uncanny. At a glance, it is AutoCAD. Comparing it to TurboCAD, Draftsight for me is far more user friendly, I’m a keyboard shortcutter--Draftsight and AutoCAD keyboard commands are the same. I would rather draw my plans …
Chose DraftSight
It was referred by my former employer. We had a great presentation showing the high ROI, which it would have been if the software actually worked.
Chose DraftSight
overall my favorite since it was free. The interface is friendly and highly customizable, you can find a lot of resources on youtube because it is a widely used software, it has never betrayed me by crashing (and I have been using it for many years). I have no intention of …
Chose DraftSight
Very capable and at the time, much less computer locking up than AutoCAD. Video introductions with some examples of on-screen commands and how to use them. This was great !!
It was free. The price was right for a one-person business.
Top Pros
Top Cons
Best Alternatives
DraftSight
Small Businesses
Onshape
Onshape
Score 9.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Onshape
Onshape
Score 9.0 out of 10
Enterprises
Rhino
Rhino
Score 9.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
DraftSight
Likelihood to Recommend
4.0
(414 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.0
(22 ratings)
Usability
7.7
(19 ratings)
Availability
8.7
(7 ratings)
Performance
8.3
(6 ratings)
Support Rating
4.0
(14 ratings)
In-Person Training
9.1
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.4
(15 ratings)
Configurability
8.4
(6 ratings)
Ease of integration
8.6
(4 ratings)
Product Scalability
7.6
(7 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
8.0
(4 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
6.3
(5 ratings)
User Testimonials
DraftSight
Likelihood to Recommend
Dassault Systemes
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.
Read full review
Pros
Dassault Systemes
  • You can easily bring in a dwg format drawing into the programme and it will display the information just as well as AutoCAD.
  • The programme supports shortcut features or one-click buttons for the most commonly used operations.
  • Script files can be used which is a bonus.
Read full review
Cons
Dassault Systemes
  • 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.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Dassault Systemes
It has given us, a small startup, the ability to compete effectively with far larger competitors by evening the playing field at a low cost.
Read full review
Usability
Dassault Systemes
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.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
Dassault Systemes
Other than a bug created by a VAR tech support that didn't get resolved until I installed the next version, DraftSight has worked fine.
Read full review
Performance
Dassault Systemes
In general it's very quick to load drawings...now it depends a lot on the file we're opening or working on.
Read full review
Support Rating
Dassault Systemes
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.
Read full review
In-Person Training
Dassault Systemes
Based on some knowledge of AutoCad, using Draftsight took a short time before I felt comfortable using it.
Read full review
Implementation Rating
Dassault Systemes
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.
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
Dassault Systemes
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.
Read full review
Scalability
Dassault Systemes
As a startup, we really appreciate scalable software or tools, and because we use it for diverse types of projects, flexibility is key.
Read full review
Return on Investment
Dassault Systemes
  • 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.
Read full review
ScreenShots

DraftSight Screenshots

Screenshot of Plate InsertScreenshot of Image TraceScreenshot of 2D and 3D DWG filesScreenshot of HomeByMe Integration