DraftSight vs. NanoCAD

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
NanoCAD
Score 9.4 out of 10
N/A
NanoCAD 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
DraftSightNanoCAD
Editions & Modules
DraftSight Professional
$249
per year
DraftSight Premium (3D)
$549
per year
DraftSight Enterprise
Contact sales team
DraftSight Enterprise Plus
Contact sales team
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
DraftSightNanoCAD
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo 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
DraftSightNanoCAD
Considered Both Products
DraftSight
Chose DraftSight
I only briefly explored NanoCAD and it seemed very similar to DraftSight in capability and features from what I could tell.
Chose DraftSight
I do the same with DS than I did with AutoCAD, but at a much lower price.
DS is more intuitive and powerfull than NanoCAD
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
I have not tested side-by-side; the other options are on my list to investigate
Chose DraftSight
SOLIDWORKS is most definitely a more robust and feature-rich program that DrsftSIght just can not hold a torch to. We also use Eaagle which is not listed because it was recently purchased by a larger entity.
Chose DraftSight
Easy to use.
Chose DraftSight
AutoCAD is the best 2D software but costs significantly more.
Better than free 2D products.
Good value for money compared to other paid products we have tried.
Chose DraftSight
Draftsight has a lot more functionality/tools/options, a clean easy to navigate user interface, and is easy to learn.
NanoCAD

No answer on this topic

Top Pros

No answers on this topic

Top Cons
Best Alternatives
DraftSightNanoCAD
Small Businesses
Onshape
Onshape
Score 9.0 out of 10
Onshape
Onshape
Score 9.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Onshape
Onshape
Score 9.0 out of 10
Onshape
Onshape
Score 9.0 out of 10
Enterprises
Rhino
Rhino
Score 9.1 out of 10
Rhino
Rhino
Score 9.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
DraftSightNanoCAD
Likelihood to Recommend
4.0
(414 ratings)
9.4
(2 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.0
(22 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Usability
7.7
(19 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Availability
8.7
(7 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.3
(6 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
4.0
(14 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
9.1
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.4
(15 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
8.4
(6 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
8.6
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
7.6
(7 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
8.0
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
6.3
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
DraftSightNanoCAD
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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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NanoSoft Ltd.
No answers on this topic
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.
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NanoSoft Ltd.
No answers on this topic
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.
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NanoSoft Ltd.
No answers on this topic
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.
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NanoSoft Ltd.
No answers on this topic
In-Person Training
Dassault Systemes
Based on some knowledge of AutoCad, using Draftsight took a short time before I felt comfortable using it.
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NanoSoft Ltd.
No answers on this topic
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.
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NanoSoft Ltd.
No answers on this topic
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.
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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.
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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.
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NanoSoft Ltd.
No answers on this topic
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.
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NanoSoft Ltd.
  • It's free to use
  • No need to buy special high end computers
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ScreenShots

DraftSight Screenshots

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