DraftSight vs. Onshape

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
DraftSight
Score 7.2 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
Onshape
Score 8.5 out of 10
N/A
Onshape is a cloud-native product development platform with integrated CAD, data management and analytics. Onshape aims to accelerate time to market and improve innovation by: 1) Access: Unlike file-based CAD which is on-premise only, Onshape enables remote access for designers and engineers from anywhere, and on any internet-connected device -including tablets and smart phones. 2) Collaboration: Onshape aims to eliminate the version control problems and blocking of file-based…
$1,500
per year per user
Pricing
DraftSightOnshape
Editions & Modules
DraftSight Professional
$249
per year
DraftSight Premium (3D)
$549
per year
DraftSight Enterprise
Contact sales team
DraftSight Enterprise Plus
Contact sales team
Standard
1,500
per year per user
Professional
2,500
per year per user
Enterprise
Contact sales team
per year per user
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
DraftSightOnshape
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
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.No dedicated hardware is required. Works on all web-connected devices including tablet, Chromebook, iPhone, Android.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
DraftSightOnshape
Considered Both Products
DraftSight
Chose DraftSight
DraftSight is very easy to use like AutoCAD but DraftSight is more affordable for the small business that doesn't want to spend thousands of dollars on a drafting software.
Onshape

No answer on this topic

Top Pros
Top Cons
Best Alternatives
DraftSightOnshape
Small Businesses
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Score 9.1 out of 10
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Score 9.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
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Score 9.1 out of 10
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Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprises
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Score 9.1 out of 10
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All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
DraftSightOnshape
Likelihood to Recommend
4.0
(414 ratings)
9.1
(61 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.0
(22 ratings)
9.0
(2 ratings)
Usability
7.7
(19 ratings)
8.9
(4 ratings)
Availability
8.7
(7 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.3
(6 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
4.1
(14 ratings)
8.8
(38 ratings)
In-Person Training
9.1
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.4
(15 ratings)
9.2
(34 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
7.9
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
6.3
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
DraftSightOnshape
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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PTC
Onshape shall be used by organizations where cost is a major factor as the license is relatively competitive than the competition. Where Onshape , excels the most is the ability to be operational on any device with internet connection and webbrowser. Onshape doesn't require your hardware to be beefed with Graphic cards (if added better). Where onshape can be better. If they are able to include simulation packages bundled like SOLIDWORKS.
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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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PTC
  • Cloud-based infrastructure and collaboration is a primary benefit.
  • The available documentation is extremely thorough.
  • The ability to integrate with other software for simulation, renderings, etc. is fantastic.
  • Not having to save and being able to clearly see versions and change history is excellent.
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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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PTC
  • Dimensioning a hole feature in a drawing when there are multiple holes, the hole count does not parametrically update. For example, when there are 3x of the same hole, Onshape forces you to manually type in 3x instead of parametrically populating the hole count. This gets very dangerous if say, one of the 3x holes changes but you forget to update the 3x to 2x. Other CAD software does provide this.
  • I know Onshape provides guidance on performance considerations and how to structure a project through their literature, however, a dedicated video from Onshape that directly addresses the guidelines on how to minimize file load and reload times would be beneficial to all future and current Onshape users. I think they should incorporate this directly in their training. Poindexter by Design went through the growing pains of this issue but through the Onshape literature and our own experiences we've developed guidelines on how to keep our Onshape performance maximized!
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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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PTC
Familiarity and ability to work from any location. Also easy to cooperate with potential customers, existing customers, systems users, and fabricating shops. Most of the standard designs are now in On Shape and I would like to continue using it. It is easier to run versions to clarify imrovements to the previous designs
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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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PTC
Onshape is great software and I have no trouble recommending it to CAD users and companies that need to do design work
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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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PTC
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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PTC
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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PTC
Been fairly standard experience with support team. Issues have always been addressed, but is understandably focused on business side applications which typically has different issues than education applications. I have very few IT issues with the design side of the software, my issues are more often with the control of users and access
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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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PTC
No answers on this topic
Online Training
Dassault Systemes
No answers on this topic
PTC
I might be biased by coming from using three different CAD softwares in the past, so I already understood many modeling concepts, but the training OS offers is really good. Videos are clear, they explain operations in good detail and besides that OS has a really good help system that explains even more how every tool works.
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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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PTC
Onshape is revolutionary. Its advantage is that it can be used without having to download it. You are free to work wherever you want. This means that even if you take a vacation or attend a family event, your work will not be interrupted. You can still bring your work and complete it quickly.
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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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PTC
I have used SOLIDWORKS for over four years, and the vault system is time intensive for control of design history, and revision management. I have used Pro-E for over four years, and this has the capability but is not user-friendly. Not needing high-end computers is another great reason to choose Onshape
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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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PTC
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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PTC
  • Super fast idea to concept parts and prototypes
  • So easy to share things with co-workers or higher management that I do it all the time
  • No, IT support is needed so no IT cost and no hassle working with in-house IT and their way of doing things
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ScreenShots

DraftSight Screenshots

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