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DraftSight

DraftSight

Overview

What is DraftSight?

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…

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Awards

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Pricing

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DraftSight Professional

$249

On Premise
per year

DraftSight Premium (3D)

$549

On Premise
per year

DraftSight Enterprise

Contact sales team

On Premise

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee
For the latest information on pricing, visithttp://www.draftsight.com/BuyProfession…

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services
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Product Demos

DraftSight Demo Video

YouTube

DraftSight Demo (Engelsk)

YouTube

3DEXPERIENCE DraftSight Demo

YouTube
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Product Details

What is DraftSight?

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 solution with time-saving functionalities and an API to help bring designs to life quickly and easily. Ideal for companies, individuals and designers.
  • DraftSight Premium (3D): a robust 2D drafting and 3D design experience with full 3D capabilities and constraints features to help meet any drafting, modeling, prototyping, manufacturing, laser cutting and 3D printing needs. Created for individuals, designers, companies, manufacturers and makers.
  • DraftSight Enterprise and Enterprise Plus: a comprehensive 2D drafting and 3D design solution created to meet various drafting, modeling, prototyping, manufacturing, laser cutting, and 3D printing requirements. Designed for large organizations with many users or multiple sites.

DraftSight Screenshots

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

DraftSight Video

DraftSight: A Better 2D Drafting and 3D Design Experience

DraftSight Integrations

  • GEOVIA Surpac
  • SOLIDWORKS PDM
  • SOLIDWORKS Electrical
  • 3DEXPERIENCE Platform

DraftSight Competitors

DraftSight Technical Details

Deployment TypesOn-premise
Operating SystemsWindows, Linux, Mac
Mobile ApplicationNo
Supported LanguagesEnglish, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Czech, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese-Brazilian, Turkish, Russian

Frequently Asked Questions

SketchUp, TurboCAD, and AutoCAD LT are common alternatives for DraftSight.

Reviewers rate 2D Drafting highest, with a score of 8.6.

The most common users of DraftSight are from Small Businesses (1-50 employees).
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Comparisons

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Reviews and Ratings

(1342)

Community Insights

TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!

DraftSight is a versatile and user-friendly 2D CAD tool that is highly valued by organizations across industries. Users find it to be a cost-effective solution for a wide range of design and drafting needs. It is particularly suitable for creating and exchanging files with other companies and professionals, making it an ideal choice for collaboration in the furniture industry. Design teams appreciate DraftSight's simplicity and power, as it allows them to collaborate on the creation of new products, improving speed and focus. The software has also been instrumental in various charity projects, such as designing and rebuilding a temple. Engineering departments rely on DraftSight for electrical and mechanical design, taking advantage of its performance and cost-effectiveness. Moreover, DraftSight is widely used as a replacement for AutoCAD in the transition to SolidWorks, enabling quick and easy modification of existing drawings. The software caters to a diverse range of applications, from generating geometry for CAM files to performing geometric layouts for inspection or small construction projects. It is also favored by users for build floor plan layouts, partnering with molding companies, verifying client or vendor drawings, and even creating aircraft floorplans. Users appreciate DraftSight's simplicity, power, and ability to open and edit designs of all kinds while serving as a cost-effective alternative to more expensive software options. Whether it is designing tooling or creating shop floor drawings, DraftSight proves to be reliable for daily tasks and future designs. Furthermore, drafting departments benefit from DraftSight's compatibility with common 2D file formats and its ability to handle technical aspects effectively when preparing 2D CAD drawings for customers provided by vendors. The software is also recommended for architectural projects with no issues, the design and development of engineering projects, the creation of system block diagrams and schematic development, manufacturing drawings, custom drawings conversion from Gerber data into DXF format, mechanical design layouts, die-making models, CNC programming models as well as creating and reviewing basic 2D drawings within the organization. DraftSight is highly valued for its simplicity, affordability, and compatibility with different file types, making it a perfect fit for microbusinesses and individual users. Users appreciate its efficiency in creating professional-grade detailed drawings while reducing installation problems. Moreover, DraftSight's API is utilized for extracting details from drawings and creating BOMs. Cabinet design and construction benefit from using DraftSight, leading to improved manufacturing accuracy and reduced installation issues. The software is relied upon as primary 2D CAD software for creating and

Cost-effectiveness: Many users have praised DraftSight for being an economical option compared to similar CAD software, making it a cost-effective choice for small businesses. Some reviewers have mentioned that the affordability of DraftSight played a significant role in their decision to choose it over other options.

Stability and performance: Users consistently mention that DraftSight is stable and reliable, with no crashes or technical issues. Several reviewers have specifically highlighted the software's stability, noting that they have not experienced any crashes while using it. This aspect has greatly contributed to the positive sentiment surrounding DraftSight.

Compatibility with AutoCAD: The ability of DraftSight to open both old and new DWG/DXF files has been highly appreciated by users. Many AutoCAD users feel that this feature makes the transition to DraftSight seamless and efficient. Additionally, several reviewers praise the inclusion of commonly used AutoCAD commands in DraftSight, which further enhances its compatibility with industry-standard drawing file types.

Confusing User Interface: A significant number of users have expressed frustration with DraftSight's user interface, finding it confusing and experiencing difficulties while completing tasks. They feel that the layout and organization of features could be improved to enhance usability.

Crude Text Search and Replace Function: Users have criticized the text search and replace function in DraftSight, describing it as crude and barely functional. Many users find it difficult to perform accurate searches or efficiently replace text within their documents.

Issues with Software Updates: Several users have voiced their dissatisfaction with DraftSight's update control. They claim that although updates address certain problems, new issues are introduced in later versions. This inconsistency affects user experience and undermines confidence in the software's stability.

Users have made several recommendations for DraftSight based on their experiences. The most common recommendations include shopping around for options in 2D CAD software. Users suggest exploring different options available in the market before deciding on DraftSight. This recommendation highlights the importance of evaluating different tools to find the best fit for specific needs or preferences.

Another recommendation is to utilize the free trial of DraftSight. Users recommend taking advantage of the free trial offered by DraftSight. This allows potential users to test the software's capabilities and determine if it meets their requirements before making a purchase.

Users also recommend using DraftSight for beginners, students, small businesses, and hobbyists. Several users have recommended DraftSight as an ideal choice for individuals or organizations with limited budgets or less complex drafting needs. This cost-effective solution is often suggested for beginners, students, small businesses, and hobbyists who want to perform 2D CAD tasks without investing heavily in high-end software.

These recommendations highlight the flexibility and affordability of DraftSight as an alternative to AutoCAD. Users also emphasize the importance of checking hardware requirements and testing all functionality before implementing the software. Additionally, tutorials are suggested as a time-saving resource when working with DraftSight, particularly for editing legacy DWG files. Overall, these recommendations present DraftSight as a lightweight and low-cost option comparable to other drafting software available in the market.

Reviews

(1-25 of 416)
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A great software tool

Rating: 10 out of 10
August 28, 2024
MR
Vetted Review
Verified User
DraftSight
8 years of experience
BCL uses DraftSight for product design, large scale (500m²+) site layouts and assessments in both .dwg and .dxf formats.
Product development is in both 2D and 3D.

It is cost effective and versatile to use without the issues of some 3D work for the more traditional user. I have used both SOLIDWORKS and Inventor and DraftSight offers far more options without needing a bank of computers to process things, just may laptop with a RTX 2070 card.
  • 2D Design
  • 3D Design
  • Large area 3D assessment
2D design work
3D design work
Large area (500m²+) analysis and assessment

From product design, including production drawings to lay out of large (10m x 1m footprint) layouts DraftSight is a cost effective solution providing all appropriate interfaces for BIM.
The level of detail during rendering (while it can be slow) is good for visualization and for use in installation and training materials

DraftSight vs AutoCAD

Rating: 8 out of 10
August 22, 2024
DY
Vetted Review
Verified User
DraftSight
12 years of experience
We use DraftSight for structural steel detailing, custom fabrication, and custom designed steel products. DraftSight is an affordable replacement for AutoCAD with LISP routine capability in "DraftSight Professional" and 3D capability if using "DraftSight Premium". The cost savings of using DraftSight has allowed us to upgrade hardware sooner than if we were paying for AutoCAD.
  • Integrate LISP routines
  • save into multiple DWG and DXF versions
  • commands are almost all the same as AutoCAD
Cost savings compared to AutoCAD is the #1 reason. If you have used AutCAD, you can easily transition to Draftsight within a single day.

It works good!

Rating: 10 out of 10
June 03, 2024
AC
Vetted Review
Verified User
DraftSight
5 years of experience
I'm the only user of DrafSight or any other design software in my company. It is used to edit old mechanical desktop files or customers' Autocad files. I would like to get it into use at a local community workshop, but for them, the price is too much for a non-profit to afford.
  • Edit Mechanical Desktop or AutoCAD files.
  • Great at editing drawings.
  • Works just like AutoCAD, so there's a learning curve.
It's well suited for users who need Autocad, but don't want to pay Autocad's exorbitant prices. It is no longer well suited for small maker spaces with limited budgets due to there being no free option. Also, DraftSight should also be part of any Solidworks package in order to make maintaining the subscription easier.

Simple CAD software to compete with Autodesk.

Rating: 9 out of 10
May 28, 2024
JB
Vetted Review
Verified User
DraftSight
6 years of experience
Schematics, basic machine tool layouts, and data translation.
  • PDF underlays are useful to help create CAD data when the is no DWG option.
  • Image tracing is also helpful for the same reason.
  • Block editing is pretty simple to use.
We use DraftSight primarily because it's a cheaper option than AutoCAD and works just as well.

I was a newbie...

Rating: 10 out of 10
December 20, 2023
SP
Vetted Review
Verified User
DraftSight
2 years of experience
I use it strictly for my own benefit. I have an offsite design engineer that does the bulk of the design work, then he sends it to me and I'm allowed to review and tweak as needed. Being around ACAD for 20 years but never actually learning it completely and the ease of this software to learn has been excellent. And the help references are really good.
  • Ease of learning
  • Easy to navigate
  • User friendly
DraftSight is well suited when you need something that works well with other software and allows you to add and/or modify drawings.

Easy to Share

Rating: 10 out of 10
December 18, 2023
JB
Vetted Review
Verified User
DraftSight
5 years of experience
Our company uses DraftSight to layout systems for our customers. This allows our customers to see a professional representation of how their system will look and determine if there are any issues to overcome in the installation of their system. Once the design has been finished and accepted by our customer, we are able to use the DraftSight drawing to determine the Bill-of-Materials required for the project and provide the customer with a final and accurate quote for materials and installation.
  • Increases Productivity
  • Easy modification and change of design
Better than Auto-Cad because it costs so much less.

DraftSight helps small company evolve into a global designer

Rating: 10 out of 10
December 10, 2023
We create system schematics, mounting mechanical, and product designs with it.
Drawing clear and accurate schematics is a large part of what we do to help installation of systems go quickly and correctly.
Mounting drawings have the same value, the speed and accuracy of global installations counts on our drawings to be clear and correct for each installation we support.
  • Runs smoothly
  • Minimal lockups
  • Runs lean and starts quickly
I often recommend DraftSight to colleagues that are struggling with other CAD programs or looking to start using CAD more in their environment.
It's easy to use and the learning time is short compared to other CAD software.
Also the transition from AutoCAD to DraftSight is very quick. For those that have used AutoCAD before, the transition is very easy because many of the functions are similar and a lot of the commands are also very similar.
The startup and processing time for actions is short and speeds up the design process.
The cost impact is also significantly less than other CAD software, this helps a lot with multiple users and our operating costs.

DraftSight is cheaper and as efficient as AutoCAD in 2D.

Rating: 9 out of 10
November 22, 2023
SD
Vetted Review
Verified User
DraftSight
3 years of experience
I have been using DraftSight for over 3 years now and I recommend it to all my customers as a replacement for AutoCAD since we only work in 2D. There are some small bugs that occur (full memory) sometimes when I am more than 3 hours on the same drawing and I go from one sheet to another quickly. Dynamic blocks are not supported by DraftSight and this is not pleasant when we import DWGs containing them.
Perfect for 2D drawing in its Standard or Professional version. When I have 3D drawing to do, I will compare DraftSight with Sketchup which I currently use for 3D and which is suitable for my personal needs.

DraftSight: good at sharing with others

Rating: 9 out of 10
November 22, 2023
SG
Vetted Review
Verified User
DraftSight
2 years of experience
I use the 2D version of DraftSight to open and work with building drawings in DWG format. It is very helpful in working with drawings sent to me by others. Our company consists of only two people and I am the only one currently using DaftSight, so you could say 50% of our company uses the product.
  • Handles DWG files very well.
  • It is a robust program and handles large files better than some other similar programs I've used.
  • It is more responsive than other similar programs I've used.
  • I like the two-key and multilple-key command structure. It is intuitive.
  • It has some great tools for drawing bolts and other types of fasteners.
  • Recognizes and uses 3D Connexion controller.
It is very useful for opening and working with DWG files created by others. It does a better job handling such files than some other programs I've used. Creating tabbed views with viewports takes some effort. This is as much a learning curve issue as it is a weakness in the program.

DraftSight! You could be so much better if.....

Rating: 10 out of 10
October 09, 2023
PK
Vetted Review
Verified User
DraftSight
8 years of experience
We use it for Industrial automation design. We use it for complex wiring diagrams and industrial control panel layout.
  • Reads and writes Autocad files without a problem.
  • Flexible user interface with lots of options.
  • Good tools for 2D design.
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.

DraftSight? Good program but you are on your own, especially at license renewal time when it locks up.

Rating: 4 out of 10
June 07, 2023
MH
Vetted Review
Verified User
DraftSight
10 years of experience
I use the program to generate proposal and construction drawings.
  • Provides 2.5 dimensional drafting at a fraction of the cost of AutoCAD.
  • No learning curve when switching from AutoCAD.
If you are working on an urgent drawing at the time of annual license renewal forget it! the program will lock up and no one will respond to assist you. Even if you leave a message stating the urgency of the situation, no one will respond! You have paid for something that you are then locked out of when you need it and have people waiting on drawings.

DraftSight Review

Rating: 9 out of 10
June 01, 2023
Verified User
Vetted Review
Verified User
DraftSight
5 years of experience
Handle customer graphic requirements of customers accurately and efficiently as it makes it easier to manage and share graphic files. we have short leadtime in some cases to bring the graphic to the printing operations to meet customer expected delivery dates while avoiding of errors that would be costly to us and our customers.
  • handling graphic files
  • share graphic files
  • send graphic files
  • identify issues
  • optimizing press approval of new products

DraftSight Professional vs AutoCAD Full version

Rating: 1 out of 10
May 19, 2023
Verified User
Vetted Review
Verified User
DraftSight
5 years of experience
As a direct replacement for AutoCAD.
  • Everything that AutoCAD does.
  • Very intuative
  • No cross training required for AutoCAD users.
No scenarios just a very good product. Does what AutoCAD does with ease. Cheaper than AutoCAD & therefore supports business cost savings. Cannot recommend bechaues of lack of contact from vendors to several emails sents.

DraftSight as a daily program that is simple to use but very complete.

Rating: 10 out of 10
February 24, 2023
Verified User
Vetted Review
Verified User
DraftSight
8 years of experience
In our company, we are two designers in the design department. Essentially we use Draftsight to create initial layouts of the projects to be developed … initial mockups for the client to approve … then moving on to 3D. We make a simple/basic use of the program. But since we used it from the beginning, it was still free, so we decided to continue using it.
  • Ease of use.
  • Very complete.
  • Very reliable automatic functions.
I recommend DraftSight without any problem to any colleague and/or person who wants an easy, complete and intuitive 2D program to use.

Overpowered

Rating: 10 out of 10
December 09, 2022
Verified User
Vetted Review
Verified User
DraftSight
1 year of experience
I have used AutoCAD for over 5 years. My company uses Draftsight as an alternative of AutoCAD sometimes. It is way less expensive with similar functions. That's why our company uses Draftsight instead of getting a more updated version of AutoCAD, though we have a 2007 AutoCAD. I usually convert the newer version of .dwg files to an older version through Draftsight, or sometimes edit the our production drawing in Draftsight if the changes are not too complicated.
  • Cheaper than AutoCAD
  • Easy-to-use interface
  • Similar function like AutoCAD
It is good that Draftsight is similar to AutoCAD, easy to pick up when start using Draftsight as an user of AutoCAD but sometimes Draftsight cannot read the font style of the text box from AutoCAD which leads to showing "?????". I have to input the words manually.

Using DraftSight in chemical engineering

Rating: 7 out of 10
August 02, 2022
US
Vetted Review
Verified User
DraftSight
3 years of experience
I use DraftSight extensively in designing the entire emission control system for customer manufacturing processes. The design includes a General Arrangement (GA) plan and elevation layouts, details of components, sectional views of process equipment, and Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams (P&ID). I export the detailed design drawings, typically as .dwg files, to customers and construction contractors for installation of equipment. It would be a challenge to work with both customer engineers and their construction crews without DraftSight, which greatly facilitates my work.
  • It allows me to quickly fit equipment into tight spaces because it is very flexible.
  • It is easy to learn and use, and its numerous features give me many options in the design phase.
  • It provides me with a single tool to design everything from layouts to instrumentation drawings.
  • It enables independent small users like me to wield the design capability of a large enterprise.
The program is well suited to quickly creating detailed design drawings to scale. Because of its functionality, a smaller entity or individual designer can start with a clean slate and develop numerous arrangement and associated design drawings, export them to colleagues, receive revision requests, and implement revisions for additional review. It is less well suited, however, to provide accessible symbols and block components which can be scaled.

No Regrets

Rating: 10 out of 10
July 08, 2022
MT
Vetted Review
Verified User
DraftSight
10 years of experience
We use DraftSight in conjunction with our Cad Cam Program for work on a CNC machining center, design and creation of new products, and it is used by our sales personnel for verification of dimensions of different products in order to get the proper items to the customer. Great program, I like it better than the competition. Been working with CAD programs since Auto CAD came out with Version 12 for DOS and I find DraftSight more user-friendly with more features.
  • Universal compatibility with other programs
  • Ability to insert parts from individual manufactures
  • The tool box feature is a definite plus
All 2D drawings in both DWF and DXF formats. Works well with BobCad and Solid Works.

Great value, even with few bugs

Rating: 4 out of 10
June 24, 2022
TF
Vetted Review
Verified User
DraftSight
4 years of experience
I am the sole user in our company. I am using DraftSight for design-build drawing where I show the locations of lighting and electrical components for projects. I also use it to design underground conduit and electrical panel locations for projects.
  • Very similar to AutoCAD
  • Professional is a very powerful program
  • Power trim is great for cleaning up drawings
It is well suited for any 2D drawing.

Great features and functionality at a great price!

Rating: 9 out of 10
June 20, 2022
MK
Vetted Review
Verified User
DraftSight
10 years of experience
Used to create P&ID and schematics for Control Systems. Also used to plan control systems upgrades and piping details.
Drawings are accessible by other trade groups to aid in location of equipment.
Drawings are also used for contractors to bid on projects.
Saves time and money in designing control systems.
  • Layer Management
  • Contextual application (Right mouse click)
  • Print layout
Part and or schematic libraries are non-existent!
I had to create all my own P&ID symbols, and then scale them to the appropriate size.
Not the easiest to create electrical schematics. It works okay, but lacking features specific to schematics.
Well suited for piping drawings and general mechanical layout.

DraftSight Professional with LISP capability

Rating: 8 out of 10
June 20, 2022
DY
Vetted Review
Verified User
DraftSight
8 years of experience
We use DraftSight for structural steel fabrication and erection drawings, custom fabrication shop drawings, and also use the DXF features for our plasma table. We currently have three draftsman using DraftSight Professional with LISP support. The cost of DraftSight compared to AutoCAD is a major reason for using it. With so much capability similar to AutoCAD, it's just the right choice for our growing company at the moment.
  • Integrates AutoCAD drawings into DraftSight seamlessly.
  • Capable of using LISP routines that I have used for years.
  • Opens DWG files from files sent to us that we would not normally be able to open.
Most of what we do is 2D. DraftSight is an excellent 2D software to replace the over-priced AutoCAD. 3D, however, is a lacking a bit and cumbersome but not used very often in our organization. I am yet to experience any BIM coordination and am curious of how well DraftSight will handle that.

DraftSight Review

Rating: 6 out of 10
May 31, 2022
RH
Vetted Review
Verified User
DraftSight
4 years of experience
We view, make changes to, and create 2D drawings with DraftSight.
  • Cost-effective
  • Can use and save documents to a usable DWG format
DraftSight is highly functional in what we use it for. We use it more as a drawing editor than a drawing creator.

Great Product

Rating: 7 out of 10
May 20, 2022
RB
Vetted Review
Verified User
DraftSight
4 years of experience
We are using it in our sales department for the sales team to open, view and dimensions CAD files to quote. CAD Department using them for same purpose and to modify and create drawings for CNC software.
  • Opens newer .dwg and .dxf files.
  • Easy to use menus.
  • Similar to AutoCAD style for easy transition.
Well suited for companies that need basic and some advanced 2D drawing capabilities and want to save a lot of money.
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