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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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Recent Reviews

Easy to Share

10 out of 10
December 18, 2023
Our company uses DraftSight to layout systems for our customers. This allows our customers to see a professional representation of how …
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TrustRadius Insights

DraftSight is a versatile and user-friendly 2D CAD tool that is highly valued by organizations across industries. Users find it to be a …
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DraftSight Review

9 out of 10
June 01, 2023
Handle customer graphic requirements of customers accurately and efficiently as it makes it easier to manage and share graphic files. we …
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Overpowered

10 out of 10
December 09, 2022
I have used AutoCAD for over 5 years. My company uses Draftsight as an alternative of AutoCAD sometimes. It is way less expensive with …
Continue reading
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Awards

Products that are considered exceptional by their customers based on a variety of criteria win TrustRadius awards. Learn more about the types of TrustRadius awards to make the best purchase decision. More about TrustRadius Awards

Reviewer Pros & Cons

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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 Availability highest, with a score of 8.7.

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

(1339)

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.

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-25 of 414)
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December 20, 2023

I was a newbie...

Steve Pennock | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
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.
December 18, 2023

Easy to Share

James Bryan Palmer | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
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.
Darryle Ziegler, CTS-D, CTS-I | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
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.
Sylvain Drolet | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
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.
Scott Gold | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
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.
June 01, 2023

DraftSight Review

Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
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.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
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.
December 09, 2022

Overpowered

Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
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.
Uday Singh | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
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.
July 08, 2022

No Regrets

Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
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.
Score 4 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
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.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
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.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
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.
Daryl Garner-Savory | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I personally use DraftSight to do general drawings to laser cut components in the elevator industry and as part of a knife making and machine building hobby. DraftSight being the user-friendly package it is makes the process of design simple, in addition to creating your own blocks, it makes the design process simpler, faster, and far more flexible.
Score 1 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
We use CAD software to develop drawings for manufacturing. Mostly electrical panels, network diagrams, plant layout, P&ID (Process and Instrumentation Diagram), and many other documents for engineering.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I use DraftSight for architectural projects. I really like this product and use it every day at work. I never had problems. I have been using it for years, since it was free, and I continue to use it even now that it is paid. I recommend it to everybody.
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