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Best alternative to AutoCAD for small businesses.
January 09, 2021

Best alternative to AutoCAD for small businesses.

Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Software Version

Paid

Overall Satisfaction with DraftSight

DraftSight is used in our small company as a cost effective alternative to AutoCAD. It is used for creating and editing engineering drawings for commercial and Multi-family buildings. It is also used for civil drawings. The main goals when choosing DraftSight was to have compatibility with major CAD software as well as a familiar layout and workflow. DraftSight achieves these goals at a reasonable cost.
  • Familiar workflow for those migrating from other major CAD software
  • Lower cost alternative for small companies
  • Full feature set for those looking to create or edit drawings
  • The help files section could use an update. It looks like something from Windows 95.
  • It would be nice to be able to add a box around text when creating a smart leader
  • There are some commands that I found in the help files that did not work in DraftSight. I don't remember right now which ones, but I have received "Unrecognized command" errors when typing exactly what the help file suggested.
  • DraftSight was 15 times cheaper than AutoCAD and meets the same requirements for me.
I have used AutoCAD extensively and tested trail or free versions of FreeCAD, LibreCAD and likely a number of other 2D CAD programs in the past. In a business setting where compatibility and reliability was essential, only DraftSight gave me the features and confidence I need to complete my work.
I would recommend DraftSight to anyone who is used to AutoCAD but wants a more cost effective alternative. It has fulfilled all of my 2D CAD requirements for editing AutoCAD drawings. I have not used DraftSight in a larger office where integrations with other software are critical, so I cannot comment on those situations. For me however, DraftSight provided a CAD software solution for occasional use (1-10 days per month) at a price I could afford.