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