Item: DraftSight
Rating: 8
Author: David Yerks

Overall Satisfaction with DraftSight

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

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.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Integrate LISP routines
save into multiple DWG and DXF versions
commands are almost all the same as AutoCAD

Cons

In my opinion, stability is slightly lacking
In my experience, auto-stack dimension feature doesn't seem to work as it should
In my experience, rendering with materials is lacking capability

Return on Investment

In my experience, cost savings between DraftSight and AutoCAD are substantial!
In my experience, transitioning from AutoCAD to DraftSight is seamless
In my opinion, rendering & Materials are not great

Usability

Draftsight has a few things it can improve on. Stability has drastically improved over the past couple years.

Alternatives Considered

AutoCAD

In my opinion, very similar to each other but DraftSight Professional is priced at $299 per year while AutoCAD is priced at $2030 per year. The $1731 savings per year allows for hardware upgrades sooner.

Key Insights

Do you think DraftSight delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with DraftSight's feature set?

Yes

Did DraftSight live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of DraftSight go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy DraftSight again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Microsoft 365, Adobe Acrobat

Likelihood to Recommend

Cost savings compared to AutoCAD is the #1 reason. If you have used AutCAD, you can easily transition to Draftsight within a single day.

DraftSight Feature Ratings

Using DraftSight

Users and Roles

5 - Structural and miscellaneous steel detailing.
Plasma table operation.
Custom fabrication design and detailing.

Support Headcount Required

1 - Knowledge of CAD software and compatible hardware.

Business Processes Supported

Structural steel detailing
Miscellaneous steel detailing
Custom fabrication design/detailing

Innovative Uses

Using Lisp routines to enhance capability and efficiency.

Future Planned Uses

3D capability
Project tracking

Likelihood to Renew

We have used it for years and will continue to use it.

Evaluating DraftSight and Competitors

Products Replaced

Yes - AutoCAD

Key Differentiators

Ease of Use
Other

Price

Evaluation Lessons Learned

No change. It was the right decision from the beginning.

DraftSight Implementation

Implementation Rating

Easily transition from AutoCAD to Draftsight. Commands are the same.

Implementation Details / Implementation Partner

Implemented in-house

Implementation Phases

Change Management Lessons

Change management was minimal

Implementation Issues

stability
creating new drawing templates

DraftSight Support

Support Rating

Support took awhile to get back to me but for the cost difference in the software its kind of understandable. Once they returned my call everything was quite easy and support did a great job resolving the issue.

DraftSight Customer Support Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Quick Resolution Good followup Knowledgeable team Kept well informed No escalation required Support understands my problem Support cares about my success	Slow Initial Response

Using DraftSight

Usability Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Technical support not required Well integrated Consistent Quick to learn Convenient Feel confident using Familiar	None

Easy Tasks

2D drafting
LISP file integration

Difficult Tasks

anything 3D

Comments

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