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Revit - The best BIM out there
Updated June 04, 2021

Revit - The best BIM out there

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

Overall Satisfaction with Revit

Revit is used on an as-needed, per client request, basis in our studio. Other studios within our company use it more regularly, and every studio uses or has used it to my knowledge. Revit is our BIM software of choice, as it is the most robust and the most similar to AutoCAD.
  • 3d modeling for simple to mid-complexity geometries is fairly easily achieved where AutoCAD they are not.
  • Initial drawing set development is much easier when working in one file rather than CAD software.
  • Design revisions throughout the design process are done live in the model and universally have to affect on the drawings.
  • Drawing set graphics may be too simple for some users used to full control.
  • Initial file setup is better but still could be more straight forward.
  • Customization with many of the design tools is not very intuitive.
  • Schematic design development is not what the software is designed for.
  • Revit is starting to be demanded by our clients. As such being able to complete a project in Revit has been good for service offerings.
  • Training people on Revit, especially if they know CAD first, can be time-consuming.
  • Overall Revit is beneficial in design documentation especially when it comes to initial drawing setup and design revisions.
Revit, like AutoCAD, is the most straight forward, intuitive of the BIM software available in today's market. It is widely excepted at a norm and is the most universally used in the engineering trades that we work with. As our clients start to demand that their projects are completed in BIM software, Revit is a solution that easily interfaces with AutoCAD making our design team flexibility that much greater.

Do you think Revit delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Revit's feature set?

Yes

Did Revit live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Revit go as expected?

No

Would you buy Revit again?

Yes

Revit is well suited for straight forward buildings of decent scope and not much time or complication in their initial design phases. It is not meant to be a design tool so much as a design documentation tool that allows your building to live in 3d and be developed and revised as such.

Revit Feature Ratings

6.0
Document sharing
5
Photo documentation
7
Collaboration & approvals
4
As-built drawings
8
7.0
Takeoff tools
9
Job costing
7
Cost calculator
5
Human Resource Management ()
Not Rated
Payroll Management ()
Not Rated
Asset Management ()
Not Rated
Reporting & Analytics ()
Not Rated

Using Revit

80 - Revit is used primarily for architectural applications however our interior designers and even our graphic designer staff are using Revit to comprehensively design projects when we have all of our trades on a project. Mostly what we are using Revit for is the construction documents needed to bid, permit and construct the projects.
5 - We have an IT team with various responsibilities for support and depending on what the the issue is they are all able to provide IT support. These are typically staff with skills in software install, troubleshooting 3rd party applications, capabilities (i.e. the guru or expert user) within Revit, and troubleshooting software/hardware issues.
  • construction documents
  • design development
  • schematic design
  • presentation
  • AHJ review
  • rendering
  • material take-off
  • millwork design
  • advanced scheduling
  • standard specifications
  • internal design library of components
We will almost certainly be renewing all of our current seats of Revit and will likely be adding seats as we look to get more and more of our staff trained and using Revit. The software is starting to become the standard for our projects as we move forward as more and more of our clients are requesting or accepting use of it.

Evaluating Revit and Competitors

  • Price
  • Product Features
  • Prior Experience with the Product
Building Integrated Modeling has long been becoming the new normal. I would say as many design firms use Revit more than AutoCAD than vice versa. As a result, you almost need to have and be able to use both to stay competitive, especially for larger projects with higher fees.
I think it would be good to understand the deployment and possible fee structure for new releases of the software. Most design software is subscription-based nowadays and especially in larger deployments leaving you somewhat vulnerable to increased costs in order to be using the latest software. This gets tricky as Revit is not backwardly compatible.

Revit Implementation

Implementing Revit as your main drafting software (i.e. moving to BIM from CAD) may be a tough decision if you have learned drafting. It is a different way to approach and think about developing a project. However, if you are able to adapt to a new way of thinking and get used to it by working through a few projects than it is as efficient as CAD in most areas in general and will also be both better/worse in some areas.
  • Implemented in-house
  • Third-party professional services
We use Revit in-house as our architects, interior designers, and in some cases graphic designers use it but we also use 3rd party companies and consultants that also use it. For these other companies and consultants they perform their own implementation and defer to our standards for use or output to maintain consistency of deliverables to the greatest extent that we can.
Change management was a big part of the implementation and was well-handled - Change management is fairly easy with Revit as long as you stay organized. Often a team working on a project will have different ways or strategies for managing changes however as long as there is an agreed to approach than the outcome is usually consistent and works well. It is very much an issue of good project management.
  • user training
  • consistent use once trained
  • upgrading files and not being backwards compatible

Revit Training

  • Online training
  • in-person training
The training was Revit Essentials and it was very beneficial. I would say that it is best to get the training right before you know you will be using Revit as learning the basis then applying what you learned immediately is the most effective and best value for your money.
The online training is hit or miss. I feel that its better to be live to be able to pace and ask questions to a live person as you are learning hwo to do things. Its not natural to learn Revit especially if you know AutoCAD so my suggestion is the live training.
I did not learn without training but I would not recommend self-training. You can do this if you are well suited but I think it leads to bad habits and will make working with others problematic if you start to build projects the way you know how rather than using the capabilities of the software.

Configuring Revit

I do not work on the configuration. Our IT department handles that.
I do not work on the configuration. Our IT department handles that.
I do not work on the configuration. Our IT department handles that.

Revit Support

I haven't had to use support altogether that often; however, Autodesk has an online forum with many of the questions that would frequently be asked. Typically there are relatively good answers, and you can find the information you are looking for. This is the primary source of support that we use.
ProsCons
Good followup
Problems get solved
None
We did not as we have our own internal IT team that deals with escalations beyond any trouble shooting that you can find online. It also did not seem worth the cost for the premium support with the in house resources that we have and that we have relatively simple questions and concerns when it comes to support.
I would say that our rollouts of newer versions of Revit have been exceptionally smooth. Once the licensing is in place the distribution to those users who are currently using the previous versions are able to get the newest effectively overnight. Any issues that come up with the new release are cleared up quickly and are usually minor.

Using Revit

Revit is a software that can do many things but has some unusual logics or rules that often require you to do things in a certain way. In some cases if the logic is not natural users will find it difficult or sometimes inconvenient to use. Most of the time its about finding the right line of BIM complexity an simplicity for each project or project type.
ProsCons
Like to use
Relatively simple
Well integrated
Consistent
Convenient
Feel confident using
Requires technical support
Slow to learn
Lots to learn
  • setting up a sheet set
  • controlling graphic consistency
  • building a library if repeat-use elements
  • shedules
  • text controls
  • controlling/purging files for size
Yes, but I don't use it

Revit Reliability

While I am not directly involved with the deployment of Revit, it seems that our internal IT department has appreciated the ability to increase or decrease the number of seats. I have never had an issue with the deployment if and when needed, especially regarding the availability of a set.
Revit seems to always be available when I need it. I have not experiences an outage. There are occasions where we need our internal IT department to trouble shoot a file on our Revit dedicated server and that sometimes causes a delay however that is not a software access issue.
Revit is a fairly graphics heavy piece of software. It is powerful in its capabilities but as a result it takes a lot of the graphics card, the memory, etc. For all that it can do and the specs of my computer I find it pretty good from a performance standpoint

Integrating Revit

I do not work on the integration. Our IT department handles that.
  • hive
  • assa abloy
I do not work on the integration. Our IT department handles that.
  • Unsure
I do not work on the integration. Our IT department handles that.
  • File import/export
Unsure. I do not work on the integration. Our IT department handles that.
I do not work on the integration. Our IT department handles that.

Relationship with Autodesk

I did not work directly with the vendor
I did not work directly with the vendor
I did not work directly with the vendor
I did not work directly with the vendor

Upgrading Revit

Yes - There have been several new releases of Revit. While one of my few but big issues is that Revit is not easily backward compatible the releases of new versions is smooth for me. Mostly you need to confirm with your entire team that they have the latest versions so that you can all work as needed on the particular project.
  • enhanced feature
  • slightly better performance
  • staying up to date with other consultants
  • Not really sure
  • Hoping better feature