ARCHICAD vs. Onshape

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
ARCHICAD
Score 8.6 out of 10
N/A
ARCHICAD is a 3D architectural design application and BIM from Graphisoft, a Nemetschek Group company headquartered in Budapest.
$240
per month
Onshape
Score 9.9 out of 10
N/A
Onshape is a cloud-native product development platform with integrated CAD, data management and analytics. Onshape aims to accelerate time to market and improve innovation by: 1) Access: Unlike file-based CAD which is on-premise only, Onshape enables remote access for designers and engineers from anywhere, and on any internet-connected device -including tablets and smart phones. 2) Collaboration: Onshape aims to eliminate the version control problems and blocking of file-based…
$1,500
per year per user
Pricing
ARCHICADOnshape
Editions & Modules
Archicad Solo Version
$240
per month
Archicad Full Version
$280
per month
Standard
1,500
per year per user
Professional
2,500
per year per user
Enterprise
Contact sales team
per year per user
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
ARCHICADOnshape
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsNo dedicated hardware is required. Works on all web-connected devices including tablet, Chromebook, iPhone, Android.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
ARCHICADOnshape
Features
ARCHICADOnshape
Computer-Aided Design Software
Comparison of Computer-Aided Design Software features of Product A and Product B
ARCHICAD
7.1
Ratings
0% below category average
Onshape
-
Ratings
3D Modeling9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
2D Drafting7.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Rendering and Visualization5.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Parametric Design8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Collaboration and Sharing6.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Compatibility with other software and formats7.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Assembly Design7.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Simulation and Analysis8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Documentation and Annotation7.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Customization and Extensions7.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
ARCHICADOnshape
Small Businesses
Onshape
Onshape
Score 9.9 out of 10
ARCHICAD
ARCHICAD
Score 8.6 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Onshape
Onshape
Score 9.9 out of 10
DraftSight
DraftSight
Score 9.3 out of 10
Enterprises
Rhino
Rhino
Score 9.1 out of 10
Rhino
Rhino
Score 9.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
ARCHICADOnshape
Likelihood to Recommend
8.0
(0 ratings)
9.3
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
10.0
(0 ratings)
8.6
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
9.3
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
ARCHICADOnshape
Likelihood to Recommend
Best suited with: 1) High quality RAM 2) First time users on architectural design 3) Quick layouts with customization Not suitable for: 1) [If] more flexibility in design is required 2) Less RAM 3) Transferring standard details into a project
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Onshape shall be used by organizations where cost is a major factor as the license is relatively competitive than the competition. Where Onshape , excels the most is the ability to be operational on any device with internet connection and webbrowser. Onshape doesn't require your hardware to be beefed with Graphic cards (if added better). Where onshape can be better. If they are able to include simulation packages bundled like SOLIDWORKS.
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Pros
  • Design modeling: the user interface allows for a pretty intuitive and integrated creative process. It's great for exploring and communicating ideas, and in cases where the process is not inhibited by the need to switch to different software for different stages of work, such as when moving to develop the design in detail. It also allows for a much more seamless process when changes are requested, so that all material from initial visualizations all the way through to detailed design information are all always in sync and up to date. No redundancy of effort is triggered through the logistics of needing to pass the design through multiple software platforms (eg Sketchup => Revit =>AutoCAD) as each design iteration evolves.
  • Design documentation: it's reasonably clear that ArchiCAD has the best implementation of BIM in the architectural domain, compared with the nearest rival Revit, and is unmatched for design development and coordination between disciplines, supporting large multidisciplinary teams who can all work simultaneously via the cloud or a local server on the same integrated model.
  • Somewhat responsive developers: unlike some others, if an issue is reported, there seems to be a fair chance of the developers engaging with the user and for the issue to be addressed in a subsequent update.
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  • Cloud-based infrastructure and collaboration is a primary benefit.
  • The available documentation is extremely thorough.
  • The ability to integrate with other software for simulation, renderings, etc. is fantastic.
  • Not having to save and being able to clearly see versions and change history is excellent.
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Cons
  • Increasing the size of the files in ArchiCAD to allow it to be used for more complex applications can be more comfortable and user-friendly.
  • Improving it to support more tutorials, add-ons, resources, and e-books.
  • Withholding releasing and developing new software and concentrating on improving the existing version can greatly help in the life of architecture and engineering.
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  • I'm a Pro-user but I would like to have the possibility to have a pay-as-use option in some form. Now it is all or nothing (the public sharing of models - and model rights!) is not an option for many not-for-profit projects.
  • On-site hosting might help to sell the cloud concept to the more paranoid management.
  • Basic CAM generation would be awesome
  • Nonparametric modeling in some form or making it easier to use assemblies for those use cases where you want to model some parts and just play around moving things when you are exploring different configurations.
  • Doing Industrial Design type sketching and experimenting is not really a strong point on Onshape
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Likelihood to Renew
No answers on this topic
Familiarity and ability to work from any location. Also easy to cooperate with potential customers, existing customers, systems users, and fabricating shops. Most of the standard designs are now in On Shape and I would like to continue using it. It is easier to run versions to clarify imrovements to the previous designs
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Usability
No answers on this topic
Onshape is great software and I have no trouble recommending it to CAD users and companies that need to do design work
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Support Rating
We have rapid responses from their support team, and they often go the extra mile to pinpoint the root cause of an issue and assist the team in resolving it. They are honest when a problem is down to user error, or a glitch on the version we are on.
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Been fairly standard experience with support team. Issues have always been addressed, but is understandably focused on business side applications which typically has different issues than education applications. I have very few IT issues with the design side of the software, my issues are more often with the control of users and access
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Online Training
No answers on this topic
I might be biased by coming from using three different CAD softwares in the past, so I already understood many modeling concepts, but the training OS offers is really good. Videos are clear, they explain operations in good detail and besides that OS has a really good help system that explains even more how every tool works.
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Implementation Rating
No answers on this topic
Onshape is revolutionary. Its advantage is that it can be used without having to download it. You are free to work wherever you want. This means that even if you take a vacation or attend a family event, your work will not be interrupted. You can still bring your work and complete it quickly.
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Alternatives Considered
AutoCAD uses line works in actual presentation whiles ARCHICAD uses real structural walls which are easy to use and present compared to line works. Revit largely and mainly focused on structural design and is more complex to use compared to ARCHICAD which helps one focus on different aspects of drawing and is easy to integrate with rendering software like Lumion 360 panorama.
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I have used SOLIDWORKS for over four years, and the vault system is time intensive for control of design history, and revision management. I have used Pro-E for over four years, and this has the capability but is not user-friendly. Not needing high-end computers is another great reason to choose Onshape
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Return on Investment
  • The low multi-year cost is a huge savings, compared to more popular competitors, the total cost of ownership is about 1/4 of an Autodesk design suite.
  • An effective training program can be implemented in under 40 hours/employee to reach intermediate level, as the intuitive interface is easy to teach. This appears to be significantly less, perhaps 1/3 of competing software.
  • The underdog element is still an obstacle, as converting ArchiCAD projects to Revit for our Consultants is a challenge. While ArchiCAD outputs perfectly good IFC (industry-standard BIM interchange format) files, Revit has yet to import them 100% correctly. Therefore, working with others takes a bit more overhead than when using Revit.
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  • Poindexter By Design provides on demand mechanical engineering services and Onshape is directly responsible for a large portion of our customer base because of how easy it is to share and collaborate design projects. In most cases, we are literally up and running on new projects within an hour directly due to Onshape.
  • It is inevitable that a project will go through some level of scope creep. Poindexter By Design had a project with a 4-week deadline. Initially, we scheduled two engineers on the project but when the project's scope creep set in and the original deadline didn't change, we were very quickly and easily able to bring on a 3rd Poindexter By Design engineer on the project to handle the scope creep and still meet the deadline. Onshape gives our company the ability to very quickly increase our capacity on design projects with little to no effort and to us, this is priceless.
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ScreenShots