AutoCAD vs. Autodesk Tinkercad

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
AutoCAD
Score 7.9 out of 10
N/A
AutoCAD is a CAD product from Autodesk. It allows designers to work in 2D and 3D, and is available on Windows and Mac, but with extensive online collaboration tools.
$245
per month per user
Autodesk Tinkercad
Score 6.6 out of 10
N/A
Autodesk offers Tinkercad, a 3D modeling and design tool available free for educational purposes. Shapes are the building blocks of Tinkercad. Users can add pre-existing shapes, or import them. To adjust objects, users can rotate the workplane to adjust shapes or change views and input exact dimensions with the ruler. Custom shapes can also be created by combining elements.N/A
Pricing
AutoCADAutodesk Tinkercad
Editions & Modules
Monthly Subscription
$245
per month per user
Yearly Subscription
$1975
per year per user
3-Year Subscription
$5925
3 years per user
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
AutoCADAutodesk Tinkercad
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
AutoCADAutodesk Tinkercad
Features
AutoCADAutodesk Tinkercad
Computer-Aided Design Software
Comparison of Computer-Aided Design Software features of Product A and Product B
AutoCAD
6.1
Ratings
15% below category average
Autodesk Tinkercad
-
Ratings
3D Modeling6.00 Ratings00 Ratings
2D Drafting9.20 Ratings00 Ratings
Rendering and Visualization5.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Parametric Design4.80 Ratings00 Ratings
Collaboration and Sharing5.70 Ratings00 Ratings
Compatibility with other software and formats8.30 Ratings00 Ratings
Assembly Design5.30 Ratings00 Ratings
Simulation and Analysis1.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Documentation and Annotation7.80 Ratings00 Ratings
Customization and Extensions8.20 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
AutoCADAutodesk Tinkercad
Small Businesses
Onshape
Onshape
Score 9.9 out of 10
Onshape
Onshape
Score 9.9 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Onshape
Onshape
Score 9.9 out of 10
Onshape
Onshape
Score 9.9 out of 10
Enterprises
Rhino
Rhino
Score 9.0 out of 10
Rhino
Rhino
Score 9.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
AutoCADAutodesk Tinkercad
Likelihood to Recommend
7.4
(0 ratings)
9.8
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.5
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
6.9
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
AutoCADAutodesk Tinkercad
Likelihood to Recommend
It is well suited for drafting in plan view. If you are looking for exact drafting that is the best for you to use. If you are looking to sketch and design, I would recommend you do not use AutoCAD first and instead use another app before transferring your work into AutoCAD.
Read full review
Tinkercad is such a great program and I would recommend the program to anyone who wants an introduction to a simple CAD program. I have another colleague that is now using it in her classroom due to my recommendation. I have had students start with me in Tinkercad and eventually work their way up in skill and purchase other Autodesk products because of the enjoyment and opportunity that Tinkercad provided.
Read full review
Pros
  • The tools are easy to use and the learning curve is fairly minimal to be able to create blueprints.
  • The 3D application is very fun to use and it is nice to be able to see your product instead of having to imagine what it will look like.
  • The speed and accuracy in which students can create plans is a huge bonus. Students can plan their industrial art projects out and use their own set of plans to build them.
Read full review
  • Tinkercad is very easy to use. Most of the 3d design software have steep learning curves.
  • It is compatible with 3d printing. It is a proper tool which gives you solid 3d files needed for 3d printing.
  • Tinkercad is fun to use. There are tones of 3d models created by the community. You could share your designs or even collaborate on designs.
  • Must have tool for STEM teachers. It provides both electronics and coding features in a proper way.
Read full review
Cons
  • User Interface Customisation: AutoCAD's user interface could benefit from more robust customisation options. Allowing users to rearrange toolbars, menus, and panels according to their specific workflows and preferences would enhance productivity.
  • Enhanced 3D Modeling Tools: While AutoCAD is capable of 3D modeling, it's not as intuitive or feature-rich as dedicated 3D modeling software. Streamlining the process and adding more advanced modeling tools would be a welcome improvement.
  • Enhanced Collaboration and Version Control: AutoCAD could improve its collaboration tools, such as real-time editing and version tracking, to facilitate smoother teamwork, especially in multi-disciplinary projects.
  • Intelligent Object Libraries: AutoCAD could benefit from an expanded and more intelligent library of standard objects and components. This would save time for designers who often have to create custom components from scratch.
Read full review
  • The Tinkercad provided projects were upgraded in some aspects but the text for the projects has not and can cause confusion.
  • Tinkedcad works best in Google Chrome on a windows machine but most of my students have Macs and even when using Chrome they run into issues that Windows users don’t
  • Tinkedcad is browser-based but, to have a program that would be tablet compatible would be invaluable. So far it has only really worked on a Surface Pro 3.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Because rarely we [would] rather wait for a whole year to update, sometimes the new updates don't bring many new features and we are still ok with the current version. Also the change of interface is always something that takes time for every partner in the company to get comfortable with. So those are the main reasons we may want to keep the same version.
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Usability
The use case of AutoCAD as a CAD software is highly relevant today as it focuses or targets to tasks types which involve creating 2D drawings of a number of types like electrical drawings, hydraulic drawings, layout diagrams, floor plans, etc. thereby addressing a large number of industries like Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering and in most case Architectural Engineering as well
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
AutoCAD has the issue of crashing or slowing down the design procedure once a heavy design that includes several disciplines or multiple families/blocks is involved. Customer services gets the feedback from the crash reports but this issue seems like it has never been addressed in the software updates past several years.
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
the implementation was realy easy , to set up our workstation we pay for the licenses we are about to use , there was a little bit of delay to get the payment processed to receive the serial but after that the install runs without any problem , so you can fell secure there will be not issue with the implementation.
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
AutoCAD is the industry best and is well integrated with regular updates and fixes if required. Being very developer friendly and having a huge community of enthusiasts behind takes it miles ahead of the competition. Some might get an edge over price but due to this being an High performance software it is miles ahead.
Read full review
Autodesk Tinkercad is by far the most user-friendly 3D modeling program I have used, especially for basic 3D modeling tasks. MeshLab and MeshMixer have similar functions but are far more complicated to navigate and difficult to use. These programs also tend to crash frequently, which has never been a problem with Tinkercad. The fact that you can use Tinkercad without downloading any software also makes it far more accessible, as you can log into your account and edit your models from any computer. I use 3ds Max for more complex 3D modeling, but for small tasks I always choose Tinkercad.
Read full review
Return on Investment
  • AutoCAD is cost effective when you get the Autodesk suite, so it makes sense to have it for many of our workflows.
  • AutoCAD is like a hammer. It's simple and is very good at certain things. No matter how advanced tools get, you will not soon get rid of hammers.
  • AutoCAD is really useful when models do not line up correctly in Revit.
Read full review
  • Autodesk Tinkercad has enabled us to engage our customers further by offering enrichment programs for their children which will help to inspire them into STEM careers
Read full review
ScreenShots