Autodesk Civil 3D vs. PTC Mathcad

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Civil 3D
Score 9.5 out of 10
N/A
Autodesk's Civil 3D is a computer aided design (CAD) application designed to support a variety of civil infrastructure projects including rail, roads and highways, land development, airports, drainage, storm and sanitary, and civil structures.N/A
PTC Mathcad
Score 8.6 out of 10
N/A
PTC Mathcad Prime is a digital engineering notebook enabling engineers, mathematicians, and scientists to solve, analyze, document, and share their calculations. It helps users to solve problems accurately the first time numerically and/or symbolically, and then reuse important intellectual property with templates to save time on the next project.
$735
per year
Pricing
Autodesk Civil 3DPTC Mathcad
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Mathcad Prime 10 License
$735
per year
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Civil 3DPTC Mathcad
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsCan be licensed monthly ($305), Annually ($2,430), or every 3 years ($6,560).Available free for one year on a student license.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Autodesk Civil 3DPTC Mathcad
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User Ratings
Autodesk Civil 3DPTC Mathcad
Likelihood to Recommend
9.7
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
6.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Autodesk Civil 3DPTC Mathcad
Likelihood to Recommend
Well suited:
  1. Simple and self-explanatory user interface.
  2. Inter usability between other software such as MicroDrainage and Bentley CivilStorm.
  3. Autodesk customer service.
  4. Easily customizable.
Not suitable: The software is still very resource intensive on the machines and often crashes when too much data is being shown. Though significant improvements have been made in other Autodesk software like Revit, older applications like AutoCAD and C3D seem to be stuck on old, inefficient source codes.
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It is definitely a must have for every design engineer. The formulas can be written in the expanded format which facilitates the process. The measurement unit feature is very useful and helps prevent errors in formulas. Mathcad is now equipped with a decent spell checker which is also very helpful.
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Pros
  • Very useful for projects that contain rail alignment in such showing profiles along with the utilities that the rail is crossing it
  • Manage GIS data along connecting the design to documentation in order to support the productivity
  • Provide team coordination along using visualizing, simulation, and analysis that integrates with the design process to improve the delivery
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  • MathCad has a relatively easy to learn and easy to use programming language.
  • It is easy to deploy and manage seats of MathCad.
  • Documentation and support are reasonably strong.
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Cons
  • Specific tools for sewers design
  • Possibility for the users to choose other rainfall data and parameters
  • Possibility to create vertical pipes in gravity networks
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  • A limited number of file formats for export, especially those that support visual graphics in vector format
  • Interfaces for mathematics and equations with MathType and LaTeX / MikTex / Tex
  • Limited functionality for visualization of data in a 3D format
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Usability
It is one of the most standard Designing and drafting tools for infrastructure projects and is the go-to for including it with the Autodesk ecosystem. Its strong collaboration with GIS and Other tools helps us to create a software workflow as a digital twin platform as well. The Drawings and plans generated can be easily imported into other applications, allowing for full control over the workflow.
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Higher-order math, despite symbolics, become tedious and variable nomenclature isn't as forgiving as other programs. Due to it's sheet-like nature, the greater the complexity the more bothersome the screen usage becomes. But it's a trade-off between a sketchpad-like interface or lines and lines of code. Pick your poison but MathCad was our choice.
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Support Rating
They have a vast open community, which has helped us understand Autodesk Civil 3D from the beginning. They have provided many templates and tutorials videos to our team due to that we can learn every new feature from them. Autodesk Civil 3D has also helped us to interconnect all its software in an internal bridge, which helps us switch between software as we need.
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No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Autodesk Civil 3D provides more all-round support in comparison to this software and using a bit of coding and creating connectors, we can easily provide all supports of different software to it. The Development ease for creating plugins for Civil 3D also gives an edge over other software. Other software are also old and a bit outdated in comparison.
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I have not found an alternative that is as useful as [PTC Mathcad]. In fact it is exactly what I've been looking for for some time.
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Return on Investment
  • It has made design much easier and simplified
  • Drawings are easier to complete
  • Time taken to complete designs and drawings have reduced drastically
  • Multiple people can work on one project at the same time without affecting the entire design/drawing
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  • Mathcad has allowed us to take legacy hand written calculations and document them in an electronic format. Now we can quickly run different design scenarios using the legacy calculations. It allows us to quickly vet new design options.
  • Sharing new design concepts is quicker and easier within our various design groups.
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ScreenShots

Civil 3D Screenshots

Screenshot of Civil 3D - Infrastructure Software from AutodeskScreenshot of Civil 3D - Rail Alignments