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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Civil 3D

    Score9.5 out of 10
    N/AAutodesk'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.

    $335

    per month

    Rhino

    Score9.1 out of 10
    N/ARobert McNeel and Associates headquartered in Seattle offers Rhinoceros 3D (or Rhino 3D), a 3D modeling and design application. Rhino can create, edit, analyze, document, render, animate, and translate NURBS curves, surfaces and solids, subdivision geometry (SubD), point clouds, and polygon meshes.

    $995

    one-time fee

    Pricing
    Civil 3DRhino
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    Rhino 3D for Windows & Mac
    $995
    one-time fee
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Civil 3DRhino
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesNo
    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.Discount available for students and faculty.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Civil 3DRhino
    Considered Both Products
    Autodesk
    No answer on this topic
    Robert McNeel and Associates
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    100%
    Would buy again
    7 Answers
    100%
    Would buy again
    8 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    7 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    7 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    7 Answers
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    8 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    6 Answers
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    6 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    7 Answers
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    8 Answers
    Features
    Civil 3DRhino
    Computer-Aided Design Software
    Comparison of Computer-Aided Design Software features of Autodesk Civil 3D and Rhino 3D
    Feature
    Autodesk Civil 3D
    -
    Ratings
    Rhino 3D
    4.5
    1 Ratings
    45% below category average
    3D Modeling00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    2D Drafting00 Ratings2.01 Ratings
    Rendering and Visualization00 Ratings4.01 Ratings
    Parametric Design00 Ratings5.01 Ratings
    Collaboration and Sharing00 Ratings1.01 Ratings
    Compatibility with other software and formats00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
    Assembly Design00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Simulation and Analysis00 Ratings1.01 Ratings
    Documentation and Annotation00 Ratings1.01 Ratings
    Customization and Extensions00 Ratings4.01 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Civil 3DRhino
    Small Businesses
    No answers on this topic
    Onshape
    Score9.9 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    MicroStation
    Score6 out of 10
    Onshape
    Score9.9 out of 10
    Enterprises
    No answers on this topic
    PTC Creo
    Score5.5 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Civil 3DRhino
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.7
    (7 ratings)
    8.0
    (9 ratings)
    Support Rating
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    7.5
    (4 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Civil 3DRhino
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Autodesk
    Civil 3D is best suited for medium to large-scale projects, as it may be overkill for small projects. It is very efficient in design and drafting work, as well as creating reports. It also helps in creating surfaces using external data and building assemblies, as well as providing drainage for infrastructure projects. It can also provide outputs as DWG files to be directly used in the AutoCAD application.
    Incentivized
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    Robert McNeel and Associates
    One of the main highlights of Rhino is the built-in visual programming system "Grasshopper". It is widely used for parametric architectural design, by a variety of world-class architectural offices. It is also very popular within architectural schools and universities. Its usefulness has increased a lot by having add-ins, plug-ins, scripts, and integrations with Revit and ARCHICAD for BIM workflows.
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    Autodesk
    • We use this software for the optimal and advanced design of pipelines and complex structuring, or it can also be said that we use it mainly for a geotechnical model, due to its high definition of the large proportion of the works that are carried out through of this application, since the tasks that are used with Civil 3D require extreme patience, precision and a lot of time to develop a model in its entirety, but we managed to acquire all the necessary and strategic points, to establish and start the production of a prototype digitized in particular.
    • Easy to export to normal AutoCAD or collaborate with most Autodesk products.
    • Vehicle Turning Simulation and Stormwater analysis is great addition to the package. Ability to use the all familiar AutoCAD tools, as well as LISP and SCR to automate some processes is one of the greatest advantages of the software.
    Incentivized
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    Robert McNeel and Associates
    • Parametric Modeling - Grasshopper allows for easy/rapid iterative process
    • White box renders display - looks great as a quick diagram export with no post-production required.
    • robust command prompts - rhino was originally made for industrial design and it flexes a lot of unique modeling commands that put it up there with SolidWorks
    Incentivized
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    Cons
    Autodesk
    • I think I need more experience in using Autodesk Civil 3D as it is a huge jump from the previous software that I had been using
    • Some functions could take less steps to complete
    Incentivized
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    Robert McNeel and Associates
    • Rhino has very limited sheet layout tools.
    • Grasshopper could be better integrated into the main interface.
    • Lack of backwards file compatibility can be frustrating.
    Incentivized
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    Usability
    Autodesk
    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.
    Incentivized
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    Robert McNeel and Associates
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Autodesk
    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.
    Incentivized
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    Robert McNeel and Associates
    A majority of the support for Rhinoceros 3D does not come from the company itself, but from online forums and boards where other Rhinoceros 3D users outline their issues and solutions. The Rhinoceros 3D website does not offer much in-depth support and just outlines general how to's. At the same time, online forums allow for more specific issues to be addressed and solved by the Rhinoceros 3D community.
    Incentivized
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    Alternatives Considered
    Autodesk
    As mentioned before, using Civil3D got its own pros such as creating different profiles that are interactive such if you change any level, the profile will be updated automatically while in AutoCAD you will suffer by updating them manually. In addition, creating models that also are interactive and help in clash detection for different utilities in a project.
    Incentivized
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    Robert McNeel and Associates
    It's hard to compare Rhino to other modeling software as Rhino is in a niche of its own. No other software (to my knowledge) is as customizable/programmable and has such a large community and such a large amount of free, open-source addons. Rhino (and Grasshopper) can be intimidating at first but once you get familiar with it and grow your toolbox with your own scripts, so much time will be saved
    Incentivized
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    Return on Investment
    Autodesk
    • positive: saved us time on setting up sheets/sheet set manager
    • positive: saved time and effort on cutting profiles
    • positive: saved us money on printing, since it is easy to bind the dgns it creates
    Incentivized
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    Robert McNeel and Associates
    • Right away Rhino3D is useful for simple and accurate 3D model import, repair and export all in a variety of formats.
    • Rhino3D is easy to use and learn. The time to productivity is very short with this modeling tool.
    • The price is low for the value received, a great investment.
    Incentivized
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    ScreenShots

    Civil 3D Screenshots

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