Autodesk Fusion is a cloud-based 3D CAD, CAM, and CAE tool which integrates design, modeling, and simulation capabilities.
$70
per month per user
MicroStation
Score 6.0 out of 10
Enterprise companies (1,001+ employees)
Bentley Systems offers the MicroStation application and product family as a 3D and 2D modeling and computer-aided design (CAD) solution for engineers and designers.
$250
Per User Per Month
Pricing
Autodesk Fusion
MicroStation
Editions & Modules
Fusion 360 - Paid Monthly
$70
per month per user
Fusion 360 - Paid Annually
$545
per year per user
Fusion 360 - 3 Years
$1635
3 years per user
Microstation
$250.00
Per User Per Month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Autodesk Fusion
MicroStation
Free Trial
Yes
Yes
Free/Freemium Version
Yes
No
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
No
No
Entry-level Setup Fee
No setup fee
No setup fee
Additional Details
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More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Autodesk Fusion
MicroStation
Features
Autodesk Fusion
MicroStation
Computer-Aided Design Software
Comparison of Computer-Aided Design Software features of Product A and Product B
Most of my work with Fusion 360 has focused on its 3D modeling capabilities, and its liberal licensing policies for hobbyists has made it popular in that space. It focuses on a "mechanical engineering" approach to modeling rather than artistic, organic sculpting. While it's less rigid than its big brother AutoCAD, making the most of it will require thinking about the structure of your model rather than simply its appearance. That emphasis means it's fantastic for producing mechanical parts, and it can simulate how multiple separate parts will interlock and work with each other in 3D printed devices. This makes using it to design hinges and other moving mechanisms orders of magnitudes simpler; it also preserves an ongoing, editable history of the part being modeled. Realizing you need to tweak the tolerances on a part halfway through the design is fairly easy; you can go back any number of steps in the model's creation and modify the parameters used on a specific part, changing a hole's width or a groove's depth without altering any other parts of the model. The downside of this CAD-like power is that it's much less capable of "sculpting" organic models. Tools like ZBrush, Rhino, and even Blender are a better choice there.
MicroStation is well suited for environments where animation and 3D modelling is required for designs. It perfectly fits into scenarios where Building Information Modelling (BIM) is used. One should avoid this platform if the budget is low and the overall length of the project is not huge.
Fusion 360 is incredible at enabling me to quickly and efficiently capture the ideas that I have in my head and output them as 3D models without having to do any intense drawings. I use this all the time to model small, less important parts of our products during the prototyping phase.
The software is really good at helping even the least experienced designers get acclimated to the software extremely quickly. Having a quick-access help manual and easy to navigate functions made the software feel almost second-nature the first time I used it.
Fusion 360 has the functionality to save all of your files online, so you can draw something out on one computer and move to another one that has the software and pick up right where you left off. I use this function all the time when I am when I work at a computer that is not mine.
Because the tool is very useful and easy to access, it provides very basic and useful tools to start in the modeling part despite being basic processing aspects. It is also very easy to get a free, temporary, or student license, which makes it a very good CAD tool.
MicroStation is very hard to use for our newest employees. It is not intuitive, and you need to know where to find the buttons to perform the commands you would like to perform instead of typing in the commands like other similar modeling programs. Also, it has no good traffic turning add-ins. We continue to run ALL our turning in Autoturn, since this is not a usable feature with MicroStation.
Support is conducted via internet Q&A boards; newcomers to 3D modeling may find that articulating their questions in the language of CAD software is the tricky part — once they find the right technical term for what they're trying to accomplish, answers come quickly. Autodesk also provides a large library of educational tutorial videos that make the initial process of learning Fusion 360's interface much easier.
No we can’t compare these softwares from each other’s but yes this Autodesk Fusion [360] is a great tool for printing 3d models which gives you full control over elements
Microstation is not intuitive. It is almost impossible for our newest employees to use effectively, and I strongly prefer to start them with Civil 3D, where possible. With MicroStation, you really need to be an intermediate to advanced user to use the program and know where the buttons to do what you want are located. They need to make their program more command based. Things like snapping to a near point or correcting text size universally are not intuitive like they are in Civil 3D or SOLIDWORKS. For other programs you can just type in commands like "LINE" and draw a line. In Microstation, you need to select between a polyline or smartline from the tools>geometry menu. Why does it need to be so complicated? We ONLY use this program, because we are required to deliver our models in the DGN format to our client. Otherwise, we would use Civil 3D for everything.
Fusion 360 has had a positive impact on our ROI. Specifically, being able to cut down on iterations by presenting 3-Dimensional designs to stakeholders earlier on in the process.
Fusion 360 also has had a positive impact on our ROI in terms of manufacturing. Although not all manufacturers have in-house personnel trained in Fusion360 specifically, we have found that it is so easy to pick up if one is experienced in another CAD program. Its ease of use and ability to share files with others has saved a ton of time and money.
