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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    MicroStation

    Score6 out of 10
    Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 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

    LabVIEW

    Score9.2 out of 10
    N/ANational Instruments headquartered in Austin offers LabVIEW, a systems engineering software platform and toolkit.

    $407

    per year

    Pricing
    MicroStationLabVIEW
    Editions & Modules
    Microstation
    $250.00
    Per User Per Month
    LabView Base
    $407
    per year
    LabView Full
    3,206
    per year
    LabView Professional
    5,344
    per year
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    MicroStationLabVIEW
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Features
    MicroStationLabVIEW
    Computer-Aided Design Software
    Comparison of Computer-Aided Design Software features of MicroStation and National Instruments LabVIEW
    Feature
    MicroStation
    -
    Ratings
    National Instruments LabVIEW
    8.0
    1 Ratings
    12% above category average
    Rendering and Visualization00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
    Parametric Design00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
    Collaboration and Sharing00 Ratings6.01 Ratings
    Compatibility with other software and formats00 Ratings6.01 Ratings
    Assembly Design00 Ratings6.01 Ratings
    Simulation and Analysis00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Documentation and Annotation00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Customization and Extensions00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    MicroStationLabVIEW
    Small Businesses
    Civil 3D
    Score9.5 out of 10
    Onshape
    Score10 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    No answers on this topic
    Onshape
    Score10 out of 10
    Enterprises
    No answers on this topic
    PTC Creo
    Score5.4 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    MicroStationLabVIEW
    Likelihood to Recommend
    7.2
    (8 ratings)
    10.0
    (6 ratings)
    Usability
    2.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    MicroStationLabVIEW
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Bentley Systems
    MicroStation is THE program to use for roadway and corridor modeling. Most departments of transportation and municipalities in my region require that the models be delivered in the dgn format, so it is MicroStation or bust. It is an absolute pain to use some of the add-in features though. Things that are easy in other programs like making smart tables that update with the latest information usually necessitate the use of Axiom or similar outside programs/add-ins. I design storm sewer systems, and it takes us 6 months to train up new hires on this software, because it is NOT intuitive. You need to know which buttons to press, since it is not designed to be easily command-based like AutoCAD Civil 3D.
    Incentivized
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    NI (National Instruments)
    LabView is a great tool to connect your sensors to your data aquisition hardware. It makes it really easy to set-up a data acquisition routine that meets your individual requirements. I, as an engine researcher, find it very well suited for engine experimentation. For any other programming needs, i.e. not data acquisition, I would not recommend using LabView because of its graphical programming architecture. The architecture makes it a great tool for Data Aquisition but puts at a disadvantage when it comes to other computational tasks, e.g. making a thermodynamic engine model. For those applications having text-based programming is better suited
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    Bentley Systems
    • Plethora of design alternatives to choose from right from design to completed models
    • Detailed approach towards parametric, mesh and surface modelling
    • Well integrated modelling workflows
    • Intelligent parametric components with 2D and 3D designs
    Incentivized
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    NI (National Instruments)
    • Being a graphical programming language, it is a little easier for a layperson to understand than text based programming languages.
    • The program has very good debugging features.
    • Support is good.
    • There are a variety of tutorials which make it easier to do something that you aren't sure about.
    Incentivized
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    Cons
    Bentley Systems
    • Some of the more complex models have had a few issues exporting.
    • We've struggled with external consultants using the custom Autocad engineering tools, and it plays nicely with MicroStation.
    Incentivized
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    NI (National Instruments)
    • improve the management of pc resources to use the minimum amount of resources
    • add a utility for zooming in the block diagram window
    • Improve management of complementary applications, such as real time module or dsc
    Incentivized
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    Usability
    Bentley Systems
    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.
    Incentivized
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    NI (National Instruments)
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Bentley Systems
    We haven't had to use it for many years, so not able to comment.
    Incentivized
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    NI (National Instruments)
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    Bentley Systems
    The only general purpose CAD program that you can compare MicroStation with would be AutoCAD. MicroStation, in my opinion, is a superior product in every way but one. That one issue is that there are just more people who have and know how to use AutoCAD than there are ones who know MicroStation. This makes AutoCAD easier to get up and running for most firms.
    Incentivized
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    NI (National Instruments)
    We chose LabVIEW over MATLAB due to the integration with hardware and the graphical programming interface. Also, the ability to use LabVIEW with FPGAs and real-time processors without having to make large changes to the code base or swapping to a separate programming environment was a big benefit since we don't know what hardware will be suitable for each customer application.
    Incentivized
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    Return on Investment
    Bentley Systems
    • MicroStation usage is primarily necessitated by our major client who also uses the program.
    • Without using MicroStation there would be many times where we would not be able to provide our clients with what they need.
    • Therefore, MicroStation has had an incredibly positive impact on the business I work for as its usage has continued to secure contracts.
    Incentivized
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    NI (National Instruments)
    • We use NI's data acquisition hardware as well which has made it possible to get whatever experimental data we need to get for our studies.
    • LabView has made it possible for us to post-process and tailor the raw data to our specific needs.
    • With a responsive customer support team, NI allows us to expand our data acquisition and post-processing capabilities to carry out the kind of research projects that we would want.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    MicroStation Screenshots

    Screenshot of Take advantage of built-in support for 100+ common formats and data types for 2D and 3D raster and vector geometry and associated BIM information, including trusted RealDWGScreenshot of Supporting hundreds of coordinate systems and dozens of geospatial data types, users can reliably integrate existing data quickly and confidently.Screenshot of Produce better documentation, faster, with fully integrated 2D and 3D workflows, creating a single integrated model that allows you to view drawings and other model information directly immersed within the 3D modelScreenshot of You can ensure your design intent while speeding modeling with extremely powerful and flexible constraints and a range of solid, mesh, surface, and topological modeling toolsScreenshot of MicroStation's native support for an unmatched range of file formats and data types means you can leverage any data you have to speed drafting and modeling and decision-makingScreenshot of Turn your models into polished professional presentations to win stakeholder buy-in and speed approvals on your design projects.