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
Vectorworks Landmark
Score 10.0 out of 10
N/A
Vectorworks, headquartered in Columbia, offers the Landmark BIM design application. The solution helps users produce 2D and 3D design concepts and analyze existing building sites.
$127.50
per month
Pricing
MicroStation
Vectorworks Landmark
Editions & Modules
Microstation
$250.00
Per User Per Month
Annual Subscription
$127.50
per month
Monthly Subscription
$153
per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
MicroStation
Vectorworks Landmark
Free Trial
Yes
Yes
Free/Freemium Version
No
No
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
No
No
Entry-level Setup Fee
No setup fee
Optional
Additional Details
—
$153: billed monthly, 2 GB of cloud storage, Basic tech support, Immediate access to new versions
$128: $1530 billed annually | Saves $306, 2 GB of cloud storage, Basic tech support, Immediate access to new versions
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.
Vectorworks is just as useful for perfectly measured, hard-line CAD drawing as it is for making beautiful presentation drawings and renderings. Tools in the application allow you to transition between working drawings and presentation drawings without modifying the underlying geometry. DWG exchange with other design team members works very well
I tell people that Vectorworks is CAD for people who know how to draw. You can control the appearance of all the objects on a layer, or you can tweak the way a single object looks. Most of the barriers to producing good-looking, legible drawings are removed.
Vectorworks Landmark is made for landscape architects.Creating hardscape, planting, and irrigation plans is pretty straightforward.
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.
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.
I was an AutoCAD user before switching to Vectorworks when coming to work with my current firm. Vectorworks Landmark includes tools specifically designed for landscape architects - it's not an AutoCAD add-on. The initial investment for a new seat is much less than AutoCAD, and the Service Select program pushes down the annual upgrade cost even more
There is a learning curve for new employees, as regionally Vectorworks is not in wide use and generally not introduced in the academies
However, because it is more intuitive as far as WYSIWYG drawing, most people pick up the basics pretty quickly.
It's a really powerful suite of tools. Sometimes it's good to spend some time afforded by a larger project to explore ways to use the software more efficiently (e.g., improving worksheets, using different smart object tools, etc.)
