PTC Creo vs. Solid Edge

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
PTC Creo
Score 5.6 out of 10
N/A
PTC offers Creo, the company's line of computer-aided design (CAD) products that support the product lifecycle management (PLM) process with 2D and 3D design kits (Creo Elements and Creo Direct), an augmented reality module, Creo Illustrate for technical illustrations, Creo Sketch, Creo Schematics and Creo View for diagramming and sharing information, Creo simulate for running simulations, and other modules.
$2,480
Solid Edge
Score 8.2 out of 10
N/A
Solid Edge is a software solutions for product development — 3D design, simulation, manufacturing, data management, and cloud collaboration. Solid Edge aims to combine the speed and simplicity of direct modeling with the flexibility and control of parametric design.
$110
per month
Pricing
PTC CreoSolid Edge
Editions & Modules
Design Package
$2,480.00
Design and Drafting XaaS
$110.00
per month
Foundation XaaS
$267.00
per month
Classic XaaS
$335.00
per month
Premium XaaS
$481.00
per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
PTC CreoSolid Edge
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
PTC CreoSolid Edge
Features
PTC CreoSolid Edge
Computer-Aided Design Software
Comparison of Computer-Aided Design Software features of Product A and Product B
PTC Creo
4.0
Ratings
56% below category average
Solid Edge
-
Ratings
3D Modeling4.00 Ratings00 Ratings
2D Drafting1.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Rendering and Visualization6.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Parametric Design8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Collaboration and Sharing6.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Compatibility with other software and formats2.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Assembly Design3.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Documentation and Annotation2.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
PTC CreoSolid Edge
Small Businesses
Onshape
Onshape
Score 9.9 out of 10
Onshape
Onshape
Score 9.9 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Onshape
Onshape
Score 9.9 out of 10
Onshape
Onshape
Score 9.9 out of 10
Enterprises
Rhino
Rhino
Score 9.1 out of 10
Rhino
Rhino
Score 9.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
PTC CreoSolid Edge
Likelihood to Recommend
2.2
(0 ratings)
8.1
(0 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
5.3
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.0
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
PTC CreoSolid Edge
Likelihood to Recommend
I wouldn't suggest it to my worst enemy. My colleagues worked with other CADs and, in my experience, complain every day about this CAD, about how much things it doesn't have or do, etc. One of them keeps telling me, in their opinion, how even CREO Direct is far superior, easy to use, faster and better. In my opinion, it's a CAD that requires constant attention at what you do, how you do, when you do because it doesn't do it for you.
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For simple steel construction, it is great. When you want to do other stuff like electrical wiring, factory planning, etc. it's not great, and the solution you can buy does not fit our needs so we need to develop our own.
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Pros
  • PTC Creo contains many advanced tools with better optimization for creating part models and other production related drawings.
  • The initial concept designs can be done more adequately.
  • The parameters of 2D drawings can be changed easily by editing the 3D model.
  • The productivity can be increased by customized tools for modeling.
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  • Allows designers to work as they choose and not have to acclimate their work for the product's requirements. This results in productive use of Edge, thus an ROI for the company.
  • Manage large (high count of components) assemblies very well. Users spend little to no time trying to overcome speed issue with respect to assemblies.
  • Synchronous Design! This highly productive design process is unique to Edge and very addictive
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Cons
  • Providing guidance through using tools is lacking in Creo. There is a small area where the text is displayed at the bottom that is supposed to help guide you, but many times the guidance doesn't make sense.
  • Layers are a hassle in Creo. Unless you know how to set up your config file to do it automatically, you have to add each item to the appropriate layer.
  • There is a lack of automation in Creo. In some other CAD packages, you can add holes or the like on a pattern of features. Not so in Creo.
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  • Being used to 2-key and 3-key commands from the keyboard, it would be nice if this was more robust in Solid Edge. The capability of programming keystroke commands exists in Solid Edge, but it would be more user friendly in that regard.
  • Editing hatches can be a challenge.
  • I'm not a fan of the ribbon bar, but that seems to be a feature across software platforms in Windows.
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Usability
No answers on this topic
As mentioned previously, Siemens Solid Edge is not the most user-friendly of products at all. It requires intense training to make sure that the basics are understood, and after that, there are numerous other training interventions needed to be able to perform expert-level CAD functions. The GUI is not intuitive, as many other packages are, and the features built-in are not well defined. The process to use many of these features is counter-intuitive and requires a mind-shift.
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Support Rating
I liked the training manuals I used to learn some, as I didn’t have CAD background in college or before this job. My coworkers were able to share with me what they learned in PTC training and I was able to get support online and through reading.
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I have been involved with support and training of Solid Edge for 24 years. Given that I based my business model on support, and have been successful for all these years, I know excellent support. Siemens support for Solid Edge, "GTAC", is the definition of support for a product in every aspect.
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Alternatives Considered
PTC Creo is much better than other software at allowing collaboration across multiple users, even multiple plants/locations. We went from an older non-parametric industry standard software to PTC Creo because we could save massive amounts of time by using the parametric assembly features of PTC Creo along with the the Windchill drawing organization functions.
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SOLIDWORKS has a really intuitive interface for a traditional CAD package. It is easy to use, easy to learn and is perfectly suited for any user. Solid Edge lacks this ease of use. Autodesk Inventor is great for personal use as well as in small businesses. It is easy to learn, produces great models quickly and is very reasonably priced. My personal favourite, Onshape has redefined what CAD is meant to be, as well as the way in which it is meant to be used. It is highly functional, intuitive, and changes the way in which CAD is perceived by the user. It is much more interactive than traditional CAD packages.
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Return on Investment
  • Having PTC Creo as our primary tool positions us as forward thinking and creative in the eyes of our clients.
  • PTC Creo constantly evolves in the ability to increase our productivity; new capabilities and features are added, which reduce our level of effort for some tasks.
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  • We have purchased a server version of solid edge so for one license 6 people can operate it at a time which is economically all viable.
  • We have integrated it with PLM Teamcenter so we can share drawings and other files across other factories.
  • Solid edge is less famous than Solid Works so sometimes you have to convert it into step files.
  • It is very productive and easy to lean application for everyone.
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ScreenShots