SOLIDWORKS vs. TurboCAD

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
SOLIDWORKS
Score 8.4 out of 10
N/A
Dassault Systemes offers SOLIDWORKS, a computer-aided design (CAD) system for education and manufacturing supporting 2D or 3D design, electrical design, simulations, and product development with collaboration tools.
$1,295
per year
TurboCAD
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
TurboCAD is 2D and 3D CAD software sold in many different editions, including Deluxe, Expert, and ProPlatinum.N/A
Pricing
SOLIDWORKSTurboCAD
Editions & Modules
Solidworks Annual Subscription
1,295
per year
Solidworks Standard
3,996
per standalone license
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
SOLIDWORKSTurboCAD
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
SOLIDWORKSTurboCAD
Features
SOLIDWORKSTurboCAD
Computer-Aided Design Software
Comparison of Computer-Aided Design Software features of Product A and Product B
SOLIDWORKS
7.7
Ratings
8% above category average
TurboCAD
9.0
Ratings
23% above category average
3D Modeling9.30 Ratings00 Ratings
2D Drafting7.80 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Rendering and Visualization7.50 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Parametric Design6.00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Collaboration and Sharing8.00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Compatibility with other software and formats9.30 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Assembly Design7.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Simulation and Analysis7.00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Documentation and Annotation7.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Customization and Extensions7.80 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
SOLIDWORKSTurboCAD
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 9.0 out of 10
Rhino
Rhino
Score 9.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
SOLIDWORKSTurboCAD
Likelihood to Recommend
9.2
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.5
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
5.2
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
SOLIDWORKSTurboCAD
Likelihood to Recommend
As a mechanical engineer, it is one of the best tools to just start modeling and engineering with. The UI tools are intuitive and engineering analysis such Mold Analysis, FEA, are great! Other 3D CAD modeling tools have a longer learning curve to master. All in all, if you're not planning to design an entire airplane with large assembly files, then Solidworks is your tool!
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It is fully capable of all the design work you can give it. I have even designed houses with it. Turbo CAD Pro Platinum is all I have used for going on 3 years now. I don't know if other versions can do or can't do. If you are a graphic designer, you would need to port the files to a higher end program to manipulate the colors and renderings. For engineering and in-house work it is perfect.
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Pros
  • The collaborative work environment is a cool and useful feature where groups of people can work on the same model at the same time, and SOLIDWORKS ensures that you don't overwrite each other's work.
  • The ease and amount of customization options are very useful for creating a personalized and intuitive user interface, whether SOLIDWORKS is your native CAD package or not.
  • It is very easy to quickly edit a model you have already created. The software allows sketch and feature editing without having to take the time to actually enter the sketch/feature environment.
  • The use of configurations and configurations-specific dimensions in the same sketch is very useful for creating different forms of the same part
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  • Good scale tools
  • Easy to pick up
  • The exporter
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Cons
  • To date, the baked in surfacing tools lack power compared to dedicated surfacing software.
  • In a similar vein, the core modeling kernel is not owned by SOLIDWORKS themselves and so there exists limitations with regards to implementing certain modeling/math.
  • SOLIDWORKS is playing catchup to other online vendors of CAD (notable OnShape); instead of being the once leader, they are being forced to compare themselves. This, however, may work to their advantage and in turn allow them to produce a better on-line CAD tool.
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  • Shortcut keys more in line with AutoCAD.
  • 3D rendering could be simpler.
  • Updated interface.
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Likelihood to Renew
We have absolutely no reasons to not keep with SolidWorks for the foreseeable future.
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No answers on this topic
Usability
I have been using SOLIDWORKS for around 12 years as of writing this review, so have learned where most things are and how they work. When first starting out it was quite daunting, but the interface is well laid out with like functions near each other which made finding new functions relatively easy.
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TurboCAD does all of the things we need it to do and some. The wide variety of options to create specificity in each of our projects is a large plus. The reason it was given a 9 is because the learning curve can be a little steep and sometimes certain processes are not as intuitive as they could be
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Support Rating
We have an unusual arrangement. We don’t pay for support, but we’re partnered with a VAR for second-tier support.
I work with other users if I have questions but when we’ve had to ask the VAR, they always have answers. It appears that all of the VARs have access to a support platform from DS SOLIDWORKS that helps them answer most questions.
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No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Onshape is a direct competitor. It has great entry level pricing and it is easy to access with no installation required. Being a web based app there is sometime some lag being based in NZ. Management also have concerns over where the data is stored on the cloud. With SW we can control where it is stored
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TurboCAD is a well-priced solution for a small business, it comes standard with 3D modeling compared to DraftSight which does not. The user interface could be updated along with industry-standard shortcut keys but for the number of drawings we do, this package fills the gap. The DXF / DWG feature could be worked on too, as above, trying to get in line with other packages like AutoCAD & DraftSight would make the whole package better. All in all, I believe that TurboCAD has a valid foothold in the CAD industry.
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Return on Investment
  • Hard to answer directly. Given our customer's needs, we absolutely have to have SW to open their file types.
  • Given the relatively limited use we need at our company, it would be useful to have a cheaper option that was more stripped down but still had some capabilities. Something in-between SW and eDrawings, for example. SW is very capable and expensive, eDrawings is free and super limited. Would be nice to have a middle option.
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  • Our maps stand above other business in our same field
  • The quality and clarity of the maps allow for more precise budgeting
  • Once it the process and program was understood it would take a good hour off of our projects
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ScreenShots