AutoCAD Construction Reviews & Insights

Score7.9 out of 10

559 Reviews and Ratings

Community insights

TrustRadius Insights for AutoCAD are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, third party data sources.

Business Problems Solved

AutoCAD is a versatile software widely used in various industries for its ability to create detailed 2D and 3D models. Many users rely on AutoCAD for Bim modeling, specifically for creating 3D models of building services like HVAC, plumbing, and fire protection. Engineers and architects appreciate its features in preparing engineering drawings, such as spool drawings, 2D sheets for construction sites, and detailed connections of plumbing and HVAC. Its ease of use and fast documentation make it a favorite among professionals for managing multiple project drawings.

AutoCAD is highly regarded for its role in architectural and interior projects, allowing designers to create high-quality and easy-to-interpret engineering drawings. Architects, engineers, and designers also utilize AutoCAD to exchange files between teams seamlessly. The software's versatility extends beyond construction-related projects as well; it is used for vehicle turn radius studies, traffic flow analysis, PCB mechanical drawings, panel forms, electrical meter items in 2D, and editing and cleaning up drawings received from customers.

Additionally, AutoCAD plays a primary role in design teams' processes by producing engineering drawings for client approval and construction purposes. It is also extensively used in educational settings to prepare students for their field of study. Its applications reach beyond designing and drafting; AutoCAD is utilized in laser cutting for precise design verification before sending the designs to the laser cutter. With compatibility with other file formats and seamless integration with other Autodesk software packages, AutoCAD has become a staple tool in many organizations across different disciplines.

AutoCAD Reviews

21 Reviews

ConstructionConstruction13Civil Engineering7Building Materials1

Great tool that is reliable and simple

Rating: 8 out of 10

Incentivized

August 21, 2024

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

I am a VDC senior manager in the BIM department of a general contractor. We use AutoCAD when dealing with subcontractor models. I mostly use it to manipulate an existing model. I have subs who use AutoCAD for all of their 3D modeling and I wonder why they don't just use Revit. The AutoCAD plugin, Hydracad, is still preferred by fire protection subs.

Pros

Simple linework modeling
understanding coordinate systems in Revit
large scale formatting and printing

Cons

I don't see room for improvement. AutoCAD is an excellent tool, but I do think that Revit is replacing it for a lot of applications.

Likelihood to Recommend

AutoCAD is great for large-scale printing, simple drawing, and manipulating exports from Revit to understand coordinate systems. We often use AutoCAD to create overlays that we then take into Navisworks. Understanding AutoCAD is crucial when working with subcontractor models. I have subs who only work in AutoCAD and I use it to make sure their models will work in my process.

Gautham Prasad

Senior VDC Manager in Engineering at Messer Construction Company (Construction, 1001-5000 employees)

Vetted Review

10 years of experience

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AutoCAD stability is great.

Rating: 5 out of 10

Incentivized

June 27, 2024

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use AutoCAD for structural steel detailing and custom fabrication design/detailing. The biggest issue for AutoCAD is the price point, with other programs available at a significantly lower price. AutoCAD is very stable and doesnt have the quirky bugs that the other programs have, but at ten times the cost, it makes it difficult to justify its ROI.

Pros

Easy to use.
Stable
Simple 3D.

Cons

price
price
price

Likelihood to Recommend

AutoCAD is very customizable, and LISP routines are easy to write and incorporate into the software. Without the LISP routines, it would just be cumbersome and not very helpful in speeding up the drawing process. Compared to other programs available, the cost per year is prohibitive for small businesses or individuals.

David Yerks

Estimator/Project Manager in Engineering at Bills Custom Fab, Inc. (Construction, 11-50 employees)

Vetted Review

25 years of experience

View profile

A review of AutoCAD

Rating: 9 out of 10

Incentivized

September 18, 2023

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use AutoCAD for 2D drafting, and creating drawing deliverables for multiple clients. We import data from other engineering/design programs that don't have great (or any) drafting capabilities to output clean, readable prints for clients to use in office or out on site. AutoCAD accepts many different inputs and allows for great collaboration between other disciplines.

Pros

Design and Drafting
Site Planning
Quantity Estimation
Visualisation and Rendering

Cons

User Interface Customisation: AutoCAD's user interface could benefit from more robust customisation options. Allowing users to rearrange toolbars, menus, and panels according to their specific workflows and preferences would enhance productivity.
Enhanced 3D Modeling Tools: While AutoCAD is capable of 3D modeling, it's not as intuitive or feature-rich as dedicated 3D modeling software. Streamlining the process and adding more advanced modeling tools would be a welcome improvement.
Enhanced Collaboration and Version Control: AutoCAD could improve its collaboration tools, such as real-time editing and version tracking, to facilitate smoother teamwork, especially in multi-disciplinary projects.
Intelligent Object Libraries: AutoCAD could benefit from an expanded and more intelligent library of standard objects and components. This would save time for designers who often have to create custom components from scratch.

Likelihood to Recommend

I think AutoCAD is great for creating precise site plans that show the layout of buildings, roads, parking lots, and other features on a piece of land. you can use it for designing roads and highways, including lane configurations, intersections, signage, and pavement markings, as well as for designing utility systems like water, sewer, and stormwater drainage. Engineers can create detailed layouts and profiles for these systems. However, I think it is less appropriate for advanced 3D modelling tasks compared to dedicated 3D modelling software, BIM (Building Information Modelling), advanced geospatial analysis.

Verified User

Professional in Engineering (Civil Engineering company, 10,001+ employees)

Vetted Review

14 years of experience

AutoCAD Review

Rating: 7 out of 10

Incentivized

July 10, 2023

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

AutoCAD is one of the most used software for desigining and and preparing the civil Engineering design in my firm. As of AutoCAD I use it daily for projects. The pros of software are- It helped me prepare drawings on large scale with ease and in short period of time. the commands are easily acessible. Most of the basic drawings or say the first ever drawing of project to be prepare is done on AutoCAD. And the cons I would like to say is a large projects gets hang using hatches on large scale and aslo the 3D modelling in AutoCAD also lags some time with respective of quantity of project. the hatch lag is the most problem I face. I hope it changes soon

Pros

Well I love the way its all commands work
The Layers and properties style is very helpful for differentation
The page setup and Layout styles plus the use of dynamic Blocks

Cons

It need to work on lags caused due to Hatches
Need to work on 3D modelling material renders and its animations
Also for 3D modelling it has to prepare some easy shortcuts keys abd the command acces

Likelihood to Recommend

Well for me I regulary use AutoCAD as I all my clients prefer AutoCAD to complete their drawings. So based on Data AotoCAD is used for Engineering Designs and most use it as logo provigind service as well. So mostly AutoCAD is used as Desigining and drafting software as you can Draft anything using it. Well the less appropiate for creating 3D models as pepole prefer high defination details of models so. i wouls say a 3D model in AutoCAD would be less useful.

Osman Shaikh

Design Engineer in Engineering at Indovance (Civil Engineering, 501-1000 employees)

Vetted Review

3 years of experience

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Basic of Cad with Autocad

Rating: 9 out of 10

Incentivized

March 31, 2022

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We used AutoCAD for Bim modeling purposes. We create 3D models of building services like HVAC, plumbing, fire protection from this software. We create a spool drawing and 2d sheet for the construction site and a 2d sheet for detailed connection of plumbing and HVAC. We are using AutoCAD for basic training in designing.

Pros

HVAC duct design and modeling.
Fire protection pipe design and modeling and same for plumbing.
2D sheet creation and spool drawing.

Cons

Software charges i think this software is to be free for learning purpose.
Student version should be add some more features.
Model should be glue with Bim blue like Revit.

Likelihood to Recommend

This is a good platform to work and learn. We can do business in the BIM field like a whole project of modeling and creation of 2d sheets for constant and creating 3d models for coordination in Navisworks. We can give training to our trainees from this software because of its simple interface.

Abhijeet Kumar

Executive Engineer in Engineering at Pinnacle Infotech (Construction, 1001-5000 employees)

Vetted Review

2 years of experience

View profile

Well oriented tool

Rating: 8 out of 10

Incentivized

December 27, 2021

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

This is one of the best software for preparing engineering drawings. It has many features for preparing drawings for clients. 1. Preparing 2D & 3D drawings which are good for drafting. 2. Conversation to pdf option is available. 3. One can easily share or upload the AutoCAD Design file with multiple people. 4. I can make engineering plans using AutoCAD. 5. Every detail of the plan can be shown using this software.

Pros

2D & 3D Drafting.
Its interface is user-friendly.
Boundless area to create and design.

Cons

Using it for 3D models isn't easy and quite difficult.
While transferring Data from some other design software to AutoCAD, the layers won't be addressed correctly.

Likelihood to Recommend

If you are planning for 2D drafting, then AutoCAD is the best option such as designing buildings, infrastructure, HVAC & MEP all related civil works. One of the amazing benefits is a boundless area to create and design anything you would like to do. Limitless possibilities for different designs. Unfortunately, using it for 3D models isn't easy and quite difficult since you need to add for each item a certain block, hence you will have a family. Using it for 3D projects won't help too much and clients don't like presenting their projects " if it was 3D" using AutoCAD.

Mahmoud obaid

Graduate Mechanical Engineer in Engineering at AECOM (Civil Engineering, 201-500 employees)

Vetted Review

5 years of experience

View profile

Flexible and easy drafting CAD with the most powerful features.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Incentivized

June 21, 2021

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

I utilize AutoCAD for easy super fast engineering documentation, easy to manage multiple project drawings. On 2D drawing and drafting I recommend the tool to any engineers out there for a great drafting experience. AutoCAD also can be relied on for easy drawing, detailing and editing.

Pros

The easy drafting experience.
Engineering 2D documentation capability.
Easy implementation of the CAD tool.

Cons

Ability to import large files.
Large 3D design manipulation.
Misbehaving especially when installed on a less specifications machine.

Likelihood to Recommend

AutoCAD capabilities like drafting and drawings detailing are effective and useful on project drawing detailing, and also 2D drawings production for various engineering projects. Importing other CAD tools files and the engineering project document and drawing management.

Joyce Williams

Mechanical Design Engineer in Engineering at Epiroc (Civil Engineering, 10,001+ employees)

Vetted Review

3 years of experience

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Best 2D software ever!!!

Rating: 10 out of 10

Incentivized

May 11, 2021

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

AutoCAD is used on a large scale by hundreds of users. Basically, everyone is using 2D; some users also use Inventor for 3D needs. Some departments use AutoCAD to create detail and elevation drawings, other departments create [a] plan and title sheets, and others work on embedded files. All of these mentioned above are 2D drawings as required by architects. AutoCAD is also used to create sheet sets [that manage] the documentation very well. This workflow proved to be one of the best management solution[s] for Autocad. You can also use Vault Professional to escalate your management needs to the next level. AutoCAD / Vault workflow is great!

Pros

Dimensioning
Paper space
Layout plans
Good sofwtare to open any 2D dwg used in other software
Sheet set

Cons

It needs more help in 3D world, eventually some parametric support
Better connection with Revit or Inventor
Dynamic blocks could get some updates
Parameters can be more developed; excel capabilities could be added
Sheet set could be more evolved to support a workflow involving data management

Likelihood to Recommend

AutoCAD is the best solution for a 2D drawing; also [a] great tool for a layout design. Our people create proficient details and elevation drawings without any difficulty. Some users use parameters to make it smarter and update faster. Excel capabilities could be added to enhance the results. AutoCAD provides a great solution in management files by using Sheet Set. Also using Vault Data management could be a viable solution. Using templates in AutoCAD is a MUST. If you [don't] use them you lose a lot. That automates your workflow adding stability to your work.
AutoCAD can be used as 2D sketches in Inventor to create 3D parts. AutoCAD drawings can be copied or referenced so the established relation helps the 3D to be automatically updated when AutoCAD 2D drawing changes.

radu stancescu

IT in Information Technology at Mitek (Construction, 1001-5000 employees)

Vetted Review

15 years of experience

2d drawing simple and easy. Industry standard software very powerful and affordable.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Incentivized

April 1, 2021

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use it to edit and clean up drawings we get from customers that draw projects in Revit. We also use it to draw 2D plans for walk-in customers that want a shed or a house that doesn't get too complicated. It is easier to train new employees on then some other software we have been using.

Pros

Easy to clean up drawings of unwanted layers.
Great how to videos when you have a question and hover over an icon.
Easy to use and learn.
Last but not least, you can get map data to scale when you want to create a site plan.

Cons

Sometimes I would like to delete certain layers that have things drawn on it and it will not let me do that. It would delete the layer and entities on it. A huge thumbs down on that.

Likelihood to Recommend

It is easy to learn to use and navigate. It is a very powerful 2d drawing program to lay in flat work. A feature I would like is be able to delete layers that have stuff drawn on them. If you are stuck on how to do something, hover over the icon and a short how to video will start playing.

Matt Wipf

Wood Truss Designer in Manufacturing at GR Truss & Components LLC (Building Materials, 51-200 employees)

Vetted Review

8 years of experience

View profile

Great design tool for your MEP projects

Rating: 8 out of 10

Incentivized

February 18, 2020

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

AutoCAD is used widely in my organization for design and development purposes. It is used to develop drawings for various disciplines such as mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire alarm systems, fire safety, technology, security, etc. It is rarely used to view drawings developed in 3-D view but in some instances comes in handy.

Pros

User friendly interface.
Ease of commands.

Cons

3-D view.
Slow to operate.

Likelihood to Recommend

AutoCAD is well suited for applications that involve easy and simple floor plan drawings. It can also be used for developing various disciplines in one file. It is not recommended to use AutoCAD for applications that involve intense design drawings and applications where the user needs to design 3-D view.

Brij Purohit

Technology Design Engineer in Engineering at P2S Inc. (Construction, 51-200 employees)

Vetted Review

3 years of experience

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A review of AutoCAD

Rating: 9 out of 10

Incentivized

September 18, 2023

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Pros

Design and Drafting
Site Planning
Quantity Estimation
Visualisation and Rendering

Cons

User Interface Customisation: AutoCAD's user interface could benefit from more robust customisation options. Allowing users to rearrange toolbars, menus, and panels according to their specific workflows and preferences would enhance productivity.
Enhanced 3D Modeling Tools: While AutoCAD is capable of 3D modeling, it's not as intuitive or feature-rich as dedicated 3D modeling software. Streamlining the process and adding more advanced modeling tools would be a welcome improvement.
Enhanced Collaboration and Version Control: AutoCAD could improve its collaboration tools, such as real-time editing and version tracking, to facilitate smoother teamwork, especially in multi-disciplinary projects.
Intelligent Object Libraries: AutoCAD could benefit from an expanded and more intelligent library of standard objects and components. This would save time for designers who often have to create custom components from scratch.

Likelihood to Recommend

Verified User

Professional in Engineering (Civil Engineering company, 10,001+ employees)

Vetted Review

14 years of experience