TrustRadius Insights for DraftSight are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, third party data sources.
Pros
Cost-effectiveness: Many users have praised DraftSight for being an economical option compared to similar CAD software, making it a cost-effective choice for small businesses. Some reviewers have mentioned that the affordability of DraftSight played a significant role in their decision to choose it over other options.
Stability and performance: Users consistently mention that DraftSight is stable and reliable, with no crashes or technical issues. Several reviewers have specifically highlighted the software's stability, noting that they have not experienced any crashes while using it. This aspect has greatly contributed to the positive sentiment surrounding DraftSight.
Compatibility with AutoCAD: The ability of DraftSight to open both old and new DWG/DXF files has been highly appreciated by users. Many AutoCAD users feel that this feature makes the transition to DraftSight seamless and efficient. Additionally, several reviewers praise the inclusion of commonly used AutoCAD commands in DraftSight, which further enhances its compatibility with industry-standard drawing file types.
Handle customer graphic requirements of customers accurately and efficiently as it makes it easier to manage and share graphic files. we have short leadtime in some cases to bring the graphic to the printing operations to meet customer expected delivery dates while avoiding of errors that would be costly to us and our customers.
Pros
handling graphic files
share graphic files
send graphic files
identify issues
optimizing press approval of new products
Likelihood to Recommend
VU
Verified User
Director in Finance and Accounting (Packaging & Containers company, 1001-5000 employees)
We use it for Industrial automation design. We use it for complex wiring diagrams and industrial control panel layout.
Pros
Reads and writes Autocad files without a problem.
Flexible user interface with lots of options.
Good tools for 2D design.
Cons
The text search and replace is very crude and barely works. Needs a major revamping.
The layout tabs are very clunky and hard to use. Needs to be fixed.
DraftSight will fix a problem in one version, mess it up in another version, then fix it again later on. And so forth, and so forth, and so forth. Very poor software update control.
Likelihood to Recommend
We put it through its paces with our drawings and it works fine. We do a lot of wiring diagrams and industrial control panel layout drawings, so we use a lot of its 2D capabilities. I would not use it in a multi-user environment where you have multiple designers working on one project at a time. This software makes no provisions for allowing multiple users to work at the same time on the same drawing and has no native version control. And because of their poor software control, DraftSight many times put out versions that are "crashy", which would make a lot of people very unproductive very quickly. I would look at other products for larger projects like that.
We use CAD software to develop drawings for manufacturing. Mostly electrical panels, network diagrams, plant layout, P&ID (Process and Instrumentation Diagram), and many other documents for engineering.
Pros
Crashes
Doesn't work
N/A
Cons
Technical support
Diagnostic
Customer support
Likelihood to Recommend
The software doesn't work. They release a version that was broken and I used the free trial of that version. I ran it on an i7, 16GB RAM, and RTX30 series (powerful computer) but the application was crashing constantly. I lost unsaved work and wasted hours restarting the application, which did cost me a few hundred dollars on billable hours. I sent errors logs, which helped them to identify the issue that they claimed is now resolved in DraftSight 2022 SP1. Technical support seems to be overseas with broken English and difficulty reading English. After 14 days, they said there is a hotfix "DraftSight memory saturation hotfix" that could solve the problem. I asked for a trial license to try the fix but it was declined. Ask pratiksha.dahotre and gayatri.keskar for details. In summary, they released a broken version, which I helped to fix by providing feedback and error logs. They claimed it is fixed but I can't test it.
I mostly am reviewing drawings done by other engineers who use Autocad. I will make minor revisions and redline drawings for further work before issuing them to the client.
Pros
Easy to install.
Printing and making pdf views.
Opens many formats of drawings and easy to scan around on the drawing.
Cons
We need to use Autocad for other programs integration. For example ShipConstructor requires the use of Autocad.
We like to be able to do some simple structural analysis with add-on programs and we are not aware of any that work with DraftSight.
Likelihood to Recommend
Really good for reviewing and marking up drawings. Because we can't run add ons like Ship Constructor or Finite Elements, we need to use Autocad for those situations.
We use Draftsight to convert Solidworks Dxf drawings into valid .dwg files for our plasma table cutter crew to utilize to burn steel shapes. The plasma machine takes the .dwg files from Draftsight with no troubles and works very well. I do not use Draftsight to draft complicated parts or assemblies. I use Solidworks for all of our modeling and drafting, we only use draftsight for external applications.
Pros
Writing useful .dwg files
Lightweight footprint, easy to configure
The lower cost versus AutoCAD
Cons
Customization could be easier
Implementation over enterprise applications could be better
Customer service has been spotty
Likelihood to Recommend
Draftsight is perfect for converting Solidworks outputted .dxf files into the industry-standard .dwg format. We're able to use Solidworks and Draftsight together to produce drawings that 99.9% of the world can use. Draftsight could be better at automating some tasks, that'd be swell. Other than that, we're happy with how Draftsight incorporates into our drafting environment.
VU
Verified User
Employee in Engineering (Mechanical Or Industrial Engineering company, 51-200 employees)
We use DraftSight every day, with all my colleagues in the department. I think DraftSight is the best 2D CAD software, very simple to use but with a lot of tools and features. I use it since 2011 when I started my first job, and I had no problem with this software.
Pros
Simple to use.
A lot of features.
Very fast.
Cons
Is just a 2D CAD not 3D.
Likelihood to Recommend
Perfect for technical draw.
VU
Verified User
Employee in Engineering (Mechanical Or Industrial Engineering company, 11-50 employees)
We use Draftsight to produce plan view layout drawings for equipment sales. We use Solidworks for the design and engineering of the equipment we build. We have 4 users in our sales department that use Draftsight and 2 users in engineering that use Solidworks. We all work simultaneously therefore sharing a license isn't possible. The problem the product addresses is the cost for a small business. We have multiple people who use it part-time to produce layouts using basic functions. We need a low-cost solution.
Pros
Low cost.
Cons
Get rid of pop-up tools.
Program stalls/buffers on large drawings at times requiring reboots.
Likelihood to Recommend
Draftsight is well suited if you can afford lost time due to buffering/calculating/stalling. The cost may out weight the lost productivity but not the frustration. If initial cost is your biggest concern and CAD is only a part-time function then Draftsight is great. If CAD is your full-time function then Draftsight is less appropriate.
VU
Verified User
Manager in Manufacturing (Machinery company, 11-50 employees)
We use Draftsight to create dxf files for use in programming machine codes in the factory. Also used for creating geometry and wire paths for our wire edm machine.
Pros
2D geometry works very well.
Cons
For what we use Draftsight for, it works very well. Don't know how to improve.
I use DraftSight for any construction of special motorsport equipment like sensor brackets, or complete constructions like high-performance setup equipment, for example, setup wheels, setup tables, and many other products. Besides that, I am using DraftSight for planning special cases, frames, and holders for all motorsport equipment.
Pros
Handling
Performance
Price
Cons
3D
Support
Tutorials
Likelihood to Recommend
[One problem with DraftSight is that] it is not easy to get a direct contact person for specific information.
