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CAD · head to head

Inventor vs Bentley MicroStation

Inventor logo

Inventor

CAD

Professional-grade 3D mechanical design

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Bentley MicroStation logo

Bentley MicroStation

CAD

CAD and modelling platform for infrastructure design, and the file format the rest of Bentley runs on

From
$2284/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Inventor pricing shown as template variables on the page, suggesting dynamic or region-specific pricing; Bentley MicroStation bentley licensing has a history of usage-based true-ups, where running the software beyond your entitlement is permitted at the time and invoiced later, so finance teams get bills nobody in the design office authorised.
  • They diverge on capability: Inventor covers Parametric modeling, Bentley MicroStation covers DGN modelling.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Inventor and Bentley MicroStation actually diverge.

Attributes where Inventor and Bentley MicroStation differ
AttributeInventorBentley MicroStation
Starting price$29/month$2284/year
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer user per year
Founded1982Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), platforms (Windows), user rating (Not yet rated), category (CAD).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Inventor

  • Parametric modeling
  • Assembly design
  • Sheet metal
  • Simulation
  • Rendering
  • Technical documentation
  • Frame generator
  • AutoCAD

Only in Bentley MicroStation

  • DGN modelling
  • DWG editing
  • Reality modelling
  • Parametric components
  • Drawing composition
  • Visualisation
  • MDL and .NET APIs
  • iTwin publishing

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Inventor

  • Mechanical designnot Bentley MicroStation
  • Product developmentnot Bentley MicroStation
  • Manufacturing documentationnot Bentley MicroStation

Bentley MicroStation

  • A civil consultancy bidding on state DOT or national highways work that mandates DGN deliverables and issues a MicroStation workspacenot Inventor
  • A rail or utility owner-operator maintaining decades of legacy DGN drawings that would lose data in a DWG round tripnot Inventor
  • An engineering firm standardising on OpenRoads or OpenBuildings, which require the MicroStation platform underneathnot Inventor
  • A survey or asset team draping design geometry over point clouds and reality meshes for existing-conditions worknot Inventor

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Inventor

  • Pricing shown as template variables on the page, suggesting dynamic or region-specific pricing
  • No clear pricing information readily available on the overview page

Bentley MicroStation

  • Bentley licensing has a history of usage-based true-ups, where running the software beyond your entitlement is permitted at the time and invoiced later, so finance teams get bills nobody in the design office authorised.
  • It is Windows only, with no macOS or Linux build and no browser client, which rules it out for studios that have standardised on Mac hardware.
  • The user base is far smaller than AutoCAD's, so hiring a MicroStation operator is harder and slower in most markets and contract staff command a premium.
  • Value depends almost entirely on whether your clients mandate DGN; outside infrastructure and government work you are paying several times the price of mainstream CAD for a format nobody asks you for.
  • Agency workspaces, seed files and configuration variables make deployment a specialist job, and a firm working for several agencies ends up maintaining multiple incompatible configurations.

Pricing, plan by plan

Inventor

$29/month
  • Inventor$2085/month
    • Full mechanical design
    • Simulation
    • Documentation
  • Product Design & Manufacturing Collection$2475/month
    • Inventor + AutoCAD + more

Bentley MicroStation

$2284/year
  • Virtuoso Subscription$2284/year
    • Single-user MicroStation licence
    • Bentley Keys redeemable for training, mentoring or consulting
    • Bought through Bentley's eStore with a card
  • Practitioner or Enterprise licence$undefined/year
    • Term or perpetual licence sold direct by Bentley
    • Perpetual purchase requires an ongoing SELECT maintenance subscription
    • Volume and enterprise agreements with pooled licence usage

Which should you pick?

Choose Inventor if

  • You need parametric modeling.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want assembly design.
Inventor review

Choose Bentley MicroStation if

  • You need dgn modelling.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want dwg editing.
Bentley MicroStation review

Questions people ask

Is Inventor or Bentley MicroStation better?
Neither clearly leads. Inventor starts at $29/month and Bentley MicroStation at $2284/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Inventor or Bentley MicroStation?
Inventor starts at $29/month and Bentley MicroStation at $2284/year.
Does Inventor or Bentley MicroStation run on more platforms?
Both run on Windows, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Inventor best used for?
Inventor is most often used for mechanical design, product development, manufacturing documentation. Of those, mechanical design and product development are not what Bentley MicroStation is typically brought in for.
What can Inventor do that Bentley MicroStation cannot?
Inventor covers Parametric modeling, Assembly design, Sheet metal, Simulation. Bentley MicroStation covers DGN modelling, DWG editing, Reality modelling, Parametric components.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Inventor: How much does Autodesk Inventor cost?

Autodesk Inventor pricing is not displayed on the overview page. Monthly and annual subscription options are available, including single-year and multi-year terms. Customers can access pricing through their Autodesk Account or contact sales.

Source
Bentley MicroStation: Can MicroStation open and save DWG files?

Yes, it edits DWG natively rather than importing it. Fidelity is good but not perfect on complex dynamic blocks and some annotation styles, so a DWG-mandated deliverable is still safer produced in AutoCAD.

Inventor: Is there a free trial for Autodesk Inventor?

Yes, Autodesk offers a 30-day free trial of Inventor. You can start your project and try the software for free during this period.

Source
Bentley MicroStation: Is there still a perpetual licence?

Yes, Bentley still sells perpetual licences alongside term and Virtuoso subscriptions, but a perpetual licence needs an annual SELECT subscription to receive updates and support, so it is not a one-off cost.

Bentley MicroStation: Do I need MicroStation if I have OpenRoads Designer?

No. The Open products include the MicroStation platform, so buying both separately is duplicate spend.

Bentley MicroStation: What is a Bentley Key?

A prepaid token bundled with a Virtuoso subscription that you redeem for training, mentoring or consulting hours. Unused keys are a real cost if nobody in the team books the sessions.

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