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CAD · head to head

BricsCAD vs CloudCompare

BricsCAD logo

BricsCAD

CAD

DWG-based CAD platform

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
CloudCompare logo

CloudCompare

CAD

Open source point cloud comparison and processing maintained largely by one person in their spare time

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only CloudCompare has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: BricsCAD the Lite edition has no 3D modelling, surveying or point cloud support; CloudCompare the project is administered by its creator in his spare time while he holds a full-time job elsewhere, so an organisation building a monitoring programme on it depends on one person with no obligation to continue
  • They diverge on capability: BricsCAD covers DWG native, CloudCompare covers Cloud to cloud distance.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which BricsCAD and CloudCompare actually diverge.

Attributes where BricsCAD and CloudCompare differ
AttributeBricsCADCloudCompare
Starting price$29/monthFree
Pricing modelone-timeOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
Founded2002Unknown

Identical on both: platforms (Windows, MacOS, Linux), 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 BricsCAD

  • DWG native
  • 2D drafting
  • 3D modeling
  • BIM
  • Sheet metal
  • Mechanical
  • LISP support
  • AutoCAD compatible

Only in CloudCompare

  • Cloud to cloud distance
  • Cloud to mesh distance
  • Registration
  • Segmentation and cleaning
  • Plugin architecture
  • Format support
  • Command line mode

What people use each for

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

BricsCAD

  • 2D drafting as a DWG native alternative to AutoCADnot CloudCompare
  • 3D mechanical design and assembly modellingnot CloudCompare
  • BIM modelling and construction documentationnot CloudCompare

CloudCompare

  • A monitoring engineer comparing quarterly laser scans of a retaining wall to quantify movement without buying a proprietary deformation packagenot BricsCAD
  • A heritage team registering dozens of terrestrial scans of a building into a single cloud before meshingnot BricsCAD
  • A geomorphologist measuring erosion between two drone-derived surfaces of a river banknot BricsCAD
  • A survey technician cleaning and subsampling a scan before delivering it to a client whose software cannot handle the full densitynot BricsCAD

Where each one falls short

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

BricsCAD

  • The Lite edition has no 3D modelling, surveying or point cloud support
  • Lite is sold as a network licence only with a 5 seat minimum
  • Mechanical excludes BIM tools and BIM excludes mechanical and surveying tools, so cross discipline work needs Ultimate at 1,176 euro
  • Importing 3D geometry and PMI from other CAD systems requires the Communicator add on at 294 euro per year
  • Network licences require the customer to run their own licence server
  • Maintenance is included for the first year only and renewal is a separate annual charge on perpetual licences
  • Listed prices exclude local taxes
  • Bricsys now trades as Octave and the product site has moved to bricscad.octave.com

CloudCompare

  • The project is administered by its creator in his spare time while he holds a full-time job elsewhere, so an organisation building a monitoring programme on it depends on one person with no obligation to continue
  • There is no commercial support contract from anyone, so a defect that blocks a deliverable is resolved by a GitHub issue and community goodwill rather than by an agreement
  • Processing is single machine and memory bound, so very large aerial lidar collections must be tiled manually and large jobs are limited by the workstation rather than scaled out
  • The interface is unforgiving and organised around the underlying data structures rather than around tasks, so competent surveyors routinely take weeks to become productive
  • Plugins vary widely in maintenance, and several useful ones originated in research projects that have since ended, so a workflow built around a specific plugin can break at the next release

Pricing, plan by plan

BricsCAD

$29/month
  • Lite$550/month
    • 2D drafting
  • Pro$875/month
    • 2D + 3D
  • Ultimate$1575/month
    • All features

CloudCompare

Free
  • CloudCompareFree
    • GNU General Public Licence
    • No licence fee and no usage limits
    • No commercial support contract exists

Which should you pick?

Choose BricsCAD if

  • You need dwg native.
  • You work on Windows, MacOS, Linux.
  • You also want 2d drafting.
BricsCAD review

Choose CloudCompare if

  • You need cloud to cloud distance.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux.
  • You also want cloud to mesh distance.
CloudCompare review

Questions people ask

Is BricsCAD or CloudCompare better?
Neither clearly leads. BricsCAD starts at $29/month and CloudCompare at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, BricsCAD or CloudCompare?
CloudCompare has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $29/month for BricsCAD and Free for CloudCompare.
Does BricsCAD or CloudCompare run on more platforms?
BricsCAD runs on Windows, MacOS, Linux. CloudCompare runs on Windows, macOS, Linux.
Can I use CloudCompare for free?
Yes. CloudCompare has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. BricsCAD starts at $29/month.
What is BricsCAD best used for?
BricsCAD is most often used for 2d drafting as a dwg native alternative to autocad, 3d mechanical design and assembly modelling, bim modelling and construction documentation. Of those, 2d drafting as a dwg native alternative to autocad and 3d mechanical design and assembly modelling are not what CloudCompare is typically brought in for.
What can BricsCAD do that CloudCompare cannot?
BricsCAD covers DWG native, 2D drafting, 3D modeling, BIM. CloudCompare covers Cloud to cloud distance, Cloud to mesh distance, Registration, Segmentation and cleaning.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

BricsCAD: Does BricsCAD offer a trial?

Yes, BricsCAD offers a 30-day trial to 'Start designing in BricsCAD today'.

Source
CloudCompare: Who maintains CloudCompare?

Daniel Girardeau-Montaut, its creator, administers it in his own time alongside a full-time engineering job, with contributions from a community of users and research groups.

BricsCAD: Is BricsCAD free for any users?

Yes, BricsCAD is available at no cost for students and schools.

Source
CloudCompare: Can I buy support?

No. There is no vendor and no commercial support offering. Some geospatial consultancies know it well and can be hired, but they are not contracted to support the software itself.

BricsCAD: What product tiers does BricsCAD offer?

BricsCAD offers five tiers: Lite (essential 2D CAD), Pro (professional 2D & 3D CAD), Mechanical (2D & 3D mechanical CAD), BIM (2D & 3D building modeling), and Ultimate (integrated 2D & 3D for multiple disciplines). Specific pricing for each tier is not disclosed on the website.

Source
CloudCompare: Is it suitable for commercial deliverables?

It is widely used for them. The licence permits it and the algorithms are well regarded. The risk is operational, not legal: no support and no roadmap commitment.

CloudCompare: Can it handle a full aerial lidar survey?

Not in one piece. It is memory bound on a single machine, so large collections need tiling or a dedicated lidar pipeline such as PDAL.

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