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CAD · head to head

MicroSurvey CAD vs Zoo

MicroSurvey CAD logo

MicroSurvey CAD

CAD

Survey drafting and COGO on an IntelliCAD engine, sold outright rather than by subscription

From
$2945/one-time
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Zoo logo

Zoo

CAD

Cloud CAD with a scripting language and a geometry engine exposed as an API

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Zoo has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: MicroSurvey CAD dWG compatibility is file-level, not feature-level, so Civil 3D corridors, pipe networks and other object-enabled entities do not arrive intact and collaboration with engineering consultants remains awkward; Zoo the geometry engine runs entirely in Zoo's cloud and there is no offline mode, so an aircraft, a customer site with no guest wifi or an outage stops modelling work completely.
  • They diverge on capability: MicroSurvey CAD covers Coordinate geometry, Zoo covers KCL scripting.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which MicroSurvey CAD and Zoo actually diverge.

Attributes where MicroSurvey CAD and Zoo differ
AttributeMicroSurvey CADZoo
Starting price$2945/one-timeFree
Pricing modelOne-time purchasePer user per month
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWindowsWeb, Windows, macOS, Linux, API

Identical on both: 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 MicroSurvey CAD

  • Coordinate geometry
  • Traverse adjustment
  • Field data reduction
  • IntelliCAD drafting
  • Legal descriptions
  • Surface and contours
  • Point cloud viewing

Only in Zoo

  • KCL scripting
  • Design Studio
  • Design API
  • Zookeeper agent
  • Format conversion
  • Open source client

What people use each for

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

MicroSurvey CAD

  • A boundary surveying practice that wants to reduce field data, adjust the traverse and write the legal description in one packagenot Zoo
  • A firm that refuses to pay an AutoCAD subscription but must deliver DWG files clients can opennot Zoo
  • A survey office standardised on Leica total stations that wants instrument data flowing in without a translation stepnot Zoo
  • A two-person practice with irregular workload that wants to own its software outright rather than lose access if it stops payingnot Zoo

Zoo

  • A hardware startup that wants part models reviewed in pull requests alongside firmwarenot MicroSurvey CAD
  • A software team generating thousands of parametric part variants programmatically rather than by handnot MicroSurvey CAD
  • A SaaS product that needs to render and convert customer CAD files without licensing a geometry kernelnot MicroSurvey CAD
  • An engineer who models occasional brackets and enclosures and does not want a four figure annual seatnot MicroSurvey CAD

Where each one falls short

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

MicroSurvey CAD

  • DWG compatibility is file-level, not feature-level, so Civil 3D corridors, pipe networks and other object-enabled entities do not arrive intact and collaboration with engineering consultants remains awkward
  • Only one price is listed publicly, for the floating network licence, and the differences between the Standard, Premium and Ultimate editions are resolved through a reseller conversation rather than a published comparison
  • It is Windows only and the installed base is concentrated in North America, so support, training material and experienced staff are much harder to find elsewhere
  • IntelliCAD lags AutoCAD on newer drawing format features and on third party plug-in availability, so a firm depending on a specific AutoCAD add-in will not find an equivalent
  • MicroSurvey now sits inside Hexagon alongside Leica Geosystems, which means the product competes for investment with a much larger portfolio, and buyers of a perpetual licence should ask about the release cadence commitment before assuming years of updates

Zoo

  • The geometry engine runs entirely in Zoo's cloud and there is no offline mode, so an aircraft, a customer site with no guest wifi or an outage stops modelling work completely.
  • STEP and SLDPRT import are still labelled experimental, which means the most common way of receiving a supplier or customer model is the least reliable path into the tool.
  • Drawing production, GD&T and tolerance annotation are far behind SolidWorks, Creo and NX, so most users still need a second package to release a manufacturing drawing.
  • Zookeeper is billed in reasoning minutes rather than per seat, so a team cannot forecast next month's bill from headcount the way it can with conventional CAD subscriptions.
  • The open source label applies only to the Design Studio client; the kernel that does the modelling is closed and hosted, so forking the repository does not give you a product you can run yourself.

Pricing, plan by plan

MicroSurvey CAD

$2945/one-time
  • MicroSurvey CAD, floating network licence$2945/one-time
    • Perpetual licence, shared use with no USB dongle
    • Includes one year of maintenance and support
    • Standard, Premium and Ultimate editions differ in included modules
  • Edition upgrades and add-ons$undefined/one-time
    • Premium and Ultimate edition pricing quoted by MicroSurvey or a reseller
    • Point cloud and scanning modules priced separately
    • Reseller pricing varies by region

Zoo

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Design Studio access
    • About 20 minutes of Zookeeper reasoning per month
    • Around $10 of API calls included
  • Plus$20/month
    • Roughly 400 Zookeeper minutes per month
    • Pay as you go beyond the allowance
    • Design Studio and API access
  • Pro$99/month
    • Unlimited Zookeeper reasoning
    • Higher API allowance
    • Priority support

Which should you pick?

Choose MicroSurvey CAD if

  • You need coordinate geometry.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want traverse adjustment.
MicroSurvey CAD review

Choose Zoo if

  • You need kcl scripting.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, API.
  • You also want design studio.
Zoo review

Questions people ask

Is MicroSurvey CAD or Zoo better?
Neither clearly leads. MicroSurvey CAD starts at $2945/one-time and Zoo at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, MicroSurvey CAD or Zoo?
Zoo has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $2945/one-time for MicroSurvey CAD and Free for Zoo.
Does MicroSurvey CAD or Zoo run on more platforms?
MicroSurvey CAD runs on Windows. Zoo runs on Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, API.
Can I use Zoo for free?
Yes. Zoo has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. MicroSurvey CAD starts at $2945/one-time.
What is MicroSurvey CAD best used for?
MicroSurvey CAD is most often used for a boundary surveying practice that wants to reduce field data, adjust the traverse and write the legal description in one package, a firm that refuses to pay an autocad subscription but must deliver dwg files clients can open, a survey office standardised on leica total stations that wants instrument data flowing in without a translation step, a two-person practice with irregular workload that wants to own its software outright rather than lose access if it stops paying. Of those, a boundary surveying practice that wants to reduce field data, adjust the traverse and write the legal description in one package and a firm that refuses to pay an autocad subscription but must deliver dwg files clients can open are not what Zoo is typically brought in for.
What can MicroSurvey CAD do that Zoo cannot?
MicroSurvey CAD covers Coordinate geometry, Traverse adjustment, Field data reduction, IntelliCAD drafting. Zoo covers KCL scripting, Design Studio, Design API, Zookeeper agent.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

MicroSurvey CAD: Do I need AutoCAD to run it?

No. It is built on the IntelliCAD engine and reads and writes DWG natively without an Autodesk licence.

Zoo: Is Zoo the same company as KittyCAD?

Yes. KittyCAD renamed itself Zoo; the GitHub organisation is still KittyCAD and the scripting language KCL keeps the old initials.

MicroSurvey CAD: Is it a perpetual licence or a subscription?

Perpetual. The listed 2,945 US dollar licence includes one year of maintenance and support, after which maintenance is optional.

Zoo: Can I use Zoo without an internet connection?

No. The geometry engine is a cloud service, so Design Studio needs a live connection to model anything.

MicroSurvey CAD: Who owns MicroSurvey?

Hexagon, the same group that owns Leica Geosystems.

Zoo: Is Design Studio free?

There is a genuine free tier with a small monthly allowance of AI reasoning and API calls. Paid plans start at $20 per month.

MicroSurvey CAD: Will Civil 3D drawings open correctly?

The geometry will. Civil 3D object data such as corridors and pipe networks will not come through as editable objects.

Zoo: Can I replace SolidWorks with Zoo?

Not for drawing release, large assemblies or GD&T. Teams typically use Zoo for programmatic part generation and keep an established package for production documentation.

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