CAD · pricing
Carlson Software pricing
Carlson Software publishes 3 tiers. Below is each one, what it adds over the tier beneath it, and where the ladder stops being worth climbing for most people.
As of 1 September 2026, Carlson Software pricing is $4450/one-time across 3 published tiers. Figures are the vendor's list prices as recorded on this page's last check; the vendor's site is the final word.
- Entry price
- $4450/one-time
- Model
- One-time purchase
- Tiers
- 3
- Free tier
- Not on record
Carlson Software plans, side by side
Every published tier in ascending order of price, with the number of features each one lists. An absence here means the record does not itemise it, not that the tier lacks it.
| Plan | Price | Features listed | Step up from the tier below |
|---|---|---|---|
| Civil Suite | $4450/one-time | 4 | Entry tier |
| Individual modules | On request | 3 | Priced on request |
| Annual maintenance | On request | 3 | Priced on request |
What each tier adds
The set difference between each tier's feature list and the one beneath it. Where a tier lists nothing new, the vendor has either stopped repeating the inherited list or the tier raises limits rather than adding capability, the record does not distinguish the two, so this page does not either.
Civil Suite
$4450/one-timeThe entry tier. It covers survey, civil, hydrology and gis modules, perpetual licence, intellicad engine included, annual maintenance optional at roughly 10 per cent of purchase price.
Individual modules
On requestOver Civil Suite, this tier adds:
- Survey, Civil, Hydrology, GIS or Takeoff purchased separately
- Pricing varies by module and reseller
Annual maintenance
On requestOver Individual modules, this tier adds:
- Approximately 10 per cent of purchase price
- Optional, software continues running without it
- Provides version updates and support
What the product covers
The full Carlson Software feature record, grouped as the catalogue groups it. This is the product as a whole; the record does not map every feature onto a specific tier.
Other
- Survey data reduction
- Civil design
- Hydrology
- GIS module
- Earthwork takeoff
- IntelliCAD engine included
- AutoCAD compatibility
- SurvCE field software
People bring Carlson Software in for a small surveying practice that wants to stop paying an annual civil 3d subscription and own its cad outright, a firm running mixed instrument brands in the field that needs data collector software not tied to one manufacturer, a civil consultancy doing road, site grading and stormwater design without needing an enterprise bim environment, a land development office that renews maintenance only in years when a release actually adds something it needs. If that is not the job you are buying for, the alternatives to Carlson Software are worth a look before you commit to a tier.
How that compares in CAD
Too few cad tools in this directory publish a starting price to quote a meaningful median, so the table below is a like-for-like list rather than a ranking.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Rated | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlson Software (this page) | $4450/one-time | One-time purchase | - | |
| RealityScan | Free, then $1250/year | Free below a revenue threshold, then per seat per year | - | vs Carlson Software |
| CloudCompare | Free | Open source, no licence fee | - | vs Carlson Software |
| Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler | On request | quote | - | vs Carlson Software |
| MicroSurvey CAD | $2945/one-time | One-time purchase | - | vs Carlson Software |
| Nomad Sculpt | On request | One-time purchase | - | vs Carlson Software |
| nTop | On request | quote | - | vs Carlson Software |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry, they are not reviews hosted on Softwr. How each figure is used is set out on the Carlson Software badges page.
Before you pay for Carlson Software
Three things this page cannot tell you, and all three change the bill. The record carries a price and a billing period but not the unit - per-seat and flat-rate pricing are indistinguishable in this data, so a five-person team may be looking at five times the figure above. It carries no annual rate, so any discount for paying yearly is not something this page can quote. And it carries no trial length.
What it can tell you is the shape of the ladder: 3 tiers between $4450/one-time and On request, with the jump itemised above. With no free tier on record, the cheapest way to answer the rest is to compare Carlson Software against the tools that do have one before committing.
Carlson Software runs on windows, and is published by Carlson Software of Maysville, Kentucky, United States. The full record is on the Carlson Software review, and the rest of the category is under best cad tools.
Carlson Software pricing questions
- How much does Carlson Software cost?
- Carlson Software publishes 3 tiers, from $4450/one-time for Civil Suite up to On request for Annual maintenance. The cheapest paid tier is $4450/one-time.
- Does Carlson Software have a free plan?
- Not on the record we hold: Carlson Software is listed as One-time purchase. Whether a free trial is offered is not something this record captures, so check the vendor's site.
- What is the difference between Civil Suite and Individual modules on Carlson Software?
- Individual modules costs On request against $4450/one-time, and adds survey, civil, hydrology, gis or takeoff purchased separately, pricing varies by module and reseller.
- Is the Annual maintenance plan on Carlson Software worth it?
- That depends entirely on whether you need what it adds, which on the published record is approximately 10 per cent of purchase price, optional, software continues running without it, provides version updates and support. It costs On request against $4450/one-time for Civil Suite. Softwr has not used either tier, so this page can tell you what changes, not whether it is worth the difference to you.
- Which cad tools can I use without paying?
- 3 of the 8 cad tools listed alongside Carlson Software have a free tier: RealityScan, CloudCompare, SolveSpace.
- What am I actually paying for with Carlson Software?
- The record lists 8 features across 1 area: other. In practice it is brought in for a small surveying practice that wants to stop paying an annual civil 3d subscription and own its cad outright, a firm running mixed instrument brands in the field that needs data collector software not tied to one manufacturer, a civil consultancy doing road, site grading and stormwater design without needing an enterprise bim environment.
- Does Carlson Software charge per user?
- The record carries a price and a billing period for each of its 3 tiers, but not the unit that price is charged in. Per-seat and flat-rate billing look identical in this data, so check the vendor's page before budgeting for a team.
- Are these Carlson Software prices current?
- They are what the catalogue entry holds, refreshed when the entry is. Vendors change pricing without notice and nobody at Softwr re-verifies each tier by hand, so treat this as a structured summary and the vendor's own pricing page as the authority.
- What should I compare Carlson Software against before paying?
- The closest cad tools in this directory are RealityScan, CloudCompare, Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler, MicroSurvey CAD. Each has a side-by-side comparison with Carlson Software covering price, platforms and features.