BricsCADvs
V-Ray


V-Ray: Professional 3D rendering software

DWG-based CAD platform
As of 30 August 2026, BricsCAD starts at $29/month. BricsCAD is a powerful CAD software based on DWG format, offering 2D drafting, 3D modeling, BIM, and mechanical design capabilities. Softwr lists it under CAD. BricsCAD is made by Bricsys (Hexagon), launched in 2002, available on Windows, macOS, Linux.
Overview
BricsCAD is a powerful CAD software based on DWG format, offering 2D drafting, 3D modeling, BIM, and mechanical design capabilities.
The honest half
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about BricsCAD.
Cross-shopped
Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.


V-Ray: Professional 3D rendering software


Enscape: Real-time rendering plugin


FreeCAD: Open-source parametric 3D CAD modeler


KeyShot: Real-time 3D rendering and animation
Pricing
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
Lite
$550 /mo
Pro
$875 /mo
Ultimate
$1,575 /mo
Capabilities
DWG native
2D drafting
3D modeling
BIM
Sheet metal
Mechanical
LISP support
AutoCAD compatible
Integration with AutoCAD compatible
Revit IFC
Integration with Revit IFC
License management
License management security feature
Windows support
Available on Windows
MacOS support
Available on macOS
Answered, with sources
Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
Yes, BricsCAD offers a 30-day trial to 'Start designing in BricsCAD today'.
SourceYes, BricsCAD is available at no cost for students and schools.
SourceBricsCAD 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.
SourceBehind it
Keep looking
CAD and modelling platform for infrastructure design, and the file format the rest of Bentley runs on
Survey drafting and COGO on an IntelliCAD engine, sold outright rather than by subscription
Cloud CAD with a scripting language and a geometry engine exposed as an API
NURBS modeller bought once, built for designers rather than engineers
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Implicit computational design for lattices, heat exchangers and topology-driven parts
Free browser-based 3D design, electronics, and coding tool by Autodesk
Survey drafting and COGO on an IntelliCAD engine, sold outright rather than by subscription
Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for BricsCAD, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
What people switch to, and what they give up
Every tier, and where the cost actually lands
Put it head to head with anything we hold
Its rating, and an embed for your own site
The photogrammetry engine formerly called RealityCapture, free below a one million dollar revenue line
Free below a revenue threshold, then per seat per yearSurvey drafting and COGO on an IntelliCAD engine, sold outright rather than by subscription
One-time purchaseOpen source point cloud comparison and processing maintained largely by one person in their spare time
Open source, no licence feeSurvey and civil design CAD sold as a perpetual licence with optional maintenance
One-time purchasePhotogrammetry engine formerly sold as ContextCapture, now inside Bentley's iTwin line
quoteFinite element simulation built around coupling physics, with add-on modules licensed separately
quoteFree slicer for Bambu Lab 3D printers, funded entirely by hardware sales
Open source, no licence feeCAD and modelling platform for infrastructure design, and the file format the rest of Bentley runs on
Per user per year