CATIAvs
V-Ray


V-Ray: Professional 3D rendering software

World's leading solution for product design
As of 30 August 2026, CATIA's pricing is not published; the vendor quotes on request. CATIA is a multi-platform software suite for CAD, CAM, CAE, PLM and 3D developed by Dassault Systèmes, widely used in aerospace, automotive and industrial desig. Softwr lists it under CAD. CATIA is made by Dassault Systèmes, launched in 1981, available on Windows, Linux.
Overview
CATIA is a multi-platform software suite for CAD, CAM, CAE, PLM and 3D developed by Dassault Systèmes, widely used in aerospace, automotive and industrial design.
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 CATIA.
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
Capabilities
Surface modeling
Class A surfacing
Systems engineering
Simulation
Composites design
Electrical design
Knowledge-based engineering
ENOVIA PLM
Integration with ENOVIA PLM
SIMULIA
Integration with SIMULIA
DELMIA
Integration with DELMIA
3DEXPERIENCE
Integration with 3DEXPERIENCE
Enterprise security
Enterprise security security feature
Answered, with sources
Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
Pricing is not publicly displayed on CATIA's product page. Customers must contact Dassault Systèmes directly or visit user communities to obtain pricing information for CATIA licenses and subscriptions.
SourceNo free version or trial is mentioned on CATIA's product page. CATIA is described as a comprehensive commercial solution for product innovation, and no freemium option is referenced.
SourceBehind it
Timeline
CATIA Version 5 Release 8 launched
SourceKeep looking
CAD format conversion, validation and additive build preparation from a German independent
Computational fluid dynamics solver for turbulence, combustion and multiphase flow
Open source point cloud comparison and processing maintained largely by one person in their spare time
Innovative 3D design software with drag-and-drop simplicity
Free open source schematic capture and PCB layout with no seat, board size or layer limits
Survey drafting and COGO on an IntelliCAD engine, sold outright rather than by subscription
NURBS modeller bought once, built for designers rather than engineers
Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for CATIA, 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