IronCADvs
V-Ray


V-Ray: Professional 3D rendering software

Innovative 3D design software with drag-and-drop simplicity
As of 30 August 2026, IronCAD starts at $3500/one-time. IronCAD is a unique 3D CAD software that combines the power of traditional parametric and direct modeling with an intuitive drag-and-drop design approach. Softwr lists it under CAD. IronCAD is made by IronCAD LLC, launched in 1998, available on Windows.
Overview
IronCAD is a unique 3D CAD software that combines the power of traditional parametric and direct modeling with an intuitive drag-and-drop design approach. It features a comprehensive catalog of pre-built 3D shapes and intelligent parts that accelerate the design process. IronCAD supports multi-body design, assembly modeling, and seamless integration with other CAD formats, making it ideal for product designers and mechanical engineers.
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 IronCAD.
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.
IronCAD Design Collaboration Suite
$3,500 /one-time
IronCAD Ultimate
$6,000 /one-time
Capabilities
Hybrid parametric/direct modeling
Drag-and-drop design
Multi-body assemblies
Sheet metal tools
2D drafting
STEP
Integration with STEP
IGES
Integration with IGES
Parasolid
Integration with Parasolid
ACIS
Integration with ACIS
DWG/DXF
Integration with DWG/DXF
File encryption
File encryption security feature
Access controls
Access controls 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.
IronCAD's pricing page is not available. Contact IronCAD directly through their website for CAD software licensing and pricing information.
SourceBehind it
Keep looking
Open source parametric CAD with a constraint solver in a few megabytes
Cloud CAD with a scripting language and a geometry engine exposed as an API
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
NURBS modeller bought once, built for designers rather than engineers
Digital sculpting on tablets, bought once, with no account and no subscription
Implicit computational design for lattices, heat exchangers and topology-driven parts
The photogrammetry engine formerly called RealityCapture, free below a one million dollar revenue line
Free browser-based 3D design, electronics, and coding tool by Autodesk
Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for IronCAD, 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