Vectorworksvs
V-Ray


V-Ray: Professional 3D rendering software

Design software for the AEC industry
As of 30 August 2026, Vectorworks starts at $29/month. Vectorworks is a versatile BIM and CAD software that offers industry-specific solutions for architecture, landscape, and entertainment design professionals. Softwr lists it under CAD. Vectorworks is made by Vectorworks Inc. (Nemetschek), launched in 1985, available on Windows, macOS.
Overview
Vectorworks is a versatile BIM and CAD software that offers industry-specific solutions for architecture, landscape, and entertainment design professionals.
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 Vectorworks.
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.
Architect
$2,495 /mo
Landmark
$2,495 /mo
Design Suite
$3,295 /mo
Capabilities
BIM modeling
2D/3D design
Documentation
Rendering
GIS integration
Entertainment design
Landscape tools
Lumion
Integration with Lumion
Twinmotion
Integration with Twinmotion
Cinema 4D
Integration with Cinema 4D
Excel
Integration with Excel
License management
License management 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.
Vectorworks pricing is not displayed on its homepage. The vendor directs users to contact a distributor or reseller for subscription rates.
SourceVectorworks directs potential users to contact a distributor to inquire about trial versions. Trial availability is not mentioned on the website.
SourceVectorworks University offers customizable training through online seminars, regional classes, and onsite sessions, but pricing is not published on the website.
SourceBehind it
Keep looking
CAD and modelling platform for infrastructure design, and the file format the rest of Bentley runs on
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
Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Vectorworks, 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