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How much does AutoCAD cost? Assessing whether or not it is worth it

CAD Lab World

How much is AutoCAD?

Highly priced or not?

Introduction

CAD software is used in many fields, such as architecture and civil engineering.

There are various CAD software programs out there, but AutoCAD is a well-known product with the highest market share in Japan due to its excellent performance characteristics.

So, when installing AutoCAD, the first point to consider is the cost.

  • How much does it cost to install?
  • Is it expensive or cheap compared to other products?
  • Is there a cheap way of installing it?
  • What is the best way to learn how to use the software?

In this article I answer all these questions about AutoCAD. Please take a look!

What is AutoCAD?

AutoCAD is a CAD software program for creating 2D drawings and 3D modelling developed and sold by Autodesk.

It is highly convenient CAD software that enables precise drawings and easy customization of commands.

There are various CAD software products, but AutoCAD is the most widely used CAD software in Japan and is very popular overseas too.

This suggests AutoCAD is an excellent product.

However, its cost might be your first concern when thinking of installing it. So let’s take look at how much it costs.

Price of AutoCAD

To access AutoCAD, you’ll need to subscribe to it. The price varies depending on your subscription: monthly, 1 year or years .

AutoCAD LT pricing is different to AutoCAD pricing.

AutoCAD is software to create 2D drawings and has 3D modelling features that can be applied in a variety of different fields.

AutoCAD LT is for creating 2D drawings and doesn’t have 3D modelling capabilities.

The table below shows the prices for the two products.

You might think that AutoCAD is quite expensive.

In particular, AutoCAD, which has 3D modelling capabilities, is much more expensive than AutoCAD LT which can only be used for creating 2D designs.

AutoCAD now includes tool sets with industry-specific features and libraries for architecture, mechanical design, electrical design and more.

Now that you know the price, you might want to compare it with other software.

Next, I’ll  show you the prices and features of other CAD software as a comparison.

Comparison with other CAD software

Autodesk, which makes AutoCAD, also has another 3D CAD software product called Inventor.

This has specifications for professional users and is particularly used in the field of mechanical design.

It enables precise and complex 3D modelling with a wide range of add-ons.

The subscription fee for this high-spec software is 296,000 yen / year.

That’s considerably more expensive than AutoCAD.

Besides Inventor, there are other high-spec products but all of them seem quite expensive.

Unless you need to do complex modelling and detailed design for mechanical engineering, AutoCAD is more than sufficient for you based on its cost and versatility.

AutoCAD can be less expensive for business use!

If you install AutoCAD for your business in Japan, you are eligible for an IT introduction subsidy.

This subsidy system is for contractors who meet certain conditions, enabling them to receive a subsidy up to 2/3 of the installation cost (200,000 – 1,000,000 yen).

AutoCAD from Autodesk is eligible for this subsidy in Japan, so you can use this benefit to install it.

The subscription fee for AutoCAD might not be particularly cheap for individuals, but if you use it for your business, it is much less expensive.

Courses for using AutoCAD at work

While AutoCAD is high-spec and practical, it’s difficult to operate intuitively. It takes a little time to learn how to operate it efficiently once you’ve installed it.

I spent a lot of time learning before I could use it effectively at work.

I did some self-learning and looked up information online, but it wasn’t always easy to find time to do this while working as well.

That’s why I suggest taking a course.

It’s a much faster way of learning AutoCAD than self-learning, particularly if: 

  • You are new to AutoCAD
  • You already use it at work and want to improve your skills
  • You feel you’ve reached the limit of self-learning and you want to improve your efficiency and learn some specialized operations.

You can learn what you want to in a course.

Learning more commands and add-ons will dramatically speed up your work rate and enable you to easily create more complex and detailed drawings.

It’s difficult to pick up this knowledge through  self-learning. I recommend taking a course because it will teach you techniques that you can apply immediately at work.

Rather than spending a lot of time and effort on self-study, taking a course is a faster way to improve your skills.

You can improve your work efficiency by upping your CAD skills, so why not think about it?.

Here is the link to our AutoCAD Basic course! >

Summary

In this article, I have told you the cost of AutoCAD, compared it with other software, explained the IT introduction subsidy system and recommended taking a course.

As I mentioned, AutoCAD is an excellent high-performance CAD software program.

Make sure you do some research on the type of software and type of subscription that best matches your usage requirements before installing them.

If you’re still unsure, you can take a course or ask Autodesk’s support center.

If you use it for business, there are ways to reduce the installation costs such as using the subsidy system, so make sure you check this beforehand.

Using AutoCAD can be difficult you’ve mastered it properly, so why not become an AutoCAD expert by taking a course?