Which CAD software should an engineering office choose?

In short:

1. Seven CAD software packages dominate the professional offering for engineering offices: SolidWorks, CATIA, Creo, Autodesk Inventor, Autodesk Fusion, Solid Edge and TopSolid.
2. Public prices recorded in France in October 2026 range from €708 incl. VAT per year (Fusion) to €7,080 per year (CATIA Mechanical Essential), with SolidWorks between €3,480 and €5,496 excl. VAT per year depending on the edition.
3. The deciding factor is often not price but the customers’ native format: CATIA and Creo are widely used by automotive and aerospace prime contractors and their suppliers.
4. For a general mechanical engineering SME, SolidWorks, Inventor and Solid Edge are the most common choices. TopSolid stands out when CAD, CAM and production management must live in a single environment.

CAD software comparison table for engineering offices

Prices are those shown on the vendors’ official French websites in October 2026 for one user. SolidWorks lists prices excluding VAT, Autodesk lists prices including estimated VAT. Creo, Solid Edge and TopSolid prices are set on quote, depending on the modules selected.

Why choosing CAD software commits an engineering office for ten years

CAD software produces the company’s reference data: 3D models, drawings, bills of materials. The rest of an engineering office software chain relies on these files, from PDM to CAM and simulation.

Switching CAD software is expensive. Neutral exchange formats transfer geometry but not the feature history, so models that must remain editable have to be rebuilt. Templates and component libraries must be redone, and the whole team needs retraining.

The licence cost is modest compared with these hidden costs. Over five years, a SolidWorks Standard seat represents €17,400 excl. VAT in subscriptions, roughly the cost of a few weeks of data migration for a team of five designers.

The five criteria that separate CAD software

1. The trade: general mechanics, sheet metal, moulds and tooling, large assemblies or styling surfaces do not require the same functions.
2. Customer and supplier formats: working in the prime contractor’s native format avoids conversions at every exchange.
3. The talent pool: software that is widespread in schools and job offers reduces training time for new hires.
4. Five-year cost: licences, maintenance, modules, training and certified workstations.
5. Integration: PDM, simulation and CAM available from the same vendor, or compatible.

These criteria are worth formalising before contacting vendors, following the same logic as industrial software specifications: ranked requirements, test scenarios and a scoring grid.

CAD software for general mechanical engineering in SMEs

Three packages account for most SME engineering offices in mechanics: SolidWorks, Autodesk Inventor and Solid Edge. All three are parametric solid modellers running on Windows, with drawings, sheet metal, weldments and large assembly management.

SolidWorks

SolidWorks has been published by Dassault Systèmes since the acquisition of its original developer in 1997, two years after the first release. It comes in three editions: Standard, Professional and Premium.

• Standard: €3,480 excl. VAT per year, or €290 per month billed annually.
• Professional: €4,152 excl. VAT per year, adding the component library and rendering tools.
• Premium: €5,496 excl. VAT per year, adding simulation and cable and pipe routing.

Its main strength is its ecosystem: reseller network, third-party add-ins, training and a large pool of trained designers.

Autodesk Inventor, the choice for AutoCAD users

Autodesk Inventor is listed at €2,694 incl. VAT per year for one user on Autodesk’s French website. It is sold by subscription only, like most of the vendor’s software since standalone perpetual licences were discontinued in 2016.

It suits engineering offices with a history of 2D drawings in AutoCAD, thanks to native reading of DWG files. It is also offered within an Autodesk collection that bundles AutoCAD, Inventor and other manufacturing tools.

Solid Edge, synchronous modelling by Siemens

Solid Edge is published by Siemens, now under the Designcenter Solid Edge brand. Its distinctive feature is synchronous modelling, introduced in 2008, which lets users edit geometry directly without going back through the feature tree. This is useful on models imported as STEP files from other software.

Solid Edge is sold on quote, and Siemens offers a 30-day free trial and a first month for 1 US dollar for new customers. Solid Edge connects naturally to the vendor’s Teamcenter PLM, an argument for companies planning a PLM project.

CAD software for large accounts: CATIA and Creo

In automotive, aerospace and defence, the choice of CAD software is often dictated by the prime contractor. A tier 1 or tier 2 supplier must deliver native models that can be used without conversion.

CATIA

CATIA was originally developed at the aircraft maker Dassault and remains widely used in aerospace. The Boeing 777, which first flew in 1994, was designed entirely as a digital mock-up in CATIA, a first for an airliner.

Dassault Systèmes’ buying guide lists CATIA Mechanical Essential at €7,080 per year. Advanced ranges, with class A surfaces, composites or wiring design, are sold on quote. CATIA is ideal for highly complex products and for suppliers working with customers who use it.

Creo, the heir to Pro/ENGINEER

Creo is published by PTC, which launched Pro/ENGINEER in 1987, the first commercially successful parametric modeller. The software was renamed Creo in 2011. It is sold by subscription, on quote or through resellers.

Creo is found in heavy industry, industrial equipment and consumer electronics. It connects to the vendor’s Windchill PLM. PTC also owns Onshape, a fully cloud-based CAD tool acquired in 2019.

Fusion and TopSolid: two integrated approaches

Autodesk Fusion, all-in-one CAD in the cloud

Autodesk Fusion is listed at €708 incl. VAT per year or €90 per month in France. It combines CAD, CAM, simulation and printed circuit board design in a single tool, with cloud storage and collaboration. It runs on Windows and macOS.

It is the cheapest CAD software in this comparison. It suits start-ups, small prototyping teams and workshops that want to program their machines directly from the model.

TopSolid, the French CAD, CAM and ERP chain

TopSolid is published by the French company TOPSOLID SAS, which claims more than 10,000 customer companies. Its distinctive feature is integrating CAD, CAM, technical data management and ERP in one environment.

It is mainly used in machining, sheet metal, wood fitting and tooling, where machine programming matters as much as design. Prices are provided on quote. For a workshop that both designs and manufactures, this integration avoids breaks between the engineering office and production.

Which CAD software for which engineering office profile

Small teams

For a team of one to three designers with no customer constraints, the entry price matters more. Over three years, a Fusion seat costs €2,124 incl. VAT. Fusion offers a low entry price, while SolidWorks and Inventor offer broader ecosystems.

Tier 1 and tier 2 suppliers

For a supplier, CAD software is part of the commercial relationship. Delivering in the customer’s native format avoids information loss and complaints about data quality. The investment in a CATIA or Creo licence can then be weighed against the revenue generated with that customer.

How to choose CAD software in practice

The most reliable method is to test two or three packages on a real part and assembly from the engineering office. Autodesk and Siemens offer free online trials, while other vendors arrange demonstrations or loan licences through their resellers.

1. List the native formats required by the main customers and suppliers.
2. Shortlist two or three packages that cover the trade.
3. Model the same part and the same assembly in each.
4. Calculate the five-year cost: licences, modules, training, hardware.
5. Check the availability of a local reseller and support.

Data exchange between different software relies on an international standard, whose scope is set out by the body that publishes it:

ISO 10303, known as STEP, defines the computer-interpretable representation and exchange of industrial product data, independently of the software that produced it. Source: International Organization for Standardization (ISO), series first published in 1994.

Mistakes to avoid

1. Choosing on licence price alone. Training, data migration and hardware often weigh more over five years.
2. Ignoring customer formats. Systematic STEP conversion loses history and multiplies errors.
3. Underestimating training. New software takes several weeks before previous productivity returns, a point to include in a technical team training plan.
4. Multiplying software. Each additional CAD package adds licences, skills and conversions to maintain.

Frequently asked questions