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AutoCAD Takes Top Spot in 2015 Report on CAD Products

Categories: Architecture

After celebrating its 32nd birthday this past December, AutoCAD now has another excuse to throw a party…

In a recent report prepared by G2 Crowd—a leading independent reviewer of business software—the design and documentation software received the highest overall score for a general-purpose CAD offering.

The grid-style report ranked products by a variety of factors and placed them into four categories: Leaders, High Performers, Contenders, and Niche Vendors.

AutoCAD landed in the Leaders category with a top score of 87. (By comparison, the next highest-ranking product in the Leaders category had an overall score of 79).

A combination of high customer satisfaction (based on G2 Crowd user reviews) and market presence (based on market share, vendor size, and social impact) helped AutoCAD earn the top spot. Notably, 85% of users rated it 4 or 5 stars, and 73% of users indicated that AutoCAD is headed in the right direction.

Not to be left out of the spotlight, AutoCAD LT and 3ds Max also earned spots on the G2 Crowd Grid in the Contenders category. AutoCAD LT was singled out as a convenient tool for designing and drafting, since it offers many of the powerful 2D drafting capabilities of the full AutoCAD product, but at a lower cost.

Meanwhile, 3ds Max was recognized as the preferred 3D rendering and animation platform for most reviewers, who praised the product's high-power capabilities. The product's rendering features received a 98% satisfaction rating—well above the average satisfaction rating of 61%.

The ratings in the Winter 2015 Grid for General-Purpose CAD are based on a snapshot of the user reviews and social data collected by G2 Crowd up to January 14, 2015. This wide range of sources means that the Grid represents the democratic voice of real software users, rather than the subjective opinion of one analyst.

To examine the Grid in more detail, and to learn more about the methodology and the scores, download a full copy of the report here.