Inventor vs AutoCAD LT

AutoCAD

SketchUp

SolidWorks Premium

Creo

Designcenter Solid Edge

TurboCad

Compare Inventor and AutoCAD LT based on features, pricing, verified reviews, integrations & more on GetApp. Find out which software is best for your business in 2026.

SolidWorks Premium is the leading 3D design solution in the industry. It seamlessly integrates powerful design tools-including industry-leading part, assembly, and drawing capabilities with built-in simulation, rendering, animation, product data management, and cost estimation. 

SolidWorks will help you get work done faster and easier than before, using innovative phases of product creation to achieve a more productive 3D design experience.

Creo is an engineering CAD software that helps businesses optimize the entire product lifecycle using augmented reality, real-time simulation, additive manufacturing, and generative designing methodologies from within a unified platform.

Designcenter Solid Edge provides businesses with a range of modeling and simulation tools to address all aspects of the product development process. The software portfolio covers electrical design, 3D design, computer aided manufacturing (CAM), 3D printing, simulation, data management, and more.

Inventor is a Windows-based 3D CAD software that assists in 3D modelling through mechanical design, documentation, and product simulation tools. Professionals can create custom design configurations and automate repetitive tasks.

2D Drawing

3D Design & Modeling

3D Imaging

Animation

Annotations

Bill of Materials Management

Bills of Material

BOM Creation

CAD Tools

Civil

Collaboration Tools

Component Library

Configuration Management

Content Library

Data Import/Export

Design Analysis

Document Management

Drag & Drop

Electrical

For Architects

For Manufacturers

Item Management

Manufacturing Design Data

Mechanical

Modeling & Simulation

Multiple Projects

Reporting/Analytics

Rules-Based Workflow

Secure Data Storage

Version Control

Inventor

Windows

Instructor

The price, for education, is great. Also, I am very impressed with the user interface and the ease of use.

Electrical Engineer

Only downside is it does crash sometimes for no reason when opening step files.

Student

Inventor is a perfect tool for mechanical drawings as well as 3D mechanical models. Document production is  a very important ability of Invetor.

We used it mainly for R&D, in which we find it usable with some features earning a 'good' and even a 'very good.

Engineering Sales and Marketing Member

Really great as the designers have the great experience using this and create the ideas into 3D models and drawings.

Graduate Research Assistant

The visualization and rendering options offered in a well-built user environment was appreciable. This was quite advantageous for exporting visually good outputs.

Project engineer

Has a great deal of value in using all inventor products. The PLM system integrated with engineer works great.

Research Assistant

The platform is very memory demanding, so running the application on multiple computers caused it to crash or slow down.

Virtual Design Construction Estimator

It creates cleaner lightmaps for objects than many other programs and the built-in render engine is actually surprisingly good, negating the need to export and render elsewhere, saving time.

Corrosion and Materials Engineer

Overall the experience has been great and Inventor is almost a necessity for anyone who works with cad drawings. All drafters and engineers will want to learn this.

It has a good subscription program which makes it easy to scale as you need licenses.

In other words, it helps take the complex and break it down to where a manufacturer can get on board easily and quickly.

Engineer

Ease of use and Vault integration. Makes file management easy.

Additive Manufacturing Engineer

The fact that Inventor is easy to use is a huge plus.

I did not like the fact that the program crashes a lot, i would like an autosave function so if if does crash you dont loose your work.

Privacy and Data Protection Consultant

It takes some time to get the look and feel of Inventor and to be able to exploit all differents functionalities.

Inventor screenshot: Inventor assemble

Inventor screenshot: Inventor 3D view

Inventor screenshot: Inventor data exchange

Inventor screenshot: Inventor edit rule

Inventor screenshot: Inventor assembly

Freelancers

Large Enterprises

Mid Size Business

Small Business

AutoCAD is a design and drafting platform which supports automated design tasks and offers features such as 2D drafting, drawing and annotation, 3D modeling and visualization, and more.

SketchUp is a design and collaboration solution that helps businesses streamline AEC and interior design workflows. Its intuitive 3D modeler allows users to visualize projects, while its 2D documentation and AR/VR viewing applications keep stakeholders aligned throughout the design-build process.

TurboCad is an engineering CAD software designed to help businesses create and manage drawings for mechanical, civil, and construction projects. The solution enables managers to visualize plans and communicate them to others so that projects can be completed on time and within budget.

AutoCAD LT 2D drafting software helps you create, edit and share your 2D drawings. It is specifically designed for small design teams working in the construction, architecture, engineering and manufacturing industries.

Change Management

Design Modeling

Drafting

Scheduling

AutoCAD LT

Web-based

Review For Autocad LT

Very Good Features Like Layer Management And Property Manager, File Recovery. This Software is Very Good For Engineering Companies.

Intern 

The downside of the product is that it lags after a lot of hatches and annotations are added to it.

AutoCAD Architectural Drafter/Designer

The only downside that I can think of is that the software crashes every now and then, which can be aggravating when you are working on a tight deadline.

Architectural Designer

It's an excellent piece of software which essentially strips down the standard Autocad version by removing a few features like 3D modelling.

It's a weapon of choice for anyone working in the architectural and design fields. It offers a host of excellent tools that allow you to crate accurate drawings for architectural purposes.

Project Manager

The ease of use and ability to customize working menus and toolbars.

Education and Communications Manager

Easy to integrate in manufacturing applications. The printing options available are better than competition.

Mechanical engineering

I ise it when i need only 2d drawings, it is the best in its class.

Interior Designer

Great for Interior Designers, Architects, Engineers and builders.

Designer

Considering the price, the software is a great tool for many designers.

Draftsman

The ease of commands and customization layout.

The software provides single-user licensing, so it may be difficult to use as a business organization.

Researcher's 

With the wide range of APIs, the solution has to offer and the ability to integrate with other third-party applications.

Applications Engineer

This has been a huge cost saving item for our company. For years we were battling with users opening AutoCAD just to view a CAD drawing (read only) for a few minutes, then closing it.

Inventor vs AutoCAD LT Comparison (2026)

Inventor

AutoCAD LT

Overview

Video & Screenshots

Pricing

User reviews

Key features

Integrations

Alternatives