AutoCAD vs MATLAB

SolidWorks Premium

Revit

Autodesk Fusion

Wolfram Mathematica

FreeCAD

Scilab

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

Revit is a BIM (building information modeling) solution for architects, structural engineers, construction companies, & MEP (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) services. The platform facilitates coordinated 3D design & offers tools such as floor plan design, 3D visualizations, & a WYSIWYG editor.

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.

FreeCAD is an on-premise open-source paramedic 3D modeler, which helps businesses design objects of all sizes. Programmers can sketch constrained 2D shapes and utilize them as a base to create other objects. It supports several file formats such as IGES, SVG, DXF, DE, IFC, STL, STEP, OBJ, and more.


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.

2D Drawing

3D Design & Modeling

3D Modeling

Access Controls/Permissions

Animation

Annotations

Bills of Material

CAD Tools

Change Management

Civil

Collaboration Tools

Commercial

Compliance Management

Component Library

Configurable Workflow

Content Library

Customizable Fields

Data Import/Export

Design Management

Design Templates

Document Generation

Document Management

Document Storage

Drafting

Drag & Drop

Electrical

Estimating

File Management

Floor Plans & Maps

For 3D Printing

For AEC Industry

For Architects

For Manufacturers

For Residential

Landscape Design

Manufacturing Design Data

Mechanical

Mobile Access

Offline Access

Parts Management

Planning Tools

Product Data Management

Project Management

Project Templates

Project Workflow

Real-Time Updates

Rendering

Reporting/Analytics

Reusable Designs

Rules-Based Workflow

Scheduling

Search

Search/Filter

Secure Data Storage

Sketching and Annotation Tools

Third-Party Integrations

Workflow Management

AutoCAD

Android

Linux

Web-based

Windows

iPad

iPhone

Search Engine Optimization Manager

The biggest disadvantage of AutoCAD is that it comes with a lot of problems, which is to be expected from a tool that can do so much. It seems reasonable to me.

Civil engineer

WOW, all that I can say is that probably this is the most important software to make blueprints in the world.

interior designer 

The AutoCAD is very good to be used for many industries like construction and industrial / manufacturing process as well, good for beginners and professional level as well.

architecture

I use this program all of the time because their Features are awesome powerful tool and easy for professional and beginners.

excellent application

Excellent for architects and engineers, all functions and tools are easy to use, and have an excellent cost benefit.

Co Founder

It is the most accessible CAD software to date with lots of documentation and a great and responsive community. Very user friendly and a well designed interface.

Telecommunications Specialist

I have been using AutoCAD (Mostly 2D) for almost 9 years now and I found it very useful, easy to use, and great platform for drafting anything you like.

Sometimes the user interface becomes annoying, file can get very big and may crash the computer, drawings can get corrupt.

Web Developer 

It was one and still is the best Architectural software they was and will every be. I remember how easy it was to make designs and configure settings to my liking.

Student

Great software with a great user interface that has a ton of functionality to it.

Firstly, I like all the features in AutoCAD which make the software one of the best in engineering designs. Also, it is not complected and that make the software easy to use for any user.

INDEPENDENT BUSINESS CONSULTANT

I love the shortcut keys for various tools, it makes the job a lot quicker. As a Mechanical Engineer , I really love spending time with different drawings in this cool software.

Front-End Web Developer

Overall, I think AutoCAD has been a great addition to our company. We needed a 3D drawing tool and even with the price, I believe AutoCAD was the best software for us.

Landscape Architect

I love how easily other pieces of software can integrate with it and how you can produce quality looking technical drawings within a relatively short time-span.

Planner

It is frustrating when in the AutoCAD updates over the years that the interface has changed so much that it makes it hard to adjust and find things.

Applications Engineer

This is also backed up by AutoDesk's excellent customer service and a very large catalogue of training documentation and tutorials online.

Innovation Manager

The 3d is terrible and right now the 3d is absolutely need for design.

Freelancer

The software keeps improving with update and the integration with other software as well as the online version gives me interest working experience.

AutoCAD screenshot: AutoCAD design models

AutoCAD screenshot: AutoCAD manage model design

AutoCAD screenshot: AutoCAD customize workspace 

Freelancers

Large Enterprises

Mid Size Business

Non Profit

Public Administrations

Small Business

Scilab is an open-source numerical computation software that helps businesses in aerospace, automotive, energy, metallurgy, pharmaceutical, and research sectors perform algorithm testing or numerical computation across engineering and scientific applications. Key features include numerical analysis, data visualization, debugging, and application development.

Wolfram Mathematica is a simulation solution that offers a variety of functions including natural language input, real-world data capabilities, high-powered computation, and more. The platform provides various features such as machine learning, data science, and visualization. Its intuitive interface, predictive suggestions, and rich document organization make it incredibly user-friendly.

Autodesk Fusion is a 3D CAD, CAM, and CAE tool that combines industrial and mechanical design, simulation, collaboration, and machining to connect the entire product development process in an integrated, concept-to-production toolset

MATLAB is a programming and numeric computing platform, which enables businesses and educational institutions to create models, develop algorithms, analyze data sets and more. Professionals can use the live editor to create scripts and enhance code with hyperlinks, images, and headings.


3D Imaging

AI/Machine Learning

Customizable Dashboard

Customization

Data Discovery

Data Management

Data Mining

Data Visualization

Design Analysis

File Storage

Forecasting

Graphical Data Presentation

Mathematical Modeling

Mechatronics

Modeling & Simulation

Monte Carlo Simulation

Presentation Tools

Regression Analysis

Reporting & Statistics

Statistical Analysis

Statistical Process Control

Statistical Simulation

Survival Analysis

Time Series Analysis

MATLAB

Research Assistant

It has a huge built-in library for functions and tools, so it is simple to utilize Matlab when used properly. More importantly, it has a great GUI tool that can make great applications with ease.

Self-Employed

MATLAB is super great as it is so intuitive to use. Literally used it in so many of my courses like Orbital Mechanics and Compressible flow.

Sales/IT Associate

MATLAB is great for quick prototyping and data analysis. It is easy to learn and has great online support and help documentation.

IT junior

I like everything about it. I am an expert on it and I brought it to our department, it is super good to quick data analysis.

Team Lead

It's a super powerful platform that is very customizable and flexible. You can create some very impressive things with it.

Department Fellow

But, MATLAB is best for creating bulk images at a superb quality. You can create figures in almost all formats as you can imagine.

MATLAB  is one of the great feature which is helps in documentations. I really like it because It is very easy to learn.

The main thing I love about MATLAB is the help documentation. You can literally search for anything you want to do and its there.

Software Engineer

Simulink allows for flowchart based programming which works great with the MATLAB ecosystem. For mathematical modeling and visualizing, MATLAB is an excellent rapid prototyping solution.

This is the best app for mathematical works like Matrix calculations, interfacing programs. It is really easy to use, easy to understand.

The main downside is that MATLAB needs to make their GUI more minimalist, it's 2020 already. The other thing that I miss is an option to add semicolon automatically after every line.

Scientist

I in the past I have developed all my Scientific code in Matlab. It has a very good IDE, good programing language concepts, and could be integrated with many hardware devices.

Matlab is not easily translatable to learning other languages, and it is often the poorer choice when compared to other languages if matrix manipulation is not the goal.

Teaching Assistant

The cost for access to an entire school is $500. Its a great value for your money and there are many online resources to help students understand the code.

Entertainment Account Executive

Good computation with large datasets, one of the more used programs so you have access to lots of community help and videos to learn from.

Neuroscience Graduate Student

Sometimes new versions of MATLAB will cause previous code to no longer work, which can be very frustrating.

It's hard to fix error sometimes when the code is too long.

Data analyst

It also allows you to produce the most optimal and well-designed graphs that few other statistical software can do. On the other hand, it has a better quality-price ratio.

AutoCAD vs MATLAB Comparison (2026)

AutoCAD

MATLAB

Overview

Video & Screenshots

Pricing

User reviews

Key features

Integrations

Alternatives