Civil 3D vs Inventor

SolidWorks Premium

Revit

MicroStation

Creo

Designcenter Solid Edge

PaleBlue

Compare Civil 3D and Inventor 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.

MicroStation is a 3D architecture software that helps businesses in the oil and gas, construction, mining, manufacturing, and other sectors create and visualize 2D drawings and 3D computer-aided designs. The platform enables creators to build models using various parametric designing tools including mesh, surface, and solid modeling.

PaleBlue is a cloud-based solution which helps businesses of all sizes manage training processes and streamline workflows using augmented, virtual reality and 3D simulations, enabling users to import 3D models from multiple computer-aided design (CAD) sources to automatically optimize designs.

Civil 3D is an on-premise engineering CAD software designed to help businesses with surface modeling, construction documentation, and plan production. Managers can create triangulated irregular network (TIN) surfaces, display point cloud data, and create dynamic surfaces.

2D Drawing

3D Imaging

CAD Tools

Civil

Collaboration Tools

Data Import/Export

Design Analysis

Document Management

Electrical

Manufacturing Design Data

Mechanical

Presentation Tools

Project Management

Reporting/Analytics

Civil 3D

Windows

Business Analyst

There was  many error messages in the 2013 version and It makes meaningless these messages. As well as, in this version there is an issue with google maps transferring.

Freelance Civil Engineer

I think it's really fun using Civil 3D because it can be connected to other Autodesk software, which helps me to switch accordingly when necessary in my projects.

Civil Engineer

Importing inputs, editing and setting capabilities, very user friendly, 3D and 2D display of the design, amazing in creating assemblies and daylights/side slops, having four work spaces.

Architect

This tool is perfect for people who work with point clouds, streets, topographies and others. The software is intuitive and on the net there are thousands of forums with help to develop projects.

CAD Technician/Construction Supervisor

3D modelling  is useful to visualize concepts. The best part is all of this can be achieved in one file.

CAD Draftsman

From the ability to create surface models, alignments, corridors, dynamically change designs... there are plenty of reasons to love Civil 3D.

Engineer 

Over experience is nice and really like the software.

Senior Civil/Survey CADD Technician | Chief Pilot - Drones

A very robust software with a lot of features and functions that can help develop civil and survey related projects.

I have observed some problem while making triangulation.

Account Manager

In my past organisation, I have used this software for modelling. I liked the interface and user friendly input module for designing as compared to MX Road.

Assistant Professor

Seamlessly integrates with other Autodesk products, as well as with third-party applications.5. Offers extensive documentation and support resources for users of all skill levels.

It's expensive and there is no option to buy this program. You can subscribe instead of buying.

Civil engineer 

Civil 3D is very complicated to handle and weighs a lot, which makes it very difficult to work with low capacity computers.

While it may training and is more expensive than some alternatives, it offers extensive resources and integration options to make the design process more efficient and effective.

Large Enterprises

Mid Size Business

Small Business

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.

3D Design & Modeling

Animation

Annotations

Bill of Materials Management

Bills of Material

BOM Creation

Component Library

Configuration Management

Content Library

Drag & Drop

For Architects

For Manufacturers

Item Management

Modeling & Simulation

Multiple Projects

Rules-Based Workflow

Secure Data Storage

Version Control

Inventor

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.

Civil 3D vs Inventor Comparison (2026)

Civil 3D

Inventor

Overview

Video & Screenshots

Pricing

User reviews

Key features

Integrations

Alternatives