Autodesk Fusion vs CATIA

AutoCAD

Fishbowl

SolidWorks Premium

Inventor

FreeCAD

PaleBlue

Compare Autodesk Fusion and CATIA 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.

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.

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.


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

2D Drawing

3D Design & Modeling

3D Modeling

Access Controls/Permissions

Annotations

Bills of Material

CAD Tools

Change Management

Collaboration Tools

Compliance Management

Component Library

Configurable Workflow

Content Library

Customizable Fields

Data Import/Export

Design Management

Document Generation

Document Management

Document Storage

Drafting

Drag & Drop

Electrical

File Management

Floor Plans & Maps

For 3D Printing

For Architects

For Manufacturers

Landscape Design

Manufacturing Design Data

Mechanical

Mobile Access

Offline Access

Parts Management

Product Data Management

Production Management

Project Management

Project Templates

Project Workflow

Quality Control

Real-Time Updates

Rendering

Reporting/Analytics

Reusable Designs

Rules-Based Workflow

Scheduling

Secure Data Storage

Sketching and Annotation Tools

Third-Party Integrations

Workflow Management

Autodesk Fusion

Android

Web-based

Windows

iPad

iPhone

UX Designer and Researcher

I loved that it worked on my mac. I wound up winning two national awards while in school with designs I created on Fusion 360.

Industrial engineer

Fusion 360 had been really easy to learn and easy to use. The ability to have updated geometry transfer to existing geometries is super helpful.

Director of Operations

Customer service is fantastic and very prompt. They do a very good job of making sure that you are integrating to exactly your needs.

Industrial and Manufacturing engineer

It consists of many features and is not a heavy software comparing it to other cad softwares. It has always worked wonderful for me with easy usage of tools and is quite is easy to learn and explore.

Software Developer

And everything is saved to the cloud so it's super easy to keep track of your files and switch between devices.

Owner

Clearly the best 3D design software for engineering-type applications. Insanely powerful parametric modeling.

Industrial Engineer 

Its a great software for rapid prototyping and product development. Being a cloud based software is the most extreme advantage.

Mechanical engineer

Considering that the program can be used for free for non commercial purposes with few limitations, it is a very practical and powerful solutions for amateurs on a budget.

Draftsman

The tools/commands are well labeled and represented. The work space is clean and nice.

student

It is best suitable for mechanical industry. Online tutorials can be found so using this is not that difficult.

Graduate Research Assistant

There is also an active community that is great at answering questions, and a lot of YouTube tutorials put out by Autodesk and others that fully explore Fusion 360's functionality.

Engineer

I like how you don't need a specific or high end graphics card to access the functionality. I also enjoy the fact that you can do work in any location and switch locations very easily.

Some specific issues with parametric modeling were noticed by me. I also noticed some problems with fillets around curves.

Research Assistant

Continous updates and patches are released frequently. Some times this becomes annoying.

Operator

The user interface at first can be a bit confusing, and there's a lot of unlabeled buttons that take time getting used to.

Technology innovation fellow

Overall what i enjoyed the most was version control feature and the electronic design feature integrated into the software.

It run on cloud so you have to have an internet connection for using this. Learning can be difficult for the beginners.

Reliability Supervisor

The price point is perfect for company users so that nobody will complain about expensive software.

Autodesk Fusion screenshot: Fusion 360 track design references

Autodesk Fusion screenshot: Fusion 360 designing

Freelancers

Large Enterprises

Mid Size Business

Public Administrations

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.

Designed with simplicity and efficiency in mind, Fishbowl’s complete manufacturing and inventory management solution transforms the inventory process and uses automation to help growing businesses make strategic and precise decisions based on real-time data and cut costs.

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.

CATIA is a cloud-based and on-premise product modeling software, which helps businesses in various industries, such as architecture, aviation, transportation & construction, design, build, and visualize 3D models. Features include team collaboration, simulation, and real-time concurrent designing.

Activity Dashboard

Data Visualization

Lifecycle Management

Requirements Management

Visual Analytics

CATIA

Linux

Business System Analyst

Best for various types of design and modelling software like solid surface and sheet modeling. This is a very capable software for modeling.

Member Sales and Marketing

Catia is a wonderful tool and very effective to create the complex geometries and large assemblies. The best feature of this tool is its surfacing capability.

Product Development CAE Engineer 

Product tree management is so effective. I like so much the visuality of the welcome screen.

Officer

A beautiful software that can fulfill all your modelling requirement in one package.

Industrial and manufacturing Engineer

Catia is an excellent and very powerful software for designing a model and for displaying it's 2D drawing and isometric views easily.

It has good export options when you want to do analysis in different software.

Product Development Engineer

This product is benefit to prepare and see the design with 3D and check the package. It helps to decrease the prototype investment.

Site Engineer

Another most important is it's low cost among the rivels. Even with low cost it provides decent features and it makes the CATIA a good choice for 3D modeling.

Dental Surgeon

Catia's machine workbench feature is so amazing for the machining of Cad model.

Design Supervisor

The best design I have ever used for 10 years and it can be integrated with analysis tools.

Freelancer

In this way primary screen causes you to feel smidgen awkward. More than this, I think Catia has doesn't.

With this mouse functioning also little bit awkward.

Student

It has a lot of features but in most of the cases, they are really difficult to find. You have to drag and drop the tool bars to find them.

CATIA is very expensive, and you have to pay every year, if you are a student you can get a discount, but it’s still expensive. Also it doesn’t run on Mac.

This software has pretty much everything that you could ever need. It makes CAD and CAM easier being able to be integrated into the same software.

The pricing is high for a single user to pay, but since its not meant for casual users its understanable and can't really consider it a con.

Autodesk Fusion vs CATIA Comparison (2026)

Autodesk Fusion

CATIA

Overview

Video & Screenshots

Pricing

User reviews

Key features

Integrations

Alternatives