Autodesk Fusion vs Designcenter Solid Edge

SolidWorks Premium

Inventor

CATIA

FreeCAD

SAP Enterprise Product Development

E2open

Compare Autodesk Fusion and Designcenter Solid Edge 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

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.

SAP Enterprise Product Development helps enterprises accelerate the development of new products in industries ranging from automotive to petrochemical, from consumer electronics to pharmaceuticals. It provides actionable information so you can make decisions based on real-world data and see the connected results across your network. SAP Enterprise Product Development enables architects, engineers and business users to work together quickly, enabling a dynamic digital thread that is customized fo

E2open is the connected supply chain software platform with the largest multi-enterprise network. Planning, channel, supply, global trade, and logistics application suites cover the end-to-end supply chain, and a unified user experience provides single-view access for collaboration. Moving as one.™

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.

3D Imaging

Animation

Bill of Materials Management

Continuous Modeling

Data Synchronization

Data Visualization

Design Analysis

Direct Manipulation

Dynamic Modeling

File Sharing

Functions/Calculations

Graphical Data Presentation

Industry Specific Database

Mechatronics

Modeling & Simulation

Motion Modeling

Multi-CAD editing

PLC Tools

Presentation Tools

Product Lifecycle Management

Requirements Management

Search/Filter

Symbol Library

System Design Tools

Designcenter Solid Edge

The drawing options are very good and quality drafts are produced in very little time. The software is more powerful and stable than some other brands and the support staff in Australia is fantastic.

mechanical engineer

It is easy to  understand, the user interface is wonderful and is very easy to use. It  gives an in depth knowledge of designing of  products.

Cnc Workshop Department manager

What is best and easy i like it in solid Edge is 2D drawing cad tools , 3D tools , Selecting plane and surface and assembling.

Application Engineer 

Solid Edge is Simple yet Advanced CAD Software, It is best for beginners because its interface is simple and features are also easy to learn. You  can easily Perform 2D to 3D designs.

CAD CAD Designer

Solid Edge is the best solution for those who use Siemens devices.

Student

As an design engineering undergraduate, Solid Edge is the best designing software for part designings and the assemblies.

The software runs smooth and fast with effectively designing and Modeling parts and Assemblies. When Compared to other CAD Software, Solid Edge is more easy to use and learn.

I can quickly provide customer solutions, with great quality 2D drawings, 3D models, Video fly-throughs, machine animations, stress and displacement analysis and reverse engineering.

Digital Manufacturing Consultant

Solid Edge is reasonablly priced software. It has excellent integration with next high end software called Unigraphics.

NDT Specialist

Very useful and good for engineers. Making 2d and 3d drawings.

QA Engineer 

3D to 2D converter is moderate with few features missing in comparison with other softwares of this caliber.

Mechanical Designer

This caused so much lagging. I once waited 10 minutes just to turn a DFT file into a pdf because I wanted color.

Solid Edge has many good things like user-friendly and having a wide range of functions, but it actually I most liked was the integration with Siemens peripheral tools.

Mechanical Engineer

Solid edge in my opinion would be more successful if they lowered the price slightly, offered a 2 year free maintenance period, and then ask you as new features come out about a 1 off fee.

If you do want to upgrade from say ST8 to ST11 or some thing like that, they make you pay the maintenance fees for the years you didn't use it. That to me is outrageous.

The integration and the easy way to import and export 3d models with a commom extensions.

team manager 

I think it is difficult for amateur users but you can learn it.

Mechanical engineer 

We can create design in 2d and can do analysis of the design to avoid errors during production. They have a great customer support if we hav any issues.

Autodesk Fusion vs Designcenter Solid Edge Comparison (2026)

Autodesk Fusion

Designcenter Solid Edge

Overview

Video & Screenshots

Pricing

User reviews

Key features

Integrations

Alternatives