ACTCAD Premium
Perpetual licence
Full 2D drafting and ACIS 3D solid modelling on native DWG, with rendering, point clouds and 3D PDF export. Bought once, supported free, upgraded only when you choose to.
See ACTCAD Premium
Compare
ACTCAD Premium vs AutoCAD® Full
The same professional drafting and 3D modelling work, on a licence you buy once instead of one you rent every year. Over three years the difference runs to thousands of dollars per seat.
$5,393
saved per seat over three years
Same work, one payment instead of three.
Three years of AutoCAD® Full costs $6,090 a seat and leaves you owning nothing. ACTCAD Premium is $399 once — $697 even if you take both optional upgrades — and the licence is yours permanently. Across a ten-seat drawing office that is a five-figure difference, every three years.
What it costs
Three years, side by side.
| ACTCAD Premium | AutoCAD® Full | |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $399 | $2,030 |
| Year 2 | $149 optional upgrade | $2,030 |
| Year 3 | $149 optional upgrade | $2,030 |
| Three-year total | $697 | $6,090 |
| Licence model | Perpetual — yours permanently | Subscription — renews |
Figures as published by ACTCAD, checked 21 August 2026. Competitor pricing is Autodesk’s list price and varies by region, plan and reseller — check their site for your own figure. ACTCAD prices are shown for reference; the store is always current.
Feature by feature
Full feature list
What actually differs.
| Capability | ACTCAD Premium | AutoCAD® Full |
|---|---|---|
| Licence model | Perpetual — bought once | Annual subscription |
| Three-year cost per seat | $697 | $6,090 |
| Keeps working if you stop paying | — | |
| Native DWG and DXF read and write | ||
| Full 2D drafting toolset | ||
| 3D solid and surface modelling | ||
| Photo-realistic rendering | ||
| LISP and script support | ||
| Point cloud import | ||
| 3D PDF export | Per Autodesk plan | |
| Block library included | 7,000+ symbols | Per Autodesk plan |
| Support included in the price | Varies by plan | |
| Self-service licence transfer | Unlimited | Per Autodesk terms |
Where a competitor’s current terms are not something we can state with certainty, the table says so rather than guessing. Check Autodesk’s own documentation for their plans — and judge ACTCAD on the trial rather than on anyone’s comparison table.
AutoCAD® Full
Annual subscription
Autodesk’s flagship, sold as an annual subscription. Capable software — but the seat stops working when the subscription lapses, and the cost repeats every year for as long as you need it.
Settle it on your own drawings.
15 days, every feature unlocked, no credit card. The trial is the full product — what you test is what you buy.
Send me the trial
Sent
Check your inbox for the download link.