Here, it may even be worth paying for a monthly licence at first. Those who are just trying out AutoCAD, however, should probably steer clear of the longest subscription periods. If your business has used AutoCAD for a long time, for example, and is certain to stick with the software for the duration, then opting for a 3-year deal may be a good choice. This isn’t to say that the longer-term options aren’t worth considering, though. Picking the 3-year plan will see another drop, but this time of just $7.78 per month. Your cost per month of usage is a whopping $79.58 cheaper if you opt for a yearly subscription over a monthly one. That being said, you will see somewhat diminishing returns.

Thus, monthly costs drop as you opt for longer subscription periods. Here’s what the per month costs look like when compared side by side. However, it’s worth noting that your monthly costs are lower if you choose to commit to one of the longer subscription lengths. Subscription lengthĪs the table shows, paying for a longer period naturally means a greater upfront cost. You can see the cost of an AutoCAD subscription direct from Autodesk in the table below. And if you don’t qualify for any of those conditions, there is always a range of free CAD software you can use.

The result of this shift is that, instead of paying a one-off fee to be able to use AutoCAD forever, users now pay for a rolling subscription to maintain access to AutoCAD although you can also get AutoCAD for free though on very specific conditions.

As such, Autodesk stopped selling perpetual licenses for AutoCAD (alongside most of its other products) on August 1st, 2016.

Software manufacturers have shifted from offering perpetual licenses to subscriptions over the years, with the CAD industry proving no exception. It’s a simple question, surely? Well, not quite.

AutoCAD Alternatives from Other Developers.

Should I buy from a reseller or direct from Autodesk?.

Is There a Discount for Buying AutoCAD alongside other Autodesk Products?.

Pros and Cons of the Subscription Model.

Autocad lite cost