# Compare SolidWorks Premium vs Alibre Design 2026 | Capterra > Unsure of what to choose? Check Capterra to compare SolidWorks Premium and Alibre Design based on pricing, features, product details, and verified reviews. Source: https://www.capterra.com/compare/93121-172312/SolidWorks-Premium-vs-Alibre-Design --- # SolidWorks Premium vs Alibre Design Features and Cost Comparison Last updated March 13th, 2026 Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team.[Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/) Your comparison: SolidWorks PremiumAlibre Design2/4 selected [SolidWorks Premium](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/)[4.6 (756)](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/reviews/) [Alibre Design](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/)[4.7 (182)](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/reviews/) [## SolidWorks Premium](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/)[4.6 (756)](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/reviews/) Starting Price Contact vendor Value-for-Money 4.1 Functionality 4.6 Ease of Use 4.3 Customer Service 4.2 Reviews Sentiment Based on [756 reviews](#user-reviews) Positive 730 Neutral 18 Negative 8 [## Alibre Design](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/)[4.7 (182)](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/reviews/) Starting Price $10.00/month Value-for-Money 4.8 Functionality 4.6 Ease of Use 4.6 Customer Service 4.8 Reviews Sentiment Based on [182 reviews](#user-reviews) Positive 175 Neutral 5 Negative 2 ## Not a match? 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What’s your intended use case? ## Summary * * * Key features rated by users Features selected based on 2,904 reviews from 3d cad software users. about the Fit Score methodology. Fit Score methodology Our Fit Score reflects how reviewers rate a product’s performance against a set of features reviewers rate as most important. A higher score indicates the product is rated better in delivering what reviewers most care about. If the Fit Score is not shown for a specific product, that only means there are currently not enough relevant data points to develop a meaningful score. It does not indicate that the product should be excluded from further evaluation. Best for Methodology 82%Fit High performer Feature ratings 3D Design & Modeling 4.7 Data Import/Export 4.3 2D Drawing 4.4 Annotations 4.3 Component Library 4.5 80%Fit High performer Feature ratings 3D Design & Modeling 4.7 Data Import/Export 4.3 2D Drawing 4.3 Annotations 4.2 Component Library 4.1 User satisfaction User satisfaction 4.6 User reviews[756](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/reviews/) Ease of use 4.3 Functionality 4.6 Value for money 4.1 Customer support 4.2 User satisfaction 4.7 User reviews[182](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/reviews/) Ease of use 4.6 Functionality 4.6 Value for money 4.8 Customer support 4.8 Price starts from Price starts from \-- - Free version - Free trial Price starts from $10Flat Rate, Per Month - Free version - Free trial Best for Best for On-premise and cloud-based manufacturing design platform that allows individuals and enterprises of all sizes to create and collaborate 2D drafts, 3D designs, CAD models, animations and more. Best for From SMBs, startups, labs, educational institutions, and machine shops all the way to Sandia National Laboratories. Organizations of 1 to 1000 choose Alibre for economical, powerful 3D engineering. ## User reviews Pros & cons CI Chris I. CTO > "Powerful design capabilities: Robust tools for 3D modeling, simulation, and rendering." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___6821136) CI Chris I. CTO > "Recent changes to their subscription model make it feel even more expensive and less customer-friendly on price." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___6821136) VR Verified Reviewer Sales Engineer > "Amazing and intuitive design software with an abundance of features that allows you to bring a design to life with ease!" [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___6837536) NK Nicholas K. Chief Research Officer > "Also the lack of compatibility with older versions can make it difficult to collaborate to institutions that canot afford the latest model..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___6545287) Steven P. CEO > "I liked the 3DExperience cloud PDM fonctionnalities that are now available in my package" [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___7108353) CD Craig D. Mechanical Design Engineer > "SolidWorks crashes very often." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___7094844) Caleb T. Mechanical Engineer > "It also has one of the most straightforward UIs of any CAD software." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___6869396) AA Amine A. Senior Mechanical Engineer > "The 3D experience is terrible i've paid like for 2 years it's plugging with solidworks it has 0 efficiency only cloud problems" [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___6670590) VR Verified Reviewer Senior analyst and consultant > "Best software for engineering cad design and products innovation." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___6855107) CI Chris I. CTO > "Expensive: The cost is simply very high compared to alternatives like Fusion 360." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___6821136) Subhair S. Senior Mechanical Design Engineer > "Solidworks simulation tools help us to do stress analysis with that data we can easily able to design stress carrying members." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___4893081) SG Shan G. CTO > "Also it lacks AI upgrade." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___6772826) SM Steve M. product design engineer > "I started using SolidWorks in my second year as an undergraduate , it's was very easy to learn meaning you spend less time learning and..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___5029451) TK Thomas K. Engineer > "The changes between model years can be frustrating." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___6488671) EB Edgar B. Design Engineering > "The Libraries are a very valuable resource for engineers and designers, providing a wide range of components that improve the efficiency..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___4899990) Slim B. teacher > "unfortunately, although Solidworks is a tick font software, it remains not affordable, in fact, its cost is very high, which is a major..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___4987406) JK Jacob K. Process Engineer > "SolidWorks let me translate my ideas into something other people can understand exactly how I do." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___6627678) AJ Amjad J. Technical Support > "SolidWorks Premium is a powerful CAD software that offers a range of advanced design and simulation tools, but it may not be the best fit for..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___4759824) SM Steve M. product design engineer > "As a product development engineer ,using solidworks enables me to develop and test 3D CAD designs easily and effectively." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___5029451) TL Trevor L. Controls Engineer > "With Solidworks we use the collaboration database which is great for revision control and collaboration but it causes all sorts of issues. If..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___4192056) Subhair S. Senior Mechanical Design Engineer > "Solidworks Sheetmetal and part modeling has many tools for making complex shapes and models easily." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___4893081) BS Bertin S. Sr. PCB Design Engineer > "Sometimes it takes a bit too long to perform some commands and the assemblies can be a little tricky." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___6239350) SD Swarnim D. Associate Engineer > "I appreciate SolidWorks Premium for its robust modeling and simulation features, which help streamline product development." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___5036986) RM Rajiv M. Senior design engineer > "Solidwork drawing is quite boring end not so effective it got crash when you use for long time without saving." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___6013094) NK Ngiria K. Mechanical design engineer > "its amazing architecture and incredible features like solid cam" [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___6591108) CW Cindy W. Bill of Materials Technician II > "Sometimes finding the error when trying to fully define a part/assembly." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___4998487) DK Dev K. Design Engineer > "It has all the tools you need for 3D modeling, drawings, and analysis." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___6119193) Miguel P. Software Enginner > "Sometimes it shutdowns, other times it breaks the relations I set up before." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___4808726) RM Rajiv M. Senior design engineer > "Multi body feature in a part modelling is very helpful for me , top to bottom assembly is so easy , it's sketching tools are are very..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___6013094) VR Verified Reviewer Industrial Designer > "Organic surfaces and volumes are hard to figure out how to model in Solidworks (specially comparing to other 3D modelling softwares used in..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___3695257) JLI Jean-Louis I. President > "It remains the industry standard so is a must-have for any design agency." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___6540682) FM Felipe M. Research Associate > "A drawback of SolidWorks Premium is also its steep learning curve." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___4834261) NK Ngiria K. Mechanical design engineer > "im impressed to share my good experience using this software as i learned using it within weeks due to its ease of integration." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___6591108) TG Tarun G. Mechanical Design Engineer > "The most useless part of this software is its rendering part, I have used its rendering many times, but I never got good results, it seems..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___4224363) AM Ash M. Design Engineer > "It is the most commonly used CAD package within manufacturing and has a vast array of plugins." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___5020941) Miguel P. Software Enginner > "When I worked in big assembly projects, I experienced erratic behavior from the program." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___4808726) MP Motheo P. Industrial Designer > "D features which enables a user to transform a 2D drawing into 3 dimensional shape,and lastly the rendering tools makes a model look..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___3934110) AM Ash M. Design Engineer > "It is definitely very pricey but generally covers its cost if using it commercially." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___5020941) Eduardo R. Engineering Student > "Solid allows for various types of studies so engineers can optimize, geometries or materials that can result in efficient and quality results..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___3933027) BT Beatriz T. Industrial Management Engineer > "The price becomes a bit high for some companies." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___5077796) Eduardo R. Engineering Student > "SolidWorks is an essential tool for any mechanical engineer who is in a design area, you can run studies to know what to expect on your..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___3933027) DlH Daniël H. Student > "Some tools, like the design study tool which lets you do a FEA of the product is not the most intuitive to use." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___3579912) Mammaye Ousmane T. Student in Industrial Maintenance > "SolidWorks Premium is an effective CAD tool for mechanical product design, it offers robust features such as parametric design tools,..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___4458629) DK Dev K. Design Engineer > "It's an expensive tool and Dassault can be a difficult company to work with." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___6119193) Caleb T. Mechanical Engineer > "It is a very user-friendly program and super easy to learn." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___6869396) SO Sofia O. Student > "At the same time, the software limits a lot the studies of the pieces because it has some bugs." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___3600723) C Cevdet Ö. Project Engineer > "SolidWorks Premium is a powerful CAD software with advanced features for 3D modeling, simulation, and product visualization." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___4750224) MH Mohamad H. Freelancer > "Like any 3D engineering drawing software, it requires having dedicated RAM and a good graphics card. If another application is running in the..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___3022819) NK Nizamudin K. Technology innovation fellow > "I like the professional quality and the capacity of solidworks to be used in a wide variety of design types, with engineering and manufacture..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___3693236) YK Yusaku K. Freelancer > "need parcel of memory and processor power, can't be utilized with other programming while at the same time delivering or making complex..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___2871693) VR Verified Reviewer Project Engineer > "Best platform for rendering 3D models (using visual plug-ins).Editing the parts in the assembly is much more convenient when compared to..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___4545156) HDS Harsharan Deep S. Marketer > "I would say the price point is a bit on the expensive side and they only issue the software to students or a registered company, others might..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___4212800) Richard S. Remote Assistant > "One of the most impressive things about it was the fact that every piece of hardware within the refinery was selectable as a 3D component in..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___4289676) PS Prabhat S. Project Leader > "Fails to produce a detailed picture utilising data from the raw," [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___3854603) AA Allanys A. Student > "What I liked most about SolidWorks Premium was that it haves a lot of features to create designs and print them in a 3D printer." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___4490779) RP Rafael P. Financial Director > "Features that go beyond the core for 3d modeling, such as rendering, animations and the toolbox, not only lack the intuitiveness as the main..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___2878290) VR Verified Reviewer Mechanical Development Engineer > "The ease of developing the 3D Model and assembly of the part and easy simulation tool that makes us visualize the defect in the part before..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___3715858) VR Verified Reviewer Mechanical Engineer > "It requires too many computer resources to handle large assemblies." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___4245006) MA Mohammed A. Engineer > "As an engineer i using it for designing the 3d simple and complex modeling its really powerful program and its saving a lot of time and cost ." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___4182159) BO Bethany O. Account Representative > "The material library is limited and camera angles feel clunky at times." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___4725723) AM Ash M. Design Engineer > "There is a lot of help online so getting community support for niche questions is normally possible." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___5020941) AV Alexandra V. DevOps Developer > "Absolutely found nothing to like least about this product with advanced simulation and analytics to estimate cost." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___3827164) AA Alanis A. Team Manager > "As an engineer it is a must to use this platform and to create assembles." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___5009592) AA Abdullateef A. engineer > "It also needs a large storage space and strong random access memory, as it stops working at times And it may be too expensive for some..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___3398539) Mammaye Ousmane T. Student in Industrial Maintenance > "In conclusion, SolidWorks Premium is an incredibly powerful tool for mechanical product design and is highly recommended for anyone looking..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___4458629) VR Verified Reviewer Engineer > "The un- uniform shapes design it's take long time to make accurate" [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___3771185) MUA Muhammad Umair A. Quality Engineer > "It's works for designers may be a must have for automotive industry." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___5017346) AJ Amjad J. Technical Support > "SolidWorks Premium is expensive software, and the high cost may not be affordable for some businesses or individuals." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___4759824) AV Alexandra V. DevOps Developer > "Easy to manage product data with this solution and it integrates seamlessly with other design tools and also offers excellent drawing..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___3827164) VL Vitor L. Eng > "It consumes a lot of RAM memory." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___4692725) TB Thomas B. Media team lead > "Solidworks Premium is extremely intuitive and easy to use." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___6557721) BM Biswajit M. CAE and ev engineer > "for low end devices.. it sometimes crash." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___3522728) SN Suvajit N. Senior Design Engineer > "Very intuitive and user friendly interface." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___6390479) VR Verified Reviewer Project Manager > "quite often it crashes and reports an error" [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___4681697) CW Cindy W. Bill of Materials Technician II > "It has useful features that make designing parts much easier." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___4998487) CD Caleb D. Graduate Research Assistant > "SolidWorks is so expensive and it is common for people to post opensource CAD files that are SolidWorks, but if you don't pay for the..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___3112998) TK Tejashree K. Team leader > "The software is great for beginner level and its used in various industry specially for mechanical, designing and electrical also." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___4165630) PS Prabhat S. Project Leader > "These drawbacks are unimportant in light of the price." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___3854603) KK Krishnakanth K. Senior Recruiter > "As i am using this software , the designs and data's are highly accurate and only knowledged person can able to handle this software ." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___4444112) RG Robert G. Engineering manager > "Cost cost is way too high for a year subscription. " [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#Capterra___3852220) [View Reviews](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/reviews/) JE Jeff E. Owner > "Great customer support and rapid learning curve (I transitioned from AutoCAD and Pro E). Have been using since 2014 to support..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___7113007) JK Julian K. Engineer > "I found it difficult to set up defaults (dimension styles, set to use millimetres etc.) and get them to persist between drawing..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___7049064) MR Mike R. Owner > "Alibre's pricing and licensing policy are very fair, and offer the best bang-for-buck, of all of the 3D CAD programs that I looked..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___7047978) GR Geoff R. Draftsman > "It glitches occasionally, mainly when drawing a geometry line where many already exist, suddenly making all the geometry look like a..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___6332346) BC Brian C. Owner > "I use the 3D modelling and assembly a lot and find it allows me to design and engineer more quickly and accurately than some other CAD..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___7053271) RJ Ron J. Owner and Engineer > "difficulty getting the program to accept fillets - I spend more time trying to get the fillets to work than drawing the parts." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___6843494) JS Joseph S. CEO > "My Alibre tools get me quickly and efficiently from model concept through to generation of a .stl file that I can move into slicer..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___6828408) GR Geoff R. Draftsman > "It also has issues where, in an assembly, it substitutes one item for another and the only solution is to completely redraw the..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___6332346) GC Gregory C. NA > "The combination of price and capabilities, Alibre Design is the best tool to facilitate the flow from rough pencil-sketch, to 3d model..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___6825569) ME Mark E. None > "The one complaint I have is the tutorials that I can find." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___7049772) SK Scott K. Engineer > "I really like their pricing structure, subscription based or one time based with option to pay for upgrades as needed. Plus, I was..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___7013044) JK Jason K. Mechanical Design > "For all intents and purposes no ability whatsoever to manage project files, creating an impossible mess on your hard drive that you..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___6039503) MR Mike R. Owner > "I like that the license is perpetual, and the fact that the service update subscription is optional, which helps control the cost." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___7047978) RJ Ron J. Owner and Engineer > "Unable to intersect a line to a curve or two curves." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___6843494) AN Adam N. Owner > "With pricing options for every budget, friendly upgrade options, and nearly every tool the other guys have, Alibre is a no-brainer." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___7083772) JS Jason S. Mechatronics Instructor > "I use Alibre for making blueprints quite often and this is a constant headache." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___6755493) RF Reg F. Senior Electronics Engineer > "The continuous development and release of new features (as well as bug fixes) again offered in a value for money annual maintenance..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___7086970) DJ David J. Chief Technology Officer > "I had no idea how to work with 3D CAD twelve years ago and now I have designed a patent pending suspension modification." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___6452809) ES E S. Product Engineer > "Alibre Design is a fully capable parametric modeling application and I can complete a product design from idea to model to production..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___6655356) DP Donald P. Design Engineer > "Can't get to my design files to edit them. " [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___6537884) RJ Ron J. Owner and Engineer > "The support has generally been good. If I did not have so many files saved in Alibre, on a major project that I need to finalize and..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___6843494) EW Errol W. Owner Director > "Lack of Multi Body modelling." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___6666535) AH Arron H. Production Manager > "it has helped alot with our 3d rendering of products so our workers can see the end result" [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___6864015) RM Rochan M. Engineering manager > "It has a hard time with organic shaped" [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___6622220) SK Scott K. Engineer > "I'm really glad I found and use Alibre for my 3d modeling for general CAD and lots of 3d printing stuff." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___7013044) JN John N. President > "When drawing detailed layout's with many shapes the software crashes." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___6274493) JE Jeff E. Owner > "Most capable product that punches way above it's weight from a cost perspective." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___7113007) GC Gavin C. Director > "Very occasional crashes and hangs like most cad software. " [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___6146444) LK LaVerne K. President > "I moved from TurboCAD 2D and had a very little Solidworks experience, the switch was very easy, Alibre is intuitive, after a couple of..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___6393194) AL Arturo L. Owner > "You should reselect (edit) plane when edit scketh When you replace a part in assembly, do not respect the relations with other parts" [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___3862564) GC Gregory C. NA > "I also appreciate the "buy once to own" sales model as opposed to the ubiquitous software-as-subscription subscription model." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___6825569) SU Sascha U. freelancer > "Alibre is a bit lacking in surface modeling tools, making it harder to model complex curved or organic surfaces." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___3868143) JK Julian K. Engineer > "Alibre's licensing options are perfect for this." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___7049064) DJ David J. President > "One that always bothers me is that selection of multiple elements requires shift-clicks in some contexts, but just clicks in others,..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___3851976) DP Dave P. Automation Engineering Tech > "I have gotten to the point now that I don't even miss Autodesk Inventor any more for 3D modeling." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___7104514) DS David S. President > "Lack of ability to produce models of boat hulls and project a flat pattern for hell shapes." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___3796842) AH Arron H. Production Manager > "it has been relatively good ive only used 2 drawing programes alibre been one of them and have found it is able to do what we require..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___6864015) GC Gavin C. Director > "Some advanced features not available." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___6146444) RB Ryan B. Manager > "Great value for the money with a permanent license, great customer support on the rare occasion I have a question. " [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___7114764) JC Joseph C. Chief Builder > "The 2D sketching experience is decent and gets the job done, but it is not as easy to use and lacks 2D drawing features compared to..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___3866536) DP Dave P. Automation Engineering Tech > "I found Alibre Experrt Design and decided to try, and after a short learning curve I am now comfortable with the software." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___7104514) RG Robert G. Engineering manager > "Overall assembly constraints can be quite a challenge, especially if some blow up, turns into a major cluster when trying to..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___3852191) MR Mike R. Owner > "Alibre Design was easy to learn, coming from SolidWorks, which I use at my day job." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___7047978) DH Darrell H. Owner / Mechanical Engineer > "Hidden Line Management in 2D drawing can be a real pain and cumbersome to manage. " [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___3852281) SK Scott K. Engineer > "Can install it on my machine, easy to setup and they have great getting started tutorials for the beginner 3D modeler! " [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___7013044) DS David S. Owner > "I may have chosen otherwise if cost was no object but I don't design things every day and paying many thousands of dollars for a..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___3872613) WW William W. Research and Development Engineer > "The Sheet metal functions in the Expert version are really intuitive for me to use and there are several projects I could not have..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___6359821) Anoop N. Operations Manager > "Alibre lacks easy integration with PCB / Electronics / Electrical Design software." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___3853222) RH Ralph H. President > "The ability to compute weights of assemblies that easily flow into a top assembly is excellent." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___6557351) RW Ron W. Senior Hardware Design Engineer Technologist > "I do find limitations though, so unfortunately I also use SolidWorks on the large projects." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___3852042) JW Jon W. Technical Manager > "A huge improvement on the old CADMAX system." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___7114024) TD Thomas D. Project Manager > "I don't have anything that really bugs me about the software, small refinements are really all that is needed." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___3852792) Craig F. Owner > "Overall it's a rocksolid design tool you can count on." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___7096405) SG Samuel G. Electronics and Software Engineer, Retired > "not quite match up to the 3-D CAD technology." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___3852197) PW Paul W. manager > "i like the fact its a software purchase, not subscription based." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___7053808) EA Eric A. Engineer > "Drawing errors are notified but not pinpointed where they occur." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___3914045) JW Jared W. Owner, Engineer > "Alibre is an affordable, all-in-one CAD solution. While it's similar to other packages, there is a small learning curve." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___6708542) JW James W. CEO > "Complex artistic forms is where it begins to hit limits." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___3852039) JD Jim D. Creator > "I started with Atom in early 2023 but very soon upgraded to to Alibre Design Expert for all of the extra features." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___6615234) SU Sascha U. freelancer > "Sometimes there are also basic tools you expect to be there, and they don't exist." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___3868143) BL Brian L. Co-owner > "I have been using it since 2011 and it has had continuous improvement." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___7071560) DT Dan T. Owner > "I still have a few issues with sketching, not really as intuitive as I would like. " [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___3852054) TG Thomas G. Manufacturing Engineer > "Assemblies are easy to create, and I can import parts from virtually any source." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___6861900) BG Bent G. Owner > "The motion simulation was removed some years ago that's BAD." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___3906164) TG Thomas G. Manufacturing Engineer > "Enjoying the new tools added with this update and look forward to new innovations from the development team." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___6861900) DO Duane O. Owner > "There are some features I would like to see, but there's nothing i really don't like" [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___3852164) MN Matthew N. Lead Engineer > "Also, the ability to import common file formats (CATIA, SolidWorks, Inventor, ProE, NX, etc.) makes Alibre Design Expert the go to." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___6230553) DH Darrell H. Owner / Mechanical Engineer > "I would be less productive and less profitable with any other Software. " [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___3852281) AG Alex G. Design Engineer > "I've been using Alibre for 20 years and it's the CAD package I always return too, having had experience with many others more than..." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___6427442) Eugene B. Product Engineer > "A couple of times over the years, I've had to completely scrap a design are restart when the software would crash repeatedly." [See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#Capterra___2611603) [View Reviews](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/reviews/) ## User interface [SolidWorks Premium](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/) 4.63 (756) [Alibre Design](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/) 4.69 (182) ## Connect with a Capterra advisor for a free 15-minute consultation Get a personalized software list aligned to your business needs with guidance from our expert advisors. Our team has helped 1 million+ businesses like yours find options that fit their needs. ### Features Do these products fit your needs? Prioritize real-user-identified key features according to your needs to find your best fit. \--% Fit vs \--% Fit 2D Drawing 207 Important 3D Design & Modeling 150 Important Activity Dashboard 120 Important SolidWorks Premium Top features 41/44 - 2D Drawing - 3D Design & Modeling - Activity Dashboard - AI Copilot - Animation - Annotations - API - Bill of Materials Management - Collaboration Tools - Compliance Management - Component Library - Configurable Workflow - Configuration Management - Content Library - Customizable Branding - Customizable Templates - Data Capture and Transfer - Data Import/Export - Data Synchronization - Data Visualization - Design Management - Document Generation - Document Management - Drag & Drop - File Management - For 3D Printing - For Architects - For Manufacturers - Generative AI - Image Editing - Modeling & Simulation - Multiple Format Support - Multiple Projects - Projections - Real Time Comparisons - Real-Time Updates - Reference Management - Reporting/Analytics - Rules-Based Workflow - Secure Data Storage - Sketching and Annotation Tools - Third-Party Integrations - Version Control - Workflow Management [See all features](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/#features) Alibre Design 24/44 - 2D Drawing - 3D Design & Modeling - Activity Dashboard - AI Copilot - Animation - Annotations - API - Bill of Materials Management - Collaboration Tools - Compliance Management - Component Library - Configurable Workflow - Configuration Management - Content Library - Customizable Branding - Customizable Templates - Data Capture and Transfer - Data Import/Export - Data Synchronization - Data Visualization - Design Management - Document Generation - Document Management - Drag & Drop - File Management - For 3D Printing - For Architects - For Manufacturers - Generative AI - Image Editing - Modeling & Simulation - Multiple Format Support - Multiple Projects - Projections - Real Time Comparisons - Real-Time Updates - Reference Management - Reporting/Analytics - Rules-Based Workflow - Secure Data Storage - Sketching and Annotation Tools - Third-Party Integrations - Version Control - Workflow Management [See all features](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/#features) ### Recognition SolidWorks Premium is recognized as a top-rated tool in 2 Capterra Shortlist reports Alibre Design is recognized as a top-rated tool in 2 Capterra Shortlist reports Best Value 3D CADSoftware (2024)  ### Deployment & support SolidWorks Premium Deployment - Cloud, SaaS, Web-Based - Desktop Mac - Desktop Windows - Desktop Linux - On-Premise Windows - On-Premise Linux - Desktop Chromebook - Mobile Android - Mobile iPhone - Mobile iPad Support - Email/Help Desk - FAQs/Forum - Knowledge Base - Phone Support - 24/7 (Live rep) - Chat Training - In Person - Live Online - Webinars - Documentation - Videos Alibre Design Deployment - Cloud, SaaS, Web-Based - Desktop Mac - Desktop Windows - Desktop Linux - On-Premise Windows - On-Premise Linux - Desktop Chromebook - Mobile Android - Mobile iPhone - Mobile iPad Support - Email/Help Desk - FAQs/Forum - Knowledge Base - Phone Support - 24/7 (Live rep) - Chat Training - In Person - Live Online - Webinars - Documentation - Videos ### Company Details SolidWorks Premium - By SolidWorks - Located in United States - Founded in 1993 Alibre Design - By Alibre - Located in United States - Founded in 1997 ## Popular Comparisons [SolidWorks Premium](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/)[4.63 (756)](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/reviews/) vs [Altium Develop](https://www.capterra.com/p/175058/Altium-Designer/)[4.56 (181)](https://www.capterra.com/p/175058/Altium-Designer/reviews/) Contact vendor for pricing Price Contact vendor for pricing 4.6 Features 4.6 4.3 Ease of Use 4.3 [View full comparison](https://www.capterra.com/compare/93121-175058/SolidWorks-Premium-vs-Altium-Designer) [Alibre Design](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/)[4.69 (182)](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/reviews/) vs [AutoCAD](https://www.capterra.com/p/265024/AutoCAD/)[4.65 (3,207)](https://www.capterra.com/p/265024/AutoCAD/reviews/) $10/month Price $250/month 4.6 Features 4.6 4.6 Ease of Use 4.1 [View full comparison](https://www.capterra.com/compare/172312-265024/Alibre-Design-vs-AutoCAD) [SolidWorks Premium](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/)[4.63 (756)](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/reviews/) vs [AutoCAD](https://www.capterra.com/p/265024/AutoCAD/)[4.65 (3,207)](https://www.capterra.com/p/265024/AutoCAD/reviews/) Contact vendor for pricing Price $250/month 4.6 Features 4.6 4.3 Ease of Use 4.1 [View full comparison](https://www.capterra.com/compare/93121-265024/SolidWorks-Premium-vs-AutoCAD) [Alibre Design](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/)[4.69 (182)](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/reviews/) vs [Inventor](https://www.capterra.com/p/236745/Inventor/)[4.53 (277)](https://www.capterra.com/p/236745/Inventor/reviews/) $10/month Price $310/month 4.6 Features 4.5 4.6 Ease of Use 4.2 [View full comparison](https://www.capterra.com/compare/172312-236745/Alibre-Design-vs-Inventor) [SolidWorks Premium](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/)[4.63 (756)](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/reviews/) vs [Creo](https://www.capterra.com/p/164678/Creo/)[4.38 (126)](https://www.capterra.com/p/164678/Creo/reviews/) Contact vendor for pricing Price $3190/year 4.6 Features 4.3 4.3 Ease of Use 3.8 [View full comparison](https://www.capterra.com/compare/93121-164678/SolidWorks-Premium-vs-Creo) [Alibre Design](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/)[4.69 (182)](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/reviews/) vs [Autodesk Fusion](https://www.capterra.com/p/178416/Fusion-360/)[4.49 (269)](https://www.capterra.com/p/178416/Fusion-360/reviews/) $10/month Price $85/month 4.6 Features 4.5 4.6 Ease of Use 4.1 [View full comparison](https://www.capterra.com/compare/172312-178416/Alibre-Design-vs-Fusion-360) [SolidWorks Premium](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/)[4.63 (756)](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/reviews/) vs [MATLAB](https://www.capterra.com/p/125813/MATLAB/)[4.60 (2,093)](https://www.capterra.com/p/125813/MATLAB/reviews/) Contact vendor for pricing Price $203.63/year 4.6 Features 4.6 4.3 Ease of Use 4.0 [View full comparison](https://www.capterra.com/compare/93121-125813/SolidWorks-Premium-vs-MATLAB) [Alibre Design](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/)[4.69 (182)](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/reviews/) vs [SketchUp](https://www.capterra.com/p/211798/SketchUp/)[4.49 (1,046)](https://www.capterra.com/p/211798/SketchUp/reviews/) $10/month Price $19.99/month 4.6 Features 4.3 4.6 Ease of Use 4.4 [View full comparison](https://www.capterra.com/compare/172312-211798/Alibre-Design-vs-SketchUp) [SolidWorks Premium](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/)[4.63 (756)](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/reviews/) vs [Inventor](https://www.capterra.com/p/236745/Inventor/)[4.53 (277)](https://www.capterra.com/p/236745/Inventor/reviews/) Contact vendor for pricing Price $310/month 4.6 Features 4.5 4.3 Ease of Use 4.2 [View full comparison](https://www.capterra.com/compare/93121-236745/SolidWorks-Premium-vs-Inventor) [Alibre Design](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/)[4.69 (182)](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/reviews/) vs [Onshape](https://www.capterra.com/p/164681/Onshape/)[4.51 (342)](https://www.capterra.com/p/164681/Onshape/reviews/) $10/month Price $1500/year 4.6 Features 4.1 4.6 Ease of Use 4.5 [View full comparison](https://www.capterra.com/compare/164681-172312/Onshape-vs-Alibre-Design) [SolidWorks Premium](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/)[4.63 (756)](https://www.capterra.com/p/93121/SolidWorks-Premium/reviews/) vs [Onshape](https://www.capterra.com/p/164681/Onshape/)[4.51 (342)](https://www.capterra.com/p/164681/Onshape/reviews/) Contact vendor for pricing Price $1500/year 4.6 Features 4.1 4.3 Ease of Use 4.5 [View full comparison](https://www.capterra.com/compare/93121-164681/SolidWorks-Premium-vs-Onshape) [Alibre Design](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/)[4.69 (182)](https://www.capterra.com/p/172312/Alibre-Design/reviews/) vs [Creo](https://www.capterra.com/p/164678/Creo/)[4.38 (126)](https://www.capterra.com/p/164678/Creo/reviews/) $10/month Price $3190/year 4.6 Features 4.3 4.6 Ease of Use 3.8 [View full comparison](https://www.capterra.com/compare/164678-172312/Creo-vs-Alibre-Design)