# Page 3 | Inventor Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra > Page 3 - Is Inventor the right 3D CAD solution for you? Explore 277 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/236745/Inventor/reviews --- Inventor 4.5 (277) [View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/236745/Inventor/alternatives/) Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/) * * * Last updated March 13th, 2026 # Page 3 - Reviews of Inventor ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 51-75 of 277 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use JB Jason B. Teacher Primary/Secondary Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Basically Required for PLTW's IED" March 5, 2020 5.0 Inventor is meant to be used to design parts of a mechanical machine. It is really good at that and not much else. It makes parts, assemblies, and drawings well. While it has animation tools, they're not great. Because of the detail and accuracy in the renderings, it goes through a lot more RAM, but makes great images and working drawings. Pros Inventor is good if you are rendering parts to a small product. You would not want to design a house or perform city planning on it. It is also not meant for animation, so being good at Inventor probably wouldn't get you a job with Pixar or Dreamworks. If, on the other hand, you want to 3D a missing keyboard key or the insert to your tape dispenser, then Inventor is for you. I am an engineering teacher and my students use this program for the entire second-half of the school year. I have a feeling that students using Inventor in their Introduction to Engineering Design class is a huge majority of where Autodesk Inventor is used. Inventor is very good at turning a part file into both assembiles and working drawings. The images it makes is just as good as anything you would find in IKEA assembly instructions. This works out well because I tell my students that by the end of the class I teach, they will be able to create an assembly instruction book that is just as good as anything IKEA would give their customers. Cons I already know that I don't use even a small fraction of what Inventor is capable of and that I can only review the limited number of tools I have used. But, based on what I have used Inventor for during the better part of a decade... Google SketchUp doesn't require that you place a sketch, then draw, and then extrude the sketch, and it works just fine. Inventor works fine for small simple projects, but it's slow-going to make something in it. Because it uses true curves, Inventor uses a lot of RAM and can crash when you are assembling complicated parts. It won't curve labels in 2 directions, it doesn't have a parabola, catenary, or hyperbola tools. I have struggled a lot with making their parts semitransparent like being able to see a ship inside of a bottle. Review Source GA Gonzalo A. Civil Engineer Civil Engineering Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Inventor: brief preparation of documentation and simulation of products focused on mechanical design" September 19, 2023 4.0 When I was a student, learning to use Inventor was a difficult challenge because it was the first time I used it and it was complicated, however with help I was able to learn to use it and it served me strictly for the subject of design and construction of mechanical models. Now that I am a teacher, in the development of degree and degree projects I teach and instill students who focus on mechanical designs to use Inventor, since this tool was key for me and now it is very useful to them. In summary, inventor is a complete and useful tool for mechanical modeling, although learning to master it is complicated. Pros One of the many advantages I like about Inventor when teaching is that it combines some parametric, direct, free-form, and rule-based design features to enhance the student's mechanical design development. Another important point that I like about this tool is that it has integrated Tools for sheet metal, structure design, tubes and pipes, cables and harnesses, presentations, renderings, simulations, machine designs, among others, which are used for learning concepts. basics of mechanical design to then be put into practice by students. Cons When I was a student, it was very difficult for me to learn how to use Inventor because it has a steep and complicated learning curve at the beginning. Now I have realized that some of its advanced features can be overwhelming for my students since they are less experienced, however with my help they understand better, the point of this is that they should create or improve complicated Inventor functions to make it easier His learning. Review Source Jhordann C. Asistente de ingeniero de proyectos Mining & Metals Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Diseño de piezas metalicas" January 20, 2024 4.0 Muy buena ayuda bastante en el desarrollo de proyectos, lo uso mas para piezas pequeñas Pros Es muy fácil de usar intuitivo, se genera muchas vistas rápidamente y su uso en fabricación es indispensable Cons Es un poco pesado para un conjunto de piezas, el precio es muy costoso para Latinoamérica Review Source César Augusto G. Coordinador de ingenieria Mechanical or Industrial Engineering Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Inventor una gran ayuda para el diseño de piezas mecánicas." October 2, 2022 5.0 Permite diseñar y simular piezas, con el objetivo que al ser construidas estas van a funcionar de forma correcta. Pros La facilidad para construir piezas mecánicas, planos y renders. Adicionalmente se cuentan con modelo de optimización de piezas, analisis de esfuerzos, construcción automatizada de sistemas de tuberías y amplia biblioteca de piezas, accesorios y elementos mecánicos (valvulas, tuberias, tornillos, etc) Cons A pesar que software tiene un gran alcance en diseño de piezas mecánicas, no tiene la capacidad de realizar analisis de fluido y comportamiento térmico de materiales. Review Source James B. Principal Engineer Oil & Energy Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Inventor 2018 Experience" October 24, 2018 4.0 Overall it's been a positive experience. I will admit I came to Inventor late having stared with competitor products nearly 15 years ago but once you learn the syntax of how the everything is set up it is a smooth transition. Pros The software is easy to use and flows fairly well. The real beauty, especially from a hiring standpoint, is that it works very similar to competition so if you know one package you can quickly pick up on this one. the other thing I really like is the Vault that is included. The ability to work locally, but keep everything stored on a server, makes working with larger models much faster. It also allows a team to work together while keeping files safes and tracking revisions and changes. Cons Ever since the first time I used the software my main criticism has always been the inability to select a midpoint of a sketch. This drives me mad and many of us have found complex workarounds to what should be a simple problem. I will also say that setting up mates in an assembly is not always that intuitive. It's great to have many different options but when %100 of the time I only use this specific one it would be great if it would learn that, or allow me to change the default. Review Source CJA Cesar Josue A. Universitary intern Mechanical or Industrial Engineering Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Autodesk Inventor: A powerful software for engineering" April 11, 2023 5.0 Autodesk Inventor is a powerful and comprehensive CAD software widely used in mechanical design and product development. Its parametric modeling capabilities, extensive set of tools, integration with other Autodesk software, large library of standard parts, and online support community make it a popular choice for many engineers and designers. Pros The parametric modeling is a feature that facilitates and speeds up the design process by allowing you to modify and iterate parameters without starting from scratch. The software counts with an extensive set of tools and makes it a comprehensive CAD program, as it offers a wide range of modeling tools, including 2D sketching and 3D capabilities such as extrusion, assembly, simulation, and more. Another advantage is its easy integration with other Autodesk software, which enables smooth collaboration and data exchange between different programs. In addition, it has a large online community of users who provide educational materials to facilitate learning and management of the software. Cons The cost of Inventor can be quite high, which may pose limitations for companies or individuals with modest budgets. Additionally, certain software functions have demanding hardware requirements, necessitating high-powered equipment for optimal performance. This could result in additional expenses for users with low-end laptops or computers Review Source Renato B. Project Manager Mechanical or Industrial Engineering Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Inventor review by a mechanical cad designer" December 21, 2022 4.0 Using Inventor for desingning machines with complex mechanisms in it is great,in my opinion is the best out in the marketing, its render system is not too good, but besides that everything is great and also there is a big community of Inventor users, so if you need help in something it's very easy to find Pros Almost all mechanisms i desingned i used Inventor as a tool, no other software is more useful for mechanisms than inventor, its motion simulation is great, so if you need to make a four-bar linkage for instance you can see all design parameter been shown to you as you put the measures Cons The only thing i don't like about inventor is its render system, for rendering in the company i used to work we used other cad systems to make final render Review Source BG Bruno G. Director of Engineering Mechanical or Industrial Engineering Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Inventor Review" May 10, 2022 5.0 It's great. We have been using it on a daily basis for years now, not only for components design and manufacturing drawings but also for layouts, general arrangments, and plant layouts. It becomes easy to integrate scanned areas and easier to show end customers what they could expect. Pros Autodesk Inventor is the best tool in the market for 3D manufacturing design. The components library is huge with basically all the important vendors being part of it. The setups are easy, and the collaboration between workers is great and very functional. The BOM works perfectly and integrates with other pieces of software within the company. Cons It is an expensive piece of software. It could have an entry version as the AutoCAD 2D has the LT version. I understand that it also requires some bulk hardware to run it nicely, and this is part of modeling in 3D. Review Source Joel B. Administrative Secretary Consumer Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "What You Can Expect from Autodesk Inventor" March 11, 2023 5.0 Inventor is great for spinning out complex designs. I like that we could also perform stress analysis on the models before we concluded on the design. Pros Inventor is a powerful tool that can be harnessed to create complex 3D models in a few days. Their collaboration tools also made it seamless for my teammates and I, to collaborate effectively when we were designing a baby bed. Cons Apart from the fact that Inventor is actually expensive, I needed to change my laptop in order to use it since my old one did not meet the requirements, that was really a shame. Review Source TB Tobias B. Mechatronik-Techniker Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Inventor als Entwicklungsprogramm für Engineering-Produkte" May 23, 2022 5.0 Inventor ist eine super Entscheidung. Es beherbergt schon sehr viele Werkzeuge , welche andere Anbieter als Zusatzmodule anbieten. Daher ist Inventor mit einem Paket schon mehr als GUT ausgestattet, welches in aller Regel ausreicht um Aufgaben in der Produktentwicklung und Planung vollständig und Exakt durchführen zu können. Pros Die Inventorsoftware stellt Lernprogramme in der Software bereit. Das bedeutet du kannst einen Kurs wählen und das Worksheet durcharbeiten. Anschliessend weisst du , wie das dementsprechende Werkzeug zu verwenden ist. Dies bietet sich an bei Entwicklungen für Neuprodukte, wenn du noch nicht alle Softwaremodule benutzt hast, bzw. kennengelernt hast. Inventor ist ein PRozess, es dauert einwenig bis man sich komplett eingearbeitet hat. Der beste Tipp: Klein Anfangen ! Cons BIsher fiel nichts auf , was wirklich gefehlt hat. Sicherlich gibt es software, welche in der Struktur ähnlich aber etwas einfacher zu verwenden ist, nehmen wir zum Vergleich z.B. Fusion360. Verschiedene Modellierungsprozesse sind bei Fusion 360 etwas einfacher gestaltet. Dafür hat Fusion aber nicht so ausgeklügelte Belastungsanalysen-Werkzeuge etc. Reason for choosing Inventor Da ich auf Inventor gelernt und studiert habe. Review Source DG Davide G. Impiegato tecnico Farming Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Ottimo software per chi parte da zero" January 13, 2024 4.0 Utilizzo Inventor da più di 7 anni e nel complesso è un ottimo software per la modellazione 3D, è affidabile e, nonostante le svariate funzioni, mantiene un interfaccia semplice e pulita adatta anche per chi è alle prime armi. Soddisfatto. Pros La semplicità di utilizzo dei comandi permette a Inventor di essere uno dei migliori software per chi ha poca esperienza con la modellazione 3D. Permette inoltre, sempre in modo veloce ed intuitivo, di mettere in tavola quanto fatto. Cons Lavorando su file formati da molti componenti può essere parecchio macchinoso se non si è supportati da un ottimo hardware. Review Source Lilians C. Especialista en proyectos de inversión Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Excellent mechanical design software, extremely efficient and practical." June 9, 2018 5.0 It has allowed me to quickly design metal structures in 3D from your library, which has saved me time, in addition to an impeccable finish. Therefore, I consider that it has given effectiveness to my work and my professional life. Pros Mainly it has allowed me to design pieces, machineries, structures and endless figures, creating parameters that streamline the assembly of the models that I have created, since it has a complete library of structural elements that facilitate the task of designing from the elements of the library and can easily be modeled, it is also very easy to create parametric drawings without the need of being an expert in the software, therefore its ease of use unlike other similar packages places it among my favorites when creating my digital prototypes. On the other hand, this software can design metal sheets that meet the most stringent quality standards. I find it interesting that it allows you to create 3D models from DWG files directly from Inventor. In addition to all the advantages I have mentioned, it allows you to export 3D designs to PDF formats, which facilitates printing and displaying them on any computer. Cons The main disadvantage that I find to this software is that it requires a very powerful equipment and with certain specific characteristics to be able to use it, since in a conventional machine its use is impossible. Review Source Ruben Dario C. Ing mecatronico Industrial Automation Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Facil uso" November 2, 2022 5.0 Muy buena y facilidad de usar Pros Su facilidad de uso y la variedad de herramientas que tiene para alcanzar lo que uno quiere Cons Que pide muchos recursos para renderización Review Source Lee J. Mechanical Engineer Industrial Automation Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Solid 3d CAD platform with an entourage of compatible software" October 30, 2018 4.0 We left Pro/E Wildfire 4.0 in 2013 as Creo originally wasn't all that stellar. We switched to Inventor and all-in-all have been pretty satisfied. Performance was an issue early on, but this has been addressed with multi-core support. Pros That drawings are DWG file formats, so no conversions necessary to open in AutoCAD. The ability to customize with marking menus, keyboard shortcuts, rearranging ribbons, and macros with VBA. Cons It acts up sometimes with sketch references (even when limited to one part), but there has been continuous improvements in this area. Edits to parts can take time as the workflow is to either open part up and make changes, or edit in place but still open up feature to make changes. However, I created a VBA form and macro that allows me to see relative parameters to a feature to make quick changes at the assembly level. Multi-core support took too long to be offered, but thankfully it now is utilized. Review Source Jonathan K. Curtain Wall Designer Architecture & Planning Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Seriously capable and customizable" July 8, 2022 5.0 A bit of a steep learning curve but so powerful once you get the hang of it. The increasing features for bringing data between Inventor and Revit are encouraging. I wish Autodesk offered a product suite that offered both Inventor and Revit for businesses involved in providing fabricated architectural products. Pros iLogic is amazing, it's like having a programming language built into Inventor, a powerful way to automate some parts of design and fabrication. Also, tools like iCopy and iParts can save a lot of time if you use similar parts over and over. Cons It can bog down if you use too many constraints, it's usually better to work out parameter and formula driven solutions and use techniques like skeletal modeling to keep everything from bogging down. This could be my inexperience speaking, but I wish there was a more intuitive way to identify parts that are cut from stock lengths of the same shape, I'm sure there are workarounds for that. Review Source MB Mahmood B. Manufacturing Engineer Packaging and Containers Used the software for: 2+ years ### "My day to day 3D drawing tool" February 2, 2023 5.0 I would go for the inventor for company-wide software for our CAD requirement. This helps us a lot in our day-to-day designing and modifying of the machine/parts. Pros Compared to the other CAD software I have used, the inventor is a more robust approach to overall designing and analysis of the part/product prior to fabricating. This helps in understanding the potential issues in the design before even creating it. Cons The vault and client have to be on the same software version which is a tricky part while implementing company-wide software upgrades. We faced issues a few times while doing so. Review Source EB Edgar B. Project manager Design Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "The best solution for 3d software when you already use autoCAD" July 28, 2023 5.0 I have been user of autocad for many years the transition from 2D design to 3d with inventor it is very intuitive . Pros The number of tools for 3d design. many libraries of mechanical parts that can be integrated into the design. Cons Probably the price, it is a little bit expensive but it is a powerful tool, you pay for what you get. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Owner Mining & Metals Used the software for: 2+ years ### "3D Parts Creation with Logic" October 24, 2018 5.0 Pros The software is easy to use and is made extremely powerful with iLogic. iLogic enables you to create multiple variations of a part with programming logic and variables. Objects are created based on dimensions so, if you change the width, everything based on the width changes to accommodate the new width. So if you have several parts that are basically the same with small variations, you can create a bunch of different parts by simply changing the variables. Cons The one thing I don't like about the software is that in order to reference the midpoint of a line in sketch mode, you have to place a point on the midpoint. Then you can use the midpoint as a basis for other dimensions. Review Source Godwin A. Additive Manufacturing Engineer Automotive Used the software for: 2+ years ### "My love for Autodesk Inventor" December 16, 2020 4.0 Most of my CAD designs are done in Autodesk Inventor and I've become so comfortable with it. The data management in Inventor is just top notch with easy switching from one project to the other without crash. Pros The fact that Inventor is easy to use is a huge plus. As compared to other 3D modeling softwares available in the market, Autodesk Inventor is relatively one of the easiest to navigate with beautiful and simple interface, as well as huge support from Autodesk Forum and way cheaper than most of it's competitions. Cons I think rendering is one part that should be worked on. More IBL environments could be added and better material texture. Surface modelling could be better and as well, sculpting (form). Review Source Rupesh P. Design engineer Design Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Inventor is Best design software among all design softwares" September 24, 2022 5.0 Working on 3d modelling and 2d drafting of sheetmetal components. Pros i like most commands available in 3d modelling and 2d drafting. Cons Nothing to dislike. It is an wonderful software available in market. Review Source DM Daniel M. Pasante Universitario Mechanical or Industrial Engineering Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "De una idea a una proyección, Inventor Diseño 3D" May 31, 2023 5.0 Al realizar distintos proyectos en Inventor, me di cuenta que es una herramienta genial para observar los inventos que puedes llegar a crear, puedes incluso personalizar el material, para verlo de una manera estética diferente, aparte cuenta con un apartado para crear planos 2D de los objetos 3D, y fue lo más útil que pude encontrar. Pros Utilizar Inventor es muy fácil gracias a su increíble similitud con otros programas CAD, incluyendo su apartado 2D. Permite realizar proyectos de forma detallada, ya que puedes realizar cada pieza que conformaría el objeto. La interfaz te permite observar todas las herramientas que puedes utilizar para detallar más el proyecto. Al ser una aplicación de AutoDesk, es compatible con todos sus productos aliados, como AutoCad y Fusion 360.Cuenta con una gran cantidad de materiales para la simulación. Cons Su apartado de simulación no es muy avanzado como el de otros programas. Se requiere muy buenos equipos para que la aplicación funcione sin problemas. Review Source Rostislav Z. R&D Engineer Mechanical or Industrial Engineering Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Interesting alternative to Solidworks" May 11, 2022 4.0 Pros I was really surprised with how modern the UI is. Inventor is definitely more user friendly than Solidworks. Both have their pros and cons but even though I use Solidworks as my daily I really liked the experience with Inventor and I probably wouldn't mind switching back. Cons Not used as much as for example Solidworks, so has smaller user base. Missing some tools. Review Source Jeffrey L. Secretary/Treasurer Machinery Used the software for: 2+ years ### "I've been using 3d software since 2001" January 18, 2018 4.0 Being able to re-use existing 3d parts in new projects without having to re-make the part every time. Pros I use this software for creating custom-made equipment that is unique to each customer. The ability to store a single part with multiple configurations built into the part's file saves me considerable time. I also use the pipe routing part of the software and have had very little issues when using it. Cons Every time I have to migrate the Vault part of the software, I have to pay my distributor come set it up for me, because YOU ALWAYS have some type of issue when migrating the vault. This wouldn't be too bad if my distributor was close, but when they are over 200 miles away it becomes costly. I also have a gripe with having to pay my distributor an additional cost to support the Autodesk software. Not sure if the other 3d software companies have the same support setup, but in my mind, if your paying this kind of money for software shouldn't you have access to the software developer itself? Review Source Henrique C. Desehador Construction Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Muito bom Software 3D" July 7, 2023 5.0 Para aproveitar ao máximo e sua potencialidade há a necessidade de investir em formação. Pros Excelente software para desenho de estruturas 3D e para planificação de desenho de chapas. Cons Como qualquer software desta gama, o seu preço. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Ingegnere Mechanical or Industrial Engineering Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "excellent software for mechanical modeling of components and assemblies" October 30, 2023 5.0 inventor use for mechanical modeling of components for the manufacturing industry Pros the program is easy to use and allows you to model and draw even very complex mechanical components and assemblies. Intuitive and clean interface Cons Surface modeling is terrible. It is not comparable to other high-end software Review Source Similar Products Featured