The requirements to run both programs are quite demanding, as is expected of hefty design software. One notable difference is that BricsCAD can be run on Ubuntu, whereas AutoCAD is limited to Windows or MacOS (though adds the convenience of mobile and web apps). Both programs can be used with a three-button mouse or a drawing tablet.

BricsCAD

• OS: Windows 10 or newer, 64-bit (Windows 8.1 supported until 2023); MacOS 10.13 or higher with Intel-based hardware only; Ubuntu V18.04 or higher
• RAM: Minimum 8 GB, 16 GB recommended
• Required disk space: 2 GB for installation

AutoCAD

• OS: Windows 8.1 or newer, 64-bit; MacOS 10.15 or newer
• RAM: Minimum 8 GB, 16 GB recommended
• Required disk space: 7 GB for installation

At first glance, BricsCAD and AutoCAD are extremely similar. They’re both used predominantly in dark mode, and both have a workspace occupying most of the screen, with the ribbon on top and the command bar on the bottom. Both programs have a quick access toolbar and the program menu on the top of the window. So, as they say, the devil’s in the details.

BricsCAD

1. Launcher Window

BricsCAD opens with a Launcher window, where you can choose which Profile of BricsCAD to open. This is where you can choose if you want to open the Drafting, Modeling, Mechanical, or BIM workspace.

2. Ribbon

BricsCAD and AutoCAD have similar ribbon toolbars, located on top of the drawing space. Here, you find the most commonly used tools.  The Home, Insert, Annotate, Parametric, View, Manage, Output, and Collaborate tabs appear in both programs. However, some tools accessible from the ribbon will change according to the profile you’re on.

3. Side Panel

On the right side of the window is a side panel of custom stackable windows. Here, you can lock windows for commonly used tools – for example, material, line properties, or layers – to easily access them without having to dig through the ribbon menus to find them.

4. Workspace Control

At the bottom of the window in the status bar, you can find the Workspace Control, which gives information about the project and the current context. For example, it tells you the measurement system the document uses, and the workspace you’re on. Here you can also enable options such as Grid, Snap, and Orthogonal.

BricsCAD and AutoCAD both have a Command Line where you type in commands, which you can find just above the Workspace Control in BricsCAD. You can also make the Command Line box float elsewhere in the window.

5. Workspace Menu

To change workspaces once inside a document, you can go to right-hand end of the Workspace Control in the Status Bar and right-click on the workspace, for example, Drafting. This opens a menu of options, and by choosing any of these, your program will change to the selected workspace.

6. Quad Menu

There’s an additional menu that’s not snapped to any portion of the window. This is called “The Quad“. The Quad is a hovering context menu that displays tools relevant to the current workspace, and it’s also partially customizable. It uses entity recognition to determine which commands are useful at the moment, with the intention of speeding up your workflow. For example, if you right-click on a line in the workspace, the Quad menu will appear showing tools like modify, layer, and dimensions, among others.

AutoCAD

1. Start Tab

When you first open AutoCAD it opens on the Start tab, where you find options to open a document or create a new one. It also shows your recently opened documents as well as useful links.

AutoCAD opens by default on the 2D workspace. To open 3D tools or other additional tools you go to the Workspace Switching menu on the bottom left of the screen. This is in contrast to BricsCAD’s launcher window, where you can directly choose to open the 3D environment.

2. Viewport

The drawing space in AutoCAD is known as the Viewport, and it occupies most of the screen. This is where you can see your drawing and your layers. When you enable or disable layers you will see them appear and disappear on the viewport.

3. Ribbon

The first tab of the AutoCAD Ribbon is called the “Home” tab. Here you can find the main working tools such as the Draw, Modify, Annotation, and Layer tools. In other tabs, you find more detailed information for each of the previous tools. In Annotate, for example, you find formating options for annotations, dimensions, and centerlines, among others.

Different documents open at the same time are organized in tabs that appear below the ribbon.

4. Quick Access Toolbar

In the Quick Access toolbar, at the top left of the window, you find common tools such as Save, Open, Undo, and Redo. You can customize this toolbar to include other tools of common use, such as the Layer Menu.

5. View Cube

Inside the Viewport, floating at the top right, you can find the View Cube, which allows you to change perspective. If you’re going to be drawing in 2D, it will simply stay on the Top view the whole time. It’s only really used once you start modeling in 3D, to view different sides of the model or the isometric view.

6. Navigation Bar

Below the View Cube is the Navigation Bar, where you find tools such as panning and different zoom options like Zoom Window.

7. Coordinate System

Inside the Viewport, at the bottom left, you find the User Coordinate System (UCS). You usually see it floating, just indicating the coordinate system of the drawing, but not actually representing an origin point of the drawing. However, you can use commands to change it from hovering to a real point inside the drawing.

8. Layouts

Below the Viewport, you find the Layout Tab, which allows you to switch between different layouts of a drawing. Usually, there are three options: Model, where you create your drawing, and Layout 1 and Layout 2, which indicate formatted spaces that represent how a model will look once plotted into PDF. If you want to export your model to PDF instead of using it directly in AutoCAD, you usually create a Layout Format Template and use it as one of the Layouts when exporting.

Exporting to PDF is done using the Plot function, which you can find in the Output tab of the Ribbon.

BricsCAD and AutoCAD have a similar philosophy in how they work, however, there are many points where they differ. For example, they both use blocks, but they do so differently, with AutoCAD using dynamic blocks and BricsCAD using parametric blocks.

Both programs have an option for Lisp programming for AI applications, and it’s even available in BricsCAD Lite (though not AutoCAD LT). Regardless, programming in BricsCAD or AutoCAD using Lisp is an advanced feature used to create custom routines. A beginner user wouldn’t delve into it, but it’s good to know what options you have.

Another thing to consider when working in either of these programs is that anything you do in your workspace is a command. Drawing a line is using the Line command, erasing is using the Trim command, and so on. Even if you select a tool, it’s just a visual way of accessing a command.

Both programs allow for add-ons to increase and enhance their functionalities. In AutoCAD’s case, they’re called plug-ins, while BricsCAD refers to third-party applications.

BricsCAD

Quad Menu

The Quad Menu, as was briefly mentioned previously, is a hovering context menu of options that vary depending on the current entity selected. It can be enabled and disabled in the Status Bar or with the hotkey F12.

You access the Quad Menu by right-clicking, but if you want to access the traditional right-click menu for options such as Copy or Paste, you can do so by pressing the right-click button of your mouse for a little longer.

Blockify

Blockify is the equivalent of the more obviously named “Create Block” in AutoCAD, with some added advantages. It converts objects made of lines and polylines into blocks, this includes circles and irregular shapes. Additionally, it uses AI to recognize similar shapes present in the drawing to also convert them into blocks.

Parametric Blocks

Blocks can be created and used in both the 2D and 3D environments. Because they’re parametric, a single block can contain different lengths, opacities, line thicknesses, or colors. For example, you could have one single block of a table with two parameters, for a long table and a short table. This is in contrast with AutoCAD, which uses dynamic blocks.

Direct Modeling

Direct modeling is a feature of 3D modeling in BricsCAD. It allows you to create a 2D drawing on a 3D surface, then push and pull the areas created by the drawing to modify the geometry directly without any operations needed.

Copy Guided & Move Guided

BricsCAD’s copy and move features are similar to AutoCAD’s copy and paste, with the added bonus that BricsCAD also has the option to use AI to determine the recommended curve to use as a guide.

Commands

Like AutoCAD, BricsCAD uses commands, but it doesn’t rely on them as heavily due to the ever-present Quad menu.

You can repeat any command you just made by double-clicking.

BIM

The BIM environment is very smart. It takes the initial parameters of a project, such as approximate size, height, and cost, then uses machine learning to constrain the project to be maintained inside those parameters. It allows you to easily switch between the 2D CAD and the 3D BIM model.

You can also do conceptual modeling with basic shapes and later convert them to the appropriate profiles and standard parts, instead of worrying about those from the get-go.

Mechanical

BricsCAD Mechanical focuses on the 3D workspace. It has part design, sheet metal design, and assembly design.

An advantage of its sheet metal suite is that you can generate and post-process DWG files of sheet metal parts directly in BricsCAD. With SolidWorks, for example, which also has a Sheet Metal suite, you need an additional program to be able to post-process your sheet metal DWGs.

Similar to SolidWorks, in BricsCAD you have Automatic Drawing Creation. This means that when you create a 3D model, you can automatically generate the 2D views of the model – for example, side, front, and back views, instead of manually drawing them. You can also use constraints in assemblies and copy features and solids.

Compatibility with AutoCAD Files

In acknowledgment of AutoCAD’s position as an industry standard, BricsCAD is fully capable of opening any file created with AutoCAD, even keeping the layers and layer format. Dynamic blocks created inside AutoCAD can also be brought into BricsCAD and will remain as blocks, but they won’t be editable in BricsCAD as they are in AutoCAD because they will become parametric.

AutoCAD

Basic Functionality

Similar to BricsCAD, AutoCAD has all the 2D drawing commands, such as line, polyline, circle, modify tools, mirror, offset, and more. It also has a line of commands, and its response to commands is more reliable than BricsCAD’s. You can repeat any command you just made by pressing the Enter key.

On top of the traditional AutoCAD functions, AutoCAD has seven industry-specific toolsets for architecture, mechanical design, electrical design, plant design, plumbing, raster design, and 3D mapping. All toolsets are included with an AutoCAD license.

Architecture

This toolset includes more than 8,500 architectural components and multilevel blocks. You can switch from 2D and 3D and interpret lines as walls to automate the wall elevation and roof grid process. It also has a mode called “Renovation Mode” where you can, in a single file, display the current state of a model, state during renovation, and finished state.

Mechanical

The Mechanical toolset includes more than 700,000 standard parts and features, such as nuts, bolts, and gears. You can also use smart layers so AutoCAD recognizes machine elements, saving you the time of manually switching layers. You can create bills of materials (BOMs) and geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) annotations.

The Mechanical Toolset also includes 2D simulation of finite element analysis (FEA). 2D simulation is useful when working on symmetric designs.

Electrical

The Electrical Toolset has more than 65,000 electrical symbols, which are also customizable. You can also automate and number wires and components for better organization. You can automate BOMs to the point of being able to get information on the amount of wire needed for a project.

To simplify schematics, you can have subsystems inside a system. It goes beyond simple circuits as well: You can create control panels and programmable logic controllers (PLCs) using AutoCAD Electrical.

Other Toolsets

The mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) toolset is used for HVAC design and planning. It allows you to place standard air ducts across the facility you’re designing, while Map 3D allows you to support planning and design with geological data.

With the Plant 3D toolset, you can create piping and instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs) of plants as well as 3D models. It indicates the workflow, connections, and stations in a plant.

Finally, the Raster and Design toolset is a specialized toolset that converts PDFs, scans, and raster images into DWGs.

Drawing & Modeling

AutoCAD 3D has solid, surface, and mesh modeling, although these are frequently done in other programs. Solid modeling is typically done in SolidWorks, while surface and mesh modeling are more commonly seen in Blender.

You can create dynamic blocks, keep them and easily access them in a block palette, and get an automated count of the number of certain blocks present in the drawing. With the drawing history, you can go back to previous versions of the drawing whether to compare or to undo changes that have been made.

Both programs share a very similar target audience, mainly focusing on architecture, although they may also be used on a smaller scale for other applications.

BricsCAD

• Applications: BricsCAD is mostly used by architects, planners, interior designers, and BIM engineers. It’s preferred by many independent workers over AutoCAD because of its multiple versions at different price points. Many users mention that although they use AutoCAD at work, they prefer BricsCAD at home.
• Use Cases: Bricsys is a Belgian software company, so BricsCAD is seen more in Europe and in some parts of Asia. In the United Arab Emirates, the Government uses BrisCAD to regulate the structural state of all houses and buildings.

AutoCAD

• Applications: AutoCAD’s main uses are architecture, mechanical engineering, plant design, and sheet metal. AutoCAD is also used for workflows and organizational charts.
• Use Cases: Martz Technologies, Inc. uses AutoCAD for all its electric documentation. Ajc Architects used AutoCAD to design their new Duraframes, which are structural frames for better support during earthquakes. The Brazilian Army is modernizing its sewage system and using AutoCAD as a design tool.

The long legacy of AutoCAD and the market dominance of Autodesk mean that AutoCAD offers comprehensive education and support. But both programs have strong online communities as well as official support channels.

BricsCAD

• Company Support: BricsCAD has an official Help Center and a Support Page where you can see the FAQ, and if you don’t find the exact thing you’re looking for, you can open a query. There’s also an official learning page where you can find many courses from essentials to specific skillsets.
• Community Support: BricsCAD’s smaller user base means its online communities are less active than AutoCAD’s, so there’s less assistance from unofficial channels. For example, the BricsCAD subreddit is a very small community with only 122 members. However, one Reddit thread noted that BricsCAD’s official support is more responsive than AutoCAD’s, only taking a few days at most to reply and giving useful, professional answers.

AutoCAD

• Company Support: AutoCAD has support lines where they redirect you to learning resources and installation help. Additionally, Autodesk has the Autodesk Academy, where you can find individual resources or follow courses, not only for AutoCAD but for many other programs.
• Community Support: AutoCAD also has a very active Reddit community with over 27,000 members. Here, people can ask for tutorial recommendations, troubleshooting, and even updating questions. It’s also common for people to post CAD challenges. So, if you’re looking for ideas to practice, this is a great way to find them. Just about anything AutoCAD-related can be asked here.

While both programs are grounded in 2D design, it seems BricsCAD has more options for 3D modeling than AutoCAD. For personal use, it’s also cheaper, and it’s fully compatible with AutoCAD files. As an independent designer or engineer, it may be a better business expense.

For applications such as CNC, sheet metal, and other manufacturing practices, either program will do the job. Professionally, many companies still exclusively use AutoCAD, though there is a shift towards more affordable alternatives. That said, if it’s a matter of deciding which to start learning, an AutoCAD certification will open more doors than BricsCAD knowledge, even though they translate into pretty much the same skills.

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