SoftPlan is a better solution for AutoCAD Users because:

Professionals seeking a better tool for designing houses fall into one of two groups, those that know how to run AutoCAD and those that do not. Each group will evaluate SoftPlan from completely different perspectives.

Current AutoCADusers that make the switch to SoftPlan will experience increased productivity. Simply put, a house can be draw faster in SoftPlan than in AutoCAD. How is that? Since SoftPlan is object oriented, it is essentially building the house in three dimension, as the plan of the house is being drawn. This information is then quickly repurposed to create items like elevations, 3D renderings, and material lists. In SoftPlan a wall is drawn as a smart object complete with all the properties of the physical wall — the length, height, thickness, and construction materials (top plates, drywall, studs, plates, etc.). In AutoCAD that same wall is drawn as a series of parallel lines or planes that contain no “”construction information”” at all. Walls drawn to form a corner in SoftPlan are automatically joined together based on the physical properties of the materials involved. Whereas, in AutoCAD, walls are joined manually with commands such as fillet, extend, and trim.

For those not currently using AutoCAD, SoftPlan is a clear choice based solely on how easy SoftPlan is to learn. As it is a general purpose CAD tool, AutoCAD is often taught in drafting classes at the high school or collegiate level. AutoCAD is certainly the most popular general purpose CAD package but even the most adamant supporters would not characterize it as easy to learn. It is our experience that when you were back in school”” was the time to learn AutoCAD.

Many current SoftPlan users who were former AutoCAD users tended to come to SoftPlan looking for 3D renderings or material lists. Not only did they get photo-realistic 3D renderings and dead-on-accurate material lists, but they ended up with an easy-to-learn and comprehensive tool that increased their productivity.

AutoCAD may even be the best program for certain disciplines but for drawing houses SoftPlan is an easier to learn and easier to use tool, resulting in more comprehensive documents in less time.