BricsCAD
Octave (formerly Bricsys)
EUR 330–1,176 / year (approx. $385–$1,375)
Robert McNeel & Associates
Rhino
$995 USD perpetual · 3D · DWG via DXF interchange
Verdict
The best-value perpetual license in professional 3D, and the natural companion to SketchUp on this page rather than a competitor to it. Rhino does NURBS surfacing that nothing else at this price approaches, and Grasshopper makes it the default choice for computational and parametric design. Buy it once, use it for a decade. Like SketchUp, it is not a 2D drafting replacement.
What it costs
North American pricing: commercial single user US$995, perpetual. An upgrade from any older version is US$595. Educational is US$195 full and US$95 to upgrade. McNeel is unusually plain about what that buys: "All purchased licenses are permanent and do not expire. Prices include support and service releases for the current version. There are no maintenance fees." Prices exclude taxes.
Vendor pricing page: https://www.rhino3d.com/buy/
For scale: AutoCAD is subscription only, with no perpetual option at any price since 2016. Autodesk publishes its current rates at autodesk.com.
What it gets right
- $995 once, forever — no subscription, no expiry
- Best-in-class NURBS surfacing for complex geometry
- Grasshopper: the industry standard for computational design, included
- Windows and macOS, with a huge plugin ecosystem
What to watch out for
- Not a 2D drafting tool; DWG is interchange, not native
- Major version upgrades are a paid (discounted) step
Pricing and specifications: https://www.rhino3d.com/