BricsCAD
Octave (formerly Bricsys)
EUR 330–1,176 / year (approx. $385–$1,375)
ZWSOFT
ZWCAD
$1,399 USD perpetual (Professional) · 2D + 3D · native DWG
Verdict
Fast, DWG-native and genuinely cheap — if you can buy it where you live. ZWCAD’s own performance claims (1.98× AutoCAD on complex 2D, 3× on 3D navigation) are vendor benchmarks on vendor hardware and should be treated as marketing, but the underlying speed on large drawings is real and widely reported. The regional licensing restriction is the deciding factor for North American buyers, not the software.
What it costs
Manufacturer suggested retail, perpetual: Professional $1,399 (listed against $1,549), MFG $1,699 (against $1,849). A Standard tier sits below Professional, but the pricing page shows a promotional figure next to its $999 list price and does not make the actual perpetual price unambiguous, so it is not quoted here. Prices exclude VAT and exclude the yearly maintenance fee, which ZWSOFT does not publish. Standalone and network (NLM) licenses both offered, and the vendor notes local prices and upgrade policies vary by region. ⚠ Perpetual licenses are not available in the USA or Canada, and ZWCAD Flex is unavailable in the USA.
Vendor pricing page: https://www.zwsoft.com/product/zwcad/pricing
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
- Strong performance on large, messy 2D drawings
- DWG-native with a very AutoCAD-like interface
- Perpetual pricing well under a single year of AutoCAD — outside North America
What to watch out for
- ⚠ No perpetual license in the USA or Canada, per ZWSOFT’s own page
- ⚠ ZWCAD Flex subscription also listed as unavailable in the USA
- Speed claims are vendor-run benchmarks, not independent tests
- ZWCAD 2027 is in beta — confirm which release your license actually ships
Pricing and specifications: https://www.zwsoft.com/product/zwcad