CMS IntelliCAD vs QCAD Professional

CMS IntelliCAD is desktop CAD software for architectural, civil construction, mechanical, electrical, and HVAC drawings. It supports native DWG as well as DXF, DWF, DGN, PDF, image underlays, SAT, DAE, SVG, IFC, RVT/RFA, STEP, and IGES formats. Users can transfer customized AutoCAD environments through support for its menus, fonts, scripts, and symbol libraries. The programming toolkit includes Microsoft VBA 7.1, LISP, SDS, IRX/DRX, and the Microsoft.NET 4.5 API. Licensing options include perpetual standalone, 365-day lease, USB dongle, network license, and maintained time-limited subscription. The main software is supported on Microsoft Windows; using it on macOS through virtual 64-bit Windows requires a USB dongle license. CMS IntelliCAD PE Easy Run costs $249.95 a year, and CMS IntelliCAD PE costs $279.95 per unit once. ETOOLBOX Free CAD Viewer is a separate Android and Windows option for viewing 2D/3D DWG, DXF, and DWF files; it can open files from device or cloud folders without requiring uploads.

QCAD Professional is 2D CAD software for technical drawings such as building plans, mechanical parts, and diagrams. It runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows. Drawing tools include layers, blocks, construction and modification commands, object snaps, measuring, and scaled multipage printing. The Professional edition reads and writes DWG and DXF through version R32, covering 2018–2026, and supports PDF, SVG, bitmap, DWF, and DGN formats. Its Library Browser offers more than 5,000 CAD parts as free add-ons. An ECMAScript (JavaScript) interface supports creating and modifying entities and building interactive CAD tools. Command-line utilities batch-convert drawings to PDF, SVG, bitmaps, and other formats. QCAD offers Professional trial packages and a free, open-source Community Edition. The single-user perpetual license can be installed on multiple computers and operating systems for one user, with new-version updates included for one year. The download plan costs 48.00 USD once.