CMS IntelliCAD vs TinyCAD

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.

TinyCAD is an open-source program for drawing circuit schematics, available as desktop software and TinyCAD Web. The browser version needs no installation, and both versions use the same .dsn drawing and .tclib library formats. Drawings can span sheets and include labels, buses, shapes, annotations, and automatic junction placement; search, undo, and redo are also available. Both versions can import symbols from KiCad.

A Design Rules Check flags common wiring and pin-type errors, but it cannot confirm that a circuit works correctly. TinyCAD can create netlists for downstream tools, including PADS, Eagle SCR, Protel, and gEDA PCB formats. Both versions support SPICE output and SVG export; browser PDF export is available, while VHDL output is desktop-only. In local-file mode, TinyCAD Web keeps work in the browser and sends no work or other files to TinyCAD servers. Google Drive mode stores drawings in the user’s Drive and requires permission to access Google files. TinyCAD is free and supplied as-is; the project advises backing up work and checking designs carefully.