Impact CAD vs ZebraDesigner
Impact CAD
ardensoftware.comZebraDesigner
zebra.comSide by side
| Figure | Impact CAD | ZebraDesigner |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 5 |
| Spec score · Packaging Design Software | 7.9 (#9) | 8.5 (#3) |
| Company history | Arden Software says it was founded in 1988. | Zebra says it was incorporated as Data Specialties Inc. in 1969 and changed its name to Zebra Technologies in 1986. |
| Founded | 1988 | 1969 |
| Headquarters | Arden Software lists its UK head office in Marple, Stockport, United Kingdom. | Lincolnshire, Illinois, USA |
| Purpose | Impact is packaging design CAD software for structural design, soft proofing packaging and displays, and manufacturing workflows. | ZebraDesigner offers editions for designing labels, tags and receipts, from basic text labels to designs with RFID or fixed and variable data. |
Plans
ZebraDesigner
- ZebraDesigner Essentials 3Free
- ZebraDesigner Essentials 3Free
- ZebraDesigner for Developers 3Free
- ZebraDesigner Professional 3 for Windows$345, paid once
- ZebraDesigner Professional 3 for Windows$345, paid once
In their own words
Impact CAD
Impact CAD is Arden Software’s packaging design system for structural work, proofing and manufacturing workflows. It covers 2D drafting through 3D visualisation and animation, with interactive drawing, reusable parametric and resizable packaging designs, drag-and-drop components, layout and nesting, graphics handling, dieline editing and import, and preflight checks. Designers can create virtual 3D samples and animated prototypes for customer review, then produce physical samples through compatible plotters and sample makers. The software imports and exports formats including PDF, Adobe Illustrator, DWG and DXF. Impact 2026 adds machine-learning Design Similarity for ranking related designs and manufacturing layouts, native Python scripting, and 629 standards plus more than 1,000 combinations in its V120 Standards Library. It supports SQL Server and Oracle for 2026; MySQL is no longer supported. Windows 11 is recommended. Pricing is on request, and Arden offers a free demo request.
ZebraDesigner
ZebraDesigner provides Windows software for designing labels, tags, and receipts, from basic text layouts to designs using RFID or fixed and variable data. Essentials includes text, barcode, and graphic objects, keyboard, date, time, and counter data sources, plus a GS1-128 barcode wizard. Professional adds connections to Excel, Access, text files, and other databases through ODBC, and supports printing and encoding RFID labels. Developer tools create ZPL templates for integration with other applications; listed options include Enterprise Connector for Oracle apps, PrintConnect, Print Station, and Zebra's XML-enabled printing solution. ZebraDesigner 3 can open legacy label formats from ZebraDesigner 2, and its interface is available in 20 languages. Supported systems are Windows 10 and 11 desktop editions and Windows Server 2019, 2022, and 2025. Remote Desktop Services and virtual machines are not supported, except Hyper-V technologies. Essentials and Developer editions cost nothing. Professional costs $345, paid once as an activation license key, limited to one computer.