How SilicaCAD Compares to the Industry Leader
Discover why professionals are switching to a native DWG platform that offers full AutoCAD® compatibility and professional 3D tools—all under a perpetual license with no annual fees. Compare the features side-by-side and see the value for yourself.
Features Comparison
SilicaCAD Professional is an affordable native DWG CAD, compatible with AutoCAD® and AutoCAD LT® with perpetual license (No annual fee). Don’t take our word for it, check by yourself! Compare SilicaCAD and AutoCAD® key features through this table.
| SilicaCAD | AutoCAD | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full | LT | ||
| Native DWG | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| DWG for AutoCAD version 2.5 to 2026 | Yes | No | No |
| Perpetual License (NO ANNUAL FEE) | Yes | No | No |
| Classic Toolbars and Ribbon GUI support | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Ribbon Contextual | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| CUI menu support | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 3D PDF Export | Yes | No | No |
| Dynamic Blocks (Advanced Blocks) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AEC 3D Objects (Architectural plugin) | Yes | No | No |
| Revit Import | Yes | No | No |
| IFC (BIM) Import | Yes | No | No |
| IFC Export (works on Revit Underlays, IFC Underlays, and AEC Objects) | Yes | No | No |
| Convert .rvt and .rfa files to .ifc files | Yes | No | No |
| AEC, Civil, GeoMaps and Mechanical Objects Visualization | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| GeoMapService | Yes | No | No |
| MapImport | Yes | No | No |
| ESRI-SHAPE Importer (.shp) graphic & data | Yes | No | No |
| Geolocation with interactive background map from Microsoft Bing | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Importing Autodesk SDF (Spatial Data Files) | Yes | No | No |
| Rubber Sheet | Yes | No | No |
| STEP/IGES import/export | Yes | Yes | No |
| SolidWorks Import | Yes | No | No |
| DataLink | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| XLSImport | Yes | No | No |
| Excel OLE integration with Tables dynamic update support | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Tool Palettes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Properties palette | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Superhatch | Yes | Yes | No |
| AI DWG translator (Text translator for drawings – Generative AI Based) | Yes | No | No |
| Quick Properties Palette | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Quick Calculator | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Construction Lines | Yes | No | No |
| AddSelected | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Drawing recovery | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Perspective image correction | Yes | No | No |
| In-Place Text Editor | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| MapImport | Yes | No | No |
| Slope Tool (topographic) | Yes | No | No |
| Autosez Tool (Automatic creation of Surface profiles) | Yes | No | No |
| WorkSpaces Support | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Default Layer for Hatches and Dimensions | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Fade for Xref, Locked Layer and Refedit | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Dynamic Input | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Export to DWF | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Integrated Cloud Service | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Tables creation/editing/import/Excel Link | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Tables with Styles | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Formulas in Tables | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Numbered Markers (BubblesBaloons) | Yes | No | No |
| Associative Array | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| User Profiles support | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| PC3 Support | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Annotative Objects | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| QRCODE | Yes | No | No |
| AreaText (Insert the area text of a boundary area) | Yes | No | No |
| Publish (Batch Plot) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AutoPublish | Yes | Yes | No |
| SheetSets | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Multiple Paper Spaces (layouts) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AutoCAD 3D surface commands | Yes | Yes | No |
| ACIS viewing | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Full ACIS modeling & editing | Yes | Yes | No |
| 3DWALK + 3DFLY | Yes | Yes | No |
| 3D Print (STL, PDF) | Yes | Yes | No |
| Flatshot | Yes | Yes | No |
| Loft and Helix commands | Yes | Yes | No |
| XRef Manager | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Xref Notify | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| MTEXT support via external editor | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Hatch editing | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Open/Import Microstation files (.dgn, .dgnlib, .rdl, .cel) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Raster Image Display (image management) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Image polygonal clip | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Rendering | Yes | Yes | No |
| AutoCAD materials | Yes | Yes | No |
| Image menu | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| CTB color table files / STB style table files | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| PointCloud Import | Yes | Yes | No |
| Export to Google Earth® | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AutoCAD® Command Line | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AutoCAD® menu and script files | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Explorer for managing layers, blocks, line types | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| TIN surface from points | Yes | No | No |
| Apparent & Extended intersection snap | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Polar Tracking | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Selection Cycling | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Express Tools | Yes | Yes | No |
| Block Editor – Works with Advanced Blocks (Dynamic Blocks) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Refedit (Edit locally individual objects within a Block) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2D/3D Wood Details, Steel and Profiles Standards (Imperial/Metric) | Yes | No | No |
| Layer Manager (Save and Restore Layers configurations) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ETrack | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Digital Signature to DWG | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Visual Menu Customization | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ActiveX, including in-place editing | Yes | Yes | No |
| ARX – SDS/ADS C++) | Yes | Yes | No |
| AutoLISP (including DCL) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Script Recorder | Yes | Yes | No |
| COM support | Yes | Yes | No |
| .NET support | Yes | Yes | No |
| Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) | Yes | Yes | No |
| External VBA file loading (multiple .vbi) | Yes | Yes | No |
| PDF to DWG (convert PDF files to DWG files) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Convert DWF/DWFx to DWG, DXF, DAE, 3DS, DGN | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| JPG print | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| PDF and PDF/A print | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| STL and Collada (DAE) Export | Yes | Yes | No |
| PDF, DWF, DGN Underlay | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| BetterWMF Integration | Yes | Yes | No |
| Raster to Vector module | Yes | No | No |
| Raster Design (Raster Draw) | Yes | Yes | No |
| iCADLib libraries blocks manager | Yes | No | No |
| Block libraries (Construction, Architectural, ANSIISO and DIN-ISO Mechanics, ANSI and IEC Electrical, Electronic, Steel Profiles, Furniture, Kitchen) | Yes | No | No |
| Parametric 2D Library | Yes | No | No |
| Traceparts, Cadenas and BIM&CO integration | Yes | No | No |
| True Type Font | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Arc Aligned Text | Yes | Yes | No |
| Quick Dimension | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AIDIMSTYLE | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| eTransmit | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Send To Skype | Yes | No | No |
| Start Page | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Drawing Fields | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Find & Replace | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Native ECW, Jpeg 2000, MrSID support | Yes | No | No |
| True color and Industrial Standard Color Books support | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Wipeout | Yes | Yes | Yes |
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