ZWCAD alternative: BricsCAD and ZWCAD compared
We set BricsCAD and ZWCAD side by side against the criteria that decide a CAD choice: editions, 3D, mechanical and BIM, operating systems, licensing and add-ons. ZWCAD and AutoCAD details come from the vendors’ public pages, with sources and dates. In short: BricsCAD is strong in 2D too; it uses DWG as its own file format, opens large drawings fast with its multi-threaded engine and offers 2D productivity tools such as Quad and Blockify. It grows into 3D modelling, mechanical design and BIM on the same platform, runs on macOS and Linux as well as Windows, and keeps the LISP routines and applications you wrote for AutoCAD. ZWCAD needs a separate product for parametric 3D, has no BIM, and its desktop version is for Windows only.
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The right question when looking for a ZWCAD alternative
This page is for teams evaluating or already using ZWCAD. Both programs open and save drawings directly as DWG, both have a command structure that feels familiar to anyone used to DWG-based software, and both offer a perpetual licence. So the real question is not “which one opens DWG” but what your team draws today and what it will draw in three years: 2D only, or 3D models, mechanical design or BIM; Windows only, or macOS and Linux too?
For those asking “ZWCAD vs AutoCAD”, we have added AutoCAD to the table. For ZWCAD’s editions and features in detail, see the What is ZWCAD? guide; for every DWG-based program summarised in one table, see DWG-compatible CAD software.
BricsCAD, ZWCAD and AutoCAD compared
The table summarises what each vendor states on its own pages. Edition names and licence options change often, so confirm the current details with the vendor or an authorised reseller before buying.
| Criterion | ZWCAD | AutoCAD | BricsCAD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vendor | ZWSOFT (Guangzhou, China; 1998) | Autodesk (USA) | Bricsys (Ghent, Belgium; part of Octave) |
| Editions | Standard (2D), Professional (2D and 3D), MFG (mechanical, 2D); also ZWCAD 365 | AutoCAD (2D and 3D), AutoCAD LT (2D) | Lite (2D), Pro (2D and 3D), Mechanical, BIM, Ultimate |
| Core and DWG | Started on IntelliCAD; moved to a new core with ZWCAD+ in 2012 (the ITC alleges in its December 2025 suit that it contains IntelliCAD technology) | Autodesk’s own core; the vendor that develops the DWG format | Own core since V10 (2010); DWG is its own file format; Bricsys is a founding member of the Open Design Alliance |
| 3D, mechanical and BIM | Solid, surface and mesh modelling in Professional; parts library and automatic bill of materials in MFG (2D). Parametric 3D is a separate product, ZW3D; no BIM in the edition comparison. | 3D modelling in AutoCAD; industry functions in Autodesk’s separate vertical products. | 3D modelling in Pro, mechanical design in Mechanical, building information modelling in BIM; all on the same DWG platform. |
| Operating system | Windows (Linux edition only in the Chinese market) | Windows, macOS | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Licence model | Perpetual licence, subscription, network licence | Subscription only (perpetual licence sales ended in January 2016) | Perpetual licence and annual subscription; network licence |
| Programming and add-ons | LISP; VBA, ZRX and .NET in Professional and MFG | AutoLISP, Visual LISP, VBA, .NET, JavaScript, ObjectARX | LISP (AutoLISP/Visual LISP), BRX |
| Free trial | 30 days | Ask the vendor | 30 days (Ultimate) |
| In Turkey | Turkish product page; sold through authorised resellers | Through authorised resellers | MechSoft (Octave BricsCAD Premium Partner): installation, training, migration and support in Turkish |
| Best-fit company profile | Teams on Windows only with no need for 3D models or BIM | Teams tied to Autodesk’s vertical products and to add-ons written only for ObjectARX | Teams that want speed and DWG compatibility in 2D, will move into 3D, mechanical design or BIM on the same platform as needs grow, use mixed operating systems and want to keep the perpetual licence option |
Sources: BricsCAD (Octave), ZWCAD product page, ZWSOFT, “Differences Between ZWCAD Standard, Professional, and MFG”, ZWCAD Turkish product page, Wikipedia, “ZWCAD”, Wikipedia, “AutoCAD”; accessed 28–30 October 2026. The table shows no prices; pricing varies by region, edition, licence type and number of users.
BricsCAD in 2D too: speed, DWG compatibility and productivity
BricsCAD is a strong choice not only for 3D and BIM but for the 2D drafting teams spend most of their day on. Details come from Octave’s BricsCAD pages and release coverage: BricsCAD 2D, BricsCAD V25, Digital Engineering 247, BricsCAD V26 (accessed 4 November 2026).
Native DWG
BricsCAD uses DWG as its own file format: drawings are not converted on open or translated on save. Bricsys is a founding member of the Open Design Alliance, which works on DWG compatibility, and BricsCAD has been developed on its own core since V10 in 2010.
Performance on large drawings
V25 opens large drawings faster, loads external references in the background and applies multi-threading to more operations. V26 speeds up opening hundreds of DWG files together, running LISP routines and working with xref-heavy files.
2D productivity tools
The Quad cursor menu learns from your work and suggests the next command. Blockify finds repeated geometry and turns it into blocks, cutting file size by up to 90% according to the vendor. Parametric blocks, COPYGUIDED and MOVEGUIDED, and clean-up tools such as OPTIMIZE and SIMPLIFY shorten repetitive drafting.
Measure with your own drawings
No independent performance or DWG-fidelity test comparing these programs has been published, and vendor-written comparisons favour their own product. Your own files are the most reliable benchmark: MechSoft opens your largest and most complex drawings with you in the 30-day BricsCAD trial, and we measure open and save times and file exchange with your partners together.
Where do BricsCAD and ZWCAD really differ?
Growth path: from 2D to 3D, mechanical and BIM
This is the most decisive difference. In ZWCAD, 3D solid modelling is in the Professional edition; for parametric 3D part and assembly design ZWSOFT offers a separate product, ZW3D, and BIM functions are not part of ZWCAD’s edition comparison. In BricsCAD, Lite, Pro, Mechanical, BIM and Ultimate are editions of one platform: the team stays in the same interface with the same DWG files and simply moves up an edition as needs grow. For teams drawing only in 2D today but moving soon to 3D models, sheet metal and assemblies or BIM projects, that means not learning a second program. For the concept of BIM, see our What is BIM? article.
Operating system
ZWCAD’s product page describes Windows; the Linux edition is offered only in the Chinese market and there is no macOS edition. BricsCAD runs on Windows, macOS and Linux with the same product. If the design team includes architects on Macs, or the organisation runs Linux distributions such as Pardus, the choice is largely made here.
Licence model
Here the two programs are close: both offer a perpetual licence, a subscription and a network licence. AutoCAD, by contrast, has been sold only by subscription since 2016. With a perpetual licence, updates and support usually come with a separate maintenance fee, so it is sounder to compare on a three-year total cost that includes licences, maintenance, training and migration services.
LISP routines and add-ons
LISP routines largely run in both programs; this is the part of a migration that takes the least effort. C++ add-ons, however, are compiled per program: ZRX in ZWCAD, BRX in BricsCAD. Note also that ZWCAD Standard supports only LISP; VBA and .NET applications need Professional or MFG. Ask the maker of any industry add-on you use whether a version exists for the target program.
ZWCAD’s history: IntelliCAD, ZWCAD+ and the Autodesk lawsuit
Early ZWCAD versions were built on IntelliCAD, the shared core of many DWG-based programs; ZWSOFT was a member of the IntelliCAD Technology Consortium (ITC) from 2002. In July 2012 ZWSOFT released ZWCAD+, presented as a “new core”; today’s ZWCAD versions continue that line.
The Autodesk lawsuit ended in a 2015 settlement
In 2014 Autodesk sued ZWSOFT in The Hague and in the US (Northern District of California), alleging ZWCAD+ was developed using AutoCAD source code. The case ended in November 2015 with a settlement, not a court ruling. According to both companies’ statements, ZWSOFT paid an undisclosed sum, acknowledged that an employee had improperly used Autodesk intellectual property, stopped selling ZWCAD+ in all markets and offered its users ZWCAD Classic free of charge.
The IntelliCAD consortium’s December 2025 lawsuit
On 5 December 2025 the IntelliCAD Technology Consortium announced a lawsuit against ZWSOFT and ZYX Technology. The consortium alleges that ZWCAD and ZyxCAD use IntelliCAD technology without permission and that ZWSOFT refused a licence audit, claiming copyright infringement, trade-secret misappropriation and breach of contract. These are the consortium’s allegations.
Why it matters for a company purchase
When you choose a CAD platform for many years, who owns the core and any legal disputes matter for the continuity of licences and updates. BricsCAD has been developed on its own core, with no IntelliCAD code, since V10 in 2010; Bricsys founder Erik de Keyser announced this when that version shipped.
Sources: Autodesk press release (19 November 2015), ZWSOFT, Business Wire (18 November 2015), Digital Engineering 247 (4 April 2014), ITC announcement (5 December 2025), ZWSOFT, ZWCAD+ announcement (June 2012), Digital Engineering 247, “BricsCAD V10 no longer based on IntelliCAD platform” (February 2010); accessed 4 November 2026.
Your AutoCAD applications run on BricsCAD
The LISP routines, menus and applications you have built up for AutoCAD or ZWCAD over the years are no obstacle to moving to BricsCAD. The points below come from Bricsys’s (Octave) Build on BricsCAD and CAD alternative pages (accessed 3 November 2026).
LISP and DCL
Most existing AutoLISP programs run in BricsCAD without modification; DCL dialog boxes can also be used unchanged in most cases.
Menus, scripts and templates
BricsCAD is compatible with AutoCAD’s command, script, macro and menu structure; your menus, command scripts, templates, CTB/STB plot styles and layer states keep working in BricsCAD.
C++ applications (ObjectARX → BRX)
BRX is code-compatible with AutoCAD’s ObjectARX. C++ applications whose source code you hold are moved to BricsCAD by building them with BRX; if a software vendor holds the source, ask them for the BricsCAD version. Add-ins written with ZRX are built for BRX the same way.
COM, VBA and .NET
BricsCAD’s COM interfaces are similar to AutoCAD’s COM model and let the same client code run on both platforms. Most VBA macros created in AutoCAD run with minimal modification. For .NET applications BricsCAD has a .NET API.
Plan the move with MechSoft
Before the move we list the routines and applications you use together and try each one with your own drawings in the 30-day BricsCAD trial, so it is clear from the start which run as they are and which need building with BRX.
Which one stands out, and when?
BricsCAD for 2D drafting too
With native DWG, fast opening of large drawings, background loading of xrefs, productivity tools such as Quad and Blockify and a perpetual licence, BricsCAD Lite is a strong choice for 2D drafting. ZWCAD Standard also offers perpetual-licence 2D drafting; BricsCAD Lite differs in upgrading to Pro, Mechanical or BIM on the same platform and in running on macOS and Linux too. In Turkey, installation, training and support are provided in Turkish by MechSoft.
2D mechanical manufacturing drawings
ZWCAD MFG focuses on 2D mechanical drafting with a parts library and automatic bills of materials. BricsCAD Mechanical combines 2D manufacturing drawings with 3D part, sheet-metal and assembly design on the same platform: drawings are generated from the model and update as it changes, and the team does not learn a second program.
If you will grow into 3D models and BIM
With ZWCAD, parametric 3D needs a separate product (ZW3D) and there is no BIM. BricsCAD Pro, Mechanical, BIM and Ultimate offer one path on the same DWG platform, from 2D all the way to building information modelling.
Teams on macOS or Linux
BricsCAD runs on Windows, macOS and Linux with the same licence and the same drawing behaviour. ZWCAD has no macOS edition and its Linux edition is only for the Chinese market.
If you have applications written for AutoCAD
That alone is no reason to stay on AutoCAD. Most LISP routines run in BricsCAD without modification; because BRX is code-compatible with ObjectARX, C++ applications whose source code you hold are moved to BricsCAD by building them with BRX. BricsCAD is also sold with a perpetual licence, while AutoCAD has been subscription-only since 2016. Even if some users keep one of Autodesk’s vertical products, the rest of the team can work with BricsCAD on the same DWG files. For details see our BricsCAD vs AutoCAD post.
How should you evaluate a move from ZWCAD to BricsCAD?
1. Open your real drawings
Open and save the large, complex DWGs you made in ZWCAD, projects with external references, blocks and text styles in BricsCAD’s 30-day trial; then reopen the saved file in your partner’s program. Note open, regeneration and save times.
2. Run your LISP and templates
Test your LISP routines, menu customisations, templates and drawing standards. List any add-ons written in ZRX that would need a BRX version.
3. Choose the edition by need
ZWCAD Standard users compare Lite, Professional users compare Pro, and MFG users compare Mechanical; with BIM projects, look at BIM or Ultimate.
4. Calculate the three-year total cost
Add up licence type, maintenance and updates, network licences, training and migration services for both programs in the same table.
Frequently asked questions about BricsCAD and ZWCAD
ZWCAD or BricsCAD?
BricsCAD, for teams that want speed, native DWG and productivity tools in 2D; that will move into 3D modelling, mechanical design or BIM on the same platform as needs grow; that also use macOS or Linux; or that want to keep applications written for AutoCAD: all on one DWG platform with a perpetual licence. Decide by opening your largest drawings in both trials; MechSoft runs this trial with you.
What is the difference between ZWCAD and AutoCAD?
Both work with DWG and have similar command structures. ZWCAD is sold with a perpetual licence, a subscription or a network licence and runs on Windows; AutoCAD has been sold only by subscription since 2016, has Windows and macOS editions and comes with Autodesk’s vertical products and the ObjectARX add-on ecosystem.
What does ZWCAD MFG focus on?
ZWCAD MFG is an edition focused on 2D mechanical drawings, with a parts library and automatic bills of materials. BricsCAD Mechanical offers 3D part, sheet-metal and assembly design on the same platform alongside 2D manufacturing drawings, so the team does not learn a second program when it moves from 2D to 3D. We recommend deciding with your own drawings in both programs’ trials.
Do ZWCAD files open in BricsCAD?
Yes. Both programs open and save DWG as their own format, so drawings made in ZWCAD open in BricsCAD without conversion. Custom objects and add-on data may behave differently, so test with your own archive before switching.
Do ZWCAD LISP routines run in BricsCAD?
Yes, largely. C++ add-ins written with ZRX are built for BricsCAD’s BRX interface; because BRX is code-compatible with AutoCAD’s ObjectARX, AutoCAD applications are moved to BricsCAD the same way.
Is ZWCAD based on IntelliCAD?
Its early versions were built on IntelliCAD. ZWSOFT announced a move to a new core with ZWCAD+ in 2012; the IntelliCAD Technology Consortium alleges in a lawsuit filed in December 2025 that ZWCAD contains IntelliCAD technology without permission. BricsCAD has been developed on its own core with no IntelliCAD code since 2010.
Is Autodesk’s lawsuit against ZWCAD still active?
No. The lawsuit Autodesk filed over ZWCAD+ in 2014 ended in a settlement in November 2015: ZWSOFT paid an undisclosed sum, acknowledged that an employee had improperly used Autodesk intellectual property and stopped selling ZWCAD+. Details and sources are in the “History” section above.
Does MechSoft sell ZWCAD?
No. MechSoft is an Octave BricsCAD Premium Partner and handles BricsCAD sales, training and support in Turkey. ZWCAD is sold in Turkey through authorised resellers. If you are evaluating ZWCAD, we can help you compare BricsCAD against the same criteria, on your own drawings.
Continue with CAD selection
Let’s compare ZWCAD and BricsCAD on your own drawings
Let’s talk through your drawing types, DWG archive and LISP routines, and show BricsCAD on your own files.