When looking for a 3D CAD solution to support your engineering department, the variety of choices can be nearly overwhelming. If your selection focuses purely on features and functions, you will still be left with a mess of feature charts and confusing conclusions. We find that clients who focus on the intangible factors that differentiate the customer experience between two competing systems find a solution that better fits their organization’s needs. However, sometimes the decision is difficult because the systems under consideration have very similar capabilities. However, when it comes to Creo vs BricsCAD, we think the choice is crystal clear. Here’s why.

Creo vs BricsCAD Capabilities Showdown:

3D CAD Modeling

BricsCAD evolved from offering only 2D modeling to including 3D modeling back in 2010. Its functionality is adequate for most tasks. You must have a Pro or Platinum license to gain access to 3D modeling tools. Since it is not offered with the standard package, 3D modeling is clearly not the focus of BricsCAD.

Creo, on the other hand, started as a 3D modeling tool back at its inception in 1985. Creo has been a consistent innovator in the market with 3D CAD tools to support advanced technologies like additive manufacturing and IIoT. It continues to deliver on PTC’s mission to create and support opportunities for industrial innovation at the convergence of the physical and digital.

Creo has always been a leader and innovator in the 3D CAD market.

Vision, Industry 4.0, Digital Transformation, IoT and AR

PTC Creo’s product vision goes miles beyond that which BricsCAD has expressed. BricsCAD is still touting its ability to import PDFs, while Creo is connecting machinery and equipment in industrial plants and at customer sites for a world-class IIoT experience.

Creo supports its customers’ journeys to digital transformation by supporting advanced technologies like IoT, virtual reality, and augmented reality. Creo is a leader in the IIoT field and regularly gets high marks regarding company vision from industry analysts and reviewers as well as users. PTC Creo was named a visionary in the prestigious Gartner Magic Quadrant for Industrial IoT platforms.

Creo is driving forward the digital transformation with advanced capabilities like IIoT and AR.

Ease of Use

BricsCAD touts that its user interface is similar to AutoCAD’s, but AutoCAD’s UI is dated. AutoCAD looks like it was written in the era of client-server computing, and so does BricsCAD. Creo’s more modern interface makes navigation simple, users can easily find the tools they need to complete tasks. Customer satisfaction survey results for Creo are usually around 99-100%. BricsCAD hits a respectable 90-95%, but when it comes to efficiency and ease of use, even a few lost minutes add up.

Creo’s modern UI makes navigation and onboarding simple.

Collaboration

BricsCAD Communicator allows users to import, export, and edit files from other systems. It can work with STE, STP, IGS, IGES, Catia V4, VDA-FS, and Creo. However, Communicator is an add on to the cost of an initial BricsCAD license. There is no cross-platform collaboration as there is with Creo.

Creo supports multiple releases of CATIA, NX, Solidworks, and Autodesk. It can manage changes to non-Creo data using its Unite technology and eliminates the need to create neutral file formats that can hamper the design process when collaborating with customers or suppliers.

Creo’s advanced Unite technology eliminates the headaches created when trying to import and edit various file types.

Supported Industries

PTC has been focused on the manufacturing industry since its inception. Creo is optimized for:

  • Aerospace and Defense
  • Automotive
  • Electronics
  • High tech
  • Life sciences
  • Oil and Gas
  • Retail and Consumer Products

BricsCAD does not offer any industry-specific expertise, although it does have add on modules for mechanical design and a few other areas. In addition, it has a marketplace that includes several third-party solutions.

Creo can support a wide range of industries.

Integrated Learning and Support

Both companies have online help and tutorials. BricsCAD offers the first year of maintenance for free. PTC Creo is available as a cloud solution, which also includes maintenance and support. In addition, both solutions have a robust online user community.

Deployment Flexibility

BricsCAD is offered in Windows, macOS and Linux versions, and licenses can be annual or perpetual. With the perpetual option, annual maintenance is an add-on fee each year. There is no cloud option, which further clouds the issue of collaboration support and being able to stay relevant in our every-increasingly connected world.

Creo is available either on-premise or in the cloud. Companies are free to move their deployments in either direction, but with Creo’s vision of digital transformation, it is unlikely any customer would opt to move from the cloud to on-premise.

Creo is offered on the cloud or on-premise so you can continue driving your digital transformation.

License Price

BricsCAD is known for having a modest price when compared to more established CAD players like Creo, but that may not be the case for most customers. To acquire BricsCAD capability roughly equivalent to Creo, users must opt for the BricsCad Ultimate solution, which is more than $2600 for a perpetual license. The user must also add Communicator for an additional $715. After the first year, users must pay for maintenance. These prices do not include the multiple third-party add-ons necessary to bring parity with Creo’s capabilities. Although subscription prices alone are lower at $1058 and $286 respectively, that is still more than half the price of the much more functional Creo cloud license, which may be licensed for as low as $2200.

Who is the CAD Software Comparison Winner?

As one of PTC’s largest resellers, we may be prejudiced, but in the case of BrisCAD vs Creo, Creo is clearly the winner. Even with the lower initial price BrisCAD offers, the productivity loss from BrisCAD’s limited functionality and the lack of support for cloud deployment, or Industry 4.0 and IIoT requirements, means that PTC Creo comes out ahead. To find out more about Creo’s industry-leading capabilities, contact us today.

When it comes to Creo vs BricsCAD there is no comparison – Creo is the clear winner.

Or if you are interested in seeing how Creo stacks up against other platforms, check out our other blog posts: