AutoCAD vs Solidworks: Worldwide Market Share Compared

A leader in design for decades, architects worldwide depend on Autodesk AutoCAD for 3D renderings and layouts.  But many count Dassault Solidworks superior in assemblies and relief sketches.  For engineers, even competing products work best together.

Looking at the software options for Computer Aided Design, the current market share for Autodesk AutoCAD is 37% and Dassault Solidworks is 12%. But that doesn’t mean there’s not some overlap. In the past year, these products have enjoyed proportional growth in worldwide market share.

Market Penetration by Industry

To read between the lines, so to speak, you might look toward industry distribution. Despite a comparable customer base in the fields of Mechanical Engineering and Computer Hardware, AutoCAD takes the lead in industries like Construction, Architecture, and Civil Engineering.  That seems to suggest Solidworks’ suiting for small-scale projects, while AutoCAD fills a grander set of needs.

AutoCAD vs Solidworks - adoption by industry

Major Geographic Markets

Regional similarities can also yield some insight.  In a breakdown of customers by country, companies utilizing Computer Aided Design tend to emerge in areas of high production, construction, or resource allocation.  For example, AutoCAD has a higher volume in the huge US market for construction.

AutoCAD vs Solidworks - adoption by country

Adoption Trends by Customer Company Size

In the worldwide market there are generally more companies under 50 employees.  But AutoCAD and Solidworks have a similar distribution, suggesting that enterprise-level companies are likely to use both.  Below are ten sample companies using these products in conjunction.

AutoCAD vs Solidworks - adoption by company size

Who is using AutoCAD and Solidworks?

Companies using both AutoCAD and Solidworks

We’ve found 21,784 companies using both AutoCAD and Solidworks.  Airswift, Jade Engineers, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance, Watts Water, Ascenx, MatchTech Engineering Recruitment, Case Western Reserve University, American Panel Corporation, Water Tectonics, Murzan are among principal customers.

Companies using AutoCAD but not Solidworks

Our database can also track potential customers for each product.  Dassault or a similar vendor might target key prospects Restoration Hardware, Walter P Moore, Bohler Engineering, Stewart Inc, and Harris Rebar, to name a few.

Companies using Solidworks but not AutoCAD

And an Autodesk-type might call Sparx Engineering, Juno Pacific, Think Surgical, Drucker Diagnostics, or Piper Plastics.

Since 20% of AutoCAD’s customers also use Solidworks, it’s important to consider both lists when positioning a new solution.  With data crawlers tracking job listings, resumes, client documentation and more, Enlyft's system gauges probability that a company is using a certain product.  Access these insights and more on over 10,000 tech targeting pages.

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