A new white paper comparing Autodesk AutoCAD Web to Graebert ARES Kudo finds that Kudo “significantly” outperforms AutoCAD Web in almost every category of comparison. The white paper, “Comparing Cloud-based CAD Systems from Autodesk and Graebert,” is written by well-known CAD expert Ralph Grabowski. The paper goes into painstaking detail to compare the two products feature by feature. The white paper was released today by sponsor Graebert GmbH at the start of its annual conference in Berlin — taking place the same time as Autodesk University in Las Vegas.
Both products are designed to be “use anywhere” products, capable of opening and editing DWG-based drawings or starting new drawings on any device with a supported browser. Few CAD vendors have web-based versions of their products, and most are view-only.
In the executive summary, Grabowski provides lists of each product’s competitive differentiators. This section is repeated here by permission. The complete white paper is available for download at: www.graebert.com/compare-areskudo
Summary of Significant Differences
AutoCAD Web App benefits (over ARES Kudo):
■ Monthly subscription available
Drawbacks:
■ AutoCAD Web App supported only on two Web browsers: the 64-bit versions of Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox on Windows and MacOS; not supported on Chrome derivatives, such as Opera or OSes like Linux, or 32-bit versions
■ Not supported in private browsing (incognito window) modes
■ Fewer cloud storage services supported; no private cloud; different set of cloud services supported than AutoCAD Mobile App
■ Web App incorrectly displays DWG files, and fails to open all content in DWG files
■ Implementation of shared drawings suffers from problems; comments cannot be linked to entities
■ Shared views and commenting require use of the desktop software and are not supported in AutoCAD Web App
■ Fewer functions in free apps and paid apps
■ No editing of tables, fields, regions, groups, and hatches
■ More expensive annual subscription for programs on all platforms (desktop, Web, mobile), ranging from $380 (AutoCAD LT with three-year commitment) to $2,400 (annualized monthly term with AutoCAD)
ARES Kudo benefits (over AutoCAD Web):
■ Kudo runs in all modern browsers, and it runs on all operating systems, such as Opera on Linux
■ More functions in both the free and paid Kudo apps
■ Editing of tables, fields, regions, groups, and hatches
■ Opens all DWG files and their content correctly
■ Imports Microstation DGN files
■ Drawing sharing system works reliably; comments can be linked to entities
■ Shares view-only links with free viewing and making comments from ARES Kudo, without switching to the desktop version
■ Supports more cloud services; private cloud available
■ Cheaper annual subscription of $250 for all three platforms: desktop, Web, and mobile
■ ARES Kudo available on its own for $99/year
Drawbacks
■ Annual subscription only (monthly subscriptions available for Onshape subscribers)
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