Top 5 Solid Edge Alternatives

Solid Edge originated in the mid-1990s, with the first version released in 1996. Over time, this 2D and 3D modeling software has made its mark by consistently evolving and expanding its features. Today, the software falls in the mid-range category, meaning it is not priced as much as CATIA, NX, or Creo. It is also not an entry-level tool (in terms of price), a category reserved for the likes of FreeCAD. 

Solid Edge has solidified its role in the development of CAD and the history of CAM, but it’s far from the only option. Many alternatives are available for both new and current users. With this background in mind, let’s explore the top 5 alternatives to Solid Edge. These alternatives, like Solid Edge, are drawn from the mid-range category, which itself is an element of the pricing. Before diving into the alternatives, let’s first outline what Solid Edge offers in terms of features and pricing.

What is Solid Edge?

Solid Edge is a mid-range 2D drafting and 3D modeling software. First announced in 1995 and released in 1996 by the now-defunct Intergraph, Solid Edge was initially oriented towards the design of large assemblies. Later versions, however, incorporated individual part design. (Intergraph was acquired by and folded into Unigraphics Solutions in 1998, with Siemens acquiring Unigraphics in 2007.) 

Today, Solid Edge is developed and sold by Siemens Digital Industries Software, a Siemens subsidiary. It offers a range of tools and features aimed at meeting a number of business needs in the mechanical, electrical, and manufacturing fields. It ships with broad 2D and 3D design solutions as well as scalable data management and collaboration solutions.

Features of Solid Edge

Solid Edge User Interface (source)

Solid Edge is an industry-leading 3D modeling software that supports part and assembly modeling, photorealistic rendering, sheet metal design, and modular plant design (including the creation of 3D piping systems). The software’s computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) solutions support various manufacturing processes, including additive manufacturing, assembling, welding, molding, nesting, CNC machining, and 3D printing. Solid Edge also supports 2D drafting, including dimensioning, annotation, simple drawing layouts, and diagramming. The software also ensures the 2D drawings comply with CAD standards.

With Solid Edge, you can design simple electrical circuits and complex wire harnesses, simulate circuit performance, visualize electrical aspects, and access a massive library of electrical parts and components. Solid Edge also lets you create 2D industrial control panel layouts and PCBs and design routes along which wiring will be laid in 3D assembly models.

Beyond electrical design, Solid Edge features the synchronous technology, which combines direct modeling with parametric design. This feature helps users create 3D models faster and easier, as well as implement change requests more rapidly. In fact, it enables users to simultaneously update multiple parts within an assembly.

For analysis and simulation, Solid Edge includes integrated tools and systems that enhance its capabilities. For instance, the Simcenter FLOEFD facilitates computational fluid dynamics (CFD), while the Simcenter Flomaster allows you to model thermos-fluid systems based on CAD data. These tools enable you to optimize and validate your CAD models.

Solid Edge Pricing

There are four Solid Edge packages: Solid Edge Design and Drafting, Solid Edge Foundation, Solid Edge Classic, and Solid Edge Premium. Each package is sold on a subscription basis, with a term of one month, one year, or three years. The Solid Edge prices are summarized in the table below:

Top 5 Solid Edge Alternatives

Solid Edge was released as a mid-range modeling software. The software still targets this demographic, which is why Scan2CAD’s list of the top 5 Solid Edge alternatives only includes the following mid-range software:

1.     SolidWorks
2.     Inventor
3.     Onshape
4.     Rhino
5.     Autodesk Fusion

Our analysis of these top 5 Solid Edge alternatives will be based on various parameters, including features and capabilities, user experience, and pricing.

1. SolidWorks

SolidWorks User Interface (source)

Like Solid Edge, SolidWorks is a mid-range 3D computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided engineering (CAE) software. It is currently a product of software giant Dassault Systèmes, which acquired the SolidWorks franchise in 1997. (SolidWorks is, however, much older than Solid Edge, with its prototype – then called Winchester Design – having been released in late 1994.) 

SolidWorks enables 2D drafting, 3D modeling, animation and visualization, simulation, advanced photorealistic rendering and analyses (e.g., time-based motion analysis, linear static analysis using linear stress analysis and finite element analysis (FEA), and sustainability analysis). It can handle the design and modeling of complex parts and assemblies and can be used to conduct large design reviews. The software also supports cloud-based collaboration and file management, allowing you to connect and share files with remote teams and partners, as well as get timely feedback. 

What’s more, SolidWorks is equally capable on the manufacturing front. It ships with tools that enable you to prepare models for additive manufacturing and print directly to a 3D printer. It also helps NC programmers optimize tool paths and validate their manufacturing designs.

Solid Edge vs. SolidWorks

Pricing

SolidWorks is a more expensive Solid Edge alternative. The SolidWorks pricing is as follows: The comprehensive SolidWorks Premium package, which includes all the aforementioned features, costs $4,716 per year. The other packages, SolidWorks Professional and SolidWorks Standard, cost $3,456 per year and $2,820 per year, respectively. In addition, a perpetual license for SolidWorks sets you back about $4,195 plus the cost of supported subscription services, which can be as much as $3,200. 

However, you may find these amounts off-putting as a hobbyist, which is perhaps why SolidWorks has a cheaper option for makers, hobbyists, and DIY enthusiasts. SolidWorks for Makers costs $48 per year. This software lets you design parts, assemblies, and 2D drawings and create freeform, sheet metal, and mold designs. It also supports NC programming via its CAM tools, rendering, and motion studies.

Tools and Features

As one of the top 5 Solid Edge alternatives, SolidWorks sports a comprehensive suite of tools that have endeared it to millions of active users. SolidWorks is indeed one of the biggest names in the CAD space. Both Solid Edge and SolidWorks have built-in simulation, rendering, and CAM tools. They both have powerful and proven 2D drawing and 3D modeling capabilities and data/file management solutions. 

Another similarity is that both software products promote collaboration with their cloud connectivity. Solid Edge achieves this through the Teamcenter Share solution, while SolidWorks offers cloud collaboration tools like Share and Markup, chat support, and video calls, just to mention a few.

Solid Edge users report that the software is more stable than SolidWorks –the latter, they say, crashes more times than the former. From a user experience perspective, users report that Solid Edge’s user interface has improved over the years, making it more usable than before. Users also report that Solid Edge is better than SolidWorks (or even Inventor) at dealing with assemblies and sheet metal designs. They note that the former handles large assemblies much better.

2. Inventor

Inventor User Interface (source)

Like Solid Edge and SolidWorks, Inventor was released in the 1990s; Autodesk released Inventor in 1999. It is a professional-grade 3D CAD software that provides powerful mechanical design tools for 2D drawing, 3D (part and assembly) modeling, visualization, simulation, sheet metal design, and documentation. With regards to simulation and visualization, Inventor facilitates stress analysis, animations and exploded views, and dynamic simulation. Other capabilities and features include model-based definition (MBD), a crucial component of the model-based enterprise(MBE), parametric and direct modeling, tube and pipe design, and automated frame design. 

In addition, Investor’s integrated Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) and iLogic functionality lets users automate repetitive design tasks, helping streamline designs through custom scripting and programming. iLogic enables you to create rules/logic that run at specific times to do prescribed work. VBA, on the other hand, lets you customize/program Inventor and integrate it with third-party applications and data. Inventor also supports BIM interoperability and allows you to integrate PCB and mechanical designs into a single definition of a model.

Solid Edge vs. Inventor

Pricing

Autodesk sells Inventor via three different subscription licensing options: a one-month subscription license, costing $310 per user; a one-year subscription license, priced at $2,500; and a three-year license, costing $7,505 per user. For this reason, the Solid Edge Classic and Premium packages are more expensive than Inventor. However, the other two packages, Solid Edge Foundation and Solid Edge Design and Drafting, are cheaper.

Tools and Features

While Inventor supports direct modeling and parametric design, its implementation of these design approaches is separate. In contrast, the synchronous technology in Solid Edge combines both direct and parametric modeling. This means that Solid Edge allows users to simultaneously enjoy the best of both worlds, enabling users to, in theory, create and update 3D models much faster.

Another point of divergence is the custom scripting. While Inventor lets you define rules and logic that guide the software to automate repetitive tasks, Solid Edge does not. In fact, Solid Edge does not have VBA, meaning you cannot run scripts/documents that automate the software or extend its capabilities.

3. Onshape

Onshape User Interface (source)

Onshape is our third entry in our list of the top 5 Solid Edge alternatives. It is a web-based/cloud-native CAD and product data management (PDM) software. It, therefore, runs on any device via the web browser and is not prone to crashing or data losses. Onshape auto-saves design data in the cloud. Its cloud-native architecture provides additional advantages beyond data storage: it empowers real-time collaboration. Multiple professionals can work together on the same design, often simultaneously.

Regarding its design tools and features, Onshape supports 2D drafting/drawing and the design of parts, assembly, sheet metal, frames, and surfaces. It also has a PCB studio that allows you to design printed circuit boards (PCBs). Other capabilities include simulation and rendering. 

What’s more, Onshape plans to roll out the CAM Studio, which is currently available by invitation only. CAM Studio will add CAM capabilities to the native Onshape software. It will support toolpath calculations and CNC machine simulations to prevent machine damage. It will also generate G-code programs for CNC machining.

Solid Edge vs. Onshape

Pricing 

There is a free Onshape plan that includes CAD tools for designing parts, assemblies, drawings, sheet metal, and weldments, unlimited public storage, real-time collaboration, version control, mobile apps, and online training. The Onshape Standard plan costs $1,500 per user per year, while the Onshape Professional plan costs $2,500 per user per year. It is, however, worth mentioning that the Standard plan only provides limited improvements over the free plan. You must choose the Professional plan to access advanced features like simulation and rendering. 

Tools and Features

Both Solid Edge and Onshape support electrical design. However, Solid Edge is much more advanced on this front. While Onshape only allows designers to create PCB designs via its PCB studio, Solid Edge takes it several notches higher, as detailed earlier. 

Another key difference is that Onshape is architected as web-based software, while Solid Edge is designed to be installed locally on a computer. For this reason, Onshape’s architecture eliminates crashes that can – and often do – affect Solid Edge. However, this presents another issue: Onshape cannot work without an internet connection. That said, a benefit of this architecture is that Onshape promotes real-time collaboration. Solid Edge nonetheless does enable collaboration via Teamcenter Share, Siemens’ cloud-based collaboration solution.

4. Autodesk Fusion

Autodesk Fusion User Interface (source)

Autodesk Fusion is a cloud-based platform that fuses various capabilities, including CAD, CAE, CAM, and PCB, thus facilitating various integral processes in the manufacturing industry. It is intended to streamline the entire product development process by facilitating an easy transition from design and analysis to manufacturing.

Fusion’s features and tools support 3D design and modeling, direct modeling, parametric modeling, surface modeling, freeform modeling, sheet metal design, and assembly and part design. With Fusion, you can also create NC code for 3 to 5-axis machining, turning, and turn-milling operations. Additionally, Fusion supports simulation, generative design (which exemplifies the role of AI in CAD), data management, additive manufacturing, collaboration, and documentation.

You can incorporate more advanced features by purchasing and integrating several extensions into Fusion. The Fusion Manufacturing Extension, for instance, unlocks CAM capabilities and tools. This extension lets you access tools for 3, 4, and 5-axis CNC machining, additive manufacturing, and sheet-based nesting and fabrication. 

Other extensions include the Fusion Simulation Extension, which lets you optimize your design’s performance and incorporate generative design, FEA, and more. The Fusion Design Extension helps enhance the aesthetics and performance of a design, while the Fusion Manage Extension lets you manage data, change orders, releases, and bills of materials. However, these extensions are priced between $495 and $1,465 annually.

Solid Edge vs. Fusion

Pricing

How much does Fusion cost? Like Inventor, Fusion is also available to consumers via three subscription tiers. The one-month license costs $85, with the one-year subscription costing anywhere between $476 and $680, depending on whether Autodesk is running an offer. The three-year subscription costs $2,040. It is worth emphasizing that a free package with limited functionality is also available for qualifying non-commercial customers as a three-year subscription. Fusion costs much less than both Solid Edge and Inventor.

Tools and Features

Both Solid Edge and Fusion have advanced PCB and schematic design tools. However, Solid Edge trumps Fusion when it comes to other elements of electrical design. For instance, and as discussed earlier, Solid Edge enables you to design wiring harnesses, route wiring in assemblies, simulate circuit performance, and visualize electrical elements, just to mention a few. On its part, Fusion lacks these advanced tools.

But Fusion shines in one aspect where Solid Edge falls short: Fusion is available for Windows and MacOS. You can also access Fusion via a web browser. In contrast, Solid Edge is only available on Windows and must be installed locally.

5. Rhino

Rhino User Interface (source)

Rhino is the fifth entry in our list of the top 5 Solid Edge alternatives. Rhino is a 3D CAD software capable of free-form 3D modeling, 2D drafting, and surface modeling. It supports analysis, simulation, animation, and rendering, not to mention that it also features CAM functionalities. Rhino also streamlines the design process thanks to its scripting capabilities. You can use scripting tools like the Unified Script Editor to customize and extend the software’s capabilities. 

Additionally, Rhino offers file management tools that help you manage large files and projects. These tools enable you to merge files, preview projects, compress files, and export designs. The Rhino community considers this software a robust 3D modeling software, particularly for NURB surfaces. In fact, the software is perfect as a shaping tool, given it is oriented towards surfacing, shaping, and forming. 

In this sense, Rhino differs from other 3D modeling software applications like Solid Edge, which help users build parts and products. Depending on how you view it, this can be an advantage or a disadvantage. From a broad product development perspective, however, Rhino can fall short, especially because it does not support assemblies. Nonetheless, Rhino is available on both Windows and MacOS, which is a plus.  

Solid Edge vs. Rhino

Pricing

Rhino is priced at a flat rate of $995 per user for a perpetual license. You can also upgrade from an older version to a new version for $595 per user. In this regard, Rhino is a cheaper Solid Edge alternative and the cheapest in the long-term.

Tools and Features

Solid Edge offers more comprehensive tools and features than Rhino, a fact that is perhaps reflected in the pricing. For instance, Solid Edge supports the design of assemblies and parts, while Rhino is suited for the design of surfaces or meshes. Analysis is another area where Solid Edge is superior. While Rhino does enable you to analyze 3D models, its capabilities are limited on this front. In contrast, Solid Edge offers a panoply of analysis tools, including built-in FEA, CFD, and thermos-fluid analysis. Rhino also lacks cloud-based collaboration tools; its Cloud Zoo solution is designed to manage licenses rather than files and data.

Conclusion

If you are looking for mid-range 3D modeling software, there are several options besides Solid Edge. The top 5 Solid Edge alternatives include SolidWorks, Inventor, Onshape, Autodesk Fusion, and Rhino. The developers of each of these software products have integrated robust design, simulation, analysis, rendering, and collaboration tools. But some tools are superior to others. For instance, four of the top 5 Solid Edge alternatives, alongside Solid Edge itself, are superior to Rhino when it comes to collaboration, assembly and part design, simulation, and rendering. However, Rhino thrives in surface modeling. Against this backdrop, understanding what each software is capable of is key to choosing the best option for your 3D modeling task.