How progeCAD Professional compares with DraftSight Professional and Premium.
Last updated October 7, 2026. DraftSight pricing checked October 2026 on DraftSight's online store (US list prices before any promotions) and may change.
Feature
progeCAD
$540 one-time
DraftSight
by Dassault Systèmes
Price & licensing
License model
How you pay
One-time perpetual
Annual subscription
Perpetual only via resellers
Price
Manufacturer list price
$540
2D + 3D, one-time
$299–$599/yr
Professional / Premium
3-year cost
List price, one seat
$540
$897–$1,797
Network / floating license
✓
Flex (NLM) option
✓
Enterprise, from $399/yr
Sales & support
Who you deal with
✓
progeCAD USA, Clackamas, OR
Dassault Systèmes
and resellers
File compatibility
Native DWG read/write
Open and save DWG without conversion
✓
✓
DXF import/export
✓
✓
IFC (BIM) import
✓
Import and export
✓
Premium only
CAD capabilities
AutoCAD-style commands & interface
✓
✓
LISP routines
Run existing AutoLISP
✓
✓
3D solid modeling
✓
Included
✓
Premium only
Programming API
✓
VBA, SDS, IRX
✓
Premium only
Platform support
Windows
✓
✓
Mac
iCADMac
Mac-native edition
✓
Linux
✗
✗
Why progeCAD
Why teams choose progeCAD over DraftSight.
Comparable everyday drafting — without a yearly bill, and with 3D included.
Pay once, keep it.
progeCAD Professional is $540 one time. It costs less than DraftSight Premium in year one and less than DraftSight Professional by year two — and it keeps working without another payment.
3D in the same license.
3D ACIS solid modeling, IFC import/export, PDF-to-DWG import and 22,000+ blocks are all part of progeCAD Professional — no higher tier to unlock them.
US-based support.
Questions are answered by progeCAD USA in Clackamas, Oregon, during US business hours — before and after you buy.
When DraftSight may fit better: if you need the same CAD product on both Windows and Mac, already work in the SOLIDWORKS / Dassault Systèmes ecosystem, need to bring Revit (.rvt) files into your drawings, or only need 2D for a single year, DraftSight is worth evaluating. Comparing other options? See progeCAD vs AutoCAD, progeCAD vs BricsCAD, progeCAD vs ZWCAD or all comparisons.
Common questions
progeCAD vs DraftSight — FAQ.
Answers for buyers comparing the two.
Both are DWG-native, AutoCAD-compatible CAD programs with familiar commands and LISP support, so everyday 2D drafting works much the same in either. The main differences are how you pay and what is included. As of October 2026, DraftSight is sold online as an annual subscription: Professional (2D) at $299 a year and Premium (adds 3D modeling, Sheet Set Manager, BIM import and the API) at $599 a year, with perpetual licenses available only through resellers. progeCAD Professional is a $540 one-time perpetual license that already includes 2D drafting and 3D solid modeling, sold and supported in the US by progeCAD USA (Clackamas, Oregon). DraftSight runs on Windows and Mac in one product; progeCAD is Windows, with iCADMac as the Mac edition.
On DraftSight's own store (checked October 2026), DraftSight Professional is $299 per year, DraftSight Premium is $599 per year, and the network Enterprise edition starts at $399 per year. Over three years that is about $897 for Professional or $1,797 for Premium. progeCAD Professional, with 2D and 3D included, is $540 one time.
DraftSight's online store sells annual licenses; its buy page says perpetual licenses are available only through DraftSight resellers, without a published price. progeCAD Professional is sold as a perpetual license online for $540, and optional iCARE maintenance is never required to keep using it.
Only in DraftSight Premium. DraftSight Professional is a 2D product; Premium adds 3D modeling along with Sheet Set Manager, BIM file import and API support. progeCAD Professional includes 3D ACIS solid modeling, IFC import/export and VBA, SDS and IRX programming interfaces in its single $540 license.
Yes. DraftSight saves standard DWG files, and progeCAD reads and writes DWG natively (DWG 2.5 through the current format), so drawings move between the two without conversion. DXF files work the same way.
Routines written to standard AutoLISP generally run in progeCAD without changes, whether they were developed for AutoCAD, DraftSight or another compatible program. Code written against a vendor-specific programming interface would need to be adapted. progeCAD also supports VBA, SDS, IRX and SCR scripts.
DraftSight is developed by Dassault Systèmes, the company behind SOLIDWORKS. progeCAD is built on the IntelliCAD platform by progeSOFT (Italy) and is sold and supported in North America by progeCAD USA, based in Clackamas, Oregon.
Yes. iCADMac is the Mac-native edition: AutoCAD-compatible, native DWG, Apple Silicon and Intel supported, sold as a $925 one-time perpetual license. progeCAD Professional is the Windows edition. DraftSight, by contrast, offers the same product on Windows and Mac.
Try progeCAD free for 30 days.
Native DWG, AutoCAD-style commands, 2D and 3D — one-time price of $540, sold and supported in the US.