Help With Most Inexpensive AutoCad Version To Purchase

Hello,

I want to get started learning AutoCad for my woodworking business.

Which version would be suitable for a beginner and where can I purchase at a fair price. Please help:?

Thank you

Have you tried an autodesk reseller, you could always see if they have and old version. but more than likely they would try and sell you the latest release.

You could have a look on ebay.

Draftsight from Dassault systems. Its free and is very similar to Autocad.

http://www.3ds.com/products/draftsight/

Unsure if you're situation applies, but Autodesk has a great student program, where student get software for free.

Otherwise, here's the Free Trial to get you started.

Thanks gentlemen! I'll check ti out.

Im new to the site and just getting acquainted.

An educational version can NOT be used for commercial (for profit) purposes.

You should check ou AutoCAD LT 2011. Authorized resellers will not sell you an earlier version.

Amazon.com will probably have the best price.

Thanks for the tip!

Best regards

have a look also at the non autocad products I have used Intellicad and it was pretty good starts at $299 US ?

Freestyle is an Autodesk product and available for less than $100 in several places. Autosketch is another for around $200. Doublecad XT is not Autodesk, but it's very similar in look and feel and is free. I have been playing around with it and it's pretty easy to use. I don't know if any of the free programs will allow you to do any customization or run things like lisp and VBA, so if you want or need that you'll have to get the more robust programs. There are several folks selling the older versions of AutoCAD on ebay. All depends on your needs, wants and how deep your pockets are!

I nearly forgot...Google Sketchup is free too, and pretty cool to use.

Yes, Thank you, Ill check into google sketch.

thanks you so much for accepting my request as a member...

Good examples so far but if you do decide to get say AutoCAD LT go with Amazon.com. They sell LT for $800. Much better price than AutoDesk's $1,200 price tag!

Let me be clear though, AutoCAD is not an easy program to just grab and run with. I would find a local community college and take some classes. Good luck

Sean

Oops, forgot the link...link

Thank you very much for the recommendations.

Just search eBay.

Just search eBay.

I was going to suggest the same but had a very bad experience buying what was purported to be a legal version of Win7 Ultimate only to find out it was bogus. Of course I didn't find out that one very important fact until 90 days later. Needless to say when I got "right with Microsoft" I provided them ample documentation (which I thankfully had kept) and they pounced on the unsuspecting seller like a starving cat on a fat mouse. Just be careful with whom you do business with and keep plenty of documentation.

Remember guys the latest round of court rulings says that you cannot sell or buy AutoCAD on ebay. That is if I read it right, the original ruling was overturned back to AutoDesk's favor.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernor_v._Autodesk,_Inc.

and maybe a better description

http://dubiousquality.blogspot.com/2010/09/vernor-vs-autodesk-decision.html

Remember guys the latest round of court rulings says that you cannot sell or buy AutoCAD on ebay. That is if I read it right, the original ruling was overturned back to AutoDesk's favor.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernor_v._Autodesk,_Inc.

 

and maybe a better description

http://dubiousquality.blogspot.com/2010/09/vernor-vs-autodesk-decision.html

If you can read legalese (which I'm not very good at) it does appear that the courts have done just as you said, though it is hard to tell. They love to be vague, just in case they find themselves having to lean the other way at some future juncture. However, there are still a great many offerings on Ebay, many from people at least claiming to be authorized Autodesk dealers. If you decide to buy from an ebay reseller, might not hurt to check with Autodesk to see if the person you are buying from is actually an authorized dealer. Use some common sense, if you find someone offering keys and serial numbers to every product Autodesk offers for $15, he's probably not on the QT. With as many free programs as there are out there, and even some from Autodesk for not much money, why take the chance? If you buy an illegal copy, and someone blows the whistle, you could find yourself facing civil and/or criminal proceedings. Your lawyer's retainer could be more than you'd have to pay for LT!