Autodesk Inventor vs DesignSpark Mechanical
| Autodesk Inventor | DesignSpark Mechanical | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | No | No |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Paid from | — | — |
| Open source | No | No |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Modeling method | hybrid | direct |
| Assembly design | Yes | Yes |
| Sheet-metal tools | Yes | No |
| Surface modeling | Yes | Yes |
| Cloud collaboration | Yes | No |
| Supported platforms | Windows | Windows 10 (64-bit), Windows 11 (64-bit), Windows Server 2016 and 2019 (64-bit) |
| File import and export | Import: Autodesk states Inventor supports opening non-native CAD data. Export formats documented for parts include DWG, DWF/DWFx, IGES, JT, OBJ, RFA, SAT, STEP, STL, CATIA V5, Parasolid, and Pro/ENGINEER; assemblies additionally include RVT. Drawing formats include DWG, IDW, DWF/DWFx, and DXF. Format support varies by data type and version. | Explorer imports RSDOC, RSDOCX, DSPCB IDF, TXT, JPG, BMP, PNG; exports RSDOCX, STL, OBJ, 3D PDF. Creator/Engineer also import OBJ, SKP, DXF, DWG, STEP, IGES, AVI, WMV, MKV; export AMF, DXF, DWG, STEP, IGES, GLB/GLTF, OBJ, VDB, 3D PDF, SKP, STL, XAML, JPG, PNG. |
Both are listed in Best 3D CAD Software, Best CAD Software. On Bettesworth Construction, Autodesk Inventor scores higher on our published basis.