Every CAD buyer hears "the industry has moved to subscriptions." Vendors say it. Analysts say it. But how much of the market has actually moved? We maintain a comparison database at CADGuide.tools, and for this report we pulled the licensing models of all 170 tools in our index with complete data. The numbers are more interesting than the narrative.
The headline split
| Licensing model | Tools | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription-only | 87 | 51% |
| Perpetual | 46 | 27% |
| Free | 13 | 8% |
| Freemium | 14 | 8% |
| Hybrid (sub + perpetual option) | 6 | 4% |
| Open source | 4 | 2% |
Just over half the market is subscription-only. But more than a quarter still sells perpetual licenses you own outright — and that camp includes some of the most capable tools in their niches.
The perpetual price ladder
Among the 52 perpetual-license tools with published pricing:
- 25th percentile: $199 — niche utilities and entry professional tools
- Median: $1,995 — the heart of the professional market
- 75th percentile: $4,000 — high-end suites and vertical specialists
- Maximum: $12,000 — enterprise/CAE tier
Read that median again: $1,995 once, versus $2,030 per year for the most common subscription benchmark. The one-time option isn't the discount bin — at the median it's the same money as a single subscription year, and then you stop paying.
The budget perpetual cluster
Below the median sits a cluster that deserves attention: capable 2D-focused tools at $399–$499 one-time (progeCAD, GstarCAD). These directly compete with AutoCAD's subscription at roughly 20–25% of a single year's cost — with AutoLISP compatibility and native DWG. For 2D-centric workflows, this is the segment that changed the most in the last three years.
The platform gap
Only 25% of indexed tools support macOS natively; 20% support Linux. If your firm runs Apple or Linux hardware, three-quarters of the market is invisible to you before price enters the discussion. The perpetually-licensed challengers are almost entirely Windows-only — which turns "switch to save money" into "switch platforms to save money."
What the hybrid holdouts signal
Six tools offer both models side by side. This is the segment to watch: vendors hedging between models are telling you their customers are split too. When a hybrid vendor's perpetual option disappears, that's your signal the subscription wave reached their entire customer base.
Methodology
Data pulled September 2026 from the CADGuide.tools comparison database: 170 tools with complete pricing_type and starting-price fields across 2D CAD, 3D mechanical, BIM, CAE/simulation, and EDA categories. "Perpetual" includes tools offering both models where the perpetual option is published. Prices are vendor-published entry tiers and move frequently — verify before purchase.
The full comparison — filterable by licensing model, platform, price band, and 40+ technical attributes — is at CADGuide.tools. Free, no signup, no vendor pay-for-placement.
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