Vectorworks (VWA) vs. Archicad

[jfmarch]

if money is no issue, than switching to archicad is a no-brainer. i haven't used archicad, but my understanding is that is is an excellent design and drafting program that is quite expensive. as i've said in the past, VW is excellent for what is is and its cost. i used to work on autocad (from 1995 to 1998), and i would NEVER go back.

I am not sure what you mean by poor integration between 2d and 3d. i'm presuming you mean hot-linking plans and elevations/sections. yes, that would be nice, but vw doesn't do that.

so i work around it, and use vw for what it can do for the price. we find the modelling capabilities quite good, and communicating 3d changes very well, although its mostly for our own benefit.

good luck with archicad...

[jhutchison]

I am having a difficult time deciding whether to stick with Vectorworks or to purchase Archicad. Don't get me wrong, I think Vectorworks is an absolutely fantastic program, and the tech support site is excellent. My concerns are that I am an Architect (sole practitioner for now) , and find that the ability to quickly comunicate 3d changes in my building model to my clients, while continuing efficient 2d documentation of the project is like pulling teeth. Vectorworks models well, and the drafting environment is fantastic. But the integration of the two is very poor. I used Archicad for a few years back in 96, 97, and 98, and quite honestly it's model and documentation hybrid environment was far superior back then than VWA is even today. The cost is really not an issue. If I made the move, I am sure the cost would offset itself in coordination productivilty. My main concern is speed and support. I use mac OS X, and VWA works fantastically on it. It is very fast. I have heard that Archicad is slow on mac, but that may only be because people don't have good video cards, etc...I don't know. Does anyone have any experience using both programs? Any thoughts on the subject? Thanks in advance for any input.

[CEA]

I used Archicad about 4 years ago before switching to Vectorworks. I only use Vectorworks for 2d DD and CD architectural drawings, and I have not really investigated the 3d capabilities of the program.

The theory behind Archicad is appealing. Essentially, you construct a 3d model and then the 2d plans, elevations and sections are extracted from the model. However, I found that in practice, the 2d drawings very crude and of unacceptable quality for our office, and the 3d models took a great deal of time to develop to an acceptable level. I was putting a lot of time into the 3d model, and then ending up breaking the links between the model and the drawings to gain more flexibility for the 2d drawings.

If you are interested in constructing a 3d computer model and doing construction drawings, Archicad is probably a good choice. For us, the 3d model was of limited use and the technology was not there yet (with Archicad 5.5) to practically link the 3d model to good quality 2d drawings. Our primary use for the computer is developing construction drawings in a small office, and Vectorworks has been a good program for that task. However, our work is primarily highly individual custom houses; Archicad may work better for buildings with fewer unusual conditions.

I did find that Archicad had some real advantages in printing. I am reasonably certain that Version 5 shipped with print drivers and I remember that printing was very easy. With Vectorworks and Apple computers, I think you really need to buy an expensive postscript plotter.

[P Retondo]

I've heard similar things from other Archicad users. I'd be very interested to hear from others who have used both programs. I've never used Archicad, but I've worked with offices that do, and I have exchanged info with them via the .dwg format (BTW, I don't recommend doing that - very time consuming at both ends!)

[Viper x]

Most of my base drawings come from a firm that draw them in archicad, it has been a struggle to get them into VW as they fragment all over the place.

How else do you import your archicad drawings please if not in dwg ?

[TomCAD]

From a 15+ year user of both ArchiCAD and VectorWorks.

I purchased one of the first US licenses (talk about beta software!) of ArchiCAD. My questions, and they were many, were addressed to, and personally responded to by, Gabor himself. MiniCAD was a generic CADD program and very reasonably priced at the time. Both programs were exclusively for the Mac back then. Many evolutions later my evaluation of both programs is as follows ...

ArchiCAD is superior for modeling and presentation tasks while VectorWorks is superior at drafting and construction document preparation. The two programs are as incompatible as any programs can possibly be.

ArchiCAD is a high maintanence program, meaning upgrade and support costs.

Support from VW is essentially free and excellent!

2D drafting tools are almost nonexistant in AC because of their virtual model philosophy.

The more building elements that are in 3D the better off you are in both programs, AC especially. Unfortunately, it takes time and to create those elements with sometimes little payback for your effort, especially when revisions must be made.

VW seems to follow the lead of AC in offering architecturally specific tools (roof, slab etc.). This is because AC is exclusively an architectural program. VW on the other hand is used by many diciplines and only recently (5 or so years) focused on the architectural community.

If properly implemented, construction documents are a breeze in VW and at best, clunky in AC.

Both programs suffer in isolation from each other and from the AutoCad community. DWG file exchange is the best you can hope for, despite each of their claims.

Service bureaus and consultants, expecting AutoCad files, can be very unsympathetic and uncooperative at times.

Those used to AC can't comprehend how easy it is to generate CDs in VW, while VW users have no idea of the excellant (and fun) presentation capabilities available in AC.

Currently I am in a VW office that also has a couple AC licenses.

I wish you well with your decision. Bottom line is that both programs are excellent and competitive, which only helps us users as the industry works towards that single perfect CADD program of the future called UniCADD!!!

[lsid]

i'm an archicad-user(4.5-7),vectorworks(8.5-10.5) and autocad-user (2002) so to service my clients' cad needs. vectorworks seem to be between autocad and archicad- best of the both. i like the idea of a 3d then 2d because visual is important to me.i'm looking for a used vw10.5 (win xp) for practice. any for sale?

[jnr]

I went down this road about 18 months ago. I had been using vectorworks since MC 7 but was so frustrated with the pathetic stability of 9.0 that I started looking at other programs. I ended up buying two seats of Archicad 7 thinking I would jump ship. I decided to stay with Vectorworks at the time since it seemed to be the less expensive option (not the cost of the program, but the loss of income while trying to learn a new program--read old dog, new tricks). I think there is often a general misconception about the cost of software in this industry. While Archicad is significantly more expensive, its peanuts compared to the cost of labor(training for example) or loss of income because the product is defective. My take was that the 3-d integration is superior to Vectorworks but that the 2-d capabilities were not as strong. However it appears that is changing. The current version of Archicad has improved 2D capabilities and the plotter software is superior. I would suggest you also post on the Archicad web site to see if there are any former Vectorworks users using Archicad.

I still have one seat of Archicad 7 if you are interested. It might be cheaper to buy it and upgrade to 8 than to buy 8 out of the box.

Ultimately I would hope that NNA would develop some of the capabilities of Archicad or even "Autosuc" (viewports or ODBC connectivity for example) to strengthen the 3-d/2-d integration which would effectively end this debate. Of course one would also hope this could be carried out after extensive product testing for program stability; something severely lacking these days...

Good luck. I feel your pain. I'll check back about the Archicad.

[Pablo Serna]

I'm using both.. I have to agree with some that producing CDs in VW is much easier, although AC8 is making up ground and with an add on or two can do the trick. I wouldn't say it is slower on a Mac compared to VW doing similar work (3D stuff).. the latest version 8.1 runs much faster and is more stable.

I actually like version 7 running in OS9! Anyhow, I think the REAL question is "to commit to 3D or not?" I am slowly making that transition and I think either or these two applications will be up in front for those of us willing to push the envelope...

+pablo