How to Understand BricsCAD Licensing Levels
Quick answer: BricsCAD comes in five licence levels: Lite (2D drafting only), Pro (2D and 3D, general purpose), Mechanical (3D plus manufacturing tools), BIM (3D plus building design tools), and Ultimate (everything combined, including surveying tools). If you only draw in 2D, Lite covers it. If you need 3D without an industry specialism, Pro is the standard choice. If your work is mechanical design, building design, or spans multiple disciplines, Mechanical, BIM, or Ultimate are worth the extra cost respectively.
The 5 BricsCAD Licence Levels
| Licence Level | Focus | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Lite | Essential 2D drafting, fast and affordable | Pure 2D drafting and documentation |
| Pro | Full 2D and 3D CAD for general design work | General 3D design without an industry specialism |
| Mechanical | 2D and 3D tools for manufacturing and machine design | Manufacturing and mechanical design |
| BIM | 2D and 3D tools for building design and documentation | Architecture, construction, and building design |
| Ultimate | Everything combined, plus surveying tools | Multi-discipline firms, or anyone who doesn’t want to choose |
What Each Level Actually Covers
Broadly, the five levels build on each other:
- Lite covers 2D drafting and documentation only, with no 3D modelling.
- Pro adds full 3D modelling on top of Lite’s 2D toolset. This is the general-purpose level most users start with.
- Mechanical and BIM each add an industry-specific toolset on top of Pro: Mechanical adds manufacturing and machine-design tools, BIM adds building modelling and documentation tools.
- Ultimate bundles Lite, Pro, Mechanical, and BIM into one licence, plus surveying tools, so nothing is off-limits regardless of the project.
This is the general shape of it, not an exhaustive feature list. For the precise feature-by-feature breakdown (native DWG support, LISP routines, point clouds, and so on).
Try Before You Choose
BricsCAD’s 30-day free trial gives full Ultimate-level access, not a locked-down demo, so you can test 3D modelling, Mechanical tools, and BIM tools before deciding which licence level to actually buy.
If you want to see how the software behaves at a specific lower licence level (for example, to check what Pro looks like without Mechanical or BIM tools), run the SETLICENSELEVEL command inside the trial to simulate that level.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between BricsCAD Pro and Ultimate? Pro is the general-purpose 2D and 3D licence. Ultimate includes everything Pro does, plus BricsCAD’s Mechanical, BIM, and surveying toolsets in one licence.
Does the free trial let me test every licence level? Yes. The trial runs at full Ultimate access for 30 days, and you can use the SETLICENSELEVEL command to preview how a specific lower level behaves.
What happened to BricsCAD Shape? BricsCAD Shape, a free conceptual 3D modelling tool, has been discontinued. It isn’t part of the current five licence levels.