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Should I use Solidworks?

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Depends. Buy if your team designs products full-time and needs industry-standard CAD with simulation and PDM. Skip it if you model occasionally — users say subscriptions keep climbing while skills and usage fade.

Confidence

Medium. Based on ~30 public sources; full-seat pricing sits behind reseller quotes, so cost confidence is medium.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support qualityNo usable support evidence found
  • Security posture

Pricing

$48/year

SOLIDWORKS for Makers

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierNo
Standard (professional seat)Quote via reseller
Startup programDiscounted; $0 first year reported

Best for

  • Full-time mechanical and product designers
  • Engineering teams needing simulation plus PDM
  • Startups via the SOLIDWORKS startup program
  • Hobbyists at the $48 Maker tier

Not for

  • Occasional users — subscription cost outpaces rare use
  • Casual makers wanting simple, cheap tools
  • Mac-only teams — desktop CAD is Windows-bound
  • Buyers demanding transparent public pricing

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

Users report ~25% yearly subscription increases; costs compound every renewal

medium

No public full-seat price; you must request quotes from resellers like GoEngineer or Hawk Ridge

medium

Cloud/Maker offerings run through 3DEXPERIENCE, whose UI draws user complaints

medium

Active 2026 CVEs mean you must patch desktop and eDrawings promptly

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Industry-standard 3D CAD with decades of user-driven development
  • Broad ecosystem: design, simulation, PDM, Composer in one suite
  • Huge installed base and community for hiring and help
  • $48/yr Maker tier makes pro-grade CAD accessible to hobbyists
  • Users consistently praise it on G2

Cons

  • Subscriptions rose 25% in a year, per users
  • Users call it the worst software for occasional use
  • 2026 CVEs include desktop RCE and eDrawings buffer overflow
  • Makers criticize the 3DEXPERIENCE UI
  • Full-seat pricing is opaque and sold via resellers

Sources & method

Analyzed 9/30/2026 - 12 sources - Multiple 2026 CVEs (desktop RCE, eDrawings buffer overflow, path traversal) plus a reported 2021 solidworks.com breach; patch discipline required.

official x3review x4security x3news x2
  • SOLIDWORKS Desktop RCE (CVE-2026-3476), Remote code execution vulnerability in SOLIDWORKS Desktop, disclosed March 2026.
  • eDrawings buffer overflow (CVE-2026-1283), Buffer overflow in the eDrawings viewer, addressed in 2026 advisories.
  • Path traversal (CVE-2026-10094), Path traversal vulnerability affecting SOLIDWORKS, per Dassault Systèmes advisory.
  • solidworks.com data breach (2021), Public reporting of a 2021 breach of the website.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 2/5

    Rating

  • $48/year

    Starting price

  • 12

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 2/5. Users report 25% yearly subscription hikes
  • Ease of use: 2/5. Users call it worst for occasional use
  • Feature depth: 4/5. Decades of development; design, simulation, PDM suite
  • Support quality. No usable support evidence found
  • Security posture: 2/5. Multiple 2026 CVEs; 2021 site breach reported
  • $48/yr Hobbyist price SOLIDWORKS for Makers license
  • 142,923 Companies using it Tracked by TheirStack
  • 8M+ Community SOLIDWORKS user communities
  • 49 Trustpilot reviews Small independent review base

Pricing

SOLIDWORKS for Makers

$48/year

  • Full hobbyist license
  • Non-commercial use

Standard (professional seat)

Quote via reseller

  • Core 3D CAD
  • Sold through partners like GoEngineer

Startup program

Discounted; $0 first year reported

  • Qualifying early-stage startups

Security

Multiple 2026 CVEs (desktop RCE, eDrawings buffer overflow, path traversal) plus a reported 2021 solidworks.com breach; patch discipline required.

  • SOLIDWORKS Desktop RCE (CVE-2026-3476)Remote code execution vulnerability in SOLIDWORKS Desktop, disclosed March 2026.⁸
  • eDrawings buffer overflow (CVE-2026-1283)Buffer overflow in the eDrawings viewer, addressed in 2026 advisories.
  • Path traversal (CVE-2026-10094)Path traversal vulnerability affecting SOLIDWORKS, per Dassault Systèmes advisory.⁹
  • solidworks.com data breach (2021)Public reporting of a 2021 breach of the website.10

What users say

Engineers praise its depth and industry grip, but many gripe about yearly price hikes and how hostile it is to occasional users.

“Solidworks is the worst occasional use software, seriously.”
Reddit, r/SolidWorks
“Subscriptions have gone up 25% from last year.”
Reddit, r/SolidWorks

Companies that use it

  • CP Manufacturing
  • Shred-Tech
  • GBO Innovation Makers
Full analysis

Based on ~30 public sources; full-seat pricing sits behind reseller quotes, so cost confidence is medium.

Industry-standard CAD pros love daily; yearly price hikes and a steep ramp hurt occasional users.

Methodology

Based on ~30 public sources; full-seat pricing sits behind reseller quotes, so cost confidence is medium.

Sources

  1. SOLIDWORKS Reviews — G2g2.com
    review
  2. Solidworks is the worst occasional use software — Redditreddit.com
    review
  3. Subscriptions have gone up 25% from last year — Redditreddit.com
    review
  4. SolidWorks 2025 review — Creative Bloqcreativebloq.com
    review
  5. SOLIDWORKS for Makers ($48 hobbyist license)solidworks.com
    official
  6. SOLIDWORKS Design plans and pricingsolidworks.com
    official
  7. 2026 SOLIDWORKS Buying Guide — Hawk Ridge Systemshawkridgesys.com
    official
  8. CVE-2026-3476: SOLIDWORKS Desktop RCE — SentinelOnesentinelone.com
    security
  9. Dassault Systèmes Security Advisories3ds.com
    security
  10. solidworks.com data breach in 2021 — Breachsensebreachsense.com
    security
  11. Companies that use Solidworks — TheirStacktheirstack.com
    news
  12. Onshape as a SOLIDWORKS alternativeonshape.com
    news

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