Autodesk Civil 3D

autodesk.com/products/civil-3d
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Comprehensive detailed design and documentation software for civil infrastructure

How to Replace Autodesk Civil 3D

Overview

Autodesk Civil 3D is a 3D model-based design software that empowers civil engineers to meet complex infrastructure challenges. It accelerates design and documentation, advances design automation, and improves collaboration and coordination for road, highway, site design, rail, and bridge projects.

Features

48 features across 21 categories

Analysis(4)

Hydraulics and Hydrology Tools

Perform a variety of stormwater management tasks, including storm sewer design, watershed analysis, detention pond modeling, and culvert, channel, and inlet analysis

Surface Analysis

Conduct surface-related analysis, including contour, directions, elevations, slopes, slope-arrows, watersheds, and water drop path

Surface Volumes

Use the Volumes Dashboard to calculate and analyze volume surfaces and bounded areas within those surfaces

Surface Watersheds

Analyze how water flows along and off a surface to better determine drain targets and watersheds

Also in: Lexion, Ironclad, Juro

Asset Management(1)

Subassembly Deployment and Management

Deploy both subassemblies and assemblies more efficiently by sharing a custom subassembly in a shared project location. Corridors consuming the subassembly can be easily updated to use the new version

Automation(3)

Design Automation

Use visual programming to generate scripts that automate repetitive and complex tasks, including electrification and signaling

Dynamo for Civil 3D

Use the Dynamo visual scripting environment to develop routines that automate repetitive design tasks and expedite workflows

Grading OptimizationPremium

Automate the process for conducting grading design studies for land areas based on established design project criteria

Also in: monday.com, Notion, Airtable

Collaboration(2)

Collaboration and Coordination

Enable designers to author, share, and update design projects in a central data environment. Make real-time updates at any phase of the project lifecycle to share with different teams

Corridor Data Shortcut (DREF)

Create and share data shortcuts for corridors

Also in: Notion, Airtable, Obsidian

Data Export(1)

Export Corridor Data

Extract corridor feature lines with ease to use as a basis for creating grading objects or other design projects. Extracting feature lines can be done all at once, selected one-by-one, or by selecting a subset within a corridor region or a polygon

Data Processing(1)

Point Cloud Tools

Use a large collection of points acquired by laser scanners and other capture technologies to create digital representations of existing conditions and structures

Design(9)

Advanced Roundabout Design

Model roundabouts according to defined standards. Build your roundabouts into existing corridor models, enabling your design to update automatically when you make changes to the corridor alignments

Assemblies and Subassemblies

Efficiently use assemblies and subassemblies to establish the basic building blocks of a roadway or other alignment-based design

Bridge Design

Coordinate workflows more efficiently across the various disciplines working on complex bridge design projects

Corridor Design Tools

Create dynamic and data-rich corridor models for highways and roads. Build rail track corridor models, incorporating designs for switches, turnouts, and cant calculations

Corridor Transitions

Create and edit corridor transition when you want to transition a parameter in a subassembly from one value to another. More controls have been added to allow easy movement of transitions and rearranging the order of transitions

Grading Tools

Grading tools and commands facilitate the efficient design of finished ground surfaces

Intersection Design

Create dynamic models of 3-way (T-shaped) or 4-way intersections, as well as roundabouts

Intersections and Roundabouts

Create dynamic 3-way, 4-way, or roundabout intersections

Site Design Tools

Manage objects (parcels, alignments, gradings, and feature lines) with a common topology in a site collection

Also in: Squarespace, InVision, WordPress.com

Documentation(2)

Plan Production and Construction Documentation

Create plan-only, plan and profile, profile-only, and section sheets by including multiple plan or profile views on a single sheet

Plan Production and Documentation

Quickly create construction documents from drawings, including plan/profile, plan(s)-only, profile(s)-only, and section sheets

Editing(1)

Surface Editing

Work with editing tools that add edits to a surface definition as edit operations and not to any of the existing surface data components

Engineering Analysis(1)

Drainage Design and Analysis

Manage stormwater and sanitary sewer design. Define pipeline paths, optimized with hydraulics/hydrology analysis

Engineering Design(2)

Pressure Network Design

Generate 3D models of pressure networks, such as water transmission systems. More controls have been added for layout and editing workflows including merging pressure networks, DREF sync improvements, and party symbol display

Pressure Networks

Lay out horizontal and vertical pressure network designs; model deflected-curve pipe segments and use design and depth checks

Integration(4)

3ds Max Interoperability

Create professional-quality visualizations

Esri ArcGIS BasemapsPremium

Five new Esri basemaps are available under Geolocation to help designers and engineers visualize terrain, streets, and structures

Exchange Data with InfraWorks

Bring context modeling and conceptual design into your design process. Make better decisions with a real-world context of existing conditions, more efficiently consider alternatives, and complete detailed design and documentation in Civil 3D

GIS Integration

Streamline the process of incorporating geographical data into your designs, ensure accurate geolocation of assets, analyze for planning, and contextually visualize your designs

Interoperability(1)

IFC Import and Export

Import and export AutoCAD solids to IFC files

Modeling(7)

Corridor Modeling

Create dynamic and data-rich corridor models for highways, roads, and rail tracks

Geotechnical Modeling

Visualize and analyze subsurface data and easily utilize that data directly in the Civil 3D design model

Modeling Pipe Networks

Efficiently draw 2D and 3D models of utility systems, such as storm sewers, sanitary sewers, and more

Multi-Baseline CorridorPremium

Allow engineers to set up and create complex and multi-base corridors faster and with greater efficiency

Surface Level of DetailPremium

Modify the level of details you'd like to see in your surface workflows. Engineers have the option to reduce the surface level of detail or render high surface details

Surface Modeling

Create surfaces composed of a combination of points, breaklines, boundaries, and contours with support for TIN, Grid, Cropped, and Corridor surfaces

Terrain Modeling

Create digital models of topography for land-use studies, transportation system planning, and water flow simulations

Performance(2)

Corridor Design WorkflowsPremium

Performance enhancements have been made to various corridor workflows, including corridor properties, corridor surface creation, and corridor regeneration

MMS File SavingPremium

Experience performance improvements when saving surface MMS files. MMS files no longer update if there is no surface geometry change

Project Management(1)

Project Explorer

Manage the staggering volume of design data in Civil 3D models in this tool. Easily review, validate, report, export and edit models. Enhancements have been made to the navigation capabilities and tools to make management and reporting of custom property data more efficient

Reporting(2)

Materials and Quantities

Use materials and sectional or profile information to create reports for volumes, comparing design and existing surfaces and quantity takeoff

QTO and Earthwork Calculations

Extract and report material volumes and analyze quantities from materials and sectional or profile information

Survey(1)

Survey Tools

Streamline the download, creation, analysis, and adjustments of field-captured survey data

Survey & Site Design(1)

Site and Survey Workflows

Download, create, analyze, and adjust survey data, as well as transfer field-captured data to the office

Visualization(1)

Surface Masks

A display tool that enables you to block out areas of a surface and prevent them from being displayed or to render a section of the surface using a specified render material

Workflow(1)

Field-to-Finish Workflow

More efficiently process field-captured survey data to create an intelligent base map in Civil 3D

Pricing

Monthly Subscription

Starting at {{PRICE}}/month
  • All core Civil 3D features
  • Access to 3 previous versions

Annual Subscription

Custom
  • All core Civil 3D features
  • Access to 3 previous versions
  • 30-day money-back guarantee

Free Trial

Free
  • Access to full Civil 3D functionality
  • Limited trial period

Cost Calculator

Pricing data not available for Autodesk Civil 3D. Check their website for current pricing.

Build vs Buy

Should you build a Autodesk Civil 3D alternative or buy the subscription? Estimate based on 48 features.

Buy Autodesk Civil 3D

Better Value
Monthly costContact Sales
3-year totalVaries
Time to deployDays

Build Your Own

Development cost$24,000
Maintenance$360/mo
3-year total$36,960
Dev time~2 months

Buying Autodesk Civil 3D saves ~$36,960 over 3 years vs building.

Estimates based on 48 features and a BuildScore of 5/5. Actual costs vary.

Integrations

6 known integrations

3ds MaxAutoCADBentleyDynamoEsri ArcGISInfraWorks