European Alternatives to Autodesk Revit
Looking for a European alternative to Autodesk Revit? Revit is the BIM application of Autodesk, a US company, so licences, support and account data sit with a US vendor, and a project history in Revit files keeps a team close to Autodesk's tools. Autodesk's own pages blocked automated reading, so no price or plan details are quoted here.
The European tools below cover authoring in Hungary, Germany and Belgium, model checking and issue coordination in Finland, the Netherlands and Switzerland, and room data, site viewing and data exchange in Norway, Denmark, Italy, Spain, Poland and the UK.
How we rank these tools — 4-step process
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European ownership, verified
The company is headquartered and incorporated in the EU, EEA or Switzerland, and processes customer data in Europe. A US parent company disqualifies a tool from this page regardless of where its servers are.
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Category fit and hands-on review
What the tool actually does, who it suits, and where it falls short — checked against the vendor’s own documentation, changelog and pricing page rather than its marketing copy.
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Compliance and pricing check
GDPR posture, hosting location and the prices quoted on this page are verified against the vendor’s public pricing before publication, and re-checked when we revisit the category.
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Position on this page
Placement on this page can be paid, and that can affect which tools appear here and the order they appear in. It never buys a good review: a tool that fails the checks above is not here at any price, and payment does not change the shortcomings we write about. A vendor can ask us to correct a factual error — not to remove a criticism.
Vendors can pay for visibility on this page. It never changes what an entry says about a product, including the criticism, and we earn nothing when you click through to a vendor. Paid placement can affect which tools appear here and the order they appear in. Editorial policy
13 European Alternatives to Autodesk Revit
Archicad
BIM design software for architects, from Budapest
Allplan
BIM platform for architecture, structural and civil engineering
BricsCAD
DWG-based 2D and 3D CAD from Ghent, with BIM and mechanical toolsets
Solibri
Rule-based model checking and clash detection for IFC and Revit models
BIMcollab
BIM issue management and model checking with BCF and IDS, from Eindhoven
Dalux
Copenhagen construction platform with free BIM Viewer and Field Basic, plus paid document, site and tender modules
dRofus
Room and equipment data planning that links requirements to the BIM model
CYPE
Spanish BIM suite for architecture, structures and building services
usBIM
Browser-based BIM management and IFC viewer from ACCA software, with a free tier
Speckle
Versioned model data hub with Revit, Rhino and Tekla connectors
Revizto
Swiss 2D and 3D coordination hub with integrated issue tracking
cadwork
3D CAD/CAM for timber construction, from Hildesheim
BIMvision
Free IFC viewer from Cracow with a plugin store and Python API bridge
Key takeaways
- Only five of the thirteen European tools on this page author building geometry: Archicad, Allplan, BricsCAD (at its BIM level), CYPE and cadwork.
- Solibri reads native Revit models from its Essential tier, and usBIM opens RVT and RFA files in a browser, so review work can leave Autodesk before authoring does.
- BIMvision is a freeware IFC 2x3 and IFC 4 viewer from Cracow, and models stay on the local machine.
- Allplan publishes four per-user euro prices from EUR 123 to EUR 353 per month, which is a concrete comparison point against any Revit quote.
- Revizto (Switzerland) and Speckle (United Kingdom) sit outside the EU, so their GDPR footing relies on adequacy and contract terms, not EU membership.
Why people leave Autodesk Revit
Revit is the building information modelling application of Autodesk, a company the site records as headquartered in San Francisco. In many architecture, engineering and construction offices it is simply the default: consultants exchange Revit files, tender documents name the format, and a new hire arrives already trained. That default is exactly why a firm that wants to look elsewhere has to do so on purpose, not by drift.
People start looking for four different reasons, and they lead to different shopping lists. Some want a contracting party under European law for models that describe hospitals, prisons or infrastructure. Some want to stop paying for one vendor's whole stack when they only use the modelling part. Some want open formats so that no single tool can hold the project history. Others just want a cheaper way to review models that other people made.
The thirteen tools on this page answer those reasons unevenly. Only a handful author buildings at all; the rest check, coordinate, view or move model data. Reading the page as a replacement for Revit alone would miss that most of the European choice sits around the modeller, not inside it.
- A US vendor holds the licence and the account data Autodesk is a US company, so licence terms, support and account data sit with a party under US law, and the CLOUD Act can reach data held by US providers wherever the servers stand. For a firm drawing public buildings this is a procurement question as much as a legal one. Autodesk's own pages blocked automated reading when we checked, so we do not describe its contract terms; ask for them before you decide.
- The project history lives in one vendor's file format A building outlives the software that drew it, and a project archive in a proprietary format depends on that vendor's future viewers. Several European tools take the opposite route. BIMvision opens IFC 2x3 and IFC 4 files for free, Solibri federates IFC on every tier, and Archicad lists openBIM workflows. The point is not that IFC is perfect, but that it keeps the archive readable without a licence.
- Review and coordination do not need an authoring seat Many people who open a Revit model never change it: reviewers, clients, site staff, municipal planners. The European tools price those roles separately. BIMvision is freeware, usBIM has a free tier with 10 GB of storage, and Dalux gives its field app to unlimited users on a project. Moving only the viewing work off Revit is the cheapest first step and does not touch the modelling workflow.
- Specialist trades are poorly served by a general tool A timber builder needs joinery and CAM output, a hospital owner needs room data in a database, a Spanish engineer needs the national structural code. The European list has purpose-built answers: cadwork, dRofus and CYPE. None of them replaces Revit across the board, but each does one trade's job closer to how that trade works.
What you have to replace, not just match
Leaving Revit means replacing four things, and few single products cover more than two. The first is authoring: geometry, parametric content, drawings and schedules. Archicad, Allplan, CYPE and the BIM level of BricsCAD do this. The second is model review: rule checks, clash detection and issue tracking, which is where Solibri, BIMcollab and Revizto work. The third is site and document access, covered by Dalux and usBIM. The fourth is data exchange between programs, where Speckle sits.
Beyond those, firms forget the quiet dependencies: the Revit viewer a client uses, the model checking done in a separate Autodesk review product, the shared document space. The tool pages for this category map them: Solibri and BIMvision are listed against Navisworks, BIMcollab and Revizto against Autodesk Construction Cloud, usBIM against Autodesk Docs, and Speckle against Autodesk Data Exchange. Draw your own map of who touches the model before you pick.
What cannot be replaced one-for-one is the installed base of content. Families, templates, schedules and view settings built over years do not convert through IFC. Treat them as a rebuild budget, not a migration task.
The alternatives compared
| Position | Tool | Headquarters | Pricing | Jurisdiction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Archicad | Budapest, Hungary | Subscription plans (Studio, Collaborate); see website for prices | EU (Hungary) |
| #2 | Allplan | Munich, Germany | Basic EUR 123, Concept EUR 210, Professional EUR 263, Ultimate EUR 353 per user per month, billed yearly, excl. VAT | EU (Germany) |
| #3 | BricsCAD | Ghent, Belgium | Lite EUR 330/year, Pro EUR 710/year, Mechanical EUR 998/year, BIM EUR 1,060/year, Ultimate EUR 1,176/year | EU (Belgium) |
| #4 | Solibri | Helsinki, Finland | Starter EUR 99, Essential EUR 1,428, Advanced EUR 2,109, Premium EUR 2,772 starting price per year per licence; Security+ on request; prepaid token packages from EUR 250 | EU (Finland) |
| #5 | BIMcollab | Eindhoven, Netherlands | Basic EUR 12.50, Advanced EUR 18.75, Enterprise EUR 25 per user per month billed annually (EUR 19, 29 and 39 billed monthly); free trial | EU (Netherlands) |
| #6 | Dalux | Copenhagen, Denmark | Per project or per company licence | EU (Denmark) |
| #7 | dRofus | Oslo, Norway | Packages Planning, Project and Enterprise; base rate per 100 m2 shown as EUR 2.02 (Planning) and EUR 4.04 (Project), with volume and per-device or integration fees on top | EEA, not EU (Norway) |
| #8 | CYPE | Alicante, Spain | Professional licence, permanent or temporary subscription (see online shop); free 30-day evaluation licence with no functional restrictions | EU (Spain) |
| #9 | usBIM | Bagnoli Irpino (Avellino), Italy | Free apps with 10 GB cloud storage; paid subscription plans monthly, annual or multi-year (see website) | EU (Italy) |
| #10 | Speckle | London, United Kingdom | Free plan (1 project, up to 3 users, 30-day version history); paid custom plans with unlimited projects and users, priced on request | United Kingdom (adequacy decision, outside the EEA) |
| #11 | Revizto | Lausanne, Switzerland | Pricing on request (no prices on the pricing page checked) | Switzerland (adequacy decision, outside the EEA) |
| #12 | cadwork | Hildesheim, Germany | Pricing not published; see website | EU (Germany) |
| #13 | BIMvision | Cracow, Poland | Freeware viewer; plugins carry their own licences (see plugin store) | EU (Poland) |
How each alternative compares to Autodesk Revit
Best for: Architecture offices that want to design and document buildings in BIM outside Autodesk.
Against Revit, Archicad is the like-for-like choice for architecture. Plans, sections, elevations and schedules follow the model, and design options let a designer test two schemes in one file. The Studio plan ships with BIMcloud Basic, a teamwork server on your own hardware, which answers the question of where the project lives for offices that dislike cloud-only collaboration.
Graphisoft SE is registered in Budapest, and Archicad has been on the market since 1982, a longer record than most tools on this page. BIMx lets a client walk through the model without a BIM licence. The catch is price transparency: no figure appeared on the pages checked, so budgeting starts with a quote.
What Archicad does better than Autodesk Revit
- Self-hosted teamwork through BIMcloud Basic in the Studio plan
- Contracting entity registered in the EU (Hungary)
- BIMx walkthroughs for clients without BIM software
- A single vendor history of more than forty years
Where Archicad is a step down from Autodesk Revit
- Smaller share of consultants who send native files than Revit
- No published prices on the pages checked
- Parent company Nemetschek, so not independent
Standout against Autodesk Revit. Archicad is the only authoring tool here where the teamwork server can sit under your own control from the cheapest plan.
Best for: Mixed architecture and engineering firms that want one German-published platform across disciplines.
Allplan stretches further than Revit's architecture core: structural engineering, civil and bridge design, and precast and steel detailing share one product family. A firm that drafts a building and a viaduct for the same client can keep the tooling in Munich. BIMPLUS, the open BIM collaboration platform, carries models between disciplines.
Money is clear here. The European shop lists Basic at EUR 123, Concept at EUR 210, Professional at EUR 263 and Ultimate at EUR 353 per user per month, billed yearly and without VAT, and a 14-day trial of the full version is offered. That makes Allplan the easiest authoring tool to put next to a Revit quote.
What Allplan does better than Autodesk Revit
- Published euro prices for four editions
- Precast and steel detailing in the same family
- Bridge and infrastructure design alongside buildings
- Contracting party in Munich under German law
Where Allplan is a step down from Autodesk Revit
- Monthly per-user cost is high next to drafting tools
- International shop shows dollar prices
- Smaller pool of trained staff in most markets
Standout against Autodesk Revit. Allplan is the only tool here that covers buildings, bridges and precast production with published per-seat prices.
Best for: Drafting offices and surveyors that want to keep DWG files and LISP routines while moving to BIM.
BricsCAD attacks the question from the drafting side. It is built on DWG, takes existing LISP routines and, according to the vendor, existing menus and templates, and adds BIM and mechanical toolsets as higher levels. For a small office that draws more than it models, that is a smaller leap than a full BIM platform.
Bricsys NV is a Ghent company under Belgian terms, though the brand now carries the Octave name after the 2025 spin-off from Hexagon AB. Prices run from EUR 330 a year (Lite) to EUR 1,176 (Ultimate), with the BIM level at EUR 1,060, and a 30-day trial. Revit, IFC, Rhino and SketchUp formats come with the BIM and Ultimate levels, while many solid-model formats need the Communicator add-on.
What BricsCAD does better than Autodesk Revit
- Native DWG and LISP compatibility
- Annual euro prices from EUR 330
- .NET and BRX interfaces documented for automation
- A lower entry cost than a full BIM suite
Where BricsCAD is a step down from Autodesk Revit
- BIM depth is younger than a dedicated BIM platform
- Yearly prices recur with no perpetual option noted
- Ownership sits in the wider Octave group
Standout against Autodesk Revit. BricsCAD is the only tool here that lets an office reach BIM from inside its DWG archive.
Best for: BIM managers who check models from several authoring tools against agreed rules.
Solibri sits where a Revit-based review product would, and it reads native Revit models from the Essential tier as well as IFC. It tests whether properties are filled in, whether disciplines clash and whether classification follows the rules, and the Advanced tier adds custom rules and a clash detection matrix. It also supports IDS requirements.
The terms name Solibri Oy, governed by Finnish law, and the vendor dates its roots to 1999. Entry is cheap, with Starter at EUR 99 a year, but the useful tiers start at EUR 1,428 and some automation is metered in prepaid tokens. For government work, the offline Security+ tier has no telemetry and is built to run air-gapped.
What Solibri does better than Autodesk Revit
- Offline Security+ tier for restricted environments
- Finnish contract and arbitration in Helsinki
- Published prices for four tiers
- Reads IFC and native Revit in one federation
Where Solibri is a step down from Autodesk Revit
- Does not author, so it replaces review, not modelling
- Token metering adds running costs
- Part of Nemetschek, like Archicad and Allplan
Standout against Autodesk Revit. Solibri is the only reviewer here with a fully offline tier designed for government and defence.
Best for: Design teams and BIM managers who track issues between consultants using different software.
BIMcollab replaces the issue loop of a cloud construction platform. A model goes into the WebViewer, gets checked in BIMcollab Zoom, and issues return as BCF items inside the authoring tool, whichever tool each discipline uses. It supports IDS, so information requirements can be tested, and offers a developer SDK for custom links.
Kubus B.V. in Eindhoven publishes its Chamber of Commerce number, and the vendor describes itself as B Corp certified. Monthly cost per user is EUR 12.50, 18.75 or 25 on annual billing, higher on monthly billing, and a trial exists. The honest gap is hosting: the pages checked do not say where data sits or who owns Kubus above the company.
What BIMcollab does better than Autodesk Revit
- Per-user euro pricing visible for three plans
- BCF round-trip with several authoring tools
- Dutch entity with its register number published
- IDS support for requirement checks
Where BIMcollab is a step down from Autodesk Revit
- Hosting region not stated on pages checked
- Per-user cost grows with team size
- Enterprise price on request
Standout against Autodesk Revit. BIMcollab is the only coordination tool here that shows per-user prices for both monthly and annual billing.
Best for: Contractors and clients who need the model usable on a phone at the building.
Dalux answers a different Revit problem: the model exists, but nobody on site opens it. Large federated models render on an ordinary phone, and defects, photos and checklists attach to the exact place in the model. The field app is free for unlimited users on a project, so subcontractors join without a licence request.
The company is based on Lyngbyvej in Copenhagen and, according to the vendor, is still owned by its founders. The paid modules add coordination, document control and facility management, and no list price appears; they are sold per project or per company. Cost management is not the strength.
What Dalux does better than Autodesk Revit
- Free field app for unlimited project users
- Models usable on a standard phone
- Facility management inherits the model at handover
- Founder-owned Danish company under EU law
Where Dalux is a step down from Autodesk Revit
- Commercial and cost management is limited
- Paid modules needed beyond the field app
- No authoring capability
Standout against Autodesk Revit. Dalux is the only tool here that gives every subcontractor free access to the model on site.
Best for: Owners, hospitals and design teams that manage room programmes as a database instead of Revit schedules.
dRofus replaces the spreadsheets and model schedules that carry the brief. Rooms, departments, equipment and standards sit in a database, and the vendor describes linking them to the design and construction models so a requirement can be checked against what was drawn. Healthcare is the typical case.
dRofus AS is listed in Oslo (Norway is in the EEA, not the EU), and the privacy policy mentions sharing with Nemetschek Group companies. The base rate is shown as EUR 2.02 per 100 m2 for Planning and EUR 4.04 for Project, plus volume, device and integration fees, with the billing period not stated. Hosting uses AWS Europe in the region you pick, while the privacy policy names further countries.
What dRofus does better than Autodesk Revit
- Requirements stored as structured data, not as schedules
- Customer-chosen AWS Europe hosting region
- Published area-based euro rates
- API and integrations listed
Where dRofus is a step down from Autodesk Revit
- Not a modelling tool
- Area-based price plus extra fees is hard to budget
- Privacy policy names hosting outside Europe
Standout against Autodesk Revit. dRofus is the only tool here whose centre is the brief and its requirement list, not the drawing.
Best for: Structural and services engineers working to Spanish and southern European regulations.
CYPE competes with Revit where national codes matter. The suite groups programmes for architecture, structures, energy and acoustic simulation, plumbing, fire protection, HVAC and electrical installations, and the vendor says it relies on open standards. A structural office can calculate to a local code inside the same family that handles the building model.
CYPE Technologies, S.A. in Alicante is the contracting entity under Spanish data protection law. A 30-day evaluation licence is free and has no functional restrictions, so a trial costs nothing. Prices sit in the online shop and were not read, platform support was not verified, and the code focus means a practice outside the implemented markets gains little.
What CYPE does better than Autodesk Revit
- Calculation modules tied to national codes
- Disciplines from structures to HVAC in one family
- Unrestricted 30-day evaluation
- Campus licence for education
Where CYPE is a step down from Autodesk Revit
- Less useful outside the implemented markets
- Programme family rather than one modeller
- Prices and platform support not verified
Standout against Autodesk Revit. CYPE is the only tool here that builds national design-code calculation into the BIM toolchain.
Best for: Small design offices, contractors and municipalities that need to view and comment on models.
usBIM replaces the Revit viewer and a document space for people who never author. The vendor says users can open IFC, BCF, RVT, RFA, point cloud, GIS, DWG and DXF files in a browser and share models with people who have no licence. The free apps and 10 GB of cloud storage make a first trial easy.
ACCA software S.p.A. in Bagnoli Irpino is the contracting company, with VAT number and address shown on the site. Clash detection, the IFC checker and the IFC editor sit outside the free set, subscriptions run monthly, annually or over several years, and we could not read prices on a server-rendered page. Hosting location is not stated on the pages checked.
What usBIM does better than Autodesk Revit
- Free tier that opens Revit and IFC in a browser
- No installation for reviewers
- Italian vendor with its VAT number published
- Monthly or annual subscription choices
Where usBIM is a step down from Autodesk Revit
- Not an authoring tool
- Hosting location not stated
- Prices not visible on a server-rendered page
Standout against Autodesk Revit. usBIM is the only tool here that opens Revit, IFC, DWG and point clouds in the browser from a free tier.
Best for: Computational design and BIM teams that move data between Revit, Rhino and Tekla.
Speckle replaces the plumbing, not the modeller. Connectors for Revit, Rhino, Grasshopper, Tekla, Civil 3D and IFC publish versions into one store, and a viewer, dashboards and issues sit on top. A team that scripts exchanges between programs gets a history of every version without writing its own database.
AEC Systems Ltd is a London company, incorporated in January 2020, and the server code is Apache 2.0 apart from Enterprise modules. The UK is outside the EEA, European storage regions need the Enterprise plan, and the privacy policy names a US provider in the UK data centre. The free plan allows one project and three users; paid plans are on request, and model validation is beta.
What Speckle does better than Autodesk Revit
- Open Apache 2.0 server code for most modules
- Free plan for a first project
- Connectors across several authoring tools
- Choice of storage region on Enterprise
Where Speckle is a step down from Autodesk Revit
- Not an authoring tool
- Free plan limited to one project
- European regions locked behind Enterprise
Standout against Autodesk Revit. Speckle is the only tool here whose server you can read, run and modify under an open licence.
Best for: General contractors and design teams coordinating large multi-discipline projects.
Revizto covers the coordination work usually done in a mix of Navisworks-style review and a cloud construction platform. Drawings and models share one view, issues and clash automation live in the same place, and the vendor stresses airports, stadiums, infrastructure and data centres. It also adds an API and an MCP server for AI assistants.
Revizto SA in Lausanne applies Swiss law and names the Swiss data protection act alongside the GDPR. Switzerland is outside the EU, so the footing is adequacy and contract terms. The hosting list includes Dublin and London but also the USA, Canada and several other countries, no price appears on the pages checked, and ownership above Revizto SA is not stated.
What Revizto does better than Autodesk Revit
- 2D and 3D in one coordination environment
- Clash automation tied to issue tracking
- Free Revizto Academy training
- Swiss entity governed by Swiss law
Where Revizto is a step down from Autodesk Revit
- Prices on request
- Hosting spread across many countries including the USA
- Ownership not stated on the pages checked
Standout against Autodesk Revit. Revizto is the only tool here that merges 2D drawings, 3D models and clash automation in one project view.
Best for: Carpentry firms and timber builders who need output for the workshop, not just drawings.
cadwork replaces Revit only for timber. Frame construction, engineered timber, joinery, stairs and conservatories are covered, with CAM output so the same model drives production. BIM and IFC support are listed, as are survey and setting-out functions.
cadwork informatik Software GmbH is registered at Amtsgericht Hildesheim under HRB 2438, and a two-month trial is offered. The pages checked are mostly German and no price is published. For general drafting, the BricsCAD route fits better.
What cadwork does better than Autodesk Revit
- Design and CAM in one system for timber
- Two-month trial
- Training and user-meeting schedule published
Where cadwork is a step down from Autodesk Revit
- Only useful for timber trades
- Site mostly in German
Standout against Autodesk Revit. cadwork is the only tool here that takes timber from design straight into workshop production.
Best for: Engineers, clients and reviewers who want a no-cost desktop IFC viewer.
BIMvision is the cheapest answer to the question of how a client opens a model without Autodesk software: it is freeware. It opens IFC 2x3 and IFC 4 files exported from Revit, Archicad, BricsCAD BIM, Allplan, Tekla and Vectorworks, and combines several models in one view.
Datacomp IT Sp. z o.o. in Cracow is the developer and a member of buildingSMART Polska. A plugin store, SDK and Python API bridge extend it, with plugin licences set individually. Models stay on the local machine, so there is no cloud collaboration, and operating system support was not stated on the pages checked.
What BIMvision does better than Autodesk Revit
- Free for viewing and basic checks
- Models never leave the desktop
- Plugin store and Python bridge for automation
Where BIMvision is a step down from Autodesk Revit
- Viewer only, no authoring
- No cloud sharing or issue workflow
Standout against Autodesk Revit. BIMvision is the only tool here that costs nothing for the viewer and still has a plugin SDK.
What actually breaks when you switch
Expect the cost to land in content and habits. Families, templates, view settings and schedules built in Revit do not become IFC, and each European authoring tool has its own object library, so budget a rebuild per template. Training is the second cost: Revit skills are widespread and a switch needs real hours per person, not a webinar.
Exchange with consultants is the third. If an engineer sends native Revit and your tool reads only IFC, you depend on their export settings. Agree an IFC delivery spec in the contract, test it on a finished project, and keep a Revit-capable reviewer such as Solibri or usBIM in the chain for incoming files. Subscription terms matter too: BricsCAD and Solibri bill by the year, and Allplan bills yearly per user, so align the end dates with your project calendar.
Can I run Revit and a European tool side by side during the switch?
Yes, and it is the usual approach. The checking and viewing tools read Revit output, so you can add Solibri, usBIM or Speckle while the design team keeps working in Revit. Solibri federates native Revit models from Essential upward, usBIM opens RVT and RFA files, and Speckle has a Revit connector that publishes model versions.
The authoring switch is better done at a project boundary. Start the next project in Archicad, Allplan or BricsCAD BIM, exchange with Revit-using consultants through IFC, and compare the effort with the project you finished last. Keep the old licence for the archive until the defect period closes.
Is IFC enough to hand work between Revit and a European tool?
For geometry, classification and properties it usually carries the load, and the checkers on this page were built around it. It does not carry everything: parametric families, view templates and project-specific schedules are not part of an IFC file, and some native information is lost on export.
Run a pilot export before you commit. Take a finished project, export IFC, open it in BIMvision and Solibri, and see what a reviewer actually receives. The result tells you more than a feature table, and the test costs almost nothing because BIMvision is free and Solibri starts at EUR 99 a year.
Which one to pick
If you design buildings and want a European authoring tool, start with Archicad for architecture and Allplan when engineering and infrastructure are part of the work; BricsCAD fits an office whose roots are DWG drafting. Add Solibri or BIMcollab for checking and issue tracking, and pick Revizto when the project is large enough to need 2D and 3D in one coordination view.
If the aim is to cut Autodesk spend without touching the modelling workflow, move the viewing first: BIMvision for free IFC review, usBIM for browser access including Revit files, Dalux for the site. Choose dRofus for room data, Speckle for scripted data exchange, CYPE for southern European codes and cadwork for timber. Leave Revit in place where project partners require it and revisit at the next contract.
Frequently Asked Questions
Archicad from Graphisoft in Budapest is the closest authoring match for architecture offices, with Allplan for firms that also need structural, civil and precast work and BricsCAD for teams moving from DWG. For checking and coordination, Solibri, BIMcollab and Revizto are the main names. Which is best depends on whether you model, review or run the site.
Some can read them directly. Solibri federates native Revit models from its Essential tier, usBIM views RVT and RFA files in the browser, and BricsCAD brings Revit among its BIM formats at the BIM and Ultimate levels. BIMvision works from IFC exports instead. Check your Revit version against each vendor's supported list before buying.
There are free ways to view them, not to author them. BIMvision is a freeware IFC viewer, usBIM has free apps with 10 GB of cloud storage, Dalux offers a field app that is free for unlimited users on a project, and Speckle has a free plan for one project and up to three users. Each has the limits listed on its tool page.
The common reasons are contracting under European law, a wish to keep the project archive in open formats, and the cost of giving every reviewer a modelling seat. A US vendor falls under US law and the CLOUD Act, while the Budapest, Munich, Ghent or Helsinki entities behind these tools answer to EU courts. The saving is rarely the main driver.
Archicad Studio is aimed at solo architects and local teams, with BIMcloud Basic on a server you host. BricsCAD starts at EUR 330 a year for Lite and EUR 1,060 for BIM, and BIMvision costs nothing for viewing. Allplan from EUR 123 per user per month is better when the office also does engineering.
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