What CAD software costs — and what the skill pays back
Every price comparison online stops at the licence fee. That is the less useful half of the question. Below is each tool's published 2026 list price set against the hourly rates we actually see on CAD, BIM and visualisation work — so you can see how many billable hours pay for a year of software before you spend anything.
| Software | List price / year | Freelance rate | Hours to pay for it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fusion | $680 | $28–$75/hr | 10–25 hrs |
| AutoCAD LT | $610 | $22–$45/hr | 14–28 hrs |
| 3ds Max | $2,145 | $30–$90/hr | 24–72 hrs |
| Maya | $2,145 | $28–$80/hr | 27–77 hrs |
| Civil 3D | $2,945 | $40–$100/hr | 30–74 hrs |
| Revit | $3,005 | $35–$95/hr | 32–86 hrs |
| Inventor | $2,955 | $30–$85/hr | 35–99 hrs |
| AutoCAD | $2,310 | $22–$55/hr | 42–105 hrs |
Prices are published US list prices for the 2026 releases (checked September 2026); verify on Autodesk's site before buying. Rate bands are TaskBider estimates compiled from listings and offers — benchmarks, not guarantees.
AutoCAD cost vs earnings
AutoCAD is the cheapest CAD skill to monetise and the most crowded.
AutoCAD price, free routes & pay →AutoCAD LT cost vs earnings
LT is roughly a quarter of the price and does everything 2D.
AutoCAD LT price, free routes & pay →Revit cost vs earnings
Revit is the most expensive mainstream seat in AEC and comfortably the best paid skill on TaskBider.
Revit price, free routes & pay →Civil 3D cost vs earnings
Civil 3D has the thinnest global supply of any tool we track, so rates hold up even for mid-level designers: roughly 30–74 billable hours covers the year.
Civil 3D price, free routes & pay →3ds Max cost vs earnings
3ds Max is the most searched tool in this whole category and the one where the licence is only half the cost: a production renderer (V-Ray or Corona) and a machine that can render are effectively mandatory.
3ds Max price, free routes & pay →Fusion cost vs earnings
Fusion is the cheapest legitimate route into paid mechanical design and the only mainstream Autodesk product with a real free tier.
Fusion price, free routes & pay →Inventor cost vs earnings
Inventor sits where the money is in manufacturing — sheet metal, weldments, frame design and production drawings — but the seat costs as much as Revit while remote demand is smaller.
Inventor price, free routes & pay →Maya cost vs earnings
Maya is an animation and games tool rather than an AEC one, and it is the weakest cost-to-earnings case for our audience: studio pipelines dictate the software, and studios own the seats.
Maya price, free routes & pay →Common questions
- Which CAD software pays back its licence fastest?
- Fusion, at roughly 9–24 billable hours a year, followed by AutoCAD LT at 11–28 hours. Measured against earnings rather than sticker price, Revit is the strongest case: the seat is the most expensive in AEC but the rate band is the highest, so around 32–86 billable hours cover a year.
- Can I do paid CAD work on a student or free licence?
- No. Autodesk education and personal-use licences forbid commercial work, and education licences watermark output, which clients notice. Learn on the education licence, then buy a commercial seat — or take roles where the employer supplies the seat, which is most salaried BIM and drafting work.
- Do employers pay for the software?
- On salaried and most contract roles, yes — the seat and the project environment belong to the employer. Freelancers billing direct clients are normally expected to hold their own commercial licence and to price it into the rate.
- Are these prices exact?
- They are published US list prices for the 2026 releases, checked in September 2026. Autodesk runs regional pricing and frequent promotions, so each page links to the official product page — treat our figure as a benchmark to verify, not a quote.