What is Archicad used for?

Archicad is Graphisoft's BIM software for architects, offered in plans for architectural design with local collaboration or MEP design and cloud collaboration. It is a good fit for designing and documenting buildings in BIM, coordinating architects and MEP engineers on one model, and training students on professional BIM tools.

How much does Archicad cost?

Paid plans for Archicad start at $134 per seat per month, and there is no free plan. A free trial is available.

Is Archicad open source?

No. Archicad is proprietary (closed-source) software. Open-source alternatives to Archicad include FreeCAD.

What are some alternatives to Archicad?

Archicad competes with Autodesk Revit, Allplan and BricsCAD. For open-source options, see Enlisted's ranked list of open-source Archicad alternatives.

Archicad: features, pricing and alternatives

About Archicad

Archicad is building information modeling software for architectural design from Graphisoft. Architects use it to model buildings in 3D and to produce documentation from the same model. The company sells it in plans: Archicad Studio, for architectural design with local collaboration, and Archicad Collaborate, for architectural and MEP design with broader collaboration.

Around Archicad the product family includes BIMcloud for team collaboration, BIMx for presenting models, MEP Designer and DDScad. Graphisoft's 2026 lineup also introduces an AI Assistant in beta, and a waitlist for a cloud-native Design Intelligence Platform. The company supplies educational licenses for students and educators, training and certification through Graphisoft Learn, and developer resources. It is a proprietary commercial product sold under subscription licensing.

Key features

BIM modeling for architectural design
Archicad Studio and Collaborate plans
BIMcloud team collaboration
BIMx model presentation
MEP Designer tools
AI Assistant in beta

Good fit for

→Designing and documenting buildings in BIM
→Coordinating architects and MEP engineers on one model
→Training students on professional BIM tools

Tags: bim; architecture; cad; graphisoft; 3d-modeling; mep; collaboration

Archicad: questions and answers

What is Archicad used for?: Archicad is Graphisoft's BIM software for architects, offered in plans for architectural design with local collaboration or MEP design and cloud collaboration. It is a good fit for designing and documenting buildings in BIM, coordinating architects and MEP engineers on one model, and training students on professional BIM tools.
How much does Archicad cost?: Paid plans for Archicad start at $134 per seat per month, and there is no free plan. A free trial is available.
Is Archicad open source?: No. Archicad is proprietary (closed-source) software. Open-source alternatives to Archicad include FreeCAD.
What are some alternatives to Archicad?: Archicad competes with Autodesk Revit, Allplan and BricsCAD. For open-source options, see Enlisted's ranked list of open-source Archicad alternatives.