This message has been cross posted to the following Discussion Forums: Small Project Practitioners and Small Firm Round Table .
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I too have gotten away from AutoCAD as my main software tool. When I started my firm 6 years ago I compared costs of many different software applications and when adding up all of the costs for AutoCAD with all the necessary add-ons, subscription fees, etc. it was simply cost prohibitive. I settled on Chief Architect which is much less expensive than the big companies and suits my practice which is residential and light commercial oriented. Chief does have a nominal yearly subscription fee which is optional but useful for all of the very good support they offer. I still keep the ACADLite version for occasional use when collaborating with other firms that use that format. I have found Chief Architect to be very user friendly with very good 3D and 2D capabilities. The one downside to Chief is that it is technically not a BIM software...don't know if it is going that way in the future but for now it is not.
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Michael Dolce AIA
Owner / Architect
Michael P. Dolce, AIA Architect
Forest Hill MD
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