AutoCAD vs Bluebeam
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
AutoCAD
Access and edit CAD drawings on the go with this official application. It provides essential drafting and design tools for creating, updating, and sharing 2D drawings from any device. Collaborate with teams and simplify workflows by accessing files from various cloud storage services.
- 2D file viewing
- Create, edit, and share 2D drawings
- Offline work and sync
- Insert blocks
- Manage layers
- Drafting and geometry editing
- Measure tools
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The official AutoCAD app. View & edit CAD drawings anytime, anywhere! Essential drafting and design capabilities for your everyday needs: Autodesk® AutoCAD® Web on mobile is a trusted solution that gives you access to the core AutoCAD commands that you need for light editing and generating fundamental designs, all at an attractive price. AutoCAD Web subscription plans are available in the following options: • Monthly for $9.99 • Yearly for $99.99 • Included free with AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT subscriptions Use familiar AutoCAD drafting tools on your mobile device in a simplified interface, allowing you to access, create, and update DWG™ files anytime, anywhere. 30 day trial: Enjoy a fully functional free trial of AutoCAD Web for 30 days. After the trial is completed, you can access limited read-only functionality without a paid subscription. Current AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT desktop subscribers: Sign in with your Autodesk account to access AutoCAD Web on mobile. Key Benefits: • Work offline on your projects without an Internet connection and sync later • Safeguard drawings in your Autodesk account or with your own external accounts • Collaborate in real time with team members and reduce mistakes • Replace blueprints at job sites with drawings on mobile • Simplify workflows by opening DWG files directly from Autodesk Drive, Autodesk Docs, Microsoft OneDrive, Box, Dropbox, or Google Drive. Features: • 2D file viewing • Create, edit, and share 2D drawings • Work offline and sync your changes once back online • Insert blocks from your DWG drawing • Manage layers and layer visibility • Drafting and geometry editing tools • Annotation and markup tools • Measure distance, angle, area, and radius • View and edit DWG files from your internal storage, email, or from the cloud • View coordinates and properties All new users have access to a free trial of AutoCAD Web for 30 days. Subscriptions will be charged to your credit card through your Apple ID. Subscriptions are automatically renewed unless cancelled at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. You will not be able to cancel a subscription during the active period. Manage your subscriptions in Account Settings after purchase. *Free products and services are subject to the Autodesk Terms of Use at https://www.autodesk.com/company/terms-of-use/en/general-terms Learn more: Autodesk Website: https://www.autodesk.com/products/autocad-web Term of Use: https://www.autodesk.com/company/legal-notices-trademarks/terms-of-service-autodesk360-web-services/autodesk-autocad-mobile-terms-of-service AutoCAD Service is not provided to children under the age of 14, and users under 14 cannot use this Service.
Bluebeam
Access and collaborate on PDF documents directly from your mobile device. Communicate project updates with markups and work offline by syncing files. Seamlessly join live collaboration sessions and manage document revisions from the field.
- Real-time PDF collaboration
- Markup and annotation tools
- Offline file access
- Document syncing
- Studio Project management
- Live session joining
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Bluebeam for iOS keeps you connected to your teams and documents, so you can quickly access the information you need in the field and capture what matters for the office. - Communicate with markups using tools like callouts, text, clouds, and status indicators - Import your team's custom Tool Sets from Revu, so your standardized markups are ready to go in the field, even offline - Attach photos captured in the field directly to a markup, so supporting documentation stays organized without cluttering your drawings - Open your files stored on your device, Studio Projects, or Studio Sessions - Join Studio Sessions for live collaboration. If your connection drops, your changes sync when you're back online - Check out files in Studio Projects to make edits, then check them back in when you're ready - Work offline by syncing Project files ahead of time or opening PDFs stored on your device Whether you’re reviewing submittals, placing markups in the field, or tracking revisions with your team, Bluebeam gives you the flexibility to get the job done from anywhere.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: AutoCAD at 51% against Bluebeam's 3%. AutoCAD also leads on rating (4.4 vs 1.5) and ratings volume (6.3K vs 392). Bluebeam's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and update cadence (monthly vs every 2 months). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. AutoCAD sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Bluebeam asks for nothing beyond the download.
AutoCAD holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 1.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: AutoCAD has 6.3K ratings behind it against 392, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 51% of AutoCAD's written reviews are positive against 3% of Bluebeam's.
AutoCAD ships an update every 2 months, Bluebeam monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | AutoCAD | Bluebeam |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (6.3K ratings) — better | 1.5 (392 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 51.0% of reviews — better | 3.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 6.3K — better | 392 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 502 MB | 288 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Autodesk Inc. | Bluebeam, Inc. |
Customer experience
AutoCAD
Bluebeam
User reviews
AutoCAD
From 6.3K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Intuitive and easy to learn
- 📱 Convenient mobile solution
- 👍 Great for site visits and field work
- 🔍 Useful for viewing and marking up drawings
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes frequently
- 🔒 Difficult login and account management
- 🔍 Limited functionality compared to desktop version
- 📱 Lacks basic CAD features like hatching and dimensioning
- 💰 Expensive subscription model
Bluebeam
From 392 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- ✅ Automatic saving functionality works well
- 📱 Useful for viewing PDFs on the go
- 🔄 Good for accessing Studio sessions
- 📊 Desktop version is powerful and feature-rich
- 🎯 Cleaner, more modern interface design
Room to improve
- ❌ Massive feature loss compared to Revu for iPad
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezing issues
- 📉 Severely limited markup tools and capabilities
- 🖊️ Apple Pencil input is unresponsive and laggy
- 💾 Data loss and corruption issues
Bugs and requests
AutoCAD
Reported bugs
4 issues- Unable to open DXF files
- Numeric keypad not appearing for editing dimensions
- Syncing and saving issues causing data loss
- Compatibility problems with newer iPad models
Requested features
5 requests- Add support for Arabic text
- Improve Apple Pencil integration
- Allow creating and saving custom blocks
- Implement PDF export functionality
- Restore removed features like GPS positioning
Bluebeam
Reported bugs
28 issues- Markups fail to load or display correctly
- App deletes markups instead of saving them
- Documents wipe clean when reopened
- Files uploaded disappear from app
- Corrupted file errors when opening PDFs
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- Keyboard disappears during login
- Selection boundaries too large, preventing precise markup selection
- Apple Pencil input stops working intermittently
- Pen tool produces no line output despite input
- App crashes when opening large file sets
- Session documents fail to load
- Blank PDF pages displayed
- Scaling doesn't work properly
- Blue screen errors
- Markups missing after checkout and checkin
- Incomplete markups syncing between devices
- App freezes during document checkin
- Unable to add users to sessions
- Projects not showing up in app
- App crashes when opening Studio sessions
- Drawings won't load or open
- Markup placement doesn't correspond to tap location
- PDF goes blank when inserting callouts
- Constant logout requiring re-authentication
- Links to details don't work
- App crashes on older iOS versions
- Audio communication issues
- File synchronization failures
Requested features
25 requests- Restore measurement and scaling tools
- Add custom toolsets and tool libraries
- Implement bookmarks for document navigation
- Enable image embedding in callouts
- Add undo/redo functionality
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- Support multiple PDF tabs simultaneously
- Create stamp library with standardized markups
- Add dimension markup capabilities
- Allow local PDF file access and import
- Full Studio session integration
- Improve Apple Pencil responsiveness and precision
- Add eraser tool for pen markups
- Enable photo capture and attachment to markups
- Support Dropbox and cloud storage integration
- Add form field editing capabilities
- Implement punch list and defect tracking
- Add RFI creation functionality
- Support for custom columns and data fields
- Reset viewpoints feature
- Pen width and cloud shape customization
- Settings menu for preferences
- Better pen and drawing mechanics like Notability
- Ability to download session documents to device
- Support for opening PDF attachments from desktop
- Batch file upload capability
In-app purchases
AutoCAD
- AutoCAD Web monthly$9.991 Month
- AutoCAD Web annual$99.991 Year
- AutoCAD Web annual (Ultimate)$99.991 Year
Bluebeam
No in-app purchases









