# AutoCAD vs Bluebeam

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.

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 20, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | AutoCAD | Bluebeam |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.4 (6.3K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/autocad/id393149734/reviews)** | [1.5 (392 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bluebeam/id1479484276/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **6.3K** | 392 |
| Positive reviews | **51.0% of reviews** | 2.9% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Monthly** |
| Monetization | Freemium | **Free** |
| Size | 502 MB | 288 MB |
| Requires iOS | **17.0** | 18.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Autodesk Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/295089690) | [Bluebeam, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/489696449) |

## What reviewers say

### AutoCAD

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/autocad/id393149734)

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.

**Highlights:** 2D file viewing, Create, edit, and share 2D drawings, Offline work and sync, Insert blocks, Manage layers, Drafting and geometry editing, Measure tools

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| AutoCAD Web monthly | $9.99 | per month |
| AutoCAD Web annual | $99.99 | per year |
| AutoCAD Web annual (Ultimate) | $99.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Intuitive and easy to learn
- 📱 Convenient mobile solution
- 👍 Great for site visits and field work
- 🔍 Useful for viewing and marking up drawings

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes frequently
- 🔒 Difficult login and account management
- 🔍 Limited functionality compared to desktop version
- 📱 Lacks basic CAD features like hatching and dimensioning
- 💰 Expensive subscription model

**Reported bugs**

- 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**

- 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

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bluebeam/id1479484276)

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.

**Highlights:** Real-time PDF collaboration, Markup and annotation tools, Offline file access, Document syncing, Studio Project management, Live session joining

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- ✅ 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

**What reviewers complain about**

- ❌ 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

**Reported bugs**

- 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

**Requested features**

- 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


## Frequently asked questions

### Is AutoCAD free?

AutoCAD is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Bluebeam free?

Bluebeam is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, AutoCAD or Bluebeam?

AutoCAD is rated higher. AutoCAD averages 4.4 out of 5 from 6.3K ratings, while Bluebeam averages 1.5 from 392 ratings.

### Do AutoCAD or Bluebeam have ads?

Neither AutoCAD nor Bluebeam shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, AutoCAD or Bluebeam?

AutoCAD ships an update every 2 months, and Bluebeam monthly. Most recently, AutoCAD was updated on October 18, 2026 and Bluebeam on October 20, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*