Search Software and Services

Home / CAD Software / Civil Engineering Design Software

Overview Highest Rated Easiest To Use Free

View Grid

Find the Right Fit for You. Get an overview of the Civil Engineering Design category at a
glance

Market Segments
All Segments (62)
Small Business (6)
Mid Market (5)
Enterprise (4)

Star Rating
(5)
(14)

Languages Supported
English (13)
Spanish (8)
German (6)
Russian (6)
French (5)

Show More
 Pricing Options
Pricing Available (7)

Hey there I'm here to help!

Civil Engineering Design
Transportation (7)
Engineering
Hydraulic (9)
Engineering

Deployment
Cloud (6)
On Premises (11)

Similar Categories

Building Design and Building Information Modeling (BIM)

CAD Data Exchange

CAD Libraries

CAD Viewers

General-Purpose CAD

MEP

Other CAD

PCB Design

Civil Engineering Design reviews by real, veri ed users. Find unbiased ratings on user satisfaction, features,
and price based on the most reviews available anywhere.

Best Civil Engineering Design Software

What is Civil Engineering Design Software?

Civil engineering design software allows users to draft complex 3D designs of municipal buildings and
structures. These tools include those with functionality for railway modeling, road and highway design, and
mapping tools—essentially helping with anything pertaining to the city’s infrastructure. These tools have the
functionality to help in every stage of the design and construction process, including drafting, designing,
visualizing, analyzing, and more.

These solutions can assist engineers in determining factors like cost, resourcing and scheduling. Although
they are intended for structural engineers, civil engineering design platforms can be utilized by engineers in
nearly every subset of the eld. If they are lacking the speci c functionality, civil engineering design
software can typically integrate with general-purpose CAD software.

To qualify for inclusion in the Civil Engineering Design category, a product must:

Provide users with the ability to modify 3D primitives

Offer basic drawing tools like lines, circles and polygons
Enable users to visualize their structures in 3D
Show Less

Top 10 Civil Engineering Design Software

Civil 3D | MicroStation | OpenRoads Designer | OpenFlows WaterCAD | GeoHECRAS | CityEngine |
Site3D | OpenFlows SewerCAD | RoadEng | InfraWorks 360

Compare Civil Engineering Design Software

G2 takes pride in showing unbiased reviews on user satisfaction in our ratings and reports. We do not allow paid
placements in any of our ratings, rankings, or reports. Learn about our scoring methodologies.

Sort By: Alphabetical Satisfaction Popularity G2 Score Results: 62

View Grid Adv. Filter

Civil 3D
(254) 4.3 out of 5
Optimized for quick response

Entry Level Price: $275 per Month

Save to list

Autodesk® Civil 3D® software is a civil engineering design and documentation solution that supports
Building Information Modeling (BIM) work ows on civil infrastructure projects, including roads and
highways, rail, site development, airports, and water. Civil 3D helps civil infrastructure professionals
improve project delivery, reduce risk, errors, and omissions, and respond faster to project changes.
Additionally, users can streamline time-consuming tasks such as corridor design, (road and ra...
Show More

Read Civil 3D Reviews

Try for free

MicroStation
(229) 4.0 out of 5
Entry Level Price: $2,410 USD License

Save to list
MicroStation’s advanced parametric 3D modeling and intelligent drafting capabilities enable
infrastructure professionals of any discipline to collaborate on and deliver projects of any scale and
complexity. You and your team can aggregate work in MicroStation, including designs and models
created with Bentley’s discipline-speci c modeling applications. As a result, you can create
comprehensive, multi-discipline BIM models, documentation, and other deliverables. MicroStation
and all Bentley BI... Show More

Read MicroStation Reviews

Get a quote

OpenRoads Designer
(106) 4.0 out of 5
Entry Level Price: 12,499 USD License

Save to list

OpenRoads Designer CONNECT Edition, the successor to Bentley’s industry leading civil engineering
brands InRoads, GEOPAK, MX, and PowerCivil, is a truly innovative design application, built to address
the demands of today’s evolving infrastructure industry. By blending traditional engineering
work ows for plan, pro le, and cross-sections with 3D parametric modeling, OpenRoads Designer
enables the model-centric creation of all your design deliverables. This application supports all
aspects of a

Read OpenRoads Designer Reviews

Get a quote

OpenFlows WaterCAD
(18) 4.2 out of 5

Save to list

OpenFlows WaterCAD is a robust and easy-to-use water distribution modeling program.

Read OpenFlows WaterCAD Reviews

Get a quote

GeoHECRAS
(13) 4.9 out of 5

Save to list

GeoHECRAS is a river modeling software used to compute water surface pro les for steady and
unsteady ow models, bridge and culvert roadway crossings, FEMA oodplain encroachments,
stream restorations, inline reservoir structures, off-channel storage areas, and much more.
GeoHECRAS provides an easy-to-use, single graphical platform to rapidly create stunning HEC-RAS
models and 3D visualizations from a variety of different data sources like AutoCAD, MicroStation,
ArcGIS, Google Maps, Bing Maps

Read GeoHECRAS Reviews

Get a quote

CityEngine
(20) 4.1 out of 5
Optimized for quick response

Save to list

Esri CityEngine is 3D modeling software for quickly creating large urban environments. The
environments you choose to create can be based on real-world data or can be completely
conceptual. CityEngine saves you time by using rules to automatically create the urban environment
based on your input. You can import 3D models you've created in other software to create context
around them and export your entire environment into visualization tools, game engines and VR
experiences.

Read CityEngine Reviews

Get a quote

Site3D
(24) 4.3 out of 5

Save to list

Site3D is a fully featured software product for the engineering design of highways, drainage and
residential developments. Quickly and accurately design whole sites including roads, junctions,
roundabouts, footways, surface interfacing, contours, volumes, drainage, housing and more. Site3D
is a powerful software tool for the 3D engineering design of road schemes and infrastructure.

Read Site3D Reviews

Get a quote

OpenFlows SewerCAD
(13) 4.3 out of 5

Save to list

OpenFlows SewerCAD is Ideal for system design and the rehabilitation of sanitary sewers.

Read OpenFlows SewerCAD Reviews

 Get a quote

RoadEng Civil Engineer

(16) 4.6 out of 5

Save to list

RoadEng® is a completely different approach to road design - with an easy-to-use interface and real-
time interactivity. It can add speed and power to your next corridor design project. • Rural Road &
Highway Design • Rail & Pipeline Corridor Projects • Forest & Resource Road Design • Stream
Reconstruction Bene ts & Features: > Interactive corridor design for road, rail, and pipeline
projects. > Design culverts, bridge sites, and more. > Work with a wide variety of su

Read RoadEng Civil Engineer Reviews

Get a quote

Autodesk InfraWorks 360

(34) 4.2 out of 5

Save to list

InfraWorks 360™ preliminary engineering and design software improves your infrastructure project
outcomes throughout the asset lifecycle. Make decisions in the context of the real world, not the CAD
world. Combine and connect data to better create, view, analyze, share, and manage information
anywhere, on any device using the power of the cloud.

Read Autodesk InfraWorks 360 Reviews

Get a quote

SkyCiv Structural 3D
(13) 4.6 out of 5

Save to list

SkyCiv Structural 3D is a cloud-based Structural Analysis and Design software that allows users to
model and solve complex 3D structures. It is completely online; requiring no installation to use.
SkyCiv Structural 3D offers the very best in online structural analysis and integrated design checks.
Structural 3D is powerful analysis software that includes: - Reactions, Bending, Shear, Axial and
Torsion Forces - Stress, De ection and Plate Analysis - Fully Integrated Section Builder (database

Read SkyCiv Structural 3D Reviews

Get a quote
 AutoTURN
(46) 4.3 out of 5

Save to list

AutoTURN is the industry standard swept path analysis software for transportation engineers,
planners, drafters, and architects around the world. From concept through construction, AutoTURN
ensures your projects will safely accommodate vehicles movements and meet operational
requirements. AutoTURN is eld-tested and proven to be the most accurate swept path solution
available.

Read AutoTURN Reviews

Get a quote

OpenFlows StormCAD
(14) 3.6 out of 5

Save to list

OpenFlows StormCAD offers a complete approach to storm sewer design and analysis, from rainfall
to outlet.

Read OpenFlows StormCAD Reviews

Get a quote

Carlson Civil
(15) 4.2 out of 5
Entry Level Price: $3750

Save to list

Carlson Civil provides the most robust automation and ease-of-use of any civil design solution
available today, and it does dynamic updating without a single custom object. What might take days
with other civil software takes just hours, or even minutes, with the powerful, intuitive Carlson Civil: •
Road NETwork. Build all roads, intersections and cul-de-sacs in 2D and 3D with a single click of the
“PROCESS” button. • Site NETwork. Elevate your estimating accuracy with this intuitive layer-bas

Read Carlson Civil Reviews

Get a quote

Civil Designer
(9) 4.7 out of 5

Save to list
An integrated design system for civil engineering infrastructure, including roads, earthworks, sewer,
water & stormwater networks.

Read Civil Designer Reviews

Get a quote

Carlson Survey
(8) 3.7 out of 5

Save to list

Carlson Survey is a Windows software application for the Surveyor’s o ce to manage the complete
job cycle from eld data collection to drafting a nal plan with several CAD options. With minimum
effort and time, Carlson Survey allows users to design and produce a 2D drawing, an enhanced 3D
surface model and construction layout data sets, for increasing their e ciency and pro tability. •
Compatibility: AutoCAD©, AutoCAD Map©, Land Desktop©, Civil3D© & IntelliCAD© • Automated
Plan Dra

Read Carlson Survey Reviews

Get a quote

HydroCAD
(8) 4.2 out of 5

Save to list

HydroCAD combines the best of TR-20, TR-55, and SBUH, plus built-in hydraulics, graphics,
automatic database, and on-screen routing diagram in a single program. (see comparison table) The
result is the fastest, easiest, and most capable stormwater modeling system available. We call it
HydroCAD because it brings the bene ts of Computer Aided Design to hydrology, while not requiring
any other CAD software. However, HydroCAD-10 now offers direct extraction of subarea data directly
from AutoCAD

Read HydroCAD Reviews

Get a quote

ACTCAD Professional
(30) 4.6 out of 5
Entry Level Price: $199 (Standard), $299 (Professional), $399 (BIM) Lifetime License

Save to list
ActCAD is a 2D Drafting and 3D Modeling CAD software meant for Engineers, Architects and other
technical consultants. ActCAD is a native DWG & DXF CAD software to create and edit drawings.
ActCAD is based on the technologies from IntelliCAD Technology Consortium (ITC), ODA Teigha
Libraries, ACIS 3D Kernel, Wintopo, ps2edit etc. ActCAD uses the most recently released version of
IntelliCAD to offer the best performance and features to its users. ActCAD as many add-on
commands and features supp

Read ACTCAD Professional Reviews

Try for free

Autodesk Architecture, Engineering & Construction

Collection
(20) 4.5 out of 5
Entry Level Price: $2,825 Only $235.42/Month

Save to list

Integrated BIM tools for building design, civil infrastructure, and construction. Get access to a set of
integrated tools that equip you to meet any project challenge – now and in the future. Use powerful
BIM and CAD work ows enabled by a comprehensive set of software and services to deliver your best
work and stay competitive. Why a collection? • Be ready for anything with a full set of BIM tools Get an
essential set of tools, including Revit and AutoCAD, at a great price. And with access t

Read Autodesk Architecture, Engineering & Construction Collection Reviews

Get a quote

Softree Optimal
(4) 4.3 out of 5

Save to list

Softree Optimal is a Mathematical Optimization tool for Geometric Design. It optimizes the vertical
alignment of a road created in any civil design program to minimize construction costs, save
engineering time, and allow you to evaluate design parameters like never before. Based on 5 years of
cutting-edge mathematical research in conjunction with the University of British Columbia, Softree
Optimal proposes a new way of thinking about corridor design. > In the Preliminary stages, compare
and

Read Softree Optimal Reviews

Get a quote

MicroDrainage
(3) 4.0 out of 5
 Save to list

Advanced drainage design software that optimises the performance and effectiveness of drainage
systems, including SuDS – both green eld and retro t.

Read MicroDrainage Reviews

Get a quote

ATIR STRAP
(2) 5.0 out of 5

Save to list

ATIR Engineering Software Development Ltd was founded in 1983 with the aim of developing
structural analysis and design software that would be both sophisticated and comprehensive but at
the same time easy to use for the professional engineer. During the last three decades ATIR's staff of
software and structural engineers, with the help of academic experts, have created versatile and
powerful structural engineering programs for the construction industry. STRAP, our agship
program, covers the

Read ATIR STRAP Reviews

Get a quote

Tekla Tedds
(2) 4.5 out of 5

Save to list

Tekla Tedds is powerful software developed to meet the needs of the structural engineering
work ow and designed to help you automate your repetitive structural calculations. Choose from one
or more of our regularly updated calculation libraries or write your own, and create professional
documentation every time. Combine your structural calculations with 2D frame analysis.

Read Tekla Tedds Reviews

Get a quote

AllyCAD
(1) 3.5 out of 5

Save to list

A powerful user-friendly CAD package with advanced toolkits for the engineering and architectural
elds.
 Read AllyCAD Reviews

Get a quote

ClearCalcs
(1) 5.0 out of 5

Save to list

Easy to use cloud structural design and analysis software for timber, steel, wood, concrete, masonry,
and more.

Read ClearCalcs Reviews

Get a quote

GRAITEC Advance Design

(1) 5.0 out of 5

Save to list

Advance Design was speci cally developed for industry professionals that require a superior solution
for the structural analysis and design of reinforced concrete and steel structures.

Read GRAITEC Advance Design Reviews

Get a quote

GuideSIGN
(1) 4.0 out of 5

Save to list

GuideSIGN provides engineers a fast and easy way to design even the most complex highway and
roadway signs.

Read GuideSIGN Reviews

Get a quote

SignCAD
(1) 4.5 out of 5

Save to list
SignCAD is a quantum leap in CAD technology.

Read SignCAD Reviews

Get a quote

12d
0 ratings

Save to list

12d Model is a powerful terrain modelling, surveying and civil engineering software package. It allows
quick and high quality production in a wide variety of projects.

Read 12d Reviews

Get a quote

Allplan Engineering Civil

(1) 0.0 out of 5

Save to list

Allplan Engineering Civil is a powerful BIM tool that is optimized to the work processes of
construction engineers within infrastructure construction. Due to a direct connection to the cloud-
based BIM platform Allplan Bimplus, Allplan Engineering Civil is a complete BIM solution (up to BIM
level 3). The software helps you to reduce planning and construction times and comply with cost
frameworks

Read Allplan Engineering Civil Reviews

Get a quote

1 2 3 Next › Last »

Live

Trending

All

Small Business

Mid Market
 Enterprise

All

Hydraulic Engineering

Transportation Engineering

All

On Premises

Cloud

Back to product list

G2 Grid for Civil Engineering Design Filter Grid

Contenders Leaders

Market Presence
Niche High Performers

Satisfaction

G2 Grid Scoring

Civil Engineering Design Topics

What You Should Know About Civil Engineering Design Software

Why Use Civil Engineering Design Software?

Who Uses Civil Engineering Design Software?

Kinds of Civil Engineering Design Software

Civil Engineering Design Software Features

Trends Related to Civil Engineering Design Software

Potential Issues with Civil Engineering Design Software

Software and Services Related to Civil Engineering Design Software

 Civil Engineering Design Topics

Learn More About Civil Engineering Design

Software
What You Should Know About Civil Engineering
Design Software
Some civil engineering design solutions can be used as an all-encompassing tool, including CAD
capabilities, that is geared toward civil engineering. Others simply integrate with separate tools so they
can be optimized for civil engineering purposes.

These tools can be used for any subset of civil engineering, including but not limited to structural
engineering, environmental engineering, and land surveying. Civil engineering design tools have speci c
functionalities that ensure engineers in any subset can utilize the software in ways speci c to their eld.

Through their project management functionality, civil engineering design tools can help engineers
determine factors such as cost, resourcing, and scheduling. This is accomplished through a variety of
formulas and theories built into the algorithm of the software. After a project is completed, civil
engineering design tools can help engineers monitor the structure. Overall, civil engineer design
software has proven to help cut costs and limit human error associated with these projects.

Key Bene ts of Civil Engineering Design Software

With civil engineering design software, you can:

Increase productivity and e ciency in designing and modeling infrastructure systems

Easily alter designs

Improve accuracy, precision, and control

Enable communication and collaboration between engineers and with clients

Perform accurate mapping generation and analysis

Test civil engineering models through simulations

Why Use Civil Engineering Design Software?

Civil engineering design software provides a number of bene ts to users, such as:

Standardizing the industry – Civil engineering projects require a lot of moving pieces, with many
engineers collaborating on the work. Because of that, it’s necessary to ensure the entire team is on the
same page. Civil engineering design tools enable users to easily save and share designs to improve
collaboration amongst team members. Some solutions also offer the option to print designs so that a
physical copy can be shared.

Fast calculations – An important aspect of civil engineering is that calculations must be exact so the
structures being constructed are safe and stable. With this software, these calculations can be made
much quicker. Structures often have to go through some variation of redesign, so civil engineer design
platforms can allow engineers to quickly accomplish that while still keeping up with accurate
calculations. Some tools even have formulas built in to include safety standards.

Who Uses Civil Engineering Design Software?

Civil engineering design tools are most commonly by those in the eld of civil engineering itself. A civil
engineer designs and supervises the construction of major public works projects, which can range from
buildings to highways to airports. This software helps with every step of these projects, from planning to
design to execution. Some civil engineers focus on a more niche function of the eld, such as
transportation engineering, structural engineering, or geotechnical engineering.

Kinds of Civil Engineering Design Software

All civil engineering design solutions have the end result of helping to create various infrastructure within
a community. However, some software focuses on different aspects of that process.

Planning – Some civil engineering design solutions are intended to be used when it comes to planning out
the design of a structure. This can include sequencing out the necessary steps to reach completion of
construction and providing teams with the proper tools so they might better collaborate during this step
in the process.

Design – 3D design capability is available in a number of civil engineering design solutions. Engineers can
create a 3D model of their structure and then render it in a fully realized environment so that they may
manipulate the structure from any angle.

Civil Engineering Design SoftwareFeatures

The following features are commonly found in civil engineering design software.

Drawing – This feature enables users to draw basic lines and shapes to act as the foundation of the
design for their structure.

3D modeling – This functionality allows users to create 3D models of the structures they are designing.
These models can be eshed out with realistic details so they can look as close to what the engineer
envisioned as possible.

Editing – Civil engineering design tools provide the capabilities for users to edit their designs as they
deem necessary, with functionalities such as erase, trim, undo, and more.

Rendering – This feature takes a 3D model and places it into a fully realized 3D environment, so that users
can better visualize what their nal product will look like.
Additional Civil Engineering Design Features
Kind –

The following features may be found in civil engineering design software but are not necessarily
guaranteed to be included in every solution.

File interoperability – This ensures that the le created from the solution is compatible with a number of
advanced design and imaging applications.

File size – These solutions are able to support a range of le sizes without impacting the user
experience.

Sequencing – Some tools provide the option for users to sequence steps. That means they can create
and animate the steps, materials, and building crews necessary to complete the structure.

Trends Related to Civil Engineering Design

Software
Sustainable structures — Sustainable designs have become an incredibly relevant trend within the
construction and engineering elds. That means there will be an increase in demand for smart materials,
intelligent electrical grids, smart buildings, and more. Civil engineering design software solutions will
likely adapt to accommodate these trends.

Advanced materials — The civil engineering industry is starting to introduce advanced materials that are
able to adapt to external conditions. As this becomes more relevant in the industry, civil engineering
tools will change to accommodate these kinds of designs.

3D printing — 2017 saw a surge in demand for 3D printing. That trend recently reached the civil
engineering space, as 3D printing is capable of turning designs created within civil engineering models
into a physical model.

Potential Issues with Civil Engineering Design

Software
Civil engineering software provides many bene ts to users. However, it does come with its challenges,
such as:

Learning curve — Civil engineering is a complicated eld; therefore, the software can prove to be di cult
to master. The learning curve may especially be di cult to those who are newer in the eld.

Storage – Those working in civil engineering design software solutions often end up creating designs
that need to be saved as large les. This means that civil engineering design platforms may end up taking
up a large portion of the memory on a user’s computer.

Cost – Since it can carry out complicated functions, this software tends to be on the more expensive
side, which could make it too costly for small businesses and individual users.

Software and Services Related to Civil

Engineering Design Software
 General-Purpose CADThis software enables users to create 2D and 3D drawings and models of
structures. Many civil engineering design solutions offer CAD capabilities to help users create the
foundations of their designs.

3D Rendering3D rendering tools take previously made 3D models and place them into fully realized 3D
environments. Civil engineering design platforms often include rendering capabilities as well, so users
can visualize their models as realistically as possible.

Published: 2019-10-01

Similar Categories

Building Design and Building Information Modeling (BIM)

CAD Data Exchange

CAD Libraries

CAD Viewers

General-Purpose CAD

MEP

Other CAD

PCB Design

G2 Top Categories Company Policies

© 2020 G2.com, Inc. All rights reserved