Both are mature parametric mechanical CAD packages and both will do your job. The feature comparison is close enough that it rarely decides anything. Three other things do: what file format your supply chain sends you, whether you want to stop paying one day, and what your next hire already knows.
The commercial difference, which is the real one
| Autodesk Inventor | SolidWorks | |
|---|---|---|
| Price transparency | Published — US$2,585/yr on Autodesk’s store | Quoted through a reseller; no public checkout |
| Perpetual licence | No — subscription only | Yes, historically offered alongside term licences |
| Maintenance | Included in the subscription | Separate annual service contract; the licence keeps working without it, upgrades and support stop |
| Editions | One product | Standard / Professional / Premium |
| Cheaper sibling | Fusion 360, substantially cheaper | None in-house; Onshape from the same parent |
| Free non-commercial route | Education licence | Education licence and a low-cost maker tier |
| Free browser option | — | Onshape, free for public projects |
Inventor pricing from Autodesk’s store, 29 August 2026. SolidWorks is deliberately not given a figure here because it is quoted per reseller and per region — get it in writing, and make sure the quote separates the licence from the annual maintenance.
The question that usually decides it
What lands in your inbox? If customers, suppliers or your employer send you SLDPRT and SLDASM files, that answers it. Round-tripping through a neutral format like STEP loses feature history, so every edit becomes a rebuild. That friction costs far more over a year than the licence difference — and it is the single most common reason people who “chose on features” end up switching back.
If nobody sends you native files and you are choosing freely, then the commercial terms above matter more than anything in the toolbars.
Price Fusion 360 before you price either
This is the step most comparisons skip. Fusion 360 is Autodesk’s own, substantially cheaper mechanical package, and for a lot of small teams and individual designers it is genuinely enough — parametric modelling, assemblies, drawings, CAM in the same product. If Fusion covers your work, both Inventor and SolidWorks are an expensive answer to a question you did not need to ask.
Where each one is genuinely stronger
- Inventor — tight integration with the rest of the Autodesk stack, especially if your firm already runs AutoCAD or Vault. Strong on large assemblies and on frame/tube-and-pipe design.
- SolidWorks — the larger community by some distance, which means more tutorials, more trained hires, more third-party plugins and more suppliers who can open your files.
- Simulation — both offer it; SolidWorks Premium bundles more in the box, Inventor leans on Autodesk’s wider simulation range.
- Sheet metal and weldments — comparable; test with your own parts rather than trusting a feature list.
What we would do
- Your chain is SolidWorks: buy SolidWorks. The licence saving never covers the file friction.
- You are free to choose and want predictable cost: Inventor — the price is published, which makes budgeting honest.
- You want to stop paying one day: SolidWorks, for the perpetual option. Ask specifically; it is not always volunteered.
- Small team, straightforward parts: Fusion 360 first.
- Zero budget: FreeCAD or Onshape — see SolidWorks licensing explained and how much Inventor costs.
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