AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT: Which One Do You Actually Need?
AutoCAD LT costs about a quarter of what AutoCAD costs, and for most of the people who buy AutoCAD it would have done the job. This guide is written by Modena Technologies, Africa's only Autodesk Platinum Partner and an Autodesk Authorised Training Centre in Cape Town. We sell both, at Autodesk's prices, so we earn more when you buy the bigger one and we would still rather you bought the right one, because the wrong one comes back to us at renewal as a complaint.
The short version. AutoCAD LT is the full 2D AutoCAD: the same DWG files, the same interface, the same drafting, annotation, blocks, xrefs, layouts and sheet sets, and since the 2024 release the same ability to run LISP routines. What it leaves out is 3D, the seven specialised toolsets, point clouds and the programming interfaces that commercial add-ins are built on. If a person's work touches none of those, LT is the right buy and AutoCAD is money spent on nothing. If it touches any of them, LT will frustrate them within a month.
Because subscriptions are per named user, the decision is made one person at a time, and most teams end up with a mix. The rest of this guide shows the boundary, the arithmetic in relative terms (current prices are on the AutoCAD LT and AutoCAD product pages), and the two detours worth knowing about: the AutoCAD Revit LT Suite for architects and Civil 3D for civil engineers.
In this guide
What LT leaves out · The arithmetic · Who should buy LT · Who needs full AutoCAD · The LISP change · Architects and civil engineers · Mixing seats and changing later · How Modena helps · FAQ
What AutoCAD LT leaves out
The easiest way to see the boundary is as two lists. The left column is what you get in both products, and it is most of AutoCAD. The right column is what only full AutoCAD has, and every item on it is something a 2D draughtsperson can go a whole career without touching.
| In both AutoCAD LT and AutoCAD | Full AutoCAD only |
|---|---|
| 2D drafting, annotation, dimensioning, hatching, tables and fields | 3D modelling, surfaces, meshes, visual styles and rendering |
| The same DWG files, xrefs, layouts, plot styles and sheet sets | The specialised toolsets: Architecture, Mechanical, Electrical, MEP, Plant 3D, Map 3D and Raster Design (Windows only) |
| Blocks and dynamic blocks, tool palettes and block libraries | Attaching and working from point clouds |
| PDF and DGN import and export, PDF underlays | Parametric constraints |
| Count, Trace, Smart Blocks search and convert, Activity Insights, drawing compare | CAD standards checking and enforcement |
| AutoCAD web and mobile apps, cloud storage and Autodesk Docs connections | ObjectARX and .NET add-ins, VBA, the Visual LISP editor and the Autodesk App Store |
| AutoLISP routines (LSP, FAS and VLX), command aliases, a customisable ribbon and CUI | Action Recorder macros and Express Tools |
| Windows and macOS | AnyCAD import of Inventor and other 3D models |
One thing that is not on the right-hand list any more. For twenty years the standard objection to LT was that it could not run LISP. Since AutoCAD LT 2024 it can: LSP, FAS and VLX files load and run. The remaining gap is the programming interfaces (ObjectARX, .NET and VBA) that commercial add-ins depend on, and the Visual LISP editor for writing routines. If your practice runs on a handful of old LISP routines, LT now covers that; if it runs on a purchased add-in, it still does not.
The arithmetic, in relative terms
On our store today AutoCAD LT costs about a quarter of AutoCAD, which is the same as saying one AutoCAD seat costs about as much as four LT seats. That is the number to hold in mind when you look at a team. A drawing office of four people on full AutoCAD, none of whom opens a toolset or models in 3D, is paying for three seats' worth of software nobody uses.
The AutoCAD Revit LT Suite sits just above LT: AutoCAD LT plus Revit LT for about a quarter more than LT alone. For an architectural technologist or a small practice that draws buildings in 2D today, that is a cheap way to have Revit on the machine when the first client asks for a model. The AEC Collection, at the other end, includes full AutoCAD with every toolset alongside Revit, Civil 3D and Navisworks; it is the right buy for multi-product users and the wrong one for a 2D team, as our collection guide explains.
Who should buy AutoCAD LT
Most people who draw in 2D for a living. Contractors and subcontractors producing shop drawings and as-builts. Small architectural and interior practices working in plan, section and elevation. Engineers and technicians producing details, schematics, layouts and panel drawings without a toolset. Surveyors drafting 2D plans. Facilities and maintenance teams keeping building drawings current. Shopfitters, signage and joinery businesses. Anyone whose drawings start life in somebody else's model and come to them as DWG to annotate, check or print. And anyone in a larger office whose job is drafting rather than design, which is often the majority of AutoCAD seats in a firm.
The test is not how skilled the person is or how many hours a day they draw. An expert draughtsperson producing complex 2D documentation all day is an LT user. A junior who occasionally needs to section a 3D model is not.
Who needs full AutoCAD
Anyone who models in 3D, even occasionally, or who receives 3D models from other software and needs to section, measure or present them. Anyone whose discipline has a toolset: mechanical engineers detailing with standard parts and automated bills of materials, electrical designers producing panel layouts and schematics with symbol libraries and wiring checks, plant and process designers on P&IDs and piping, GIS and municipal teams on Map 3D, services engineers on the MEP toolset, and anyone converting scanned paper drawings with Raster Design. Each toolset is a large product in its own right and comes free with AutoCAD; a person who uses one gets far more than 3D for the price difference.
Anyone who works from point clouds, whether their own laser scans or a surveyor's. Anyone whose office enforces CAD standards through the standards checker rather than by eye. Anyone who automates with Action Recorder macros, VBA or a commercial add-in. And anyone who imports Inventor or other 3D models through AnyCAD. None of these is exotic; each is a hard boundary, and a person who hits one on LT cannot work around it.
Work through the four questions for each person in turn.
- 1Will they model in 3D, render, or work with 3D models from other software? Yes: AutoCAD. No: next question.
- 2Do they need a specialised toolset (Mechanical, Electrical, Plant 3D, Map 3D, MEP, Architecture, Raster Design) or a third-party add-in? Yes: AutoCAD. No: next question.
- 3Will they work from point clouds, enforce CAD standards, or record and run macros? Yes: AutoCAD. No: next question.
- 4Do they draw buildings, and might they want to model one in Revit LT later? Yes: AutoCAD Revit LT Suite. No: AutoCAD LT.
The LISP change, and what it means for older practices
Many South African drawing offices run on routines written years ago: a LISP file that sets up layers, inserts the title block, numbers sheets or cleans a drawing before issue. Until 2024 that alone forced the office onto full AutoCAD. It no longer does. Load the routines in an AutoCAD LT trial, run the day's work through them, and if they behave, the office can move to LT at the next renewal and keep its habits. If any routine turns out to be a compiled ObjectARX or .NET application rather than LISP, that seat stays on AutoCAD, or the routine is rewritten.
Architects and civil engineers: two detours
Architects should look at the AutoCAD Revit LT Suite before buying AutoCAD LT on its own. It costs about a quarter more and adds Revit LT, a real Revit for a single user working alone in a model. A practice that is 2D today and knows a client will ask for a model within the subscription term buys the suite and avoids buying twice; a practice that will stay 2D buys LT. Our AutoCAD to Revit guide covers where Revit LT stops and full Revit starts.
Civil engineers should not be choosing between AutoCAD and LT at all. Civil 3D includes full AutoCAD, and a civil engineer who only needs 2D drafting is better served by a Civil 3D seat for the engineer and LT seats for the draughtspeople producing the drawings from the engineer's design.
Mixing seats, and changing your mind later
Because the files and the interface are identical, a team can mix AutoCAD and LT seats freely and nobody notices the difference until they reach for a 3D command. A typical engineering office of six might run two AutoCAD seats, for the engineer who models and the one who uses the Mechanical toolset, and four LT seats for everyone producing drawings. The same training course serves both; our AutoCAD Fundamentals course is taught on full AutoCAD and everything in it applies to LT.
Buying the wrong one is not expensive to fix. A seat can be changed from LT to AutoCAD, or from AutoCAD to LT, at renewal, with no reinstallation of drawings or standards. So if you are unsure about a person, start them on LT and watch for the first thing they cannot do; it is cheaper than the reverse. The one habit worth building is to review seat types every year before the renewal date rather than renewing what was there, because a 2D office tends to accumulate full AutoCAD seats it never needed. Co-terming every subscription to one date makes that review a single short meeting. That ease of switching is particular to AutoCAD and LT; the same decision between Fusion and Inventor is much stickier, as our Fusion vs Inventor guide explains.
How Modena helps
Before a quote we will ask who does what and recommend LT, AutoCAD or a mix with the reasoning shown, and we will say so if a toolset or the LT Suite changes the answer. If you already subscribe, we can review your seat mix against Autodesk's usage report before the next renewal. We also configure AutoCAD templates to your standards, which works identically on LT, and run Fundamentals and Advanced AutoCAD courses in Cape Town and live online.
Ask us which one fits your team See AutoCAD LT
Frequently asked questions
Can AutoCAD LT open drawings made in full AutoCAD?
Yes. Both products read and write the same DWG file, with no conversion. If a drawing contains 3D objects, LT opens it and shows them, but you cannot model or edit in 3D. Everything 2D in the file, including xrefs, blocks, layouts and sheet sets, works as it would in AutoCAD.
Does AutoCAD LT run LISP routines?
Since the 2024 release, yes. AutoCAD LT loads and runs LSP, FAS and VLX files, which covers most of the small routines practices have built up over the years. What it does not include is the Visual LISP editor, VBA, or the ObjectARX and .NET interfaces that commercial add-ins are built on, so an add-in sold through the Autodesk App Store or installed from a vendor will generally not run in LT. Test your routines on an LT trial before you commit.
Does AutoCAD LT include the specialised toolsets?
No. The Architecture, Mechanical, Electrical, MEP, Plant 3D, Map 3D and Raster Design toolsets come only with a full AutoCAD subscription, and only on Windows. If a person's work depends on one of them, that settles the choice.
Can we start on AutoCAD LT and move to AutoCAD later?
Yes, and it is the sensible default when you are unsure. The files are the same, the interface is the same and the training is the same, so nothing is lost. The cleanest time to change a seat from LT to AutoCAD, or back, is at renewal. Ask us about changing mid-term if you cannot wait.
Does AutoCAD LT run on a Mac?
Yes. Both AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT are available for macOS as well as Windows. The specialised toolsets are Windows only, so a Mac user who needs a toolset is in the same position as someone on LT.
Is there a free version of AutoCAD?
Not for drawing. Autodesk's free tools are for viewing, measuring and marking up: DWG TrueView on the desktop and Autodesk Viewer in the browser. Our free Autodesk viewers page explains which one suits which job. The AutoCAD web and mobile apps are included with both AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT subscriptions rather than being free on their own.
Does the AEC Collection include AutoCAD LT?
No. The collection includes full AutoCAD with all the toolsets, alongside Revit, Civil 3D, Navisworks Manage and others. LT is sold on its own or as the AutoCAD Revit LT Suite. For a team that is mostly 2D draughting the collection is rarely the right buy; our collection guide covers when it is.
Next step
If you are buying for one person, work through the four questions above and buy accordingly; LT if in doubt. If you are buying for a team, send us the list of who does what and we will come back with a seat mix and the reasoning. For hardware, our AutoCAD workstation guide covers both products; for viewing and mark-up without a licence, see our free Autodesk viewers page.
