Asking what an AutoCAD licence cost is depends entirely on which version you mean. The three on sale differ by almost four times, and many technical departments pay for the most expensive one while their daily work needs only the cheapest.
This article gives the range for all three, explains where they differ, answers whether a three-year term is cheaper, and covers three legal ways to use AutoCAD without paying at all.
One thing worth knowing before discussing the AutoCAD licence cost: choosing the wrong version costs more than every discount combined. If you are unsure how far your work reaches, look first at the AutoCAD course from basic to advanced.
This article recommends no distributor. Figures are rounded ranges converted from the manufacturer's early-2026 list.
The range for the three versions
| Version | Per seat, per year |
|---|---|
| AutoCAD LT | about 10 million dong |
| AutoCAD Revit LT Suite — AutoCAD LT plus Revit LT | about 13 million dong |
| Full AutoCAD, with seven specialised toolsets | about 40 million dong |
All three come from the same list, so comparing them against each other is exact. The full version costs nearly four times LT, and that gap is the largest single factor in the whole AutoCAD licence cost question.
A few notes:
- These are subscription prices; the licence has to be renewed. Autodesk stopped selling perpetual licences long ago.
- Software of this kind is not subject to value added tax in Vietnam, so the figure is what you pay.
- Prices are converted from US dollars, so they move with the exchange rate and with the manufacturer's adjustments.
- Buying several seats usually attracts tiered discounts set by the manufacturer.
A subscription also covers more than the software itself: updates to each new release, access to several previous versions, technical support from the manufacturer, and the cloud storage and web or mobile apps that come with the account. None of that reaches an unlicensed copy, which is part of why cracked installations fail on partners' files.
Where the three differ
AutoCAD LT is two-dimensional drafting. That covers most construction documentation: plans, sections, details and plotting. It has Layout, Xrefs, attributed blocks, annotative scaling and Sheet Sets, which is nearly everything what advanced AutoCAD covers describes. What it lacks is three-dimensional work and full programming access.
Full AutoCAD adds three things: 3D modelling, .NET programming so you can write your own commands, and seven specialised toolsets covering Architecture, Mechanical, Electrical, Map 3D, MEP, Plant 3D and Raster Design. Forty million a year is reasonable if you genuinely use them. If a whole year passes in two dimensions only, you are paying four times over for something untouched.
AutoCAD Revit LT Suite is the least known and the most interesting: AutoCAD LT plus Revit LT, for about three million more a year than LT alone. It is the cheapest way into BIM in the Autodesk range, with conditions covered below.
Who actually needs the full version
Four groups do; most people do not.
- Anyone writing their own commands. LT supports only limited scripting, so serious .NET automation requires the full version. How many hours AutoCAD programming saves has a measurement table to tell whether you are in this group.
- Anyone modelling in three dimensions inside CAD rather than in Revit or SketchUp.
- Anyone using one specific toolset, such as Plant 3D for industrial piping or Map 3D for mapping data.
- Anyone regularly receiving and editing files that use features only the full version can handle.
The cheapest way to check: ask each person in the department whether they opened anything beyond 2D drafting last month. Many departments find that one or two people need the full version and the rest are fine on LT, which cuts next year's invoice considerably.
A mixed department works perfectly well, since both versions read and write the same DWG files. What it needs is a rule about who produces what: anything relying on a specialised toolset or on 3D geometry should originate from a full-version seat, so the LT seats never receive a file they cannot properly edit. Agreeing that once, when the licences are bought, avoids a recurring problem later.
The Revit LT Suite: a cheap way into BIM, but how far does it go?
For about 13 million a year the suite gives you Revit LT. Against full Revit at roughly 50 to 55 million that is a very large gap, so the real question is what Revit LT can do.
Revit LT models architecture and produces drawing sets. Four important things are missing.
- No MEP. It cannot model electrical, plumbing or HVAC systems, and cannot check clashes between disciplines.
- No worksharing. This is the heaviest limit: only one person can edit a model at a time, so a team of two or more is stuck.
- No advanced structural work and no analysis. No calculation, no energy simulation.
- No Dynamo and no API. Every route to automation is closed.
In other words, Revit LT suits an architect working alone, a very small office, or someone testing BIM before committing. A firm with a design team, or doing building services, or taking on projects where BIM is mandatory, needs full Revit, whose range is set out in what a Revit licence costs.
That is also why the Institute's Revit courses teach on the full version: cross-discipline coordination and working as a team on one model are precisely what cannot be learned on LT.
Is a three-year term cheaper?
This is where even experienced buyers get it wrong.
On the early-2026 list, the three-year term for all three AutoCAD versions is exactly three times the annual price, to the cent. What you gain from three years is not a discount but a price lock: a mid-term increase does not reach you. In exchange you pay the whole amount up front.
Renewal works the same way. An annual renewal costs exactly what a new purchase costs. Only the three-year renewal comes in about 5% below a new three-year purchase.
So two pieces of common advice do not hold against the current list: "buy three years, it is cheaper" and "renewal is always cheaper". What genuinely pays is choosing the right version first, because the gap between LT and the full version dwarfs every discount.
Three legal ways to use AutoCAD without buying
The education version, free. Students and teaching staff who register an Autodesk Education account get the full version for a year, renewable while studying. The steps are in installing AutoCAD free for students. The limit: study only, never paid work.
The 30-day trial. Long enough to find out whether you need LT or the full version before deciding, which beats guessing.
Flex. A pack of usage days bought in advance and drawn down on the days you actually open the software. It suits someone who opens AutoCAD a few days a month.
Beyond the legal exposure under Decree 341/2025/ND-CP, a cracked copy carries a cost few people calculate: a legitimate LT licence is about 10 million a year, roughly 800 thousand a month for someone drafting all day. Set against the fines and the risk to a tender submission, that is cheap.
Frequently asked questions
Can AutoCAD LT open files made in the full version?
It can, since both use DWG. But three-dimensional objects, or objects created by a specialised toolset, can only be viewed rather than edited properly. A department mixing both versions should agree conventions to avoid this.
Does a subscription allow older releases?
Yes. A subscription lets you install several previous releases, which helps when a partner is still on an older version.
How many people can use one licence?
One. A single-user licence installs on up to three machines but only one person may use it, never on two machines at once.
Should I buy full AutoCAD or the AEC Collection?
If you need both full AutoCAD and Revit, price the AEC Collection, because the two bought separately cost more than the collection. The arithmetic is in what a Revit licence costs.
If I learn on the education version, do I have to relearn at work?
No. The education version is the full product, identical in interface and features; only the terms of use and the markers on exported files differ.