Ease of use, speed, accuracy. Much more detailed drawings are produce from SP. I started with Chief for 2 years, until I saw the SoftPlan Demo - bought it on the spot, haven't looked back since. If you do some research, I think you'll find that several have switched from Chief to SoftPlan, I really haven't heard of it happening the other way around.

Jamie

I had spent years hand drawing (since the 70's) then went to a simple vector based CAD program called DesignCad in the early 90's. I started Softplan with version 13. We bought it at the end of 2005 I believe. I spent 6 weeks researching which CAD software to buy, including CA. When we went with Softplan I stopped working and did nothing but learn the program through the manual for 2 weeks straight (and I asked my fair share of questions on this forum, and still do). After that we were more productive than we were before we bought softplan.

Because I researched so many CAD programs I still get several follow up calls from other CAD software companies. As soon as I tell them we use softplan they nicely say goodbye and don't call back. They never try and talk me into their product once they know I have softplan.

You will not be sorry buying softplan, there are plenty of former autocad users on this forum so you will get advice from people here who can really relate to your questions.

good luck,
JohnB
v13

When you say "more detailed drawings"..., what are you meaning? If you are simply talking about drawing more 2d details then stick with autocad. If you mean you want to start offering models within your drawings then by all means get Softplan.
I use autocad and softplan plus I have chief v10. I can outdraw most anyone using autocad as far as 2d details. When you start throwing in elevations, sections, wall framing layouts, perspectives, etc. then Softplan wins hands down. Chief is best for simple (and not so simple) interior work, especially the 3d presentation. It is very fast for that plus for its "wow" effect in getting a client to sign a contract. My wife uses it for interior design stuff. I think its inferior for everything else though.
Hope this helps in your decision making process.

Gary
v14

I use own and use SoftPlan Version 12.5.5 an VectorWorks 2008 (work).

From my experience looking at and reviewing drawings, quality, attention to detail, elevations etc... SoftPlan beats Chief Architect hands down. CA may have better 3D, but that alone will not save the day. My brother is a staunch advocate of CA. But guess what,... he owns SoftPlan and is amazed to this day the "power" SoftPlan has over CA. Sure maybe CA is a little more automated and may have better 3D, but when you make your living doing drawings and want the professionalism to shine through, SoftPlan is the way to go. YOu do not get permits with 3D drawings. 3D is great for clients and giving you views or perspectives you dont get with 2D. I am not saying that CA is not good CAD software. What I am saying is, look at drawings done in CA vs. SoftPlan and the difference is apparent. All CAD has their strengths and weaknesses. No one program does it all. For my money nothing beats SoftPlan! I have shown some of our salespeople SoftPlan and VectorWorks and they want to know why we don't use SoftPlan. Boss make that decision. Before I purchased SoftPlan in 2003, I reviewed every major CAD software there is to $15,0000.00 cost, and for the money, I believe nothing can compare to SoftPlan.

You need to decide which fulfills your needs best. In my opinion, the test comes in the editing ability. The level of detail (all things being equal) has nothing to do with the CAD software. It is up to the user to provide that, not knowing the "level" of detail you are looking for.

Enough of my jabbering. Buy SoftPlan!'

Rl

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I'm just switching from Chief to Softplan. I learned CADD before there were mice and icons. The biggest thing that separates the two programs is how easy/difficult it is to draw. Chief is like drawing with boxing gloves on. They have it arranged so as to maximize the number of mouse clicks to everything. Then they add a bunch of automatic stuff so that you end up wrestling the program to do anything. Then the elevations look like crap, and then the program bombs, and then the files lose all their data, and then the tech support try to pretend that nothing is wrong and ....

Don't waste your money (like I did) on Chief. If you decide to buy Chief, email me, I have all the training disks and 3 full copies I'll sell you cheap.