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Compare LightWave 3D and SOLIDWORKS 
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At a Glance
Market Segments
Small-Business (78.6% of reviews)
Small-Business (43.4% of reviews)
Entry-Level Pricing
No pricing available
No pricing available
LightWave 3D
Star Rating
(29)3.9 out of 5
Market Segments
Small-Business (78.6% of reviews)
Pros & Cons
Not enough data
Entry-Level Pricing
No pricing available
Learn more about LightWave 3DSOLIDWORKS
Star Rating
(621)4.5 out of 5
Market Segments
Small-Business (43.4% of reviews)
Pros & Cons
Entry-Level Pricing
No pricing available
Learn more about SOLIDWORKSLightWave 3D vs SOLIDWORKS
- Reviewers felt that SOLIDWORKS meets the needs of their business better than LightWave 3D.
- When comparing quality of ongoing product support, reviewers felt that SOLIDWORKS is the preferred option.
- For feature updates and roadmaps, our reviewers preferred the direction of SOLIDWORKS over LightWave 3D.
Pricing
Entry-Level Pricing
LightWave 3D
No pricing availableSOLIDWORKS
No pricing availableFree Trial
LightWave 3D
No trial information availableSOLIDWORKS
No trial information availableRatings
Meets Requirements
7.6
27
8.8
517
Ease of Use
7.4
27
8.6
521
Ease of Setup
Not enough data
8.2
93
Ease of Admin
Not enough data
7.9
46
Quality of Support
6.9
25
8.1
457
Has the product been a good partner in doing business?
Not enough data
8.3
46
Product Direction (% positive)
6.5
27
8.6
512
Features by Category
CAD to CAM
Not enough data
9.1
41
Not enough data
8.8
41
Not enough data
8.9
41
CNC Programming
Not enough data
8.6
37
Not enough data
8.6
37
Not enough data
8.4
36
Machining
Not enough data
8.6
38
Not enough data
8.7
38
Not enough data
8.7
38
Design
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Move
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Store & Manage
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Generative AI
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Design
Not enough data
9.5
100
Not enough data
9.4
100
Not enough data
9.3
96
Not enough data
8.1
96
Edit
Not enough data
8.5
94
Not enough data
8.3
87
Not enough data
9.3
95
Not enough data
8.3
82
Collaboration
Not enough data
8.6
91
Not enough data
9.0
93
Not enough data
8.4
87
Library
Not enough data
8.8
27
Not enough data
8.5
26
Not enough data
8.3
27
Not enough data
8.6
22
CAD
Not enough data
8.9
23
Not enough data
9.4
29
Not enough data
9.0
28
Integration
Not enough data
8.5
25
Not enough data
9.6
27
Not enough data
8.5
23
Data
Not enough data
9.1
25
Not enough data
8.6
24
Not enough data
8.2
24
Not enough data
8.9
24
Not enough data
8.1
22
Not enough data
8.6
23
Logistics
Not enough data
9.1
25
File Support - Additive Manufacturing
Not enough data
8.8
60
Not enough data
8.6
46
Not enough data
8.4
51
File Editing - Additive Manufacturing
Not enough data
7.6
54
Not enough data
8.6
58
Software Integrations - Additive Manufacturing
Not enough data
7.6
48
Not enough data
8.8
57
Software Type - Additive Manufacturing
Not enough data
7.7
47
Not enough data
8.6
52
Generative AI - Additive Manufacturing
Not enough data
6.1
19
Not enough data
6.1
19
Building Preparation - Additive Manufacturing
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
File Options
Not enough data
8.8
43
Not enough data
9.1
42
Not enough data
9.0
41
Not enough data
9.3
43
Not enough data
8.3
34
Not enough data
8.2
40
Tools
Not enough data
9.4
42
Not enough data
9.0
40
Not enough data
9.2
42
Design
Not enough data
9.4
42
Design
Not enough data
7.7
11
Not enough data
7.7
11
Tools
Not enough data
9.2
12
Not enough data
8.8
12
Library
Not enough data
8.1
12
Platform
Not enough data
8.5
12
Not enough data
7.9
11
Customization
Not enough data
7.6
11
Not enough data
8.2
11
Design
Not enough data
9.2
59
Not enough data
9.0
60
Not enough data
8.8
60
Not enough data
7.6
58
Tools
Not enough data
8.0
53
Not enough data
7.9
55
Not enough data
7.4
48
Work
Not enough data
7.5
40
Not enough data
7.8
41
Not enough data
8.3
49
Not enough data
8.1
43
Not enough data
8.4
46
Environment
Not enough data
8.3
52
Not enough data
8.4
50
Not enough data
8.2
48
Not enough data
8.6
52
Generative AI
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Generative AI
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Agentic AI - Animation
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Tools - Mechanical Computer-aided Design (MCAD)
Not enough data
9.3
25
Not enough data
8.5
24
Not enough data
9.3
25
Not enough data
9.0
24
Not enough data
7.6
24
File Options - Mechanical Computer-aided Design (MCAD)
Not enough data
8.5
24
Not enough data
8.4
24
Not enough data
8.1
25
Not enough data
8.2
23
Not enough data
7.6
26
Customization - Mechanical Computer-aided Design (MCAD)
Not enough data
8.3
21
Not enough data
8.3
21
Not enough data
7.5
22
Not enough data
8.2
22
Environment - Mechanical Computer-aided Design (MCAD)
Not enough data
8.3
22
Not enough data
8.3
22
Not enough data
7.8
22
Not enough data
8.8
23
Categories
Categories
Shared Categories
LightWave 3D and SOLIDWORKS share no categories
Unique Categories
SOLIDWORKS is categorized as Mechanical Computer-aided Design (MCAD), General-Purpose CAD, Simulation & CAE, CAD Viewers, Sketching, PCB Design, Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM), CAD Libraries, CAD Data Exchange, and Additive Manufacturing
Reviews
Reviewers' Company Size
LightWave 3D
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)
Enterprise(> 1000 emp.)
SOLIDWORKS
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)
Enterprise(> 1000 emp.)
Small-Business
(50 or fewer emp.)
Mid-Market
(51-1000 emp.)
Enterprise
(> 1000 emp.)
Reviewers' Industry
Animation
32.1%
Design
14.3%
Marketing and Advertising
7.1%
Graphic Design
7.1%
Publishing
3.6%
Other
35.7%
Mechanical or Industrial Engineering
22.8%
Design
12.1%
Automotive
6.6%
Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing
6.0%
Medical Devices
5.8%
Other
46.8%
Discussions
LightWave 3D has no discussions with answers
What is SOLIDWORKS used for?
3 Comments
YP
SOLIDWORKS IS USED FOR MULTIPLE WORK LIKE 2D & 3D CAD MODELING, ASSEMBLY MODELING, SHWWET METAL MODELING, SURFACE MODELING, RENDERING, SIMULATION, 3D...Read more
best use o this software
2 Comments
OS
Making 2D sketches and extruding them to make 3d sketches.Read more
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