# AutoCAD 15 Hacker News commenters recommended AutoCAD and 21 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 7 of 13 months. **Verdict:** Long-running professional CAD program, praised for its AutoLISP scripting and as a budget-friendly option. Main caveat: no permanent license and vendor lock-in. ## Why people recommend it - AutoLISP scripting and automation (4 comments): "The metadata allowed AutoLISP to do some really cool and intelligent things." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46395387)) "AutoCAD was amazing, because with AutoLISP you could draw with words." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47527538)) "Switching to ACAD with AutoLISP-based automation was a game changer." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46395178)) - Historic, influential desktop CAD (3 comments): "64K RAM, 8086 with math coprocessor, ACAD 1.0. Memory was such a pain back then." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46395280)) "the best desktop version of AutoCAD available at the time" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46413826)) "It would become AutoCAD. That is pretty awesome." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48859760)) ## What people warn about - Vendor lock-in and subscription pricing (5 comments): "People who refused the conversion to a subscription, and maintained their "lifetime" licenses, where shut down after a couple of years." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48153436)) "You're completely locked in with no choice, everyone uses it so you must also use it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46736533)) "It's expensive, there is no permanent license, there is basically no real alternative" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47673004)) - Neglected; poor Mac and AMD support (4 comments): "the user's of AutoCAD that I know, weren't; asking for any "support", they just wanted the software to keep working" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48162381)) "AutoCAD has severely neglected it, despite some large businesses built exclusively upon it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46395641)) "Autodesk for example can barely get Autocad working on the Mac" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49704865)) - Steep learning curve, unfamiliar interface (3 comments): "I have no doubt that AutoCAD is difficult to grasp, but it is not a good representative of what is possible" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46340266)) "In the top ribbon menu there are icons only. And not any familiar ones at all." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46198769)) "after 2 days of tutorials I still felt overwhelmed" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46338806)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [FreeCAD](https://hackerapproved.com/p/freecad.md): 199 recommend - [OpenSCAD](https://hackerapproved.com/p/openscad.md): 173 recommend - [Onshape](https://hackerapproved.com/p/onshape.md): 65 recommend - [Autodesk Fusion 360](https://hackerapproved.com/p/fusion-360.md): 60 recommend - [SolveSpace](https://hackerapproved.com/p/solvespace.md): 37 recommend ## Where to get it - [Visit the official site](https://www.autodesk.com/products/autocad/overview) ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "AutoCAD", https://hackerapproved.com/p/autocad/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).