LT Outsells AutoCAD

Autodesk reports sales figures for its AutoCAD-based software at the end of January, 2004:

Total AutoCAD-based Installed Base = 3,423,300

This number includes those AutoCADs packaged with vertical apps, like Mechanical. Autodesk provides this breakdown:

• Stand-alone AutoCAD = 2,368,000
• Architectural Desktop = 336,300
• AutoCAD Map = 190,100
• AutoCAD Mechanical = 139,000
• Land Desktop = 109,900

(There is an interesting note: the numbers include "prior period adjustment of approximately 28,000 seats.")

By comparison, AutoCAD LT has an installed base = 2,430,400. That's more than stand-alone AutoCAD.

LT has been on the market only half as long as AutoCAD. Let's see how fast its sales ares growing. Between 2003 and 2004, the installed base of both products grew by:

• AutoCAD = 76,700
• AutoCAD LT = 209,200

LT outsold AutoCAD by 2.7x. No wonder Autodesk keeps raising the price of LT -- it's too popular, undercutting sales of the 4x more expensive AutoCAD.

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Comments

[Karl Maas]

Autodesk's focus is to get people to move to verticals. Less people need to stay with AutoCAD, they either would benefit from a move to a more specific program or are better of paying less and moving to LT. If you consider that the missing AutoCAD seats are now in a vertical, there are still more AutoCAD/vertical seats than LT because more people want more functionality and 'cool stuff' more than they want the money. Are the Inventor seats of this report missing or rolled into one of the other categories?

[James Donaldson]

Replacement for their "big Brothers"! Or how about customer realization that AutoCAD is overpriced for what half of all CAD seats need. Just a good 2D program at a decent price. Too bad Autodesk hasn't figured this out yet, sales would likely more then double.

[Kevin Anderson]

It is not at all surprising or that shocking of news that LT out sells Vanilla Acad or the Verticals. Price is always the lowest common denominator. Company managers (or accountants), of say more than 5 seats, balk at paying out much more per station for the "big" program versions. But, those that choose to not just be "penny-wise" and really use the latest and greatest of the top platform offerings are light years ahead in terms creating, utilizing and managing the vast ammounts of information that can be generated in today's CADD world. I'm not discounting the obvious, that a few seats of both, makes tremendous sense for mid to large size companies. In terms of sales data, I think that the recent rise in LT seats should probably be viewed as that many more 2d cad seats available, as opposed to being replacements of their "bigger brothers".