ArchiCAD or Revit Which BIM Software is BEST

ArchiCAD or Revit in 2020? It has been the age old question for decades, now its time to settle the debate.

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VIDEO DETAILS:

00:00 Intro
01:02 Price (Revit)
01:33 Price (ArchiCAD)
02:12 Conceptual Design
03:22 Parametric Design
04:14 Documentation
10:01 Visualisation
14:11 Pros and Cons
16:22 Verdict
18:45 Outro

ArchiCAD and Revit are both very power BIM software tools. But when they are the two industry leaders, it quickly becomes hard to pick which one is better. Today we look at the benefits of learning ArchiCAD vs the benefits of learning Revit. We breakdown the price of both Revit and ArchiCAD, we investigate the conceptual design capabilities of each and well as their parametric design limitations. As documentation tools they each bring their own strengths to the table. Revit has a much better documentation platform set up ready to go. Whilst ArchiCAD inadvertently requires you to download a few extra plug ins that cost just the little bit too much. If 3D is all you care about, well these two projects are where you should be looking. ArchiCAD has been playing catch up for a few years now, but since is acquisition of Twimmotion and Unreal Engine, we are going to see ArchiCAD renders really take to their own in the coming years.
A very important note is if you’re an Apple user, ArchiCAD runs natively on mac, whilst Revit requires you to download parallel or any other windows emulator.
Verdict? That’s simple. Watch the video to find out!

[John_Mack]

Fun fact, I first used ArchiCAD back in 2003. It was BIM before BIM was a thing. It was a true 5D program back then. Another fun fact, Revit was designed by Architects first. The Rev in Revit comes from Revise, that was its initial concept, quick revisions. Autodesk bought Revit because AutoCAD Architecture was a dead horse out of the box. Today, I only use Revit because of integration and collaboration as well as a trained work force. Only two firms use ArchiCAD where I live.

[vladi]

I think everyone should learn both. There shouldn’t be a question of which one is better because it depends on the project type. In some cases is much more enjoyable to work with ArchiCAD and in other with Revit because there are some tasks that you can do very easy in one and in the other could be a real pain. What I’ve learnt is that it is easier to work with ArchiCAD at existing buildings, or new buildings with basic shapes, but it is easier to create a complex building with Revit. My advice is to learn them both and to start with Revit, because if you start with ArchiCAD you will find Revit a nightmare.

[ghassankanaan]

I have already made my decision...I ❤️ Archicad !!

[spacyspice]

Awesome video. Team archicad here :) For residential design I think that Archicad + BIMx is really the best for quick presentations. Hopefully there will be soon a datasmith for macs between archicad and unreal engine 4.

[LearningArchicad]

Shared!!
A good video comes 2 days before the launch of archicad 24.
But it is a very sincere opinion that is much appreciated.
The new version is already an open competition to gain the appreciation of structural engineers.
Things are going to get good. Competition is good for everyone.

[fallone.studio]

Great analysis. I used Both for several years, both are great softwares. I agree that overall AC is better for smaller projects, multi platform and really stable. I do believe both have insane price tags, no other big industry has such pricing strategies.

[Avisale]

Dear, congratulations for your channel.

Just to inform, the latest version of Archicad (AC 24) includes MEP, it is no longer necessary to incorporate Plug-in.

[nmangali]

I started with Revit in university but you're right, it's far more difficult to learn which wasn't ideal as a student because I had to do sketches, then study for History and Philosophy of Architecture then do a million other things. I found that ArchiCad won hands down in that respect. It was quicker to learn, had a friendlier interface and unlike Revit it's amazingly intuitive. In practice I still use ArchiCAD and if hasn't given me problems and gets better and better with each new version. Architects and designers already have too much to deal with, the complexity of our design program shouldn't be one of them and that's what ArchiCAD has gotten right from the start. ArchiCAD is powerful once you can learn to harness it's true power.

[abdelhakyac]

Revit is a software made by engineers for engineers Archicad is far more intuitive and flexible

[Polyphemus.]

I learned ArchiCAD first and then Revit when I was a student. I hated ArchiCAD right off the bat. Everything about it seemed needlessly convoluted and complex modelling simply wasn't possible. Even placing drawings on sheets was ridiculously over-complicated. The following year I was introduced to Revit and I haven't looked back for almost 10 years now. Way more customisation, better UI, better drawings, better renders and just generally better to use. I'm baffled by all the comments claiming AC is more intuitive. It just isn't, unless your intuition is to add a whole bunch of unnecessary steps to simple tasks such as cutting holes in geometry and joining walls to roofs. Wait until you try doing a door and window schedule!

I use Revit exclusively in my own business. Unfortunately this year I agreed to assist a fellow designer by doing some drawings for him here and there when he gets bogged down, and he uses ArchiCAD. So far I've managed to resist the temptation to suggest that maybe the reason he's bogged down is due to his software choice. After refreshing my AC knowledge for the past few months, nothing's changed. I still hate it and it's just as backwards as ever. In summary: AC makes simple things complicated and complicated things simply aren't possible. Revit might have a steep learning curve but once you've got it down, you can do just about anything - and much more quickly.

[kijkrond]

Loved to hear your view on both programs. A big thing you could've coverd is the teamwork of both programmes... It comes with a cost also to get it up and running. Like BIMcloud for archicad or setting up an office server... Would love to hear how Revit handles teamwork 😊

[CONTRABIM]

Nice comparison video David! On the visualization side, I'd definitely give Archicad the advantage as it's way more immersive and smooth in 3D OpenGL, and has much more realistic presentation while live in the software. Keep the vids coming!

[darakhera]

Really good to hear an unbiased opinion. Well done!

[ivanivanov]

Archicad is the fastest and simpliest way to create something very complicated. For instance: A complete roof sceleton - 2-3 clicks, editing windows and doors - 4-5 clics, creating composite walls or slabs - 3-4 cliks. Entire 2 story house will take you less than 2 hours with all documents prepared.

[VIA-studio]

In Europe Revit costs 2.900€/anno without any plugins. Archicad costs 3.750€ once and you pay around 150€/anno for getting the latest version every year, but you are not forced to pay that, so you can keep the old license forever. If you don't want to pay the Revit abonnement, you lose your license. Regarding to this Archicad costs much less than Revit.

[lukaspromont]

I've been working with ArchiCAD for a long time and with Twinmotion since day one. It's so much fun to see the grogram evolve. It just keeps getting better and better. Now we use ArchiCAD for laboratory planning and we build our own 3D GDL library, which worked perfect. Thanks for the Video!

[nyanna]

You did a great explanation about both softwares. In uni we learned first Revit and after it was Archicad(it was like ten years or more ago). Back then I really did not liked the Archicad workflow and how the whole software was design, so I sticked with Revit until now. It was interesting to see that Archicad was further developed. A guess it is important for each of the users how they feel in the program and if the modelling process comes natural or not.
I wish success to everyone who is starting with a 3D modelling.

[bshwayde]

Twinmotion is owned and now developed by Epic Games. Ever since they took over Twinmotion development has dramatically improved. It's really awesome now. It's also way cheaper than Vray and Lumion and super easy to learn. Twinmotion also has direct link plugins for Archicad, Revit, SketchUp and many others. I used to use Vray and am never going back at this point.

[iiamkerr]

This was an extremely good review and comparison. Best i've seen TBQH.
I'm an ArchiCAD user and based on what you're saying ArchiCAD is best for me.
Still would like to know the basics of Revit though.

[MrEsquire]

Yes, please do make a video on the topic of parametric designs.