ELITECAD

What Is ELITECAD?

In 1994, while Autodesk was still shipping AutoCAD on floppy disks and the internet was barely public, a software company in Linz, Austria began building a CAD tool specifically for the way Central European engineering and architecture firms actually worked. That company is now XEOMETRIC GmbH. The software is ELITECAD — and it has been in continuous development, under Austrian ownership, ever since.

That history is not just a marketing point. Three decades of domain-specific iteration means the architectural floor plan tools, the structural drawing automation, and the mechanical BOM generation in ELITECAD reflect real feedback from decades of practitioner use in German-speaking markets. The product was never trying to be everything to everyone. ELITECAD Architecture serves building designers; ELITECAD Mechanics serves manufacturing engineers. The two editions share a 3D kernel but diverge meaningfully in their toolsets.

XEOMETRIC GmbH employs between 20 and 50 people in Linz and has operated as a bootstrapped, self-funded business throughout its existence. The company has never pursued venture capital, which shows in how the product is built: deeply functional, specialist, and with a pragmatic approach to pricing that includes perpetual licences, monthly rentals, and hire-purchase payment plans.

Key Features

Architecture Edition: Building-Specific Workflows

ELITECAD Architecture organises design around how buildings are actually documented in Central European practice. Floor plans, sections, and elevations are generated automatically from 3D models and update when the model changes — a workflow concept that predates modern BIM platforms by years in the ELITECAD context. Room data sheets, door schedules, and area calculations link directly to the model.

The IFC import and export capabilities enable interoperability with Revit and ArchiCAD for firms working in collaborative BIM environments. DXF and DWG exchange handles file sharing with AutoCAD-using collaborators. The architecture-specific object library — walls, windows, doors, stairs, roofs — is configurable to regional building conventions.

Mechanics Edition: Parts, Assemblies, and Production

ELITECAD Mechanics handles the full mechanical design workflow from part concept to production drawing. Solid modeling, surface operations, and assembly design are supported alongside 2D technical drawing production for manufacturing. Bill of materials generation outputs structured data that integrates with ERP systems, and production drawing annotations follow ISO drawing standards.

The Mechanics edition is particularly used in Austrian and German manufacturing environments where the software's familiarity with regional engineering drawing conventions reduces time spent on format and annotation correction.

Perpetual Licensing and Hire-Purchase

ELITECAD's licensing model is deliberate. The company explicitly positions itself against the subscription-only direction taken by Autodesk and some competitors. Purchase licences for the Architecture edition start from EUR 3,150; for Mechanics from EUR 5,690. Both are one-time payments with optional annual maintenance from the second year onward.

For firms that cannot absorb the full purchase cost upfront, XEOMETRIC offers a hire-purchase option — a structured instalment plan that transfers ownership at completion. This model is effectively absent from the software industry outside of ELITECAD and a handful of other specialist vendors.

3D Core: Parametric and Direct Modeling

Both editions share a 3D solid modeling engine supporting parametric constraints, feature history, and direct manipulation. Engineers can work with constraint-driven geometry when design intent needs to be encoded, or push and pull faces directly when iterating on imported or conceptual geometry. Section cuts, exploded views, and detail callouts generate automatically from the 3D model for documentation purposes.

Pricing

ELITECAD's pricing is structured around the perpetual-first philosophy. The Architecture edition rents at EUR 138/month — a reasonable ongoing cost for firms that need flexibility. The Mechanics edition rents at EUR 222/month, reflecting the more specialised toolset. Both can also be purchased outright.

For a firm buying an Architecture perpetual licence at EUR 3,150, the break-even versus monthly rental occurs at roughly 23 months. After that point, the software costs nothing further unless optional maintenance renewal is chosen for update access. For firms with stable workflows that do not require every annual feature release, this is a genuinely different economic model from subscription-only tools.

Volume licensing for multi-seat deployments is available through direct negotiation with XEOMETRIC. Network licensing is supported, allowing licences to float across a workgroup rather than being locked to individual machines.

EU Compliance & Privacy

XEOMETRIC GmbH is incorporated in Linz, Austria — an EU member state. Software development, maintenance, and customer data processing take place entirely within Austria. There is no parent company outside the EU, no US cloud infrastructure dependency, and no third-party data processing of consequence.

For Austrian and German public sector firms required to procure from EU-based vendors, ELITECAD is unambiguously compliant. GDPR obligations are straightforward: a vendor within the EU processing customer data under Austrian law, with no cross-border data transfers to third countries.

The perpetual licence model adds a further compliance dimension: licences are validated locally and do not require ongoing cloud connectivity. An office operating ELITECAD on an air-gapped network for security reasons faces no functional limitations.

Who It's Best For

Architecture firms in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland where ELITECAD has its strongest support network, German-language documentation, and regional training resources. The software's understanding of DACH building conventions is a practical advantage over internationalised tools that treat European practice as an afterthought.

Manufacturing and mechanical engineering teams needing a purpose-built alternative to AutoCAD Mechanical or SolidWorks at lower cost. ELITECAD Mechanics handles the production drawing and BOM workflows that mechanical engineers care about.

Firms that refuse subscription-only models. If perpetual ownership is a hard requirement — whether for budget predictability, IT policy, or principle — ELITECAD remains one of a shrinking number of professional CAD platforms that still offer it.

Public sector and regulated industries in Austria and Germany where EU vendor provenance and data sovereignty need to be documented. ELITECAD's Austrian ownership and local data processing make compliance documentation simple.

The Verdict

ELITECAD is not a global product with ambitions to displace AutoCAD worldwide. It is a serious, long-standing specialist platform built for Central European professional practice, with pricing and licensing terms that reflect genuine respect for how firms want to own their software. The narrower integration ecosystem and limited international presence are real constraints for firms outside its home market. Within the DACH region, for architecture and mechanical engineering practices that value domain depth and perpetual licensing, ELITECAD has earned its three decades.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is ELITECAD GDPR compliant?

Yes. ELITECAD is developed by XEOMETRIC GmbH in Linz, Austria, within the EU. All software development and customer data processing takes place in Austria. There is no US or non-EU infrastructure dependency. The perpetual licence model means ELITECAD can be operated without any ongoing external connectivity after initial activation.

What is the difference between ELITECAD Architecture and ELITECAD Mechanics?

ELITECAD Architecture is purpose-built for building design: floor plans, sections, elevations, IFC BIM interchange, and room scheduling. ELITECAD Mechanics handles mechanical part design, assemblies, production drawings, bill of materials generation, and ISO drawing annotations. Both editions share the same 3D solid modeling engine but have entirely different discipline-specific toolsets layered on top.

Does ELITECAD offer perpetual licensing in 2026?

Yes. ELITECAD Architecture is available to purchase outright from EUR 3,150 and ELITECAD Mechanics from EUR 5,690, with hire-purchase payment plans for firms that prefer to spread the cost. Monthly rental options (EUR 138 and EUR 222 respectively) are also available for flexibility.

Can ELITECAD open AutoCAD files?

Yes. ELITECAD supports DXF and DWG import and export for file exchange with AutoCAD users and other CAD platforms. IFC format is supported for BIM interoperability with Revit, ArchiCAD, and other BIM tools.

Is ELITECAD available in English?

Yes. The official ELITECAD website and software interface are available in English. However, ELITECAD's strongest support infrastructure, training, and user community resources are concentrated in German-speaking markets. Firms outside the DACH region should evaluate whether the available English-language support meets their needs before committing.