Any Ex Soft Plan Users?

[N8R247]

Hi, I am researching CA, Revit, and Soft Plan.  I tried Revit and did not love it.  I am currently testing CA demo now.  I spoke with Soft Plan sales person today and also a CA sales person today.  They both have some persuading skills.  Both companies seem to have some nice features and options.

I am wondering if any of you CA folks are former recent Soft Plan users and what your thoughts are on the two?  I am sure this topic has been discussed several times, but Google reviews on the two are very old.  I think the most recent was 2015?  Any honest experiences would be appreciated.

[johnny]

Between Softplan and CA there is no real comparison in my opinion.  I've used Softplan, buying a copy to fulfill research, and I didn't like it at all.  Chief may be a bit more of a learning curve since some of the things Chief does is very unique. 

[Richard_Morrison]

You will get better answers if you describe the type of project you are trying to do. Crank out builder's plans? Highly detailed modeling? Residential? Commercial? There are many different tools out there, and some fit a type of work better than another.

[DavidJames]

I used Softplan for about a year before losing my USB security lock. Rather than spend $1,000 on replacing it, I decided to try Chief Architect instead. 

Much like Johnny, I didn't like Softplan at all as I found it extremely clunky, unrefined and just very limited. It actually only took maybe 10 minutes of using Chief to regret ever purchasing Softplan.

Also, Chief has better support, and a better online community. 



 

[lbuttery]

I have never used Softplan

 

I did arrange a rep to do a presentation at our remodelers club

 

He didn't bring the software - he just talked for 40 minutes about its features and benefits

I couldn't believe he didn't tell me he wasn't actually going to demo the software

 

I have been on this forum since 2004 and I have never heard anyone speak good of Softplan

that has tried it and then tried Chief

 

Lew

[DRAWZILLA]

I used Softplan until 2005 when I saw Chief and jumped on it. For me it seemed so mush easier to get it done, by far.

[N8R247]

Thanks everyone for the comments. I’ve been watching many videos on CA and you are all correct. Seems like a much better and more professional company with great support. 

I will be doing semi custom and custom new residential home designs for a group of builders in my area. 

Looking forward to learning this software.

Had a second call with Soft Plan about that key issue and that alone is deterring me from them. 

Thanks everone.  

[Michael_Gia]

I started with Softplan back in 2006. 

I switched to Chief 2 years ago after stumbling upon this forum and fiddling with the demo. Great support group here. 

Softplan is more confined and less flexible.  That is, there aren’t multiple ways and work arounds as there are in Chief to get virtually anything done or to get you out of a rabbit hole. 

With that said Chief is also a little more “confusing” because of this ability. 

Softplan was more straightforward from drawing to plan sets. It was easier to organize you drawings into a set of plans. However the limitations will inevitably lead to frustration the more adept you become at using the program. This is why most will say Softplan has a shorter learning curve than Chief. That slight advantage is short lived once you become a power user. You will switch.

 

I also spent 3 months training to use Archicad. I still wish I would’ve kept at it however the cost of the software and the plug-ins I would need to further invest in made me look elsewhere. 

 

Revit is a mess.  Stay away!

(my opinion)