KeyCreator 2026: Benefits, Features & Pricing

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Overview
Pricing and Plans
Features
User Reviews

Overview

KeyCreator

4.5

(112)

Pricing

Starting at $1,188.00 one time

About KeyCreator

KeyCreator is 3D CAD software that supports design with solids, 2D, wireframe, surfacing and building of assemblies all in the same 3D workspace. Developed closely with manufacturers and engineers, KeyCreator combines the flexibility of direct modeling with a broad range of translators, making it ideal for projects where quick, unplanned design variations and productive reuse of design data from anywhere are critical.

KeyCreator is powered by core technologies that can recognize, or even infer, the geometry’s attributes to facilitate interoperability in what might otherwise be unusable data. This strategy allows geometry, no matter where it originated, to be used throughout the manufacturing supply chain to speed time to market, reduce costs and improve quality.

KeyCreator Screenshots

KeyCreator Pricing and Plans

Starting price: $1,188.00 one time

Free Trial

Free Version

Standard

$1,188.00

flat rate, one time

Plan includes:

2d Detailing
2d to 3d Conversion
Animations
Associative Layouts
Complete Features
Draft Angle Analysis
Dynamic Editing
Editing Tools
Hybrid Design
Import & Export of Various File Formats

Premium

$1,548.00

flat rate, one time

Plan includes:

2d Detailing
2d to 3d Conversion
Animations
Associative Layouts
Complete Features
Draft Angle Analysis
Dynamic Editing
Editing Tools
Hybrid Design
Import & Export of Various File Formats

Max

$2,028.00

flat rate, one time

Plan includes:

2d Detailing
2d to 3d Conversion
Animations
Associative Layouts
Complete Features
Draft Angle Analysis
Drilling
Dynamic Editing
Editing Tools
Finishing

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KeyCreator Features

Popular features found in 3D CAD
2D Drawing
Animation
Bill of Materials Management
Data Import/Export
For 3D Printing
For Architects
For Manufacturers
More features of KeyCreator
3D Design & Modeling
Annotations
CAD Tools
Component Library
Drafting
Reference Management

KeyCreator User Reviews

Overall Rating

4.5

Ratings Breakdown

57%

36%

Secondary Ratings

Ease of Use

4.4

Value for money

4.4

Customer support

4.3

Functionality

4.4

Souleymane D.

Verified reviewer

Mining & Metals

5001-10000 employees

Used weekly for less than 12 months

Review source

Reviewed August 2023

The solution for your 3D modeling and design needs.

KeyCreator is of great assistance to those in manufacturing, aerospace, automotive, and industrial design. Personally, it has helped me in industrial design.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

The feature I liked is the direct modeling approach, which allows creators to directly modify 3D models without being limited by parametric history. It also offers the ability to create solid models and 2D drawings, enabling the creation of complex geometries.

Cons:

I believe that in terms of customization and automation, there should be further improvements. The ability to create macros and scripts is not very advanced and could benefit from a renovation.

Scott k.

Verified reviewer

Automotive

51-200 employees

Used daily for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed January 2023

Great Product, packed with everything you will ever need.

I have been very pleased with this product and have been a power user for most of my career in Engineering. I have trained many users through the online University. Designers can work to their level of comfort and utilize past experience in other software to achieve the desired results with KeyCreator. So, if you are familiar with using a design tree approach, 2D extrusions, sheets and vectors, it doesn't matter, they are all available .

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

I have been using this software for over 30 years. From the early days of Cadkey, where you had to construct your solids by building wire frames, to the current KeyCreator product where you are designing with real solid elements. The software has the power to handle the most complicated of designs with the simplicity of tasks that achieve the design. Menus are intuitive, and well organized. The best feature by far is that you only have 1 file to manage. Your solid model, assembly and drawing are stored in 1 file. In these days of remote locations and outsourcing having to manage multiple files, as is the case in other software, is a treacherous road.

Cons:

The biggest shortcoming in my opinion has been the software help. Sometimes the self-contained help search in the software can get you out of trouble, but more often than not it is rather geeky. The online support, examples and tutorials are great, they need to be expanded into the fringes of the software where reside some very powerful tools.

Reasons for choosing KeyCreator

I must admit that SolidWorks has done a great job indoctrinating the Engineering majors at many Universities. We do have some seats as it is a necessity to attract talent. Ultimately, we have 90 % of our files in KeyCreator. Firstly, any KeyCreator design can be modified without having to reference a design tree or be knowledgeable about the previous designers' methodology. Secondly, there is only 1 file to secure in your document vault. The issues of having the wrong revision solid model, or assembly just do not happen.

Tim L.

Verified reviewer

Plastics

11-50 employees

Used daily for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed November 2019

KeyCreator

We use KeyCreator to help us in modeling for simulation; it helps us translate and simplify models.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

KeyCreator is very versatile. If you need your model to be flexible, it can model in both 3D and wireframe.

Cons:

There really isn't much I can say that is bad about this product. Larger models may have a tendency to process slowly is about it.

Reasons for choosing KeyCreator

It's versatility and ability to easily use wireframe geometry.

Todd C.

Verified reviewer

Business Supplies and Equipment

2-10 employees

Used daily for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed January 2023

Started with CADkey 3.0 and still using the software under KeyCreator name

KeyCreator is an essential software package for our custom tool & die shop. Since most of our work is unique and doesn't often get repeated (if ever), it's critical for our CAD software to get the job done efficiently and accurately. For the most part, KeyCreator fulfills that mission, with a few glaring gaps. The fact that it's non-parametric removes the worry that by changing one feature I risk screwing up other aspects of my geometry unintentionally.I do wish that the KeyCreator development team were more approachable with bug fixes and functionality improvements, and that some of the issues I have reported through the years would actually see improvements rather than being completely disregarded.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

We have found that using a non-parametric 3D CAD modeling software in our custom tool & die work is preferable in most instances to using a parametric modeler like Solidworks. There have been a number of times we have received Solidworks or geometry in other parametric formats from our customers, and when they made a minor change to something it screwed up other aspects of the geometry because they didn't have their constraints set correctly. The worse thing is that they didn't know it, and I discovered it during my work. In the custom tooling world, those kinds of things can be catastrophic.In general terms, I have always found the interface to be reasonably easy to use, although there are some things that could be drastically improved. Most of the basic entity generation functionality works largely as I learned how to do things as a draftsman on the drafting table, so the process is generally straightforward.

Cons:

The feature generation and documentation (drilled and/or tapped holes, fasteners, etc.) is mostly an imported functionality set from the old Draftpak suite they imported into CADkey years ago. They have done very little to improve it, it's pretty buggy and there are some large holes in the way it works. Compared to other CAD software I've played with, KeyCreator's functionality in this area is substandard. Like most software these days, the documentation and help system are terrible, and often haven't even been updated to match the current version of the software.

Reasons for choosing KeyCreator

Wanted a non-parametric solid modeler with a full feature set, and KeyCreator comes closer than the other options I've found over the decades.

Stan T.

Verified reviewer

Machinery

Self-Employed

Used daily for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed January 2023

Long Time User, First Time Caller

It has been good.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Functionality

Pros:

It is very good for creating part geometry and features quickly. Most of the popular neutral formats can be imported and exported, and a few of the most popular native formats can also be imported. You can easily drop assemblies in to a new model in free space and locate them quickly with just a few steps. The way you use the software may be totally different than the way another user works with it. The way you access tools and features is user configurable. Compared to the most popular packages, it is less expensive per seat and the AUC is also less expensive but in some cases the functionality is quite a bit better.

Cons:

I’m not a big fan of the animation feature, but aside from that I can’t find anything I don’t really like. I’ve been a user since 1991 so I am kind of institutionalized. The software fits my needs and always has. I am probably using about 30% of it’s capabilities, but that’s OK because I can get things that I need done, done quickly while only occasionally utilizing many of the available features.

Reasons for choosing KeyCreator

I could never recoup the training time it would take to get as good at creating designs with the packages I evaluated. I instantly hated them due to all the steps necessary to create a simple plate with four holes in it. In some cases I could not remove a hole if I wanted to. They all failed the bracket test, some more spectacularly than others.

Steve B.

Verified reviewer

Airlines/ Aviation

11-50 employees

Used daily for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed February 2023

Satisfied aerospace user

KeyCreator is the right product for our aerospace job-shop environment. It is fast and accurate. We receive data in many formats from many customers, so quick, accurate CAD is a must.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

The mathematics is flawless. We rely on KeyCreator for all our calculations and operation sheets for 5-axis milling machines. it is correct every time. The solid modeling is easy and consistent.

Cons:

We cannot make continuing section views except from a main view (you cannot section a section view). The dimensioning, though always correct, can be a little glitchy at times and may lose associativity (rarely). The dimension annotations are improving but can continue to be developed.

Ken B.

Verified reviewer

Machinery

2-10 employees

Used daily for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed January 2023

Intuitive and Easy to Learn

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

I have used KeyCreator for 15 yrs and one of the most important things to me is the ease of translation importing and exporting file types and how fast the program allows me to work. I use KC to design progressive stamping dies as well as custom machinery. Designing in 3D and being able to see my projects from all aspects is critical to my business. KeyCreator provides the direct drawing experience that makes 3D CAD easy to learn and use.

Cons:

Having used KeyCreator for so long, I have found ways of working around almost all obstacles. I do not have any problems with the software.

Reasons for choosing KeyCreator

I chose KeyCreator for its direct modeling capability. Coming from a 2D CAD program to the 3D modeling in KeyCreator is an easy transition.

Verified

Reviewer

Mechanical or Industrial Engineering

2-10 employees

Used daily for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed November 2018

CadKey - KeyCreator Functionality

CadKey was the first CAD program I used, and I am partial to it. We use it for 2D drawing and 3D projections, as well as output for CAM programs (primarily waterjet and laser) and it works very well for us. It also provides a very quick means of checking machining trigonometry and jig/fixture design.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Functionality

Pros:

Having used KeyCreator since the 1980s when it was called CadKey, I appreciate the consistency of the platform and the power of the drawing components. Although the user interface evolves with new versions, it is always possible to set up a new installation with previous interfaces. We also use other CAD/CAM software, but find that KeyCreator is preferable for coding waterjet and laser programs.

Cons:

The odd glitch in the program can be irritating, but customer support has been able to provide work-arounds. The cost is a major consideration, and in the last couple of years we have moved to a 2D version to compensate.

Verified

Reviewer

Automotive

201-500 employees

Used daily for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed February 2019

From IT point of view

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

I never had a problem with KeyCreator as program neither as license manager for the old versions. adding users to access license manager easy. creating travel license for out of office easy and self managed.

Cons:

But last version is a disaster by all mean, from point view of Tool Makers they all agreed on that also from license manager keep stopping the services on server for some reason, I opened 2 tickets and one call for support where I had to leave a message but no one called or replied back on email!!! support was better year ago.

Verified

Reviewer

Automotive

11-50 employees

Used daily for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed November 2018

MARK-2 REVIEW