MacDraft Professional 2026: Benefits, Features & Pricing

Software Advice offers objective insights based on verified user reviews and independent product and market research. When our advisors match you to a software provider, we may earn a referral fee.

How Software Advice ensures transparency

Software Advice lists all providers across its website—not just those that pay us—so that users can make informed purchase decisions. Users can talk to our advisors for free to receive software recommendations matching their needs. Software providers pay us for sponsored profiles to reach users interested in their products.

How Software Advice verifies reviews

Software Advice carefully verified over 2 million reviews to bring you authentic software experiences from real users. Our human moderators verify that reviewers are real people and that reviews are authentic. They use leading tech to analyze text quality and to detect plagiarism and generative AI.

Independent research methodology

Researchers at Software Advice use a mix of verified reviews, independent research, and objective methodologies to bring you selection and ranking information you can trust. While we may earn a referral fee when you visit a provider through our links or talk to an advisor, this has no influence on our research or methodology.

Wondering if MacDraft Professional is right for your organization?

Our Architectural CAD Software selection experts can help you in 15 minutes or less.

On this page

Overview
Pricing and Plans
Features
Integrations
User Reviews

Overview

MacDraft Professional

4.4

(194)

Pricing

Starting at $399.00 one time

About MacDraft Professional

MacDraft Professional is a 2D CAD application for Mac. The software is suitable for classrooms, professional architects and individual users, and it features tools for floor plan design, architectural drawing and illustration.

Users can create architectural drawings, floor plans, garden plans, mechanical drawings and topography. Users can select different units of measurement and scale drawings as necessary. The layers tool allows users to modify and add detail to specific parts of drawings without modifying other layers.

Other features include integrations with various other CAD applications, vector tools and a Library Palette which allows users to store any drawn object and drag and drop it into new drawings.

Single and multiple perpetual licenses are available. Support is offered through an online help desk, live chat, user forums and over the phone.

MacDraft Professional Screenshots

MacDraft Professional Pricing and Plans

Starting price: $399.00 one time

Free Trial

Free Version

MacDraft Pro 8 - App Only

$399.00

flat rate, one time

Plan includes:

Custom Templates
Document Guides
Drawing Tools
Duplication
DWG Support
File Exporting
Intuitive Interface
Layers
Panels
Scales & Units

MacDraft Pro 8 - Home & Garden Pack

$429.00

flat rate, one time

Plan includes:

Custom Templates
Document Guides
Drawing Tools
Duplication
DWG Support
File Exporting
Intuitive Interface
Layers
Panels
Scales & Units

MacDraft Pro 8 - Starter Pack

$489.00

flat rate, one time

Plan includes:

Custom Templates
Document Guides
Drawing Tools
Duplication
DWG Support
File Exporting
Intuitive Interface
Layers
Panels
Scales & Units

MacDraft Pro 8 - Complete Pack

$599.00

flat rate, one time

Plan includes:

Custom Templates
Document Guides
Drawing Tools
Duplication
DWG Support
File Exporting
Intuitive Interface
Layers
Panels
Scales & Units

Confused about pricing? We've got you covered.

Get a personalized pricing breakdown tailored to your specific needs—no guesswork, no generic estimates.

MacDraft Professional Features

Popular features found in Architectural CAD
2D Drawing
3D Imaging
Architectural Symbol Library
Automatic Formatting
Design Templates
Drafting
Rendering
More features of MacDraft Professional
2D/3D Designing
Annotations
Bills of Material
CAD Tools
Collaboration Tools
Comparison View
Component Library
Configurable Workflow
Content Library
Customizable Branding
Customizable Templates
Data Import/Export
Diagramming
Document Management
Drag & Drop
For Architects
For Real Estate
For Training/Education
Graphical Data Presentation
Image Editing
Labeling
Landscape Design
Multiple Projects
Projections
Project Workflow
Search/Filter
Sketching and Annotation Tools
Third-Party Integrations
Version Control
Workflow Management

MacDraft Professional Integrations

Adobe Illustrator

MacDraft Professional User Reviews

Overall Rating

4.4

Ratings Breakdown

53%

37%

Secondary Ratings

Ease of Use

4.3

Value for money

4.5

Customer support

4.5

Functionality

4.2

Nick Z.

Verified reviewer

Construction

2-10 employees

Used weekly for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed July 2019

Great update, more modern features

I routinely import a scan of my designer's hand drawn floorplans and work with them in MacDraft. I can overlay the computer drawn plan and work with it very well.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Previously 5

Pros:

I have been using MacDraft for at least 20 years. Over that time, it has become a mature, useful tool for me. Although I have used Autocad before, I find MacDraft so much easier to use and 'Mac-like'. Not all the tools are intuitive, but easy enough to figure out with online help. With the new update to V7, the interface has been cleaned up significantly, and everything is easier to use. I now can do my work in less time, and achieve better looking results. I really appreciate that Microspot continues to update this great piece of software.

Cons:

Some of the tools look different than the last version, so there is a bit of a re-learning curve. That's not to say that once learned, the improvements are evident.

Walter B.

Verified reviewer

Arts and Crafts

Self-Employed

Used weekly for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed January 2021

Thank goodness for MacDraft Professional 7

I am a woodworker, and I make engineering drawings of my projects prior to building them.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Functionality

Pros:

This program has all the easy use features of the original MacDraft of which I was a Beta Test professional in the mid-1980's.

Cons:

I did not like the fact that I purchased MacDraft and within a year had to purchase it again due a change in the Mac operating system.

Reasons for choosing MacDraft Professional

I liked the continuity of usage from the "old programs" I learned on. All the same "tricks" work, plus there are additional features.

Kevin G.

Verified reviewer

Design

2-10 employees

Used unspecified for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed June 2019

Easy of use of MacDraft 7

The help line and over the phone knowledge of the tech support is second to none. These guys are so helpful and nothing is a issue to them, the best software I have used for years,

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

Very easy to get round the tool bar, lines- objects- the list goes on and on, so much easier than Autocad.

Cons:

Nothing brilliant software to use with know issues

Reasons for switching to MacDraft Professional

Autocad was to complex- MacDraft has the same features but so much easier to work with.

Doug S.

Verified reviewer

Architecture & Planning

Self-Employed

Used monthly for less than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed December 2020

REVIEW

Slightly frustrated - I am looking for a simple easy to use 2D draughting programme with the functionality of Vectorworks. This doesnt quite make it but it is better than other low-cost software for Mac.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

Reasonable price.. it works OK once you get used to it. Works on Mac.

Cons:

1. Problems setting up dwg/dxf imported drawings - setting size and scale. 2. Tools do not stay for repeat use. Need to be reselected each time. 3. Trimming is cumbersome - line by line. Ref 2 above. 4. Some of the tools are a bit cumbersome.

Reasons for choosing MacDraft Professional

MacDraft tools are a easier to use.. But much easier to import dwg/dxf drawings. Din't like the use interface.

Reasons for switching to MacDraft Professional

MacDraft tools are a bit easier to use, and don't need the 3D capability. But much better import dwg/dxf drawings.

Michael Y.

Verified reviewer

Architecture & Planning

2-10 employees

Used daily for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed February 2023

My Go-To Design Software (and I have a lot of choices)

MacDraft is based on an illustration app, into which has been integrated a set of very sound drafting tools. This is unusual; I know of nothing like it. I'm pretty enthusiastic about it, as you should be able to tell. For me, it means that once I became proficient, I could make what I'm thinking about straightaway without having to 'figure it out', I can just keep going. If I make a mistake I can usually just keep on and fix it later. This is rare in design software.The Pro version is not a toy or a 'hobby' app. It's professional 2D design software I make a living with. As an example, we are working on a site now, for which drone topo was being planned. We took Google Earth elevation profiles and an aerial into MacDraft Pro and laid out the terrain diagram we still refer to, even though the drone topo is now at hand.If you need isometrics, it's a snap (literally), and easier than in AutoCAD. And its easy to use photos and drawings directly as reference. I'll use AutoCAD sometimes to create an isometric view of an existing plan, then port it to MacDraft and make a '3D isometric'.We also use it as a straightforward graphic design tool, or just to make notes, especially with the new upgrades for making columns.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

I usually start projects in MacDraft and increasingly just stay with it through the project. I do use AutoCAD a lot, but it is 'indirect' and difficult to be spontaneous with it or to try things out quickly. In MacDraft I work directly and 'experimentally' with no downside; it encourages spontaneity and is fast and direct. The drawings look great, and often other designers or drafters ask what software they were made it. In planning meetings MacDraft docs are usually the conversation starters. It's easy to combine photos or even loose pencil sketches with MacDraft in the same document, and it looks great. I do believe it shortens the approval cycle. Also, it's just fun to use. I usually go to MacDraft first before SketchUp or AutoCAD. The tools are *actually* intuitive, and the interface is appealing and easy on the eyes (and brain).

Cons:

MacDraft is a bit challenging to use with the deadly accuracy of, say, AutoCAD, as it only resolves to two decimal places. Also oftentimes I need to zoom in to make sure I hit the point I was aiming at— even when Smart Snap is in use. Also— you cannot snap to intersections. I know MD *recognizes* intersections, because you can trim accurately to them.End marks (arrows) look perfect in-app, but when you make a PDF or plot them, they come out larger than in-app and overrun the object they are meant to point to. This is relatively easy to compensate for or edit, but it is annoying.Also it would be good to be able to customize key assignment. The existing ones make solid sense, so this not a big 'issue'. Just needs more of them— real time-savers, the shortcuts.

Reasons for choosing MacDraft Professional

I'm a veteran of SketchUp, Vectorworks, and AutoCAD— which I still use. But more and more often I just use MacDraft to finish the job. It isn't 'enterprise' software, in which I can work simultaneously on the same set of drawings with another designer, or change my settings to comply with their office protocols. On the other hand, MacDraft has almost no 'cognitive overhead' to interfere with your work or interrupt you with some nasty unforeseen technical snag, it just works.

Charles C.

Verified reviewer

Design

Self-Employed

Used weekly for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed February 2023

Full-Featured 2-D Design/Drafting for the Mac

MacDraft has very simply allowed me to produce documents to support my designs and convey the design intent to my clients.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

Forst and foremost, MacDraft is deigned for the Mac, not just ported over from the PC environment. This allows full integration of features with the Mac interface and structure. Mac's were based on a Graphical User Interface, and what could be better for a drafting platform?Like any software package, there is a learning curve with MacDraft, but even though the software is powerful, it is also easy to learn and implement.I have yet to come across a situation where I needed a feature that was not available in MacDraft. Also, the documentation makes it easy to find and pickup new (to me) features and capabilities.

Cons:

The one aspect of MacDraft that could use improvement is with regard to exporting to DWG/DXF. While this is not a failure of MacDraft (AutoDesk doesn't make it easy for any competing software to produce documents in "their" formats, even though they do not offer any fully functional alternatives for the Mac), it would be great if anyone could open an exported file and have it look the same as the original in MacDraft.

Reasons for choosing MacDraft Professional

First, some background. Years ago I used ClarisCAD (Apple) for my design work since I was (and still am) Mac-based. ClarisCAD was an easy to use package that took full use of the Macintosh Toolkit, making using ClarisCAD intuitive to any Mac user. When Apple decided to get out of the CAD Software business, they offered special pricing on Ashlar Vellum since this was the software that they used by their product design team. I used Vellum for a number of years, but when I closed my consulting business in the early 2000's I could no longer justify the cost.When I wanted to be able to document designs again, I could not find any other suitable package for the Mac that was affordable, had professional capabilities and did not require a steep learning curve to become moderately proficient. After finding MacDraft and evaluating the trial version, I purchased the Personal Edition for my use. Although P.E. is powerful, it does lack some features of MacDraftPro, so when the opportunity arose I upgraded and never looked back.

Phillip J.

Verified reviewer

Architecture & Planning

Self-Employed

Used daily for less than 6 months

Review source

Reviewed June 2019

Phil's MacDraft Pro 7 upgrade reactions

I have been able to move from my previous version without much difficulty. Probably because I have kept my work simple.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Functionality

Pros:

The drafting tools and other left side menu items that I use have remained the same. I have not yet tried to make my own library items and hope to do that too because many of the default images are not useful to me. I have found out that I can change the black background to a lighter color by upgrading my OS but I have always been afraid of messing up what I am used to. Someday I'll make that jump. Ability to shade that to a lighter gray would be nice. The page selection allows me to make up a border or a graphic that would open with the page selection. I am looking forward to having that set up on my version. If only I had time to practice all these options. I'm still woking on it but the DWG has proven to be a little problem. As I get used to it I think I will like it as the tool to send out CAD drawings that can be translated to others programs. Presently I need to put it through my 'Vectorworks' to have a DWG that others can work with. I think this is moving to a more professional and respected by others program.

Cons:

The side panels previously in menu boxes on the side seem to take a lot of room. I cannot remove them because they are constantly in use. As boxes I could move and rearrange them and omit some of them. I miss that option. I really miss the options to have line options, level option and alignment boxes opened at the same time. Some of the key options are eliminated such as bring to front or to back. An item copied from a PDF or the library land on the page as a much reduced image. Translated from a PDF they land in the upper left corner rather than where I click for them to land. Sometimes this takes too much time to recover them and stretch them to the correct scale. Locating the writing icon on the page is difficult. I would like it to show up a little darker. On the last version the icon would break in where I selected and now it lands at the beginning of the paragraph. The icon is so light I cannot tell where it is located.

Reasons for choosing MacDraft Professional

Talking with others I began to think again that the conversion would take a long time to adjust. The expanded options offered in the MacDraft advertising made this option the most likely.

Vendor Response

Hi Phillip, Thank you for the review! Great to hear you're getting to grips well with MacDraft 7. We fully understand why you might miss the palette system, we are always open to new ideas so if you would like to discuss further how we might better implement the single screen system we would love to hear from you via support@microspot.co.uk. Microspot Team

Replied June 2019

Ellie S.

Verified reviewer

Consumer Electronics

11-50 employees

Used daily for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed June 2019

Much Needed Revamp!

Absolutely love it. I don’t miss the previous versions at all. I have been using MacDraft since 2014, and this new version was definitely needed. Checked all the boxes!

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

I am easily able to import and manipulate CAD files. Most of my clients work in CAD and it would be so frustrating with previous versions when the files wouldn’t open or wouldn’t be compatible. It also eliminated any issues exporting my MacDraft files to CAD. Also, having all the tools available is great! When they were on individual palettes, I would frequently “lose” the palette when I was working with multiple monitors.

Cons:

Not all items will import, and will just eliminate them from the drawings. There have been one or two instances when the file I was sent was using some feature in CAD that macDraft didn’t have and I was missing a large chunk of the drawing. Also, when I group items together to make one item, and then try to line it up with other items, it still recognizes each individual item instead of recognizing all items as one item. This can be frustrating because I have to make sure I select the exact part of the grouped items. This is minor but not an issue I had with previous versions.

Vendor Response

Hi Ellie, Thank you for such a great review! You refer to CAD throughout your review and I imagine you mean DWG/DXF files. If you have files that you know are missing data, along with an image of what the file SHOULD look like please send them over to support@microspot.co.uk and we can take a look. We majorly improved DWG/DXF support in MacDraft 7 (as you mentioned) but if we can improve it even more then that will benefit everyone! :) P.S. the align functions not recognising groups is a bug which has now been fixed. We will have a free update (7.0.1) going out next week. Microspot Team

Replied June 2019

David L.

Verified reviewer

Entertainment

Used daily for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed March 2017

Excellent 2D Drawing

I've been using MacDraft for years, in its various iterations, primarily to produce blocking diagrams for theatrical performances. The latest version is even more powerful than the earlier ones. Sure, there's a bit of a learning curve, and I know I'm not using even half the power of the app, but it's versatility has won me over. There are plenty of other drawing applications available, but for the combination of features I want, plus a relatively low price, MacDraft takes the cake!

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

Ease of use combined with power.

Cons:

I can't find any way to set up various preset groups (e.g., line weight x, line color y, line style z), so I have to select each one individually

Verified

Reviewer

Facilities Services

2-10 employees

Used weekly for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed July 2019

Mac draft for 34 years

I use the program to draw house plans mostly. Also I like to use it to design interior finishes like tile and trims in unique patterns.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Functionality

Pros:

I had many versions of Mac draft. I started recently with version 5 and 6. The latest one version 7 is quite a bit different than the previous versions. I have been able to fine what I need but takes some practice to get work done fast again.

Cons:

When converting to Autocad format the program has limitations. So I wish this feature worked better and others with auto Cad could review my work.

Vendor Response

Thank you for the great review! You havent left a name but if you can contact us with any questions regarding DWG we would be happy to answer them. MacDraft Pro 7 uses the latest DWG file format so there shouldnt be any issues :) Thanks!

Replied July 2019

Showing 1 - 10 of 194 Reviews

See All Reviews