Software is a necessary business expense; how much of an expense depends on your willingness to challenge the status quo.
Being an Architect for quite some years and owning my own practice, I know that the cost of software can be extreme, particularly when you want to employ another couple of people. A standalone licence for Archicad after you pay the yearly subscription will leave you with little change from AUD$10,000! No wonder running the pirate software gauntlet crosses the mind of every designer.
The extreme cost of architectural CAD software lead me to develop my technique of turning 3d models into technical drawings with Sketchup. Sure, it is not quite as sophisticated as Archicad’s method, but it does work and the money I didn’t spend on expensive software went into my pocket.
I am also not a big fan of subscriptions either. $20/month here and $40/month there all adds up and trying to keep track of what you are paying for is another task I don't want.
Besides CAD programs, architects and designers are also likely to use other commercial software packages in their day-to-day operations. Unfortunately choosing software that is considered to be "the industry standard” will see you emptying your pockets as these software companies use this reasoning to charge top dollar for their products. The irony is that these programs can be too complex for our needs or is matched in function by alternative software for a tenth of the price.
Here are some common ones used in the industry and cheaper (and often better) equivalents:
(Note that prices will fluctuate with the Australian Dollar exchange rate)
Adobe Photoshop - Has its own terminology in the dictionary, but the current full commercial version of Photoshop is expensive and has functions that us humble designers are unlikely to ever use. As far as image editors go, being able to colour correct images, create layers and layer masks, as well as do a bit of cloning/healing is about all I ever seem to use. There is a cutdown version, Photoshop Elements, which is not bad. For AUD$130 you get a program that is good for beginners and has a lot of automated functions, but no layer masks! This is a major compromise and so I think that it is better to go with one of the following:
Pixelmator for the Mac is so similar to an earlier version of Photoshop (before it got overtly complex) that I am surprised they aren’t infringing copyright. Buy it from the Apps Store for AUD$50 (no subscription) and you can install it on all of your Mac computers once you have bought it. It is not a complete replacement to Photoshop and if you want something more on that level, try Affinity Photo.
Corel Paintshop Pro X8 for the PC is AUD$90 and it has been around a while, evolving into a decent image editor. It is easy to use and packed with features. Some people like Gimp which is a free open source program, but in terms of ease of use, Paintshop Pro is my choice.
Microsoft Word - Expensive and poorly designed, Microsoft have cornered the market even though there are so many alternatives that put it to shame.
Apple Pages for Mac is so many times better than MS Word, it is surprising that so few people know about it. It costs $30 from the Apps Store, it is so much easier to use than Microsoft’s offering, imports and exports .doc files and I have even used it for fairly sophisticated graphic design work, something you would not attempt with MS Word.
WPS Writer for PC is unashamedly designed to directly compete against MS Word. You can buy it in an Office-type package with Powerpoint and Excel clone for US$80 (no subscription). It exports and imports all of the MS Word formats and even looks like MS Word with its ribbon toolbar.
Microsoft Powerpoint - This is the stable for presenting slide-type presentations with all of the usual features that one dislikes about Microsoft products. Once again, it is considered to be the industry standard.
Apple Keynote for Mac is a cut above its Microsoft equivalent. For AUD$30 it can do everything that Powerpoint can but with a much more elegant and easy to use interface.
WPS Presentation for PC is again virtually a direct copy of MS Powerpoint and can open .ppt and .ppx files without too much drama. Again it comes bundles with a Word and Excel clone for US$80.
Also, if you didn't already know, Layout (Sketchup Pro's companion program) can be used as a slide presenter. It has a presentation mode which allows you to view your presentation pages as a slideshow and also interact with inserted model views during the presentation...
Autodesk Autocad - This program has its roots firmly in the 80s with its archaic command line entry system. By modern standards, it is just a terrible program. But the worst thing is that Autodesk charge a lot of money for the full commercial version, and even their “Lite” version is not cheap. If you are stuck on Autocad, can I suggest that it is time to move into this century; but if you really must use it consider the following alternative:
Draftsight by Dassault Systems is the closet clone to Autocad I have seen and it is free. It runs on both Mac and PC and it faithfully recognises Autocad commands line codes. Its drawback though is that it doesn't handle VBA or LISP scripts, but the pro version for AUD$250 has this capability.