What is CATIA?
CATIA is Dassault Systèmes’ design and engineering portfolio covering mechanical design, styling, systems and other disciplines. CATIA V5 and 3DEXPERIENCE CATIA have distinct product and collaboration arrangements.
Who is CATIA for?
Engineering organisations specifying complex product geometry, specialist disciplines and a defined collaboration or lifecycle-management environment.
Start with the engineering discipline and product family
CATIA’s portfolio spans mechanical engineering, styling, electrical and fluid design, systems engineering and building-related work. That breadth makes it important to name the actual product and specialist requirement in an evaluation.
CATIA V5 describes modules for tasks such as part design, assemblies, drafting and surfacing. 3DEXPERIENCE CATIA packages applications as roles on the platform. A V5 module list and a platform role list are different buying descriptions, even when the engineering task sounds similar.
CATIA features
The core capabilities to consider for your workflow.
- Mechanical design and assembly workflows
- Surface design and styling
- Engineering disciplines and platform roles
CATIA pricing
Commercial modules and role-based offers
Request a quote tied to V5 modules or the required 3DEXPERIENCE roles, users and deployment scope. Record the data-management, collaboration, simulation and manufacturing requirements instead of pricing the whole portfolio as a single edition.
Calculate the cost of your quote →Free access & evaluation
Commercial licensing depends on the selected CATIA products and roles. Confirm any academic or evaluation offer separately; no general permanent free commercial edition is established here.
Before you choose CATIA
A portfolio capability is not a promise that every licence includes every module.
CATIA V5 and 3DEXPERIENCE CATIA need separate configuration and role checks.
Academic or evaluation offers should not be treated as general free commercial access.
Write a quote that describes the handover
For a complex product, choose one representative part or assembly and specify who creates geometry, who reviews it and which team owns the resulting data. Ask how the selected environment handles the required design, simulation and manufacturing steps. A portfolio page demonstrates available areas, not automatic entitlement to every capability.
Keep the selected V5 modules or 3DEXPERIENCE roles, user arrangement and collaboration environment together in the proposal. Compare Siemens Designcenter, Creo and SOLIDWORKS Design against the same geometry and lifecycle requirements. Make the receiver’s application, expected editability and retained engineering information explicit before settling on an exchange format.
Explore related software
CATIA FAQs
Is CATIA one application with every engineering capability included?
CATIA is a portfolio. The actual licence depends on selected products, modules or roles; do not assume every portfolio capability is included in one seat.
What is the difference between CATIA V5 and 3DEXPERIENCE CATIA?
V5 is a distinct CATIA product family with design and engineering modules. 3DEXPERIENCE CATIA packages applications as roles on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. Confirm the configuration required for the project.
Can CATIA V5 support part, assembly and surface design?
Yes. The V5 product page describes part design, assembly design, drafting and surfacing among its module areas. Verify the required modules in the quote.
Is CATIA limited to mechanical CAD?
No. The portfolio also covers disciplines such as styling, electrical and fluid engineering, systems engineering and buildings. The selected product scope determines access.
What should a CATIA quote specify?
Identify the product family, required V5 modules or 3DEXPERIENCE roles, users and collaboration scope. Include the actual design, analysis and manufacturing requirements rather than the portfolio name alone.