Short answer: Autodesk’s UK list price for AutoCAD in 2026 is about £1,890 per year including VAT (around £234 per month, or £5,670 for a three-year subscription). AutoCAD LT costs about £492 per year (£60 per month). AutoSoftKey supplies AutoCAD on a fixed 3-year licence from £39 and AutoCAD LT from £39, with digital delivery. Autodesk no longer sells perpetual or lifetime AutoCAD licences.
Most people searching for the AutoCAD price in the UK have just seen a renewal quote or a subscription page and want to know two things: what Autodesk actually charges, and whether there is a legitimate cheaper way to run AutoCAD for real work. This guide answers both, with Autodesk’s current UK figures, the differences between AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT, what students and hobbyists can get for free, and how the 3-year licence sold by AutoSoftKey compares.
Prices verified on 2 September 2026 against Autodesk’s UK store listings and Google Shopping data captured through DataForSEO; Autodesk changes list prices without notice, so treat them as a guide and check the live figure before you commit.
How much does AutoCAD cost in the UK in 2026?
Autodesk sells AutoCAD only by subscription, priced per named user. The UK figures below are the ones Autodesk’s own store shows to UK buyers and the ones its resellers quote; they include VAT unless stated otherwise.
| Product | Monthly | 1-year | 3-year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AutoCAD (including specialised toolsets) | approx. £234 | approx. £1,890 | approx. £5,670 | Windows and Mac; toolsets Windows only |
| AutoCAD LT | £60 | £492 | approx. £1,476 | 2D only, Windows and Mac |
| AutoCAD Web app | n/a | lower-cost annual plan | — | browser and mobile editing only |
| Flex (pay as you go) | tokens | 100 tokens from about £270 | — | AutoCAD uses 7 tokens per day of use |
Three details change the real cost. First, Autodesk’s annual plan is roughly a third cheaper than paying monthly, so anyone who needs AutoCAD for more than eight months in a year should never pay monthly. Second, the three-year subscription simply locks in the annual price; it does not discount it further. Third, VAT-registered businesses reclaim the 20% VAT, which is why reseller price lists often show ex-VAT figures such as £1,575 for AutoCAD and £410 for LT.
AutoCAD vs AutoCAD LT: are you paying for features you will not use?
The single biggest saving available inside Autodesk’s own price list is choosing the right edition. AutoCAD LT costs about a quarter of full AutoCAD because it removes 3D modelling, LISP and API customisation, and the specialised toolsets. If everything you produce is a plan, elevation, schematic or detail, LT does the job. If you model in 3D, run custom routines or need Architecture, Electrical or MEP tools, you need full AutoCAD.
| AutoCAD LT | AutoCAD | |
|---|---|---|
| 2D drafting, annotation, sheet sets, DWG | Yes | Yes |
| 3D solids, surfaces, rendering | No | Yes |
| AutoLISP / .NET / ObjectARX | No | Yes |
| Seven specialised toolsets (Windows) | No | Yes |
| Autodesk UK price per year | about £492 | about £1,890 |
| AutoSoftKey 3-year licence | from £39 | from £39 |
Our AutoCAD vs AutoCAD LT comparison goes through the feature differences line by line if you are unsure which side of that table you fall on.
Can you buy AutoCAD permanently?
No. Autodesk stopped selling new perpetual AutoCAD licences in 2016 and ended maintenance plans for existing ones in 2021. Every AutoCAD licence Autodesk sells today is a subscription that stops working when the term ends. Listings that advertise a “lifetime” AutoCAD licence for a few pounds are either old boxed versions (AutoCAD 2016 and earlier, which will not activate on a modern Autodesk account), education licences that prohibit commercial use, or something that will not survive Autodesk’s licence checks. AutoSoftKey does not describe any Autodesk product as lifetime, perpetual or pre-owned; what we sell is a 3-year licence with a defined end date.
The 3-year licence alternative: what AutoSoftKey sells
AutoSoftKey supplies Autodesk products, including AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT, as 3-year licences for a single named user. You choose Windows or Mac and a release year (2024 to 2027), pay once in GBP, and receive your licence details and installation guidance by email after payment confirmation. The licence is valid for three full years from activation; renewal is only needed if you want to carry on afterwards.
- Cost: AutoCAD from £39 and AutoCAD LT from £39 for the full three-year term, compared with £5,670 and about £1,476 for three years on Autodesk’s own plans.
- Delivery: digital, to your checkout email, with step-by-step setup guidance and email support during published support hours.
- Software: downloaded from Autodesk; an Autodesk account and internet connection may be required to install and activate.
- Term: three years from activation, no automatic renewal.
- Protection: unused, unactivated orders can be returned within 14 days, and suspected defects reported within 30 days are investigated and replaced or refunded where required (see the Refund Policy).
Whether that is the right route for you depends on how you buy software. A practice that needs Autodesk’s enterprise agreements, named-user administration for dozens of seats or Autodesk’s own support desk will stay with Autodesk or an authorised reseller. A freelancer, a small firm buying one or two seats, or a professional keeping skills current between contracts is the buyer the 3-year licence is designed for.
AutoCAD for students, hobbyists and trials
If you are eligible, Autodesk’s Education plan provides AutoCAD free to verified students and educators for one year at a time, renewable while you remain eligible; files carry an educational stamp and commercial use is prohibited. Our AutoCAD for students guide explains eligibility and verification. There is no free AutoCAD for hobbyists — the free personal-use offer is for Autodesk Fusion, not AutoCAD — and the free trial lasts 15 days. The AutoCAD Web app has a low-cost annual plan of its own, useful for occasional editing but not a replacement for the desktop application.
Flex tokens: worth it for occasional use?
Autodesk Flex lets you buy tokens (100 tokens from about £270 in the UK) and spend them per day of use: AutoCAD costs 7 tokens a day, so 100 tokens buys roughly 14 days of AutoCAD. That works out at about £19 per day. Flex is sensible for someone who opens AutoCAD a handful of days a year; anyone using it more than a couple of days a month is better off with an annual subscription or a 3-year licence.
What the total cost of ownership looks like
| Option | 3-year cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Autodesk monthly | about £8,424 | Nobody, except a one-month project |
| Autodesk annual, renewed three times | about £5,670 | Firms that want Autodesk’s own account and support |
| Autodesk 3-year subscription | about £5,670 | Price certainty for three years |
| Autodesk Flex, 2 days a week | about £5,900 | Very occasional use only |
| AutoSoftKey AutoCAD 3-year licence | from £39 | Freelancers and small teams |
| AutoSoftKey AutoCAD LT 3-year licence | from £39 | 2D-only drafting |
Ready to buy AutoCAD on a 3-year licence?
Choose Windows or Mac and your release year, pay in GBP and receive your licence details by email.
AutoCAD price FAQs
How much does an AutoCAD licence cost per year in the UK?
About £1,890 including VAT on Autodesk’s annual plan, or about £492 for AutoCAD LT. AutoSoftKey’s 3-year licences start at £39.
Can I buy AutoCAD for a single one-off payment?
Not from Autodesk, which sells subscriptions only. A 3-year licence from AutoSoftKey is a single payment for a fixed three-year term rather than a lifetime licence.
How much does one year of AutoCAD cost?
Around £1,890 on Autodesk’s annual plan in the UK (about £1,575 excluding VAT).
Is there a cheaper way to get AutoCAD?
Choose AutoCAD LT if you only draft in 2D, use Flex tokens for very occasional use, apply for the free Education plan if you are a student or educator, or buy a fixed-term 3-year licence from AutoSoftKey.
How much is AutoCAD 2027?
Autodesk prices by subscription, not by release: the 2027 release costs the same as 2026 on an active subscription. AutoSoftKey’s 3-year licence lets you pick a release year from 2024 to 2027 at the same price.
Does the AutoCAD subscription include the toolsets?
Yes, on Windows. Autodesk’s standard AutoCAD subscription is “AutoCAD including specialised toolsets”; the Mac edition does not include them.