ACA vs Sketchup Pro

[Bill.Jensen]

Has anyone done a side by side comparison of AutoCAD Architecture and Sketchup Pro?
I am looking at this in a more production environment of residential home design and drafting.

[cadpro78]

Are you looking for 3D graphic perspective analysis cause I think you will get more bang for your buck with AutoCAD and not Sketchup. However, are you looking for dimensioned drawings? If you are, go with AutoCAD.

[CAtDiva]

Disclaimer: I mostly work on commercial projects, so my perspective may be skewed.

I've worked in ACA ... it's a good program that will do 3D and has a developed documentation process.

I've looked at SketchUp Pro, but the tools are just not there yet. The problem I have with SketchUp Pro is that by the time they get the documentation tools to the same level as ACA/ACAD and Revit/Archicad, it will cost just about as much, so I might as well use the software that already has much of that developed. With that said, I have seen some pretty cool residential stuff developed with SketchUp Pro (plans, 3D plans with annotations, etc.), so I know there are possibilities there. It's very likely that with residential projects, the look you get will appeal more to the clientele.

I myself prefer Revit. It gives me the 3D and 2D tools to develop and document the design. Yes, it costs more, so I can see why that's hard to consider, but it's also a more robust program than SketchUp (at least at this point in SketchUp's development).

[Bill.Jensen]

Thank you for your replies, I think I just needed others to clarify my thinking.