10 Best Product Design Software for Product Teams

Suppose you have a team of talented individuals spread out across different cities, time zones, and even continents. They’re all working together to transform raw ideas into unique products that people will love. Sounds like a challenging task, doesn’t it? Well, it used to be until the world of product design software came along.

Product design software is a game-changer for teams like yours. It offers innovative solutions that make the entire process smoother and more manageable. With these tools at your disposal, collaboration becomes a breeze, regardless of where your team members are. 

One such platform that excels in this regard is Chisel, but it’s not the only one.

In this article, we’ll dive into the world of product design software and explore the top 10 options available today. These tools will empower your team to iterate and refine designs efficiently, no matter their zip code. So, let’s find the perfect software to complement your design team and help them unleash their creativity to create awe-inspiring designs.

10 Best Product Design Software

Let us take a look at our picks of top 10 product design software.

Chisel

Chisel is the first unified platform to create roadmaps, collect customer feedback, and build team alignment – all within one app. It eliminates costly busywork and meeting overload while simplifying customer connection and team collaboration. Chisel lets you focus on creating more accurate & innovative roadmaps 10x faster by removing busywork & meeting overload.

Key Features

It has several features that can help in product design, including:

• Roadmaps: Chisel allows you to create and manage product roadmaps, which can help you to visualize your product vision and track your progress.  Chisel offers an exclusive roadmap pillar with four exclusive tools that help you in the process, You can also use roadmaps to gather feedback from stakeholders and prioritize features.

• Idea management: Chisel has an idea management system called Idea Box that allows you to collect and track ideas from your team and stakeholders. It can help you to identify new product features and improvements.

• User research: Chisel offers Product Feedback pillar so that you can quickly gather user feedback. It has various tools, such as Feedback Portal and User Survey tool, to help you with feedback collection. This feedback can help you understand your users’ needs and wants and ensure that your product meets their needs.

• Prioritization: Chisel offers RICE prioritization framework to help you with prioritization that can help you decide which features to work on first. It can help you to focus your resources on the most essential features and to avoid feature creep.

• Collaboration: Chisel is a collaborative tool that allows you to design products with your team and stakeholders. It offers an exclusive Team Radar Pillar to help you get everyone’s input and ensure your product aligns with your team’s and stakeholders’ needs.

Pricing

Essential Plan: Free Forever Version with all the essential features

Premium Version: $49 per month per user, billed annually

Enterprise Plan: Need to contact sales

Sign up for Chisel’s Free Forever Version here. 

Nuxeo

Nuxeo offers an exceptional content services platform designed for large enterprise organizations. Their cloud-native platform stands at the forefront, providing efficient management for various types of content, whether conventional documents like PDFs and Word files or multimedia assets like images, videos, and audio files. It doesn’t matter how large or where these files are stored. Nuxeo seamlessly handles them. 

Leveraging cutting-edge technologies such as the cloud, low-code development, and trainable artificial intelligence, Nuxeo revolutionizes how users interact with digital content and multimedia resources.

Key Features

• It supports curating 3D and 360° assets for effective supply chain management.
• Automate simple administrative tasks with Nuxeo, freeing up the creative team.
• The product design software features an audit trail for design review, annotation, and approval from anywhere.

• Ideal for consumer packaged goods, enabling quick product design changes to avoid launch delays.
• Nuxeo offers an intuitive search filtering system based on materials, colors, availability, and price.
• Create workspaces in Nuxeo for team collaboration, communication, and file sharing.
• Nuxeo Platform, the leading solution for Product Asset Management (PAM), empowers businesses to harness product content for conquering trends and maximizing the impact of their launches by connecting content, data, and assets across the entire organization. 

Pricing

Need to contact sales

Inkybay

Inkybay is a remarkable product design software that empowers you with personalization and design tools, enabling you to transform your customers’ visions into vibrant reality. Its array of embedded designer themes proves to be an ideal solution for businesses across various industries, regardless of your specialized field.

Key Features

• Pre-designed templates simplify the process of offering customized product options to customers.
• Inkybay accommodates various industries and businesses with its multiple designer themes.

• The visual product designer editing tool lets customers personalize products by selecting design elements and print colors.
• Inkybay provides in-app advanced product options, eliminating the need for third-party apps and allowing for unlimited conditional sub-options.
• The product design software is ideal for businesses offering web-to-print solutions as it simplifies the process of receiving production-ready files for printing, whether from customers or other designers.
• Its live editing tool allows customers to easily select design elements and print colors to personalize products, such as caps, apparel, shoes, business cards, phone cases, and more.

Pricing

Starter Plan: $19.99 per month

Advance Plan: $39.99 per month if billed annually

Professional Plan: $79.99 per month if billed annually

Unlimited Plan: $199.99 per month if billed annually

CATIA

CATIA is an exceptional product modeling software, available both in the cloud and on-premise, that provides invaluable support to businesses in diverse industries. From architecture to aviation, consumer packaged goods to transportation and construction, it equips professionals with the tools to efficiently design, construct, and visualize 3D models. 

Notable features encompass team collaboration, simulation capabilities, visual scripting, and the ability to engage in real-time concurrent designing.

Key Features

• The application’s 3D pattern shape creator tool enables system architects to prepare, discover, and validate various repetitive or non-regular shapes for projects.
• Engineers can automate the design of building components using custom or generic templates.
• Electrical engineers can design wire harnesses and cabling, check design quality, and synchronize electrical elements into 3D forms using CATIA.
• Fluid engineers can build and optimize designs for rigid or flexible tubing, piping, and HVAC systems using CATIA.

• This product design software assists coordinators in importing 3D models in industry-standard file formats, reviewing designs for geometric issues, and geolocating construction and infrastructure projects.
• The defect detection feature identifies design defects, enabling improvements before production.
• The Color and Trim Designer allows designers to focus on colors, materials, finishes, and grains, adding depth and precision to the design process, especially for complex shapes.
• The Human Posture Evaluation feature is handy for automotive designers, as it evaluates how human posture impacts designs with organic shapes in the user interface.

Pricing

Contact sales for a customized price

Onshape

Onshape is a dynamic 3D CAD solution meticulously crafted for agile design and engineering teams. It encompasses comprehensive functionality for modeling parts and assemblies and generating production drawings. With its integrated version control and collaboration tools, multiple users can seamlessly collaborate on shared data without fear of overwriting each other’s modifications.

Key Features

• Onshape is the first SaaS product development platform that combines CAD with built-in information management, real-time collaboration, and data analytics.
• It can be easily installed on any smartphone or computer, facilitating convenient worldwide communication.
• You can perform concurrent design iterations, and the best elements can get integrated into the final design after approval.
• Real-time design assessments, comments, and continuous editing enable collaborative processes with multiple design iterations.
• Specifications and designs can instantly get shared with the manufacturing department or suppliers.
• This product design software automatically records all design steps, creating a comprehensive audit trail of changes with detailed information on modifications and contributors. Incorporating an image enhancer into this process can further refine the visual aspects of product designs, ensuring high-quality and detailed representations for review and presentation.
• Previous design versions can get restored, facilitating comparison, exploration of variations, and recovery from mistakes.
• User access permissions can be edited or revoked at any time, and notifications get generated for document sharing, versioning, and commenting.

• Onshape includes FeatureScript, an open-source programming language that allows users to create custom features.

Pricing

Free Version available

Standard Version: $1500 per user per month

Professional Version: $2500 per user per month

Enterprise Version: Need to contact sales

Adobe Creative Cloud

Adobe Creative Cloud is an extraordinary graphic design and video editing tool suite. It empowers businesses to create stunning print layouts, manipulate images, handle PDF documents, and foster seamless collaboration among team members using mobile and desktop applications. 

With the remarkable feature of Adobe Creative Cloud Libraries, enterprises gain the ability to remotely access, organize, and share their creative assets from a centralized repository. 

Key Features

• Adobe Stock is a well-known product that offers designers a collection of pre-made 3D models.
• The combination of robust browser and mobile applications allows users to work flexibly, wherever they prefer.
• Photoshop is a powerful image editing software for creating mockups, wireframes, and prototypes. It also provides extensive tools for editing photos and images to produce high-quality product visuals.

• XD is a user experience design (UX) tool for wireframing, prototyping, and user interface design. It supports collaboration features and integrates with other Adobe Creative Cloud applications.
• After Effects is software for motion graphics and visual effects, enabling the creation of animations, transitions, and visual effects for products. It includes tools for compositing and editing videos, which help develop product demos and marketing videos.
• Dimension is a 3D design software that facilitates the creation of 3D models, textures, and materials. It offers rendering and exporting tools for generating product visualizations and interactive experiences.

Pricing

• Individuals Plan: $54.99 per month
• Students and Teachers Plan: $19.99 per month
• Teams Plan: $84.99 per month

Fusion 360

Fusion 360 is an all-encompassing tool that seamlessly integrates 3D CAD, CAM, and CAE functionalities, revolutionizing product development. By merging industrial and mechanical design, simulation, collaboration, and machining capabilities, Fusion 360 establishes a comprehensive concept-to-production toolset.

It enables users to connect various stages of product development, providing a cohesive platform for design refinement, virtual testing, collaborative teamwork, and efficient manufacturing. 

Key Features

• This product design software offers a robust suite of 3D modeling sketch tools, dimensions, and constraints, enhancing the design process.
• Simplified CNC programming enables efficient roughing, adaptive clearing, and tool orientation implementation.
• The product design software provides ready-to-use PCB library content and component wizards, saving designers time and allowing them to focus on their designs.
• It serves as a comprehensive 3D design and modeling platform.

• Engineer products with various modeling tools and utilize diverse analysis methods to ensure form, fit, and function.
• Fusion 360 offers video tutorials on modeling techniques and the importance of sketches in good design.
• Easily edit or repair imported geometry from non-native file formats without concern for time-based features.
• The platform promotes collaboration by removing silos in the design process, facilitating real-time communication, and centralizing project activity.
• User management allows for including internal and external stakeholders in the development process. It enables project administration to control user interactions with data.

Pricing

Fusion 360 License: $545 per year

SolidWorks

SolidWorks is a powerful 3D CAD software developed by Dassault Systèmes. Since its initial release in 1995, it has become popular among product designers and engineers. This software enables users to create, visualize, and analyze intricate 3D models and simulations efficiently.

Key Features

• Integration with the 3DBestExperience platform enhances collaboration by providing 24/7 access to design information from any digital device.
• The Body Compare feature enables users to compare groups of bodies within the same part or assembly, which is useful for reverse engineering and quality checks.
• SolidWorks’ product data management system improves browsing responsiveness and speeds up folder navigation, particularly for folders with numerous files.

• Simulation tools allow for stress testing and accurate measurement of structural flaws in parts, supported by powerful analysis capabilities.
• This product design software offers drawing tools to create precise 2D representations of parts, allowing users to easily manipulate view angles for complete orthographic representation.
• The BOM (Bill of Materials) feature provides a comprehensive list estimating part costs, assembly, and final product.

Pricing

Customizable plans. Therefore, contact sales.

Inventor

Inventor, created by Autodesk, is a specialized 3D CAD software tailored for mechanical engineers and product designers. With Inventor, professionals can seamlessly bring their ideas to life by crafting detailed 3D models, conducting simulations, and producing essential drawings and documentation. 

Since its inception in 1999, This product design software has remained committed to enhancing user experience through regular updates, ensuring that engineers and designers can access the latest tools and features. 

Key Features

• A powerful combination of parametric, direct, freeform, and rules-based design capabilities.
• Integrated tools for various design aspects include sheet metal, frame design, tube and pipe, cable & harness, presentations, rendering, simulation, machine design, and more.
• TrustedDWG® compatibility and robust Model-Based Definition capabilities for embedding manufacturing information directly in the 3D model.
• Enhance product performance by leveraging advanced 3D modeling and simulation features for design optimization.
• Streamline workflows by quickly creating customizable configurations and automating repetitive tasks.
• Facilitate collaboration by connecting designs with customer data and sharing ideas securely through a cloud-based service.
• Meet demands for custom products and automate processes efficiently.
• Benefit from specialized industry toolsets for efficient design in specific sectors.

• Leverage iLogic for design automation and access Inventor API to create custom add-ins.
• Utilize Forge Design Automation API to run job processes in the cloud.
• Utilize built-in collaboration tools to gather feedback from stakeholders, regardless of the CAD software they use.
• Enable cloud-based design review to collect feedback from stakeholders wherever they are. Maintain a unified data model throughout the product development lifecycle.

Pricing

€ 8.658, paid every three years

€ 2.886, paid annually

€ 363, paid monthly

Solid Edge

Solid Edge, developed by Siemens, offers a comprehensive suite of modular and integrated modeling and simulation tools that cater to every stage of the product development process. This software portfolio encompasses various areas such as electrical design, 3D design, computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), 3D printing, simulation, and data management. 

With Solid Edge, businesses gain access to a versatile range of capabilities that enable them to streamline and optimize their product development workflows.

Key Features

• The interface of Solid Edge utilizes artificial intelligence and an intelligent 3D model search engine, making the design process easier and more efficient.
• Solid Edge offers enhanced optimization and validation of designs through seamless integration between flow and structural simulation.
• Time-saving features such as concept modeling and shape search give users greater control over their data.
• NC programming gets accelerated with a searchable postprocessor database.
• The data management system of Solid Edge caters to the needs of manufacturers of all sizes, from startups to large-scale manufacturers.

Solid Edge Data Management system

• The software ensures the security and control of data and processes.
• This product design software provides a design solution with speed, flexibility, and next-generation features such as synchronous technology, generative modeling, additive manufacturing, and reverse engineering.
• Collaborate instantly, securely, and efficiently with colleagues, partners, and customers through Siemens’ cloud-based collaboration solution, Xcelerator Share.

Pricing

Solid Edge Design and Drafting XaaS Plan: Starting at £75.00 per month, billed annually

Solid Edge Foundation XaaS Plan: Starting at £210.00 per month, if billed annually

Solid Edge Classic XaaS Plan: Starting at £236.00 per month, if billed annually

Solid Edge Premium XaaS Plan: Starting at £326.00 per month, if billed annually

Here is a comparison chart:

How to Choose the Right Product Design Software

Finding the perfect product design software can have a transformative impact on your team. Not only will it enhance your ability to create exceptional products, but it will also increase team efficiency, foster creativity, and improve overall productivity.

There are several key features to remember to ensure you select the ideal software for your needs. When comparing different options, be sure to look out for the following:

• User-Friendly Interface: This product design software should have an intuitive interface that is easy to navigate, regardless of the technical proficiency of team members.
• Extensive Design Tools: Look for product design software that offers advanced 2D and 3D design capabilities. It should include features for detailed product designs, such as sketching, modeling, and editing.
• Collaboration Features: The product design software should support teamwork and enable cross-functional collaboration. Look for features like multi-user editing, version control, and sharing options.
• Integration Capability: Seek out the product design software that seamlessly integrates with other systems in your tech stack. It will facilitate a more streamlined design-to-production process.
• Scalability: Choose a product design software that can grow alongside your team. It should be able to handle more complex designs and accommodate custom workflows, potentially even supporting CAD software or 3D modeling tools.
• Data Management: Ensure the product design software provides robust data management capabilities, including secure storage, easy retrieval, and strong version control.
• Cloud-Based Functionality: Modern product design software should enable your team to work from anywhere. Look for cloud-based solutions that enhance efficiency in remote collaboration.
• Price Consideration: While price shouldn’t be the sole determining factor, it is essential to consider the cost of advanced tools for your product designers. Balance the features and capabilities of the product design software with your budget.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Chisel is the pivotal tool that propels your product design journey forward. Its significance goes beyond being a mere instrument; it functions as the unifying force for your distributed team, seamlessly coordinating workflows and guaranteeing impeccable product launches.

Regardless of geographical distances or team arrangements, Chisel is the gateway to cultivating collaboration, amplifying productivity, and steering triumph. It empowers you to transcend the obstacles of product design and embrace a fresh era of synchronized collaboration tools and effective project implementation.

With Chisel in hand, you can overcome challenges, unite your team, and embark on a path of streamlined innovation. It’s time to unlock the potential of your product design endeavors and forge ahead with confidence and efficiency.

Why wait? Sign up for Chisel’s Free Forever Version today!