All versions offer full SOLIDWORKS functionality but they are intended for different groups of users and so there are different restrictions on how each license type can be used. For full details review our license eligibility matrix.

SOLIDWORKS Education Edition is intended to be used by schools and universities and is available for a fraction of the price of the commercial version. The education edition operates on a delayed release cycle and any files saved in the education edition are watermarked, making them unsuitable for commercial use.

SOLIDWORKS Research Edition can be used for a wider range of work than the Educational edition and it does not watermark files or run on a delayed release cycle. SOLIDWORKS Research Edition is also available at approximately half the price of a commercial license.

SOLIDWORKS Education Edition is a bundle of major SOLIDWORKS products including: SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD, SOLIDWORKS Electrical, SOLIDWORKS Simulation, SOLIDWORKS Visualize, SOLIDWORKS Composer, SOLIDWORKS CAM and more.

The research license follows the commercial SOLIDWORKS licensing structure, meaning that it is not a bundle and instead products must be purchased individually. However, the special pricing for the Research Edition allows for substantial savings over commercial rates.