Cadigence vs Bluebeam

Bluebeam is a PDF markup tool. Cadigence runs the whole review.

Bluebeam is a general-purpose PDF markup tool. Cadigence is purpose-built for one job: running a drawing through review and approval. It gives you the markup you need to review, clouds, arrows, boxes, text, and highlights, and adds what a PDF tool is not built for: multi-level approval, comment tracking to resolution, a tamper-evident record, and AutoCAD-native submission that never changes your DWG. Here is how the two compare for that job, point by point.

Bluebeam
Cadigence
What it is
A PDF markup tool
A drawing review and approval system for AutoCAD teams
Getting the drawing ready
You export a PDF by hand each time
The plugin creates the review PDF when the designer submits
Markup & comments
Free-form markups
Built-in markup: cloud, arrow, box, text, and highlight, tagged must-resolve or advisory and tracked until resolved
Approval
Not a built-in workflow
1 to 5 review levels with set authority and automatic hand-off
Record of decisions
Up to you to keep
Append-only audit log with names and timestamps
After approval
Nothing prevents later edits
The drawing locks, and later changes are flagged as violations
Your DWG file
Separate from the markup
Never modified, and the review is tied to the task and iteration
Time on each drawing
Not tracked
Tracked automatically while you work

Cadigence is purpose-built for drawing review and approval, from the first markup to the final sign-off and record. It is not a general-purpose PDF editor; it is built to do the review job, end to end, in one place.

Why the difference matters

A markup is not a sign-off

Approvals are accountable

Each level signs off with a defined authority, from technical check to engineering approval to client acceptance. A markup on a PDF does not carry that weight.

Nothing slips through

Every comment is tracked until it is resolved and verified, so a drawing cannot move forward with an open must-resolve item still hanging.

You have proof later

When a client questions a decision, you can show exactly who reviewed it, when, what was flagged, and who approved it, all from one record.

See it on your own drawings

Move your drawing reviews into one tool that handles the markup and runs the sign-off. We’re onboarding a limited number of firms.

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