Tekla Structures vs Advance Steel
Editorial guidance plus a neutral, sourced capability comparison.
Tekla Structures is the high-end standard for fabrication-ready steel and concrete detailing. Advance Steel is an AutoCAD-based steel detailing tool that fits Autodesk workflows.
Large, complex steel and precast detailing.
Best for — Advance SteelSteel detailers working within AutoCAD and Revit.
Editorial opinion from the BMI team, separate from the neutral data below. Not sponsored.
| Attribute | ||
|---|---|---|
| General | ||
| Developer | Trimble | Autodesk |
| Latest release | 2026 SP4 | 2027 |
| Platform | Win | Win |
| Pricing | Subscription | Subscription |
| Licence | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Free trial | SupportedSupported | SupportedSupported |
| BIM | ||
| Native BIM | No | No |
| IFC import | Yes | Yes |
| IFC 2x3 | SupportedSupported | SupportedSupported |
| IFC4 | SupportedSupported | PartialPartial |
| IFC4.3 | SupportedSupported | Not supportedNot supported |
| OpenBIM | ||
| BCF | SupportedSupported | Not supportedNot supported |
| IDS | PartialPartial | Not supportedNot supported |
| bSDD | Not supportedNot supported | Not supportedNot supported |
| COBie | Not supportedNot supported | Not supportedNot supported |
| MVD | Not supportedNot supported | Not supportedNot supported |
| Automation | ||
| API | SupportedSupported | SupportedSupported |
| Python | Not supportedNot supported | Not supportedNot supported |
| C# | SupportedSupported | SupportedSupported |
| Dynamo | Not supportedNot supported | Not supportedNot supported |
| Grasshopper | SupportedSupported | Not supportedNot supported |
| JavaScript | Not supportedNot supported | Not supportedNot supported |
| Collaboration | ||
| Cloud | PartialPartial | PartialPartial |
| CDE | PartialPartial | Not supportedNot supported |
| Real-time collaboration | Not supportedNot supported | Not supportedNot supported |
| Privacy | ||
| Local processing | SupportedSupported | SupportedSupported |
| Offline | SupportedSupported | SupportedSupported |
| No account required | Not supportedNot supported | Not supportedNot supported |
| Self-hosting | Not supportedNot supported | Not supportedNot supported |
| Integrations | ||
| Connected to | 2D drawings, BBS / rebar, Trimble Connect, IFC 2x3, IFC4, IFC4.3, BCF, IDS | — |
| Security & compliance | ||
| ISO 27001 | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| SOC 2 | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Cyber Essentials | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| ISO 27701 | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| PCI DSS | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Penetration testing | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| OWASP ASVS | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| MFA | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| SSO | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| SAML | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| SCIM | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Encryption at rest | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Audit logging | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Data residency | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| ISO 19650 | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| CDE | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Security documentation | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Last security review | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Cloud Infrastructure & Data Residency | ||
| Cloud hosting provider | Information not publicly disclosed by vendor. | Information not publicly disclosed by vendor. |
| Primary server provider | Information not publicly disclosed by vendor. | Information not publicly disclosed by vendor. |
| Data centre / server locations | Information not publicly disclosed by vendor. | Information not publicly disclosed by vendor. |
| Available data residency options | Information not publicly disclosed by vendor. | Information not publicly disclosed by vendor. |
| Customer hosting-region selection | Information not publicly disclosed by vendor. | Information not publicly disclosed by vendor. |
| ISO 27001 certification | Information not publicly disclosed by vendor. | Information not publicly disclosed by vendor. |
| SOC 2 compliance | Information not publicly disclosed by vendor. | Information not publicly disclosed by vendor. |
| GDPR compliance | Information not publicly disclosed by vendor. | Information not publicly disclosed by vendor. |
| Encryption at rest | Information not publicly disclosed by vendor. | Information not publicly disclosed by vendor. |
| Encryption in transit | Information not publicly disclosed by vendor. | Information not publicly disclosed by vendor. |
| Single Sign-On (SSO) | Information not publicly disclosed by vendor. | Information not publicly disclosed by vendor. |
| Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) | Information not publicly disclosed by vendor. | Information not publicly disclosed by vendor. |
| Customer-managed encryption keys | Information not publicly disclosed by vendor. | Information not publicly disclosed by vendor. |
| Air-gapped deployment | Information not publicly disclosed by vendor. | Information not publicly disclosed by vendor. |
| On-premise deployment | Information not publicly disclosed by vendor. | Information not publicly disclosed by vendor. |
| Government, defence / sovereign cloud | Information not publicly disclosed by vendor. | Information not publicly disclosed by vendor. |
| Official documentation | Information not publicly disclosed by vendor. | Information not publicly disclosed by vendor. |