Arena PLM VS SolidWorks PDM_
As of 4 November 2026, SolidWorks PDM is named by 296 companies and Arena PLM by 298; Arena PLM skews to companies under 200 people (46% vs 38%), SolidWorks PDM to companies over 1,000 (37% vs 26%).
As of 4 November 2026 · refreshed daily · counts move as websites, DNS and career sites are re-read.
The website-and-DNS footprint is not comparable between a marketing suite and a CRM: Arena PLM's script and mail records show on hundreds of thousands of small sites, SolidWorks PDM rarely leaves a trace outside its own apps. Compare on the job-posting numbers; use the footprint for reach.
- Arena PLM: 2–200 employees
- 46%
- SolidWorks PDM: 2–200 employees
- 38%
- Arena PLM: 1,000+ employees
- 26%
- SolidWorks PDM: 1,000+ employees
- 37%
- Postings per company, 90 days
- 1.9 · 2.7
- Website or DNS footprint
- 0 · 0
Who chooses which
Share of each tool's companies in every segment. "Leans" marks a gap of more than two points.
| Segment | Arena PLM | share | SolidWorks PDM | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self-employed | 5 | 2% | 3 | 1% | even |
| 2-10 employees | 25 | 8% | 13 | 4% | Arena PLM |
| 11-50 employees | 37 | 12% | 31 | 10% | even |
| 51-200 employees | 76 | 26% | 67 | 23% | Arena PLM |
| 201-500 employees | 48 | 16% | 36 | 12% | Arena PLM |
| 501-1000 employees | 29 | 10% | 36 | 12% | SolidWorks PDM |
| 1001-5000 employees | 33 | 11% | 57 | 19% | SolidWorks PDM |
| 5001-10000 employees | 17 | 6% | 13 | 4% | even |
| 10,001+ employees | 28 | 9% | 40 | 14% | SolidWorks PDM |
| Segment | Arena PLM | share | SolidWorks PDM | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing & industry | 137 | 46% | 187 | 63% | SolidWorks PDM |
| Technology & software | 63 | 21% | 25 | 8% | Arena PLM |
| Business & finance services | 28 | 9% | 12 | 4% | Arena PLM |
| Consumer services & leisure | 16 | 5% | 4 | 1% | Arena PLM |
| Utilities & infrastructure | 12 | 4% | 16 | 5% | even |
| Public, community & associations | 10 | 3% | 3 | 1% | Arena PLM |
| Media & content | 9 | 3% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Commerce & trade | 7 | 2% | 7 | 2% | even |
| Automotive | 6 | 2% | 19 | 6% | SolidWorks PDM |
| Transport, logistics & rental | 5 | 2% | 5 | 2% | even |
| Property & construction | 3 | 1% | 11 | 4% | SolidWorks PDM |
| Agriculture & forestry | 1 | 0% | 3 | 1% | even |
| Health care | – | – | 2 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Segment | Arena PLM | share | SolidWorks PDM | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 240 | 81% | 224 | 76% | Arena PLM |
| United Kingdom | 12 | 4% | 13 | 4% | even |
| Switzerland | 5 | 2% | 4 | 1% | even |
| Italy | 5 | 2% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Germany | 4 | 1% | 10 | 3% | SolidWorks PDM |
| Sweden | 3 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| United Arab Emirates | 2 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| France | 2 | 1% | 5 | 2% | even |
| Austria | 1 | 0% | 2 | 1% | even |
| Brazil | 1 | 0% | 4 | 1% | even |
| Canada | 1 | 0% | 8 | 3% | SolidWorks PDM |
| Denmark | 1 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Poland | – | – | 4 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Belgium | – | – | 3 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Netherlands | – | – | 3 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Australia | – | – | 2 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Segment | Arena PLM | share | SolidWorks PDM | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering (non-software) | 271 | 37% | 630 | 68% | SolidWorks PDM |
| Product, program & project management | 47 | 6% | 16 | 2% | Arena PLM |
| Software engineering | 46 | 6% | 22 | 2% | Arena PLM |
| IT operations & business systems | 33 | 5% | 17 | 2% | Arena PLM |
| Quality, safety & environment | 33 | 5% | 44 | 5% | even |
| manufacturing and production | 30 | 4% | 6 | 1% | Arena PLM |
| Data & AI | 26 | 4% | 2 | 0% | Arena PLM |
| Administration & office | 20 | 3% | 14 | 2% | even |
| procurement and purchasing | 20 | 3% | 9 | 1% | even |
| logistics warehouse and transport | 19 | 3% | 6 | 1% | even |
| arts media and entertainment | 13 | 2% | 1 | 0% | even |
| Sales | 11 | 2% | 5 | 1% | even |
| Finance & accounting | 10 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| General management & consulting | 8 | 1% | 2 | 0% | even |
| Design & UX | 7 | 1% | 2 | 0% | even |
| skilled trades and field service | 6 | 1% | 5 | 1% | even |
| Customer service & success | 5 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Travel, leisure & events | 5 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Marketing & communications | 4 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| construction and civil | 2 | 0% | 7 | 1% | even |
| research and science | 2 | 0% | 2 | 0% | even |
| Unclassified | 2 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Business development & strategy | 1 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| hospitality and food service | 1 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| personal care and wellness | 1 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Retail & store operations | 1 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Legal, compliance & risk | – | – | 1 | 0% | outside top 12 |
The companies behind each column
Companies using Arena PLM →
Companies using SolidWorks PDM →
plm pdm ranked →
Quote the sentence with the date and the link. The numbers change daily; the link always shows the current ones.
SolidWorks PDM is named by 296 companies in job postings and Arena PLM by 298; 16 name both. (Breaknorm, 4 November 2026, https://breaknorm.co/compare/arena-plm-vs-solidworks-pdm)
Read from the source, not self-reported
Every number on this page can be traced to a page we crawled or a posting we read. Full methodology →
- Job postingsRead hourly from career sites. A tool counts when the employer's own text names it as the team's system; both tools can count for one company.
- Website and DNSScripts and embeds on the company's pages, plus SPF, DKIM, MX and CNAME records of its domain that point at the vendor.
- SegmentsCountry, size and industry from the company profile built from its website.
- Not a reviewNo ratings, prices or feature claims. For those, read the vendors.
Arena PLM vs SolidWorks PDM: questions
Which is more used, Arena PLM or SolidWorks PDM?
By companies naming it in their own job postings, Arena PLM (298) over SolidWorks PDM (296). By website-and-DNS footprint, SolidWorks PDM (0 vs 0), because its scripts and mail records sit on many small company sites.
Who chooses Arena PLM?
46% of Arena PLM companies have 2 to 200 employees, against 38% for SolidWorks PDM. 26% of Arena PLM companies have over 1,000 employees, against 37% for SolidWorks PDM.
Do companies run both?
16 companies name both in their postings, usually Arena PLM in marketing and SolidWorks PDM in sales, or during a migration.
Where do these numbers come from?
From the employer's own text in job postings read hourly from career sites, and from scripts found on company websites in our crawl. No vendor data, no surveys.
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