AutoCAD 2021 is the latest version of CAD software, indispensable in the construction industry as well as mechanical engineering, it can create 2D or 3D surface engineering drawings. This is one of the famous graphics software developed by Autodesk Corporation.
Before we proceed, let me clear a thing first. This tutorial is for the student version, this means for educational purposes. You should not use it for commercial purposes. If we want to use the AutoCAD software for commercial projects and objectives, we need to buy the license for the AutoCAD software.
Please read the official terms and privacy, if you have any doubt. However, it will not affect you if you are not using it for commercial purposes.
The AutoCAD student version is available free for up to 3 years. For the student version, we have to sign-up/sign in and then select the student version option.
Let’s start with the process of installation of AutoCAD 2021, 2020, 2019 and 2018.

(Read Also: Download & Install AutoCAD 2019 (32 + 64 Bit) Full Version With Crack)
To download 2020, 2019 or 2018 versions, all the steps will remain the same. We need to select the appropriate version in STEP 12.
System Requirement
System requirements for AutoCAD 2021 including Specialized Toolsets (Windows)
Operating System | 64-bit Microsoft® Windows® 8.1 and Windows 10. See Autodesk’s Product Support Lifecycle for support information. |
Processor | Basic: 2.5–2.9 GHz processor Recommended: 3+ GHz processor Multiple processors: Supported by the application |
Memory | Basic: 8 GB Recommended: 16 GB |
Display Resolution | Conventional Displays: 1920 x 1080 with True Color High Resolution & 4K Displays: Resolutions up to 3840 x 2160 supported on Windows 10, 64-bit systems (with capable display card) |
Display Card | Basic: 1 GB GPU with 29 GB/s Bandwidth and DirectX 11 compliant Recommended: 4 GB GPU with 106 GB/s Bandwidth and DirectX 11 compliant |
Disk Space | 7.0 GB |
Network | Deployment via Deployment Wizard. The license server and all workstations that will run applications dependent on network licensing must run TCP/IP protocol. Either Microsoft® or Novell TCP/IP protocol stacks are acceptable. Primary login on workstations may be Netware or Windows. In addition to operating systems supported for the application, the license server will run on Windows® Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016, and Windows Server 2019 editions. |
Pointing Device | MS-Mouse compliant |
.NET Framework | .NET Framework version 4.8 or later |
System requirements for AutoCAD 2020 including Specialized Toolsets (Windows)
Operating System | Microsoft® Windows® 7 SP1 with Update KB4019990 (64-bit only)Microsoft Windows 8.1 with Update KB2919355 (64-bit only)Microsoft Windows 10 (64-bit only) (version 1803 or higher)See Autodesk’s Product Support Lifecycle for support information. |
Processor | Basic: 2.5–2.9 GHz processor Recommended: 3+ GHz processor Multiple processors: Supported by the application |
Memory | Basic: 8 GB Recommended: 16 GB |
Display Resolution | Conventional Displays: 1920 x 1080 with True Color High Resolution & 4K Displays: Resolutions up to 3840 x 2160 supported on Windows 10, 64-bit systems (with capable display card) |
Display Card | Basic: 1 GB GPU with 29 GB/s Bandwidth and DirectX 11 compliant Recommended: 4 GB GPU with 106 GB/s Bandwidth and DirectX 11 compliant |
Disk Space | 6.0 GB |
Browser | Google Chrome™ (for AutoCAD web app) |
Network | Deployment via Deployment Wizard.The license server and all workstations that will run applications dependent on network licensing must run TCP/IP protocol.Either Microsoft® or Novell TCP/IP protocol stacks are acceptable. Primary login on workstations may be Netware or Windows.In addition to operating systems supported for the application, the license server will run on the Windows Server® 2016, Windows Server 2012, and Windows Server 2012 R2 editions. |
Pointing Device | MS-Mouse compliant |
.NET Framework | .NET Framework Version 4.7 or later*DirectX11 recommended by supported OS |
System requirements for AutoCAD 2019 including Specialized Toolsets
Operating System | Microsoft® Windows® 7 SP1 with Update KB4019990 (32-bit & 64-bit)Microsoft Windows 8.1 with Update KB2919355 (32-bit & 64-bit)Microsoft Windows 10 Anniversary Update (64-bit only) (version 1607 or higher)See Autodesk’s Product Support Lifecycle for support information. |
Processor | Basic: 2.5–2.9 GHz processor Recommended: 3+ GHz processor |
Memory | Basic: 8 GB Recommended: 16 GB |
Display Resolution | Conventional Displays: 1920 x 1080 with True Color High Resolution & 4K Displays: Resolutions up to 3840 x 2160 supported on Windows 10, 64 bit systems (with capable display card) |
Display Card | Basic: 1 GB GPU with 29 GB/s Bandwidth and DirectX 11 compliant Recommended: 4 GB GPU with 106 GB/s Bandwidth and DirectX 11 compliant |
Disk Space | 6.0 GB |
Browser | Google Chrome™ (for AutoCAD Web) |
Network | Deployment via Deployment Wizard. The license server and all workstations that will run applications dependent on network licensing must run TCP/IP protocol. Either Microsoft® or Novell TCP/IP protocol stacks are acceptable. Primary login on workstations may be Netware or Windows. In addition to operating systems supported for the application, the license server will run on the Windows Server® 2016, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2, and Windows Server 2008 R2 editions. Citrix® XenApp™ 7.6, Citrix® XenDesktop™ 7.6. |
Pointing Device | MS-Mouse compliant |
.NET Framework | .NET Framework Version 4.7 |
System requirements for AutoCAD 2018
Operating System | Microsoft® Windows® 7 SP1 (32-bit & 64-bit)Microsoft Windows 8.1 with Update KB2919355 (32-bit & 64-bit)Microsoft Windows 10 (64-bit only) (version 1607 and up recommended)See Autodesk’s Product Support Lifecycle for support information. |
CPU Type | 32-bit: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) processor 64-bit: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 64-bit (x64) processor |
Memory | 32-bit: 2 GB (4 GB recommended) 64-bit: 4 GB (8 GB recommended) |
Display Resolution | Conventional Displays: 1360 x 768 (1920 x 1080 recommended) with True Color High Resolution & 4K Displays: Resolutions up to 3840 x 2160 supported on Windows 10, 64 bit systems (with capable display card) |
Display Card | Windows display adapter capable of 1360 x 768 with True Color capabilities and DirectX® 9 ¹. DirectX 11 compliant card recommended. ¹ DirectX 9 recommended by supported OS |
Disk Space | Installation 4.0 GB |
Browser | Windows Internet Explorer® 11 or later |
Network | Deployment via Deployment Wizard. The license server and all workstations that will run applications dependent on network licensing must run TCP/IP protocol. Either Microsoft® or Novell TCP/IP protocol stacks are acceptable. Primary login on workstations may be Netware or Windows. In addition to operating systems supported for the application, the license server will run on the Windows Server® 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2, and Windows 2008 R2 Server editions. Citrix® XenApp™ 7.6, Citrix® XenDesktop™ 7.6. |
Pointing Device | MS-Mouse compliant |
Digitizer | WINTAB support |
Media (DVD) | Download or installation from DVD |
ToolClips Media Player | Adobe Flash Player v10 or up |
.NET Framework | .NET Framework Version 4.6 |
AutoCAD Tutorial
If you are interested in learning AutoCAD 2D & 3D commands, you can watch my tutorials on AutoCAD.







Download & Install AutoCAD 2021
The steps to download the latest version, i.e., AutoCAD 2021 are listed below:
Downloading
1. Open Google Chrome or your favourite browser. I personally always prefer Google Chrome.
2. Click on this link or Copy and Paste this URL in the browser: https://www.autodesk.com/education/free-software/autocad. The Autodesk page will be opened. The screen will look like the given image:

3. Click on the ‘CREATE ACCOUNT’ option to create your account for the student version if you already don’t have a student account, or we can also download the trial version for 30 days trial period.
4. We can also click on the option below the CREATE ACCOUNT button to download the version for a free trial. Consider the below image:

5. When we click on the CREATE ACCOUNT button, the screen will look like the given image:

6. We need to enter the details to create an account. The drop-down list of the Educational role will appear as the given image:

The drop-down list of the Institution Type will appear as the given image:

You can select the option according to the requirements.
7. After these details, click on the ‘NEXT’ button given at the bottom.
8. The window with details such as name, email address, etc. will appear as the below image:

9. The final step is the verification of your email address. The window will now look like the given image:

The registration process is now complete, and we can now sign in with this email address and password on the link mentioned in step 2.
10. After the sign-up, Autodesk may ask for a 6-digit passcode verification in a few cases. We need to download the Duo Mobile app, scan the QR code, and enter the passcode or we can also follow the same instructions as mentioned by Autodesk.
11. The screen will now appear as the given image:

12. We need to select the Version, Operating system, and Language from the drop-down list. After this step, the download will begin.
The drop-down list of the Version will appear as the given image:

Here, we will select the latest version, i.e., AutoCAD 2021.
Note: We can select the particular version from the drop-down list according to the requirements. The system requirements for that version will be displayed accordingly.
According to the selected version, the drop-down list of the Operating system will be listed. For the Autocad 2020 and AutoCAD 2021 versions, only Windows 64-bit is listed.
(Also Read: Download Staad Pro Crack Version And Activate It)
You can set the Language according to the requirements.
The drop-down list of the Language will appear as the below image:

After selecting the above categories, the window will now look like the below image:

13. The serial number and the product key will be required further during the installation of the AutoCAD.
14. Click on the ‘INSTALL NOW’ option given at the bottom of the page. It will appear as:

Installing
15. Accept the license and click on ‘Install’ as shown in the below image:

16. Open the downloaded file. It will look like the below image:

17. The AutoCAD window will appear. Click on the ‘Install’ option as shown in the below image:

18. Now, again click on Install as shown in the below image:

19. The download will start. We need to wait for a while until the download is completed.
20. After the download is completed, the window will appear as shown in the below image:

Click on the ‘Launch Now’ option at the bottom right corner of the page.
21. The configuration will start, as shown in the below image:

22. After this step, the AutoCAD software will be opened. Click on the OK option as shown in the below image:

The AutoCAD software will appear.
23. Now, at last, comes the Autodesk license part. After this, you can start your drawings.
(Also Read: 150 AutoCAD Command And Shortcut List With PDF)
As soon the window appears, click on the ‘I Agree’ option for acceptance of license terms and conditions as shown in the below image:

24. The AutoCAD 2021 software is now ready for use.
The screen of the AutoCAD 2021 software will look like the below image:

I hope this article will help you to understand how to install and activate AutoCAD 2019. You may also want to see my other post from my Blog. If I have missed anything here, please let me know about that in the comment below this post.
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