ADSK vs BSY: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Reading it: ADSK is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. ADSK and BSY share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined ADSK and BSY exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Autodesk is a large-cap software company whose tools are the default in several design and engineering fields. Its best-known products are AutoCAD (2D and 3D drafting), Revit (building information modeling for architecture, engineering and construction), Fusion (cloud product design and manufacturing), and Maya and 3ds Max (media and entertainment). It serves roughly four end markets: architecture, engineering and construction (AEC), product design and manufacturing, media and entertainment, and a broad base of individual and small-business users.

Full ADSK guide

Bentley Systems builds the design and asset-management software that civil engineers actually use. Its modeling applications include MicroStation, OpenRoads, OpenBuildings and OpenPlant; its analysis and simulation tools include STAAD, AutoPIPE and Power Line Systems; and its project and asset platforms include ProjectWise, AssetWise and the iTwin digital-twin stack. Add-ons from acquisitions widened that footprint, notably Seequent in geoscience and subsurface modeling and Cesium in open 3D geospatial rendering. Customers are engineering firms, contractors, utilities, mining companies and public agencies, and the software tends to be embedded in workflows that run for years, which is why the company reports a single operating segment and treats recurring revenue as its headline metric.

Full BSY guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• ADSK drivers: Recurring revenue and high retention; Margins and free cash flow.
• BSY drivers: Infrastructure spending that is legislated, not cyclical; Recurring revenue with high switching costs.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: The most-cited risk is valuation: as a high-quality, profitable software name, Autodesk often trades at a premium multiple, so growth that merely meets expectations can still disappoint the stock. For BSY, the most visible risk is the derating already underway: shares fell roughly ~34% over the trailing year despite double-digit revenue growth, which suggests investors are marking down the durability or the terminal value of vertical engineering software rather than reacting to a missed quarter.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick ADSK if you believe its drivers more; BSY if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the ADSK and BSY guides.

ADSK. Figures are approximate, tied to the asOf date, and use Autodesk's fiscal calendar (its year ends in late January), so verify live numbers before acting. Autodesk's transition to subscriptions and past changes to its billing model can distort year-over-year comparisons, so free cash flow and remaining performance obligations are often more useful than a single quarter's headline revenue. As a profitable compounder, its multiple prices in continued growth, which raises the bar for the stock even when the business executes well.

BSY. Bentley converts revenue to cash unusually well for its size, with ~82% gross margin and free cash flow running above reported net income. Valuation is the moving part: a ~34% decline over the trailing year has taken the forward multiple to roughly ~24x while the underlying business kept compounding in the low teens. Whether that gap reflects a bargain or a correct reassessment of software durability is the question the price is asking.

Headline figures (approximate, Jul 2026): ADSK shows revenue (fiscal 2026) About $7.2 billion, up roughly 18% year over year, almost all subscription, recurring revenue mix Around 97% of revenue is recurring subscription and maintenance, profitability Solidly profitable; record operating income near $1.6 billion in fiscal 2026, free cash flow Strong, roughly $2.4 billion in fiscal 2026, up sharply as billing patterns normalized; BSY shows revenue (ttm) ~$1.60B, up ~12.8%, net income (ttm) ~$290M, EPS ~$0.91, annualized recurring revenue ~$1.54B as of June 30, 2026, ~12% constant-currency growth, market cap ~$11.0B.

ADSK and BSY are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined ADSK and BSY exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.