Bentley MicroStation is a 2D / 3D CAD software that’s really aimed at architects and civil engineers to draft; water, wastewater, utilities, mining, roads, bridges, process plants, rails and building projects. To better understand Microstation don’t think of it as a standalone CAD solution but as a platform with a slew of extensions/functionality built on top of it.

Learning Bentley MicroStation is very important for architecture and civil engineers, even if your company isn’t using it now, it’s a very useful tool in your toolbox as an engineer.

The aim of this post is to present and compare between free online sources that beginners can rely on to learn Bentley MicroStation, the sources stated here are full-structured courses that beginners can follow along.

If you just want the bottom line (the road map to learn Bentley MicroStation) and you don’t wish to read the entire article then go to the “Bottom Line” section at the end of the article.

Getting Started with Bentley MicroStation from Scratch

CAD Notes

CAD Notes is the first free online outlet where beginners can start learning Bentley MicroStation through a text based tutorial, you don’t have to register to have access to the training.

Structure: The training is divided into 3 sections, each section is divided into lessons (45 articles/tutorials), each article/tutorial covers some tools in Bentley MicroStation.

Interface: The interface is very simple, just click on the tutorial you’re interested in and you’ll be directed to the page where the tutorial resides.

Now the pros and cons:

Pros

1. Free.
2. The training is well structured and organized for beginners.

Cons

1. The training doesn’t cover every aspect of the software, but this won’t be a problem for complete beginners.

Verdict: This is the best free online outlet where beginners can start learning Bentley MicroStation through text tutorials.

captnwill YouTube Channel

captnwill YouTube Channel is the second free online outlet where beginners can start learning Bentley MicroStation through video tutorial.

Structure: The training is divided into 18 video lessons, each video lesson covers certain tools in Bentley MicroStation.

Interface: Standard YouTube interface.

Now the pros and cons:

Pros

1. Free.
2. The training is well structured and organized for beginners.

Cons

1. The training doesn’t cover every aspect of the software, but this won’t be a problem for complete beginners.

Verdict: This is the best free online outlet where beginners can start learning Bentley MicroStation through video tutorials.

envisioncad YouTube Channel

envisioncad YouTube Channel is the third free online outlet where beginners can start learning Bentley MicroStation through video tutorials.

Structure:The training is divided into 40 video lessons, each video lesson covers a certain tool or extension in Bentley MicroStation.

Interface: Standard YouTube interface.

Now the pros and cons:

Pros

1. Free.
2. Covers some tools/etensions that aren’t covered by the other outlets.

Cons

1. The training isn’t well-structured or organized for beginners.

Verdict: Though this outlet has a large collection of tutorials, but they’re not properly organized for beginners.

Bottom Line

The recipe for learning Bentley MicroStation:

1. captnwill YouTube Channel is the best outlet for beginners to start learning Bentley MicroStation through video tutorials.
2. CAD Notes is the best outlet for beginners to start learning Bentley MicroStation through text based tutorials.

Remember that the first step is always the toughest step, and the aim of this post is to provide you with resources that will help you take your first step in learning Bentley MicroStation.