The Best Home Design Software in 2023 — Top 10 Picks

What software does an architect use to design a house for free?

Looking for the best home design software in 2023? We’ve tested and reviewed these products and outlined the best below. Here’s our top pick:

Our Top Pick

Planner 5D | 3D Home Design Software

4.7

Free

We consider this the best home design software if you’re looking for something advanced but easy to use. Planner 5D is a 2D/3D home design tool that helps you create your dream home without any special skills.

Pros:

• Planner 5D is free for any user! The only case in which you need to pay is if you want to get full access to their catalog.

Cons:

• The web version uses a lot of power and may slow down your computer

Try Planner 5D

Are you planning to renovate your house or a part of it, like the living room, kitchen, bathrooms, or landscaping the garden?

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Have you moved into a new house and plan to renovate it according to your taste and requirements?

Have you wondered how to work on the interior of your house including how certain changes will look when you see it on a computer screen?

Whether you want to renovate yourself or hire professionals to do it for you, you must communicate your ideas, and home design software will help you achieve that.

As a professional, it is important to communicate your ideas and project what you have in mind. Home design software will help you form your ideas visually and show the design to everyone involved in the project.

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We’ve reviewed the best home design software below, let’s dive in!

 

Before stepping into details of these products it is also necessary to know the following.

What is Home Design Software?

Home design software helps with tools that help architects, designers & home design enthusiasts. This software also helps to project their design visions accurately and create home design projects quickly and efficiently.

This software contains a vast number of features which includes 360-degree rendering, virtual furniture and accessories, colors, textures, and lighting.

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It also includes multi-story 3D floor plans, elements like stairs and roofs, cross-sections, elevations, and facades.

If you are a professional architect or designer, you must make the interiors attractive for your clients.

Home Design Software can help you create attractive designs and the following list shows some of the best Home Designing Software available based on our personal experience trialing the software where possible.

Why use Home Design Software?

No matter if it’s a renovation, extension, or a building, a new house, building, or a hall, it is always critical to flesh out ideas for renovation and construction. This software makes it easy to put all your ideas into visuals and project them as efficiently as possible. 

This software helps in editing, creating, and designing regardless if you are a designer, decorator, interior designer, or homeowner. This software is user-friendly, affordable, and often free. 

10+ Best Home Planner Software in 2023

The best AI-powered tool for home improvement and design

Planner 5D is an advanced and easy-to-use 2D/3D home design tool that helps you create your dream home without any special skills.

We loved using this software because of it’s machine learning, AI and other advanced technological solutions. It made our Interior Design planning an easy and entertaining process, even for our colleagues who had no experience in design.

We designed a house from the ground up and created an interior, which made every family member feel comfortable and cozy. We simply drew a plan, furnished the space, and selected materials with a click of the mouse. It was super intuitive which we loved.

To summarise, Planner 5D is a simple 3D floor planner for interior design & home design and after careful testing, we consider this the best home design software if you’re looking for something advanced but easy to use. You can try it live below!

They also offer a Design School to help you become an interior design pro in no time, complete with a certificate on completion.

Planner 5D also has a large library of different floor plans and designs for you to choose from to make it easier.

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Or if you prefer AI (artificial intelligence) to do the heavy lifting, check out the Planner5D iOS app.

Try Planner 5D live.

What we loved

What we didn’t love

➕ Converts your 2D floor plan into a 3D model. ➖ Free access has only limited features. ➕ Intuitive and user-friendly app.

 

Start Designing for Free! Planner 5D Live Editor

Try Planner5D for free right here on this page! Design your dream home in an easy-to-use 2D/3D editor with 5000+ items.

We suggest starting with the ‘Smart Wizard’ button below.

Planner 5D – Floor plans and interior design

Key benefits

• A constantly updated furniture catalog with over 6,500 items already available;
• Project preview is available in 2D and 3D, AR on iOS;
• High-quality images of projects with Rendering and publish them on social networks or on thematic sites and in your portfolio;
• Ability to add your own structures;
• AI plan recognition – making a plan into a digital copy using our intelligent neural-network in one click;
• Planner 5D is available on the web version in 11 languages, and on a mobile device in 30;
• Cross-platform tool. Available on any platform: Web, iOS, Android, Windows 10 and macOs. Importantly, cross-platform is not only ubiquitous access, but also the ability to start a project on one platform and finish it on another;
• Weekly Design Battle among users.

Still need to know more? Read out in-depth Planner 5D review.

Pricing Plans

Planner 5D is a 3D home design software and is free to use, however for access to premium features it is US$19.99/month or $59.99/year.

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Best for contractors & remodelers (exterior, interior, & landscapes)

Cedreo is a 3D home design program for interior designers, contractors, remodelers, and real estate investors. It is an online 3D home design tool that produces exterior and interior 3D renderings, as well as 2D and 3D floor plans in a few hours. 

Cedreo assists in three crucial home construction tasks: drafting floor plans, designing interiors, and producing 3D representations. Cedreo is quick, logical, and simple to use, and it features an extensive online knowledge base, allowing you to create 2D floor plans and 3D visualizations in a matter of hours. 

We found Cedreo quite proficient at making 3D home decor in addition to floor designs. We appreciated the 7,000 different products in their large 3D library which made for realistic house decor, including furniture, supplies, and accents.

We also enjoyed their project management tools in addition to home design tools, which helped with planning out our home design project. We could also easily post our 3D renderings on social media.

If you’re looking to quickly display your 3D renderings, draw in new customers, and instantly address client inquiries then we consider Cedreo to be a great choice. They have a  customer success team available by chat, email, and phone to address any queries in addition to the knowledge base that offers video training.

After careful testing, we consider this the best home design software for contractors & remodelers that do exteriors, interiors, & landscapes.

What we loved

What we didn’t love

➕ Powerful and easy to use software

➖ They don’t offer DWG export

➕ Superior quality 3D renderings

➕

An incredible platform to create entire home design projects in less than 2 hours

Pricing Plans

Plans

Price

Free

Free with limited features

Personal

Available at $119 for 1 project

Professional

Available at $119/month

Enterprise

Available at $149/month/user

 

The best Adobe software for home design 

Adobe Illustrator focuses on vector design and is a convenient industry-standard software for home design. For anyone who is looking to explore the world of home design, this tool by Adobe is the perfect pick especially if they are already an Adobe subscriber.

To reach perfection, designers might need to spend some time learning the software, but once they master it, Adobe Illustrator has limitless potential for creating exceptional vector designs especially useful for floor plans. 

To get a head start, designers can download Floor Plan Templates from Adobe Stock (Get 10 Free Stock Images) and start designing.

The best part about the software is its clean interface that is well-structured which makes it easier for users to utilize all the tools efficiently. You can use the application to create illustrations, sketches, typography, and almost anything that your creative mind can formulate.

With a wide range of effects, filters, and tools to work with, Illustrator is a great home design software for beginners. Because of its popularity, there is also an active support community where you can collaborate and seek help if you have questions.

As for the pricing, the plans start at a reasonable price of $20.99/month or have included as part of the Adobe CC subscription.

Get 65% off Adobe Illustrator here.

Pros 

Cons

➕Detailed, customisable, and seamless user interface

➖ Steep learning curve

➕Mobile application available

➖ No one-time purchase option

➕Wide range of basic and advanced tools

➕Supports precise editing and designing

 

The most popular 3D design software

SketchUp is the most widely used 3D modeling software. SketchUp helps you create a rough sketch for a 3D model and beyond with great ease. SketchUp helps your design ideas in a way that appears that you are drawing by hand. It is more similar to a pencil than a 3D modeling software because it helps you to draw whatever you imagine.

It is not only useful for 3D modeling, it is also great to communicate your designs with clients and the people involved in 2D. You may draw plans, elevations, build details, and finish with your title blocks, but the most beautiful part is when the model changes, the document also changes accordingly.

The interconnected tools will help you actualize your concepts from a broad picture to the minutiae of the details. The users of this software may create models from treehouses to intricate energy-efficient buildings and everything else in between.

SketchUp is owned by Trimble Inc. It leverages technology and changes the way the world works. Creative people and professionals rely on this intuitive and powerful software.

You may design and collaborate with others to build better buildings. There are various plans and pricing available for individuals, enterprises, and students.

Pros

Cons

➕ Quick Sketching with measurements. ➖ Difficult to position objects correctly. ➕ Layout functionality. ➖ Expensive.

Pricing Plans

Plans

Price

Individuals SketchUp Free Absolutely FREE of cost. SketchUp Shop Available for the web at the rate of US$119 per year. SketchUp Pro Available for the Desktop and the Web at the rate of US$299 per year. Professionals SketchUp Shop Available for the web at the rate of US$119 per year. SketchUp Pro Available for the Desktop and the Web at the rate of US$299 per year. SketchUp Studio Available for the Desktop and the Web at the rate of US$699 per year. Higher Education – SketchUp Studio Students Available for the Desktop and the Web at the rate of US$55 per year. Educators Available for the Desktop and the Web at the rate of US$55 per year. Universities Available at Tiered Pricing Primary and Secondary Schools Free with G Suite or Microsoft Education account

 

Want to learn SketchUp? Check out this online course bundle, perfect for Interior Designers & Home Designers.

 

The best floor plan software

Interior designers, architects and civil engineers use Floor Planner to optimize the floor space. It is a useful tool for people who are involved in the process of working with floor space on a regular basis. It is a simple tool that has a free version with it so anyone may use it.

It is possible to change your 2D drawings to 3D images without extra effort. You may create a dollhouse view of your drawings, and you may present your designs just to flaunt your styling skills to clients. Another feature is creating a link to the project in the floor planner and sharing it so others may make necessary alterations to it when working as a team.

Floor Planner makes it super simple to create accurate 2D drawings. You may input the dimensions of the rooms and simply drag them to the correct size. There are specific features and subscriptions that are available for individuals, interior designers, real estate agents, furniture business professionals, and educators.

Pros

Cons

➕ Free version of the software is available. ➖ It is time-consuming to make floors with the same measurements. ➕ The interface is user-friendly. ➖ It is not possible to create scaled drawings.

Pricing Plans

Plans

Price

Individual Pricing Basic Available for Free Plus US$ 5 per month with 4 credits or US$ 49 per year with 50 credits Pro US$29 per month with 30 credits or US$299 per year with 400 credits Company Pricing Team US$59 per month with 60 credits or US$708 per year with 800 credits Business US$179 per month with 225 credits or US$2148 per year with 3000 credits Enterprise US$599 per month with 800 credits or US$7148 per year with 10000 credits

 

SoftPlan is a 3D modeling computer-aided design software (CAD) product that allows you to create complete 2D drawings and 3D models. You can use it to generate extremely detailed renderings of architectural, engineering, and manufacturing projects.

You can also use the program to automate many daily tasks and easily share and comment on files, maximizing collaboration and communication efficiency. You can install SoftPlan on Windows and Apple, computers, and mobile devices.

Let’s talk about some features provided by SoftPlan –

• Drawing

  : Full drawing capabilities allow you to completely customize each of your designs. It includes a variety of tools for creating floor plans, site plans, electrical schematics, and more, allowing you to fine-tune your projects down to the smallest detail.

• 3D modeling software

  : A powerful 3D modeling environment empowers you to bring your design concepts to life. You can build highly detailed models, cover them in materials and textures, and render them as realistically as you want.

• Renderings

  : A powerful rendering engine allows you to create realistic scenes and improve your design abilities. To create a more realistic image, you can use the program to add elements such as sunlight, reflection, and shadows. 

• Automation

  : The system saves you time by providing a practical toolkit that allows you to automate common tasks like wall paneling or floor and roof creation so you can focus on more pressing matters.

• SoftPlan imports to and exports from DWG.

Architects, builders, home design experts, real estate agents, engineers, and manufacturers in a variety of industries can use this CAD computer program.

This home design software has a few different pricing options, depending on whether you want to buy a perpetual license or pay monthly. They also have various add-ons available.

While SoftPlan Systems has not provided pricing details yet, this is a standard procedure for software vendors and service providers. You can get detailed information on their website.

 

The best powerful home drawing program

SmartDraw helps you draw a floorplan of your floor space. The floor plan creator helps you start with the exact office or home floor template you need. You may also add the furniture and other appliances with the help of the various floor plan symbols. The floor plan app helps you arrange all the elements with precision. You may also get beautiful textures to the flooring, furniture, and more. There will be thousands of ready-made visuals for furniture, bathroom fittings, wiring, plumbing, plants, security systems, and more.

The floor plan helps you align and arrange all the elements of the floor plan. You may also print the current floor plan and export it as a PDF to Microsoft Office or Google apps. You may have an instant start with the dozens of in-built templates for the floor plan examples and choose a floor plan template that suits your design and customize them based on your requirements.

Pros

Cons

➕ Easy to use. ➖ Expensive. ➕ Huge selection of templates and objects.

Pricing Plans

Plans

Price

Enterprise Costs $2995 billed annually. Team Costs $5.95 per user per month. (Minimum of 5 users) Individual Costs $9.95 per month.

All the above needs to be paid annually.

 

The complete software to transform your living space

Whatever the size of your project, Virtual Architect software gives you easy and powerful creative tools to turn your dream home into a reality. You can work on small projects like refinishing cabinets or a new space altogether.

Virtual Architect software helps you to build a model of your ideal home from scratch. You may also upload photos of your current home and give it a virtual makeover. You may visualize your projects based on the requirements before investing resources. There is an exclusive library of 3D interior and exterior furniture, and appliances. This makes the feature of a virtual walkthrough of your finished space an added bonus.

You may use the Home Plan library of the software to customize your design. You may also import the existing plans directly to the software or use the Home Builder wizard to design your new dream room and generate blueprint plans to give to the contractors. Whether you want to remodel the room or redecorate an outdated one. Virtual Architect is like having your own interior decorator.

Pros 

Cons

➕ Design of the software. ➖ Difficult to use for individuals. ➕ Price. ➕ Good software for architectural firms.

Pricing Plans

Plans

Price

Virtual Architect Professional Home Design Available at the rate of US$99.99. Virtual Architect Home Design with Landscaping & Decks Available at the rate of US$79.99. Virtual Architect Home & Landscape Platinum Suite Available at the rate of US$39.99.

 

The best home and landscape design software

Others on this list are software programs that you may directly purchase and often come in versions for both PCs and Macs. Some of the programs on this list are cloud-based, allowing you to access them remotely from nearly any device without having to install them on your computer. Because it offers versions specifically designed for the Mac operating system and is the most user-friendly, feature-rich, and intuitive of all the programs we looked into, FloorPlan Home & Landscape Deluxe Mac 2021 was chosen as the top Mac application.

QuickStart and other user-friendly tools make designing customized home concepts simpler, making it a great alternative for beginners as well. We particularly value that it provides automated cost estimators in addition to simulations of interior and outside lighting.

While TurboCad offers a wide range of solutions for professionals, it also offers less expensive substitutes, such as FloorPlan for Mac users, and homeowners who only wish to quickly produce plans for renovation, or redecorating without any prior design knowledge. The software is more user-friendly and intuitive on the Mac than standard CAD tools.

FloorPlan Home & Landscape Deluxe Mac 2021 offers precise auto-dimensions for 2D/3D design, and lets you drag and drop millions of symbols as you build. As you sketch, the program’s estimator allows you to add up anticipated expenditures.

Pros

Cons

➕

Allows you to scan and trace your own floor plans

➖

Limited kitchen design tools

➕

Provides automatic room cost adjustments

Pricing Plans

Plans

Price

➕ TurboCAD 2021 Deluxe US$ 99.99 ➕ TurboCAD2021 Platinum US$499.99 ➕ TurboCAD2021 Professional US$999.99

 

The best Do-It-Yourself home design software

HomeDesigner software simplifies the design process with advanced building tools for roofs, foundations, and framing. When you draw a wall for a room or a house, the software creates a 3D model for the same. The door or window is directly inserted into the wall and the program automatically updates the framing. When you alter the positioning of the walls, the roof, and the foundation it gets updated automatically. Each item you add to the designing process is included in the list of materials so the budget is also calculated accordingly.

One of the most powerful features in the Home Designer products is the automatic building tool that is in line with the home building industry. Roofs are simple and update as you make changes to the design. Plenty of roof styles is available with simple step-by-step instructions. Ceilings are generated automatically. This software provides different options for creating cathedral or vaulted ceilings. The heights of the ceiling can be adjusted easily room-by-room.

This Software is created by Chief Architect. There are three different products available under the software:

• Home Designer Suite
• Home Designer Architectural
• Home Designer Professional

You can also renovate your home by updating the master bathroom, modernizing the home interior, or building a deck that will find a space planning assistant to help you with the floor layout plan. The 3D library has various plenty materials available to match the taste of the interiors. You may also design the project in both 2D and 3D. 2D floor plans provide you with the details of room layout and dimensions, while 3D provides you with a virtual tour so you can experience your designs before they are built.

Pros

Cons

➕ Intuitive. ➖ You can view only one floor at a time. Viewing multiple floors at a time will get you an insight of as to how your building appear. ➕ Fast.

Pricing Plans

Plans

Price

HomeDesigner Suite Outright Purchase at US$99.99. HomeDesigner Architectural Outright Purchase at US$199.99 HomeDesigner Professional Available for rent at US$59.99 per month.

Outright purchase at US$495.

 

The best software to illustrate the layout of a home

The RoomSketcher is a powerful home design software. This is packed with many features that meet your floor plan or home design needs. It is perfect for creating floor plans and 3D home visualizations.

You may draw your dream designs with the RoomSketcher app or let it draw for you. You can just key in the measurements of the room and the flooring type and designs. This software will help you to have a preview of the design you have in mind. You may also create fast and comprehensive 2D and 3D floor plans complete with the measurements and room names.

RoomSketcher can be used by people involved in interior designing business, individuals as well as architectural students to create attractive designs. It is available as a desktop application and as a tablet application. A free trial version of the software which has some of the basic features available for home designing is available and may be upgraded to a subscription plan later if you find the software helpful.

Pros

Cons

➕ Interactive virtual 3D available. ➖ Its free to use but you have to pay for the additional 3D floor plans. ➕ Real floor plans.

Pricing Plans

Plans

Price

Business Order from US$38 per level with limited features Pro Available at US$99 per year that includes 50 credits High Volume more than 100-floor plans per month Personal Order from US$38 per level with limited features VIP from US$49 per year that includes 20 credits Pro from US$99 per year that includes 50 credits Education Available for Free with limited features VIP from US$49 per year that includes 20 credits Pro from US$99 per year that includes 50 credits

 

The best 3D computer-aided software for interior design

HomeStyler is a free-mium computer-aided design application that helps users design and decorate their home in a 3D virtual environment. You may create 2D and 3D floor plans with accurate measurements. Homestyler is easy to use once you download the app and register. This software comes in web and mobile versions.

This software provides an efficient 3D floor planner and interior design tools for designers. It provides solutions for digital transformation for the furniture and real estate industry. You also have a web version and the mobile version of the software.

Pros

Cons

➕ Tutorial videos are available on the website to learn the software much better. ➖ Needs the use of Google Chrome browser

Pricing Plans

Plans

Price

Basic Free with limited features Pro Available at US$4.9 per month. Master Available at US$9.9 per month. Team License Available on request.

 

Best home design software for small projects

Are you in need of efficient software for mini projects? Don’t worry DreamPlan will be a solution for you. Providing all the necessary tools, you can use the software for faster results. Since it has a limited number of objects, you can’t use it for large or complex projects like the whole home renovations. 

The software being easy to use, you can easily edit your sample home designs and floor plans, etc. Remodeling and redesigning like creating walls, roofs or decks can be done without wasting time. Along with these, it also helps in transforming the existing rooms and try new experiments like furniture replacements. 

Pros 

Cons

➕ User-friendly

➖ Not a good fit for large projects. 

➕ Provides great tools 

➕ Good fit for small projects 

 

14. Sweet Home 3D

Best user-friendly home design software

Searching for an easy to use software for home designing? Sweet Home 3D will be a solution for you. Sweet Home 3D will help you in converting your ideas into proper plans. It allows you to create a plan of round, sloping, or walls with specific dimensions. 

It shows an easy way of adding doors and windows to your plans by a drag and drop option. Adding furniture to your plans can be done with a searchable catalog. Sweet Home 3D also allows you to fix or change the orientations, locations, color, etc. Even though the software has some limitations in outdoor tools, it provides some free demos to know the functioning of the softwares. So you can also consider the Sweet Home 3D as a good choice for beginners. 

Pros 

Cons

➕ Allows importing blueprints 

➖ Limited object library 

➕ Budget-friendly 

➕ Easy to operate 

 

How to Choose the Best Home Design Software – Key Features

Professional needs the help of software to optimize their skills and bring their imagination into the picture. There are a few essential factors to have in mind when choosing software for designing a home. Those factors are as below. 

Device

Home designing software on mobile can be limited because they are highly graphical and need a lot of memory, making knowing your device crucial. See our guides to the best powerful laptops and the best laptops for 3D design.

However, almost everything is visual nowadays so 2D and 3D rendering is not a problem. It’s best to choose a device that affects the overall experience of your visuals, so you must choose a device that suits your needs. 

Affordability

If you are professional, then you must handle many projects and extensive high-end designs. So it is always best to choose high-quality design software despite the cost. If you are a hobbyist, then you might not need high-end ones, and it is best to choose straightforward and economical ones. 

There is software that is free and user-friendly software with basic features, and some also offer a free trial before you start a subscription. 

Compatibility

While purchasing home design software you always be aware of what your system configuration is. The reason is they are highly complicated and they need high processing. 

If you buy the most powerful software it may consume memory and you will have to depend on a robust system. So make sure to check if the software is compatible with your operating system and storage capacity.

Learning Curve

Some home design programs are challenging. Check if those challenging programs have a tutorial to follow. A software design program with minimal special features and elements is the most simple solution.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

What software does an architect use to design a house for free?

The best home design software is used by architects in order to create a 3D image with a virtual tour. Revit and SketchUp are the best among them.

What is home design software?

Home design software helps you to optimize your floor space and give a blueprint of the same. This blueprint may be used or altered according to your taste and requirements before spending money or time.

Can I design my house for free?

You may visualize or have a virtual tour of your visualization through some of the home design software available.

 

Best Home Design Software Conclusion

Home Designing is an interesting area where everyone may explore their creativity. There are various home designing software options available that can help you ponder over the possibilities of your home’s appearance.

Many features of this software are also available for free. You can use the trial version of this software to create a blueprint of your ideas before actually doing the renovation work. This way you can reduce a lot of cost and time.

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