Using the best home and landscape design Software applications brings plenty of benefits when creating home design and building floor plans. Without limits, you can turn ideas into reality.

Gone are the days when we use paper and pen to create designs for clients. Now, even enthusiasts and amateurs can create a design for their homes with the help of technology.

Home and landscape design software programs help professionals build designs for the exterior and interior of a home. But you can buy applications for interior designing only or those that focus on landscape designs specifically.

There are plenty of interior and exterior software applications made for beginners and professionals. So before purchasing, you need to consider some aspects.

In this article, we will provide you with the best 3D Home and Landscape software applications. Furthermore, you will learn how to pick the right software for you.

How to Pick the Best Home Design Software?

What Device Are You Using?

Before selecting a software program, you need to make sure that it is compatible with your device. Getting the wrong software can affect the performance of your device. In addition, you will even think that the software is not good.

Most design software requires a lot of memory and power for it to function fast and well. Hence, considering the system requirements of a software program is as valuable as choosing the best software.

Offers Free Trial

Choose a software application that offers a free trial so you can test out its features. Some home design applications have a 30-day trial to experience their program. However, features are limited when you get a free trial.

Learning Curving

Home and landscape design software programs are equipped with advanced technological features that require time to learn. Beginners are required to take some time to learn the software. However, there are online tutorials and manuals offered by the software company for free.

What You Need

Not all software has every Tool to help you with what you need. Some have simple designing tools that can aid in creating basic designs. But if you are looking for a home design program with a complete set, you need to dedicate time to learn and money to invest in it.

For simple floor plans, you can try free drawing tools instead of spending on high-end software. But if you are a professional, it is crucial to spend on software programs of good quality.

Knowing what you are looking for in a software application helps you with your budget. Professional programs are expensive because of features like CAD, BIM, draft blueprints, and create 3D designs for your entire home. But there are also affordable design software programs.

Creating Designs for Clients

If you are a professional home and landscape designer, you’ll require a software application that will help you build designs to impress your clients. Opting for software with a photorealistic appearance/ 3D rendering has a major advantage for you.

Now, here is a list of the best home and landscape design applications that work best for professionals. We have an article written about the best home design software for beginners. You can check it out if you are an amateur or beginning your interior designing career.

Best Software for Interior/Exterior Design Made for Professionals

Creating designs for the inside and outside of your home requires a software application that comes in a bundle. Home and landscape design software can help make photorealistic designs for indoors and outdoors.

Chief Architect Premier

It’s a professional home design software that covers designs for residential and commercial places. It creates 2D and 3D model designs, includes comprehensive building tools, produces Construction Documents, and lays down stunning landscapes.

Level: Professionals and serious DIY enthusiasts

Free trial: Yes

Compatibility: Windows and Mac

Price/Plan

Chief Premier has different price/plan options. For new users, the Premier option has a USB backup or no USB backup options. The USB backup is an additional $14.95. You can also choose to buy it at once (US $2995) or rent it monthly (US $199).

Major Features

• Building and Drafting Tools

Get building tools to create designs that are based on standard building practices. You can also choose to automate or manually add designs or elements in your home, such as roof style, windows, walls, stairs, materials used, and so on.

It also includes the estimation of cost, adding elevation, and CAD tools.

• Interior Tools

Build your dream home with tools designed for the kitchen and bathroom. Chief Architect collaborated with manufacturers to provide materials, styles, and designs to cater to your needs.

You can add designs, furniture, and appliances for your kitchen and bathroom. You can also create automatic floor plans and wall elevations based on the National Kitchen and Bath Association standards.

• 3D Modelling Tools

Create 3D models and designs with the Chief Architect’s seamless way of editing. Besides its automated building tools, it creates 3D renderings for photorealistic appearance, has virtual 360 tours, live 3D Viewer models, and more.

• Construction Drawings

With Construction Drawings, you can create building designs and specific documentation and permits for the construction. You can also view all your projects, from floor plans to elevations, and get updates when you change any design.

• CAD Tools

CAD tools help you create designs with lines, arcs, splines, and more to enable 2D and 3D designs, development, and modification of the process. You can also import AutoCAD files, DWG, DXF, or PDF formats and overlay them with CAD details.

• Landscape Tools

Get tools to design your front or backyard, such as deck, hill, valley tools, and a wide selection of different plants. Furthermore, you can change the season settings to get the right shadow effects, choose materials and designs for your deck.

FloorPlan 2020 Home & Landscape Pro with Lightworks

FloorPlan 2020 is an IMSI Designs product that has powerful tools to build your dream home without the need for experience.

Level: Professionals, Novice for some features

Free Trial: Yes (15 days)

Price: $199.99 excluding tax

Compatibility: Windows PC

Features

Interior

• Drag-and-drop tools for creating a basic floor plan
• PhotoView use pictures of a house to copy the designs and details
• Library of furniture, appliances, different types of materials, and brand names
• Add indoor and outdoor light and shadow effects

Landscape

• Draw property line
• Read-world topography
• Library of plants, shrubs, and trees
• PlantFinder to select plants appropriate for your area

Other Tools

• Green materials and appliances for an eco-friendly home
• SmartWand to automatically add paint to a specific wall or room, or the entire house
• 2D tools for defining details of the design, adding labels for construction documentation and lines, and more
• Powerful rendering tools to create photorealistic interior designs
• Share online using the 360 Online Viewer

Punch Home and Landscape Design Pro

Punch! is a home design software with comprehensive tools for renovating, building, or remodeling your home. It’s a perfect tool for professionals and serious DIY enthusiasts.

Level: Professional

Free Trial: None

Payment: One-time payment, with add-ons

Compatibility: Windows

Features

• Drag-and-drop tools for basic floor plan
• Use your sketched floor plan with Floor Plan Trace
• SmartWand to color the entire house at once, or a single room or wall
• Create blueprints and 3D models
• Estimate the cost of your design
• A wide selection of furniture, appliances, materials, and more to design every room in your house
• Get a library of plants and materials made for your landscape and other outdoor designs
• Provides video tutorials
• Control light and shadows
• Create 2D and 3D model designs
• Library of brand names

Virtual Architect Professional Home Design 10

Create designs quickly with a wizard-driven interface to see instant results. Virtual Architect Pro is designed for professionals with easy-to-use tools but powerful and advanced enough to bring your imagination into reality.

Level: Professionals

Payment: One-time payment

Compatibility: Windows

Features

• Automatically connect walls, roof, ceilings, and floors
• A large selection of paints, wallpapers, fabrics, materials for furniture, appliances, and brand names
• Automatically change 2D and 3D designs simultaneously
• A 3D virtual tour to view your finished projects
• Add natural lighting
• Complete tools for electrical planning, HVAC, plumbing, and building individual rooms
• Terrain modeling, plant library, and Plant Care Calendar for determining if how a plant will survive or grow
• Presentation mode for creating enhanced realism for 3D renderings
• Precise measurements with Room Dimension, Area, and Perimeter
• Estimate the cost of your project
• Upload a photo of your dream home or a room and create a design similar to it
• Video tutorials available
• Support any Home VR app on iOS and Android for visualization

Cadsoft Pro Architect

Cadsoft Pro is a robust home designer tool made for professionals. It creates stunning designs to impress your clients. It is also packed with Building Information Modeling (BIM) tools, Construction documentation, and other innovative features for bringing your clients’ ideas to reality.

Level: Professionals

Payment: One-time, monthly, or annual

Compatibility: Windows, For Mac users: use Boot Camp or Virtual Machine option

Features

• Automatic or manual addition of windows, floors, doors, walls, roofs, and other components of the project. Furthermore, customize the color, shape, inclination, and materials of these home components.
• Edit directly in 2D and 3D views
• Any changes on walls automatically update the connected parts such as floor, ceiling, and roof.
• A large selection of materials and brand names that are customizable
• Supports the import and editing of JPG and BMP
• Get various styles and designs for your landscape plans, such as lighting, irrigation, walls, furniture, and more.
• Other outdoor components include Terrain modeling, a plant encyclopedia with 7500 species, fences, and more.
• Create photorealistic images by adding shadows, reflections, use photos as backdrops, add sun angles by seasons, date, and more
• AVI movies of virtual walk-throughs
• Get advanced CAD tools like modifying commands, importing images to drawing sheets, and convert Spline to Polyline and vice versa

Conclusion

Home design software programs are vital for professionals – interior designers, architects, engineers, and DIY enthusiasts. It reduces the workload, speeds up the process of creating designs or floor plans, makes collaboration possible, and impresses clients. So, if you want to visualize your imagination, invest in a proper software program that fits your needs and your device.

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