10 Best Free Floor Plan Design Software to Use

Floor plan design software programs are used by homeowners, estate agents, and contractors to create a virtual representation of their homes. The software packages make it easier to relate plans to contractors or clients.

With a virtual description of your floor plan, a contractor already knows what you want and guarantees your satisfaction.

If you’re looking for how best to make your contractor understand your floor plan or you don't even have a vivid idea or design for your floor plan yet, you have nothing to worry about. This article contains a list of free floor plan design software that you can use to make your planning easy.

These software programs also help smoother collaboration, easy adjustments, business credibility, and accurate details. They make it easy to plan furniture arrangements and estimate costs accurately.

 

Best Free Floor Plan Design Software

The following are the most recommended free plan drawing software to use.

1. Planner 5D

This floor planner is aimed at non-professionals. It allows you to create home plans and interior designs. Planner 5D boasts of 17 million users who share a vast collection of design ideas on the site. This software works online and can also be downloaded on IOS, Android, and OSX.

You can draw your project and render it into a 3D representation with a photorealistic high definition. The only issue with this software is that it has some complexity that makes it a bit difficult to use for users without prior experience.

Planner 5D is free but you may be required to pay to have access to the full catalog of items. The app allows for in-app purchases and doesn't have a price list.

 

2. Sweet Home 3D

Sweet Home 3D can be downloaded as an app or used directly on the web browser. It allows you to design floor plans and render them in 3D. It is commonly used by homeowners and rookies. The software has limited capability and is not popular among professionals. It is useful for quick 2D floor planning.

Sweet Home 3D has a library of various furniture and allows customization such as color, texture, size, and many others. It enables you to start your sketch from a single room.

The floor plan software has four sections:

• The furniture catalog allows you to choose a component name and drag it into the place
• The home furniture section displays a list of dimensions of each piece
• The home plan section shows you 2D formats of the position of walls, windows, furniture, and doors
• The home 3D view shows your plan in three dimensions

The software is free but login information is required.

 

3. SketchUp

This software is one of the most popular 3D modeling and design tool. It is very famous because it is easy to use.

SketchUp has a 3D tool that helps you to draw plans and visualize how space will look from different angles. It allows you to import reference images and documents that paint a holistic picture of a particular area.

SketchUp gives you templates that help you get started after which it allows you to get creative with the tools. This software is not for drawing alone; it also provides a tool called Layout, which enables you to craft a presentation for your contractor or client.

SketchUp comes with a free trial and has cloud storage, integration capabilities, and mobile viewing. It is suitable for novices and professionals.

 

4. Floorplanner

This user-friendly software has over 20 million users including freelance interior designers and estate agents. It helps contractors to create a quick understanding of how a remodel will look to clients. The software creates space for 2D and 3D designs.

Floorplanner makes designs well-detailed and realistic with its unique auto-furnish ability. The software, which has a massive library of furniture images, can do VR walkthroughs and provide photo-realistic drawings.

Its free version doesn't allow collaboration and lower resolution output images.

Generally, Floorplanner is an excellent choice if you wish to develop a plan for your contractor. It is easy to use and provides a demo that helps you learn how to utilize its features efficiently.

 

5. SmartDraw

SmartDraw floor plan software has a large number of templates for kitchens, bathrooms, and bedrooms, and other parts of the home. It is popularly known as a flow chart tool and less known for its floor plan features. It allows you to use architectural symbols and customize on a beginner and professional level.

The software enables you to modify the measurements of your home. It automatically adjusts other areas of the plan when you edit a particular segment. This accessible software can run on smartphones and any browser. You can easily share files on Microsoft Office and G Suite.

Smartdraw is a multi-functional software program that can be used for 70 other types of diagrams such as flow charts, hierarchy charts, organization charts, and network diagrams. This tool is ideal for individual homeowners and real estate business owners who do not wish to spend too much on design.

 

6. Roomle

Roomle is a favorite floor plan design software amongst real estate agents and interior designers because it produces high-quality output. It is a free floor planner that helps clients to visualize their space and also helps homeowners to design their taste and furnish it.

Roomle has a 3D catalog that helps users to easily modify objects to make a well-customized design. This software appeals aesthetically to floor plans 2D and 3D designs with cross-platform use. It allows for easy collaboration and sharing. Roomle makes it possible to create business branded online portals for clients to view hosted floor plans.

It is available on smartphones and can be easily accessed.

 

7. RoomSketcher

This software was built specifically for floor plan and home design. It has a click-and-drag editing tool that makes it a special software for sharing adjustments with buyers and contractors on the spot. The interface is friendly to both professionals and novices. On this software, you can upload a blueprint, sketch, or an existing floor plan, and professionals will do the floor planning for you.

With RoomSketcher, your floor plans can be presented in several formats, depending on your preference. You can show your design in 360-degree views or interactive 3D walkthroughs. You can also download in JPG, PNG, or PDF format.

RoomSketcher is useful for homeowners, interior designers, and many other branded businesses. It has a free trial that comes with free options.

 

8. AutoCAD Architecture

AutoCAD is mainly built for architects and professionals. It helps to render realistic projects into floor plans. This software comes with standard features and has an extensive database that allows you to create realistic renders. AutoCAD supports the Revit grid to aid modeling.

It has over 8,000 intelligent styles that enable you to complete tasks faster than usual. This 2D design software has been useful to engineers and construction professionals. You can access it on any device.

AutoCAD has several collaboration tools, some of which are sheet set managements, external image references, and geographic information. It also has a draft comparison capability that makes it possible to toggle between old and new layers without closing the window. AutoCAD has a free trial that you can quickly use for your design project.

 

9. HomeByMe

HomeByMe has a community where you can discuss with other planning fans. You can view other people's project gallery for inspiration. The software was majorly built to help users create a virtual representation of a home.

It is an online 3D planning tool that makes planning and managing home projects easier. It is easy to use and beneficial for homeowners to design a home creatively. With HomeByMe, you can create your first three projects for free – but online. After this, you will have to purchase additional projects for $10. It is an online 3D planning tool.

Transforming a 2D plan to 3D and creating realistic photo images and 360 degree comes with another additional fee.

 

10. MagicPlan

This is commonly used by contractors and other professionals. It has a room scanner that takes not more than 30 seconds to scan a room. This scanner can be paired with Bluetooth laser distance meter to help achieve accuracy.

MagicPlan allows you to add notes directly to your floor plan and match the notes to specific properties and objects. It is very useful if you are thinking of renovating your home design or floor plan. You can point out features that need to be replaced or need extra attention.

 

Final Words

Using the free software packages listed above will do a good job of giving you a clear picture of the design you desire. But this has several downsides and limitations. 

For the best result, it is strongly recommended to work with a professional architect or buy house plans designed by experienced architects and engineers. This way, you get the best floor plan design that will get the job done as expected. 

Also, since you may not have the knowledge of architecture and required standards, relying on free software won't give you the best outcome.