Sefaira (allows more advanced features similar to a BIM for architects)Ĭonsidering what’s possible with SketchUp these days, you are getting a great deal if you go with SketchUp Shop or SketchUp Pro.Advanced materials (enabling better renderings).Layout (read the section below entitled “Layouts”) is included in Student, Pro, and Studio versions.The most significant differences that I consider worth noting are: There are several differences between these levels. Pricing for SketchUP is a little more complicated because there are levels of service: Let’s look at our individual criteria for SketchUp vs. The thing that impresses me most about SketchUp these days is the 3D Warehouse and Extension Warehouse.ĪutoCAD Vs SolidWorks | The Ultimate Comparison (2021)ĪutoCAD vs Inventor | Head-to-Head Comparison (2021) SketchUp vs AutoCAD: Head-to-Head Comparison In minutes, you can produce a simple house with a lawn and a white picket fence. You can quickly create a building with windows, doors, a roof, and a patio and then pop some basic textures and colors on your shapes. The tools in SketchUp are fundamental (which translates into user-friendliness) and lend themselves to exterior architectural shapes and scenes. I remember one time in class someone said, “Have you heard about SketchUp? It’s free and super-easy to use.” I took a few CAD classes, and I recall trying to learn 3DS Max, hoping I could use it to represent my projects in 3D models. I first heard about SketchUp when I was in college for Landscape Architecture. If you want to know the history of these products, look on Wikipedia. SketchUp was initially Google SketchUp and was bought by a company named Trimble. If there’s an industry-standard way to represent something, AutoCAD can draft it. AutoCAD is versatile and capable of drafting in any of the fields I’ve listed. Heck! Your home went through this process.Ĭan you think of anything in a city that doesn’t require design and planning? Roadways, buildings, utilities, electrical schematics, sewers, graphics, household products, boats, vehicles, are all things that need to be designed.īefore AutoCAD, people had to draw all these things by hand. Almost everything in your house went through this process. Everything that is made these days is designed and drafted so a manufacturer or builder can produce it.

Sketchup vs home designer pro