Trex AR vs Deck Planner
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Trex AR
Visualize outdoor living spaces with this augmented reality tool. Explore different decking and railing options in your own environment. Design basic deck shapes, estimate square footage, and find local professionals.
- AR visualization of decking and railing
- View entire decking portfolio
- Experiment with railing pairings
- Build basic deck shapes
- Estimate square footage
- Order samples
- Find builders and retailers
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Discover your outdoor inspiration with this unique visualizer. This AR tool is designed to quickly and easily show how Trex® decking and railing can be the perfect platform for outdoor living for years to come. It allows you to develop basic deck shapes in nearly any outdoor or indoor environment to get you started on the journey to building an outdoor oasis. Using the latest in AR technology you can: >> View Trex's entire decking portfolio as a live view either in your backyard space or your living room >> Experiment with the most popular railing offerings to pair with your favorite Trex deck color >> Build basic shapes and get square footage for your design >> Order samples through links in the My Deck page >> Find builders or retailers to help get you started
Deck Planner
Easily design a beautiful and safe deck in minutes. Visualize your dream deck with realistic 3D models, customizable options, and augmented reality. Generates a complete materials list for a stress-free building experience.
- Deck design tool
- High-quality material selection
- Customizable dimensions
- Color and hardware options
- Photo Mode visualization
- Augmented Reality (AR) view
- Generates materials list
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Transforming your outdoor space has never been easier with our innovative deck designing tool. In just a matter of minutes, you can create a stunning and secure deck with a selection of high-quality materials, customizable dimensions, and an array of attractive colors and hardware options. Our tool incorporates advanced features like Photo Mode and Augmented Reality, allowing you to visualize your dream deck with remarkable realism. Once you've finalized your design, our tool generates a comprehensive materials list, making it simple and hassle-free to start building your dream deck. Enjoy a seamless and stress-free deck building experience with our powerful deck design tool.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Trex AR at 3.9 against Deck Planner's 3.3. Trex AR also leads on ratings volume (700 vs 15) and device support (3 vs 1). Deck Planner's advantage is review sentiment (25% vs 6%) and monetization model (ad-supported vs free with in-app purchases). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Trex AR holds the better App Store score, 3.9 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Trex AR has 700 ratings behind it against 15, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 6% of Trex AR's written reviews are positive against 25% of Deck Planner's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Trex AR ships an update every 5 months, Deck Planner every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Trex AR | Deck Planner |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.9 (700 ratings) — better | 3.3 (15 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 5.7% of reviews | 25.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 700 — better | 15 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 3 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Ad-supported — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPad |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 536 MB | 198 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Trex Co, Inc | Simpson Strong-Tie Company Inc. |
Customer experience
Trex AR
Deck Planner
Bugs and requests
Trex AR
Reported bugs
4 issues- Camera function doesn't work
- Can't save or restart scans
- Deck placement and sizing issues
- Crashes and freezes frequently
Requested features
4 requests- Allow uploading photos to build off of
- Add ability to adjust deck height and add stairs
- Improve visualization and make it more realistic
- Provide more guidance and instructions
Deck Planner
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Trex AR
No in-app purchases
Deck Planner
No in-app purchases
