Comparison

House Designer vs SketchUp

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

House Designer

Design your dream home with this intuitive interior design application. Create detailed 2D floor plans and visualize them in real-time 3D. Access a vast library of items and materials to bring your vision to life.

Highlights
  • Real-time 3D view
  • Detailed 2D floor plans
  • 300+ items and materials
  • Export image to photos
  • Auto compute room size
  • Intelligent room recognition
Features
Read full description

House Design is an intuitive interior design app that lets you build the house you've always wanted, right on your iPad/iPhone. Key Features: • Real time 3D view • Create detailed 2D floor plans • More than 300 items and materials • Export image to photos • Easiest and efficient operation ever in iPad • Auto compute room size • Intelligent room recognition Lite version restrictions • Design can't be saved

About

SketchUp

This platform offers intuitive 3D modeling tools for design enthusiasts and professionals. Visualize concepts, create photorealistic visuals, and even use AI to generate design ideas. Scan real-world spaces and view your creations in augmented reality.

Highlights
  • 3D modeling tools
  • Generative AI designs
  • Room planner & space design
  • Photorealistic visuals
  • Scan-to-design
  • Augmented reality (AR) visualization
  • DWG compatibility
Features
Read full description

Experience the world's leading 3D design platform with a free 7-day Go trial! Without a subscription, you can still view 3D projects for free. Go offers essential 3D design tools, including SketchUp for iPad and SketchUp for Web. Created for design enthusiasts, architects, interior designers, contractors, home remodelers, construction professionals, and set designers, our intuitive tools streamline the creative process, allowing you to effortlessly craft 3D models and visualize concepts. Whether you're planning a home renovation, designing interiors, or creating a detailed architectural model, SketchUp helps bring your visions to life through 3D design. Go Features: - Work seamlessly across devices: Create 3D models on your iPad and computer using SketchUp.com. - Generative AI Designs: Harness the power of AI to create stunning visuals for architectural and home designs. Generate images that inspire your creative process and support your design narrative. - Room Planner & Space Design: Experiment with different layouts and design options to find the perfect fit for your space. Model your space with designer fixtures and furniture. - Real-time, realistic visuals: Create stunning photorealistic visuals by integrating environments and customizable real-world materials. - Scan-to-Design: Use our 3D scanning feature to capture real-world spaces, which AI intelligently transforms and organizes into editable 3D models. - Augmented Reality (AR): Visualize your designs in the real world with our AR capabilities. - DWG Compatibility: Import and export DWG files seamlessly, ensuring compatibility with other CAD software. - Import real-world information: Import images to textures, satellite imagery, 3D terrain, 3D buildings, and location information to power your designs with real-world context. Why Go? - Architects & Contractors: Transform your architectural visions into reality with intuitive 3D modeling tools. Quickly visualize and iterate design concepts and present ideas to clients and stakeholders. - Interior Designers & Home Remodelers: Visualize your ideas in 3D and AR, ensuring your designs meet expectations. Use AI image generation to inspire additional finishes and layouts. - Landscape Designer: Plan and visualize outdoor spaces, from planters to parks, with our 3D landscape tools, like real-time shadow studies, geo-locating satellite imagery, and 3D terrain. - DIYer: Whether you're planning a small remodel or a complete home renovation, SketchUp provides the tools you need to design and execute your projects with confidence. Without a subscription: - Switch between perspective and orthographic camera views. - Control the visibility of parts of your model. - Adjust the look and feel of your model by controlling Edge and Face styles, Shadows, Hidden Geometry, Section Planes, and Section Cuts. - Take measurements and get information about edge lengths, the area of faces, the volume of solids, and component and group definitions. - View models in augmented reality. IMPORT/EXPORT -Import: SKP, SKE, SKM, HDR, EXR, PNG, JPG, PDF, DWG, DXF, STL -Export: Images (PNG), Animations (MP4), SKP, USDz, PDF, DWG, DXF, OBJ, STL, MP4 REQUIREMENTS Requires iOS 17 or higher with a minimum of 1024Mb of RAM. For additional info, please visit help.sketchup.com. The AR model viewing feature uses ARKit and is compatible with iPhone 6s and newer, iPad Pro, or any 2017 iPad or newer. SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS Create 3D designs with a free 7-day Go trial. Payment will be charged to your Apple Account on confirmation of purchase. Your subscription will automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before your subscription expiration date. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours before your subscription expiration date. After completing your initial purchase, you can manage your subscription and/or turn off auto-renew by visiting your Apple Account Settings.

Screenshots

House Designer4 screens
SketchUp4 screens

Verdict

The call

House Designer and SketchUp both sit at 4.4 stars, but that hides the real split: 63% of House Designer's written reviews are positive against 37% of SketchUp's. House Designer also leads on device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.6). SketchUp's advantage is chart position (#113 vs unranked). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. House Designer sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and SketchUp sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $11.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for House Designer against 4.5 for SketchUp. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7.4K and 18K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 63% of House Designer's written reviews are positive against 37% of SketchUp's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on November 7, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
House Designer versus SketchUp: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHouse DesignerSketchUp
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (7.4K ratings)4.5 (18K ratings) — better
Positive reviews63.3% of reviews — better37.0% of reviews
Number of ratings7.4K18K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#113 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size158 MB695 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperScott MeyersTrimble Inc.

Customer experience

House Designer

All ratings7,247 ratings
Positive84.9%
Neutral8.5%
Negative6.6%
Written reviews694 reviews
Positive63.3%
Neutral11.4%
Negative25.4%

SketchUp

All ratings17,929 ratings
Positive86.5%
Neutral3.1%
Negative10.4%
Written reviews1,678 reviews
Positive37.0%
Neutral6.4%
Negative56.6%

User reviews

House Designer

From 7.4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Helpful for planning
  • 💡 Good for visualizing ideas
  • 😊 Fun and enjoyable

Room to improve

  • 🔒 Many features locked behind paywall
  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • 🔍 Lack of instructions/tutorials
  • 🤔 Unintuitive controls

SketchUp

From 18K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great potential
  • 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
  • 🚀 Powerful and capable
  • 👍 Excellent for designers, engineers, and contractors
  • 👍 Smooth performance and rendering

Room to improve

  • 🔒 Requires paid subscription
  • 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
  • 🔒 Limited functionality in free version
  • 🔒 Expensive for casual users
  • 🔒 Complicated navigation and UI

Bugs and requests

House Designer

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Walls and rooms disappearing or resizing unexpectedly
  • Doors and windows moving or vanishing after saving
  • Crashes when trying to edit or add certain elements
  • Dimensions and measurements not displaying properly

Requested features

4 requests
  • More free furniture and decor options
  • Ability to save and resume projects
  • More customization options for walls, floors, etc.
  • Improved 3D rendering and camera controls

SketchUp

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Login and account creation problems
  • Crashes and freezes when opening large models
  • Inability to hide/unhide components
  • Inconsistent behavior with Apple Pencil
  • Outdated model not updating properly

Requested features

5 requests
  • 2D drawing and 3D model integration
  • More intuitive navigation and controls
  • Improved file management and syncing
  • Offline mode and reduced dependency on internet
  • Affordable pricing options for casual users

In-app purchases

2 purchases

House Designer

One-time2
  • Premium for iOS$5.99
  • Premium for macOS$14.99
3 purchases

SketchUp

Subscriptions3
  • SketchUp AI Monthly$11.991 Month
  • SketchUp Go Monthly7 Days trial$19.991 Month
  • SketchUp Go Yearly7 Days trial$129.001 Year

Questions

Is House Designer free?
House Designer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SketchUp free?
SketchUp is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, House Designer or SketchUp?
SketchUp is rated higher. House Designer averages 4.4 out of 5 from 7.4K ratings, while SketchUp averages 4.5 from 18K ratings.
Do House Designer or SketchUp have ads?
Neither House Designer nor SketchUp shows ads.
Which is updated more often, House Designer or SketchUp?
House Designer ships an update every 3 weeks, and SketchUp every 3 weeks. Most recently, House Designer was updated on November 7, 2026 and SketchUp on November 7, 2026.

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