Comparison

SketchUp vs SimpliPlan

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

Head to head
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.

About

SimpliPlan

Design stunning 3D bathrooms quickly and easily, even without CAD experience. Create photo-realistic images to boost sales and generate accurate parts lists and tiling plans for seamless installation. Design onsite with customers using your tablet.

Highlights
  • 3D room layout
  • Drag and drop planning
  • Photo-realistic 3D views
  • Accurate parts lists
  • Automatic tiling plans
  • Direct pricing and ordering documents
Features
Read full description

Sell more bathrooms with design software that quickly brings your customer’s dream bathroom to life in 3D. Anyone can start straight away without training, even if you’re new to CAD, as the simple programme guides you through the planning process to create photo-realistic images that will increase your bathroom sales. To use this bathroom design app you will need to have an active subscription plan. For more details go to www.compusoftgroup.com/SimpliPlan Key Benefits: • Design onsite with your customer using your tablet • Sell more by showing your customers realistic images of their dream bathroom • Reduce remedials and waste with accurate materials, parts lists and tiling plans Features: - Room layout. Create accurate room layout either by importing measurements from a laser rangefinder or by inputting measurement details - Drag and drop planning. Add furniture and tiles to the bathroom by simply dragging them into place. Accurate adjustments can be easily made using dimensions on the product panel. - View in 3D. Show your customers their new bathroom by using the 3D views to move through the room and see every aspect, helping you to visualise it for your customers and improve your sales. - Accurate parts lists and elevations. While you design an accurate parts list and elevations are created in the background, so that you can have everything you need to order and install. - Tiling plans. As you add tiles to the design a tiling plan is automatically created, so that you have what you need for installation. - Pricing and ordering. Create pricing and ordering documents for your customers direct from the design, with all items listed automatically. All you need to do is print from the PC version of SimpliPlan. Find out more with our 4 minute demo video on www.compusoftgroup.com/SimpliPlan

Screenshots

SketchUp4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: SketchUp at 4.5 against SimpliPlan's 1.0. SketchUp also leads on review sentiment (37% vs 0%) and ratings volume (18K vs 2). SimpliPlan's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 18.6). On price, ads and device support 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. SketchUp sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $11.99 per month. SimpliPlan asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SketchUp holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SketchUp has 18K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 37% of SketchUp's written reviews are positive against 0% of SimpliPlan's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SketchUp ships an update every 3 weeks, SimpliPlan every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
SketchUp versus SimpliPlan: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSketchUpSimpliPlan
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (18K ratings) — better1.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews37.1% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings18K — better2
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterSubscription
Best chart rank#125 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPad
Requires iOS18.612.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size695 MB164 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTrimble Inc.Compusoft AS

Customer experience

SketchUp

All ratings17,929 ratings
Positive86.5%
Neutral3.1%
Negative10.4%
Written reviews1,673 reviews
Positive37.1%
Neutral6.5%
Negative56.4%

SimpliPlan

All ratings2 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Bugs and requests

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

SimpliPlan

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

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
None

SimpliPlan

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SketchUp free?
SketchUp is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SimpliPlan free?
SimpliPlan is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, SketchUp or SimpliPlan?
SketchUp is rated higher. SketchUp averages 4.5 out of 5 from 18K ratings, while SimpliPlan averages 1.0 from 2 ratings.
Do SketchUp or SimpliPlan have ads?
Neither SketchUp nor SimpliPlan shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SketchUp or SimpliPlan?
SketchUp ships an update every 3 weeks, and SimpliPlan every 2 months. Most recently, SketchUp was updated on October 3, 2026 and SimpliPlan on September 27, 2026.

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