The best home design software in 2022

The best home design software lets you create a dream layout for your home or studio, without leaving your desk.

Like a good game of The Sims, the programs we've picked out for this guide will have you spending hours selecting armchairs, flicking through shades of carpet, and lining up tables with windows. With clear and concise interfaces, they let you get on with the business of putting together your vision for a room, without the pesky intermediary step of having to spend several years studying to become an interior designer.

Home design software often comes with libraries of real furniture (some are even inked up to retail catalogues from well-known sellers), and whether you want to dream up a new home from scratch or just give a pre-existing space a bit of a spruce, there will be software on this list that can help you do it.

Once you've finished your creation, you can generally export it as a high-resolution render, allowing you to share with professional architects and builders who can help turn it into a reality. The pieces software we've listed here come at various prices, but many have free tiers that give you access to basic features if you just want to mess around with a designer for some inspo. At the end of the list, we've also picked out our favourite free home design software, in case your budget is zero.

We've picked out what we reckon are the best examples of home design software right now. Each has different features, and some are only available for certain operating systems, so have a look through before committing. And if you're looking to furnish an office or studio, don't miss our guides to the best desks, best office chairs, and the best office chairs for back pain.

The best home design software

01. Virtual Architect Ultimate Home Design The best overall home design software Specifications Features: Digital interior design, surface design, kitchen build wizard Operating system: Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista Today's Best Deals Visit Site (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Easy to use + Sample plans help you get started Reasons to avoid - Not the largest selection of sample plans - Phone support is costly

With an easy-to-use interface and helpful sample plans, Virtual Architect Ultimate Home Design is our pick for the best home design software you can get right now. It's made for people who might not have too much experience with this sort of thing, and includes loads of helpful wizards that hold your hand through the process of designing a room.

There's a large object library that you can use to add different components to your design. Handily, the software will calculate the materials you need for your design, and even give you an estimate of what it's going to cost, so your imagination won't take you wildly far away from your budget.

TurboFloor Plan Home & Landscape Deluxe (opens in new tab) is our pick for the best value home design software due to the fact that it is almost half the price of the other entries in this best home design software list, yet it still comes with almost all of the features its more expensive competitors offer. So, you've got 45 sample plans to get you started, as well as the QuickStart feature which lets you jump right in and begin designing your buildings. It has a huge library of video tutorials that can help you if you get stuck, but there's no step-by-step wizards to help you create rooms – unlike Virtual Architect Ultimate Home Design above. However, it still offers fantastic value for money, and is perfect for people on a budget.

03. Home Designer Suite by Chief Architect The best home design software for Macs Specifications Features: Automated building tools, smart objects, 3D models and rendering Operating system: Windows 10, 8, 7, macOS High Sierra, Mojave Today's Best Deals View at Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Mac compatible + Can scan in physical plans Reasons to avoid - Not the easiest to use - No water features

Macs are very popular with digital creatives, however, they don't have the same breadth of choice when it comes to home design software. If you use a Mac, it means you're limited to only a few software suites – and Home Designer Suite by Chief Architect (opens in new tab) is by far the best. It comes with a huge selection of features for designing the inside and outside of your building and it's compatible with SketchUp (opens in new tab) and Trimble 3D Warehouse, which host ready-made 3D models which you can include in your designs. It's also easy to export your designs into formats used by architects and builders. Oh, and it's also available for Windows PCs as well.

04. DreamPlan The best home design software for small projects and studios Specifications Features: A3D, 2D and blueprint views, landscape and garden design, interior and room design Operating system: Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, XP, Mac OS X 10.5 and above Today's Best Deals View at Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Easy to use + Good selection of tools Reasons to avoid - Limited amount of objects

If you're just designing a small project, then you don't want to spend a fortune on a complex suite of design applications that include features you'll never use – which is why DreamPlan is an excellent choice. It gives you all the tools you need to quickly whip up designs for small projects, without overwhelming you. Of course, if you're going for a large project - like a total renovation of your home - then this isn't the tool for you, due to a lack of cost calculator, only one sample plan and a small object library. For small projects, that should be more than enough.

(Image credit: Homestyler)

05. Homestyler This browser-based designer aims to make things easy Specifications Features: 2D/3D floor plans, real furniture library, panoramic HD visualiser Operating system: Web browsers, iOS, Android Today's Best Deals Check Amazon (opens in new tab) Visit Site (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Community inspiration + Free app + Branded furniture Reasons to avoid - Still a little buggy

A relative newcomer to the world of home design software, HomeStyler can be used in a web browser, or downloaded as a free iOS or Android app. Whichever way you do it, the interface is nice and straightforward, with 2D and 3D floor plans available, and a generous library of real furniture that you can drop in and out at will. It's a lot like building a house in The Sims, except nobody dies if you forget the pool ladder. Once your design is done, you can share it with the community, as well as cribbing some pointers from other people's creations. The basic designer is free, while paying for subscription plans gets you access to the high-resolution rendering tools that allow you to create explorable 3D renders of your designs. It's still a little buggy in places, but is an impressive option nonetheless.

The best free home design software

If you think the tools in our main list of the best home design software are all overkill for your needs, we'd like to highlight our pick for the best free home design software: RoomSketcher Home Designer (opens in new tab). This is the perfect home design application for people who just want to dip their toes into the home design waters, and test out the software before spending any money.

It's basic, but it does the job, and allows you to make a quick and easy floor plan with windows, walls, stairs and doors. You can also add objects to get an idea of how the building your designing will look.

It offers basic tools, but doesn't match the paid-for home design software we list below. You're limited to designing five buildings – though you can buy five more for $10, and your designs are saved online so you can access them from other internet-connected devices. Plus, it has an app for iOS and Android mobile devices, so you can get designing while on the go.

Read more:

Best 3D home design software for 2022: free and paid, for PC, Mac, mobile, and online

The best 3D home design software makes it simple and easy for you to design and build a virtual home on your computer.

There was a time when if you needed 3D renders of a room, house or entire building, you’d need to employ the services of an architect. Nowadays, you can do most of the work yourself, which can be a lot more fun than it sounds, especially if the software does most of the heavy lifting for you, and is easy to use.

Of course this won’t replace meticulously designed plans that are up to spec and will pass an inspection by the local authority, but they can help you get a good idea of what you can achieve with an existing dwelling, or if you’ve got the time and patience, with the creation of an entire building.

The best part of such software, is the ability to fill your space with all sorts of furniture, then explore the rooms virtually or even print photo-realistic renders of them.

We’ve picked up what we fell are the five best apps that will enable you to design quickly and accurately, with great results.

Also check out the best architecture software (opens in new tab).

(Image credit: Floorplanner)

1. Floorplanner Design your room digitally effortlessly Today's Best Deals VISIT SITE (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Works great + Easy to use + Intuitive + Numerous customisation options Reasons to avoid - Some limitations with the free account

Floorplanner is an online service which caters for individuals and companies, and allows you to redesign one of your rooms, an entire floor, even a whole building, and plan how your furniture will fit in your new home. It’s web-based so you access it via your favorite browser (opens in new tab), and best of all, if your needs are modest, it won’t cost you a thing.

Aside from a free account, you could choose one of the various subscription options (the more you pay, the more features you gain access to). There’s also a credit system enabling you to get features that aren’t normally available with your chosen package.

Floorplanner is an excellent online service, designed to help you create rooms and furnish them with great accuracy. Working with it is fluid and easy, and we didn’t observe any discernible glitches. The fact there’s a free option means any amateur designer will happily use it to configure a room, but there are limitations to that option. The more you pay, the more restrictions are lifted, leading to a versatile service that can cater to the individual and busy businesses.

Read the full Floorplanner review (opens in new tab).

(Image credit: HomeByMe)

2. HomeByMe Create your dream home virtually with this online service Today's Best Deals VISIT SITE (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Simple to use + Huge customisation + Vast number of choices + Can design an entire house for free Reasons to avoid - 3D pan can make some objects temporarily disappear - Switching between measuring system is not simple - Low res photorealistic images take ages to render and are watermarked

HomeByMe offers a very affordable service with a myriad of options. We particularly appreciated the fact that the free plan doesn’t appear to limit your design options, and lets you work on up to three different projects. The limit on the number of HD photorealistic images (1920x1080) is somewhat compensated by offering an unlimited number of lower quality ones (640x360 pixels). However, it takes hours to render low quality images.

It’s definitely not for the instant gratification crowd. Worse still, although the results are most impressive, the free account pastes a giant watermark all across the image, rendering the effect pointless. The HD images are rendered in minutes, and don’t have that watermark.

This service has a lot to offer, and if you’re not too fussed about those images (which are a pretty big selling point when they’re trying to entice you to register), you can explore and create very complex designs with the greatest of ease.

Read the full HomeByMe review (opens in new tab).

(Image credit: Chief Architect)

If you’re looking for meticulous planning, with precise editing and customizing tools, aimed at providing everything you need, right down to all the material you’ll require for a specific job, Chief Architect Home Designer Suite may well be the software for you. Available for both Mac and Windows, you have in your digital hands everything you need to build the home of your dreams - virtually.

Despite its obvious detail and power, Home Designer Suite is incredibly capable, and most likely would suit most people’s needs. Chief Architect also offer you a trial version which you can check out and decide if this is the right software for you.

Home Designer Suite is very full featured, helping you create the home of your dreams, without forgetting its surrounding landscape. You have full control over pretty much everything, and despite its apparent complexity, there are many automatic tools that do a lot of the work for you, enabling you to focus on the details, to turn a design, into a home.

Read the full Chief Architect Home Designer Suite review (opens in new tab).

(Image credit: NCH Software)

4. DreamPlan Build a home or business premise, on a Mac or PC Today's Best Deals VISIT SITE (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Easy to use + Multi-platform + Work on multiple levels + Can easily import 3D objects Reasons to avoid - Can be slow - Not all objects installed initially - Navigating around a build can be awkward at times

Dream Plan is designed to work on Windows (from XP onwards) and Mac (10.5 and above) and comes in various flavors according to whether you need it just for personal use, or for commercial use.

NCH’s DreamPlan is an excellent piece of software, helping you create a building on multiple levels, alter it and customize it inside and out to your heart’s content. It is designed to make it easy to make modifications, and even goes out of its way to help you understand the app’s inner workings, by offering you links to specific video tutorials throughout the interface (the subtle blue circular camera button).

Dream Plan isvery affordable too, works on multiple platforms, and comes with a free trial period - definitely worth a look.

Read the full DreamPlan review (opens in new tab).

(Image credit: MagicPlan)

5. MagicPlan Design your dream house on the go Today's Best Deals VISIT SITE (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Easy to use + Free mobile app + Two free projects + Interesting Estimates tool Reasons to avoid - No apparent redo option - AR appears to struggle when furniture is in the way

This service is designed to work on a phone or tablet running iOS or Android. The app itself is free, and you can try out the service without paying a thing, but if you’re going to be using it regularly, you’ll have to grab yourself a subscription.

One of MagicPlan’s cool features is ‘Scan with Camera’. If you’re in the room you’ll be working on, you can use AR (augmented reality) to let the app scan and measure the room for you. It worked okay, although we suspect this would function a lot better in an unfurnished space.

MagicPlan is an original designer program. It’s a mobile app (although you can also access some features via a web browser), with easy to use features, an interesting AR option and an original way of generating estimates for work needed to be done. The monthly subscriptions could pay for themselves if designing is your business, and it also offers you two free projects for casual users to explore as well. It’s definitely worth a look.

Read the full MagicPlan review (opens in new tab).

How we tested the best 3D home design software To test for the best 3D home design software we first set up an account with the relevant software platform, whether as a download or as an online service. We then tested the service using a handful of files to see how the software could be used for creating a design from scratch, bearing in mind issues such as ease-of-use as a well as price.

Which type of best 3D home design software is best for you? When deciding which of the best 3D home design software to download and use, first consider how detailed your house design needs to be, as well as how much you may need to edit and change. If you’re just trying to make simple edits to an existing file, you may find a free or budget software program will suit you fine. However, if you plan to develop a 3D model home from scratch and/or plan to make a series of complicated models using advanced tools and filters, it may be better to aim for one of the higher range and more expensive 3D home modelling programs on our list.

We've also featured the best property management software (opens in new tab) and best landscape design software (opens in new tab)

The 7 Best Interior Design Software Programs of 2022

Easyhome Homestyler

Homestyler was originally created in 2009 by Autodesk, the makers of 3D software AutoCAD, REVIT, and 3ds Max. It was sold in 2017 and now offers best-in-class design tools. We chose it as the best for beginners because it’s extremely simple to use, offers a large library of brand-name furniture and fixtures, and is completely free.

Like much interior design software, Homestyler lets users start by importing an existing floor plan image or starting from scratch. An intuitive floor plan builder makes it easy to create 2D floor plans and view them in 3D with just a click. Users can then select name-brand furniture and fixtures from a library and drop them into the floor plan.

Users looking for inspiration can also view a gallery of designs created by millions of Homestyler users. They can also add their designs to the gallery or share them with others on social media. Finally, users can snap pictures of any real room with the Homestyler app and decorate it with 3D objects from the software’s library.

Homestyler offers a free plan and allows users to earn “points” that unlock advanced features like HD panoramas and aerial renderings. The Pro plan starts at $4.90 monthly and includes 75 renders for both 2K and 4K each month and the ability to upload your own 3D models. The Master plan starts at $9.90 monthly and includes everything from the Pro plan, plus unlimited rendering and more.

You also have the option to buy renders or videos individually. For 4K, it’s $1.99 for one render, $5.99 for five renders, or $9.99 for 10 renders. For 12K and 720P, it’s $3.99 for one render, $11.99 for five renders, or $19.99 for 10 renders. The most expensive is 1080P at $5.99 for one render, $17.99 for five renders, or $29.99 for 10 renders.