When it comes to rounding up the best interior design software, I’m looking for apps and online tools that simplify the 2D or 3D home design process, while still offering a lot of features and furnishings that help make ideas a reality.
For most people, Floorplanner stands out as the best overall. Under review, we found this browser-based tool really easy to use, but still impressively powerful in just about every area of interior design. There’s a free tier and reasonably priced subscription plans, too. Alternatively, for those serious about home design and DIY, Chief Architect Home Designer Suite is a great choice, while anyone on a budget (or don’t want to keep paying a subscription), Dreamplan by NCH Software is still a brilliant pick if you don’t mind the interface.
Alongside the best landscape design software and the best architecture software, this year we’ve been re-reviewing the best interior design software to see how they compare when creating beautiful, practical indoor and outdoor spaces. As part of these tests, we’ve been using floorplans, photorealistic assets, and textures to design rooms, houses, and buildings in 2D and 3D.
Best interior design software overall
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Floorplanner is an online interior design tool designed to run in most browsers. Not only that, but the lowest tier is free, meaning anyone can have access to it and start designing their room, dream home, office block, or whatever they fancy.
There are other plans of course, ‘Plus’ costs $5 a month, and ‘Pro’, $29, with further tiers for businesses. On top of that you can also purchase credits to grant you features not usually available with your chosen plan, which is a great way to occasionally “power up” while keeping your ongoing cost low.
The interface is remarkably easy to use. You can pretty much click and drag on anything to extend a wall, add an extension point, transform a wall into a curved one, add windows and doors, resize them, add furniture. It’s all so effortless and so impressive. Definitely worth checking out if you’re in the market for such a service.
Read our full Floorplanner review
Best interior design software on a budget
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NCH DreamPlan is a multi-platform 3D design tool which allows you to create both indoor and outdoor projects with ease. Not only that, but the software is very affordable too.
There’s a free version for home-use only, a Home edition (licence for personal use only) for a one-off $40, but for an extra $10, you get you the ‘DreamPlan Home Design Software Plus’, which grants you a commercial licence. If you’d rather subscribe, $3 a month gets you the commercial licence version, including all future upgrades.
The interface feels like it hasn’t been updated since the 90s, and sports a very antiquated look, but don’t let that dissuade you: we really enjoyed going beyond its rudimentary exterior to find a powerful interior design tool that easily lets you create complex projects, over multiple levels – including basements – complete to landscaping, furniture and decoration.
Overall, a very rich program which includes a few video tutorials should you get overwhelmed. Definitely worth downloading its free trial to check it out.
Read our full DreamPlan review
Best interior design software for indoor and outdoor spaces
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Chief Architect has a series of design software, of which Designer Suite is the cheapest. Despite that, I found this software delivered a wealth of features designed to make the creation of interior and exterior spaces as effortless as possible. For instance, your primary focus is on designing, while the software keeps track of all the materials you’ll need to turn your virtual home into a reality, in the background, ready for you to access it when you need it.
The interface is quite feature rich and can be daunting if you’re unfamiliar with design software. However, it won’t take long for you to get the hang of it, not least because Chief Architect offers a series of simple tutorials to help you along your design journey, which I felt was a thoughtful touch during my review.
The wealth of options is impressive and you can easily build a home in little time, customising it with absolute precision, from walls, windows, and doors, to decoration and furniture. Definitely worth downloading the free trial if you’re at all curious about the possibilities.
Read our full Chief Architect Home Designer Suite 2025 review
Best interior design software for beginners
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HomeByMe is an online 3D home design service that’s remarkably simple to use. You can start using it for free, although this limits you to only 5 projects. Should you need more, or become addicted to their truly amazing photorealistic renders, then you’ll have to pay for the privilege.
Prices start at $32 a month for a ‘Premium’ subscription (‘Unlimited’ starts at $72), but you also have the option to purchase ‘Packs’. Two additional projects or 10 HD images would cost you $5.49 for either, for instance.
We found the tool remarkably easy to use. You can add rooms, or create additional walls, resize them, insert windows and doors, it’s all really simple and intuitive. We were also impressed by the number of furnishings you can add to your design, be it hundreds of types of paints, or posters, beds, tables, showers, stairs, you name it, they probably have it. You can even browse by brand.
The sharing option didn’t work for us, but the photorealistic renders were astonishing, definitely giving your project that ‘wow’ factor. Try the ‘Starter Plan’ for free and see for yourself.
Read our full HomeByMe review
Best interior design software online
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There are a number of online-based interior design tools, but Planner 5D is our top choice for those working on 2D and 3D spaces – and it’s also available on desktop, mobile, and Apple’s VR headset. So, you’ve got plenty of options here.
Planner 5D is an online 3D design service that you can access directly from your web browser. It comes with a free tier which is a great way to see how the whole thing works, but if you’d rather lift all restrictions, you’ll need to subscribe to a service. The cheapest is Premium ($5 a month on an annual plan), with Professional offering more options such as unlimited 4K renders, 360˚ panoramas, custom branding and more, for $33.33 a month on an annual plan.
Using the service was surprisingly easy and almost effortless. You can design in either 2D or 3D (adding and altering walls is restricted to the 2D environment), and your options are very varied. We were building a house, and decorating it inside and out in no time. It’s a fun and versatile service mostly let down by how much power that webpage drains your computer of – most noticeable on a laptop.
Read our full Planner 5D review
Best interior design software for iOS & Android
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MagicPlan is one of the best interior software kits for busy creatives and contractors, working across Android, iOS, and in your browser (like HomeByMe).
When we reviewed the home design app, we liked how easy it is to use, complete with AR tools and some original methods for generating work estimates. If you’re a professional, this could be a top pick.
The free solution not only lets you design two projects, it also grants you access to nearly all of MagicPlans’ available tools. The subscription plans limit those features, unlocking more of them the higher your chosen tier. You’ll find three tools in one: Sketch, Report, and Estimate. Essentially, tiered subscription packages that offer additional features.
Sketch lets you create interior designs – and, for home users, that’s likely enough. Professional designers will appreciate the inclusion of reporting and estimating tools. Enterprise licensing is also available.
One of the best tools here is the AR-enabled ‘Scan with Camera’. This lets you scan and measure the room you’re in – although we suspect this augmented reality feature would function a lot better in an unfurnished space.
Read our full MagicPlan review
Best interior design software: Also tested
We’ve extensively reviewed a range of home design apps and tools, and not every one makes the grade. In some cases, they offer similar capabilities to others on the list, or else they’re just too infuriating to be worth your time. You can check these out below.
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Homestyler is an online 3D home design service with a catch: online some of its competitors, it requires you to use Google Chrome for ‘a smoother design experience’.
Putting this restriction aside, Homestyler offers a free plan called ‘Basic’ which comes with numerous features. There are some omissions of course, which you will get by purchasing a subscription instead. Prices start at $5 a month for individuals, but can go as high as $19.60 per user per month, for a business plan.
You’ll find the interface is busy, yet easy to understand and use. Designing on a 2D floor plan is as easy as clicking and dragging. Adding doors, windows, curving walls, the lot, it’s all a breeze. Add to that a vast collection of furnishings (many are premium items though), and a decent quality render engine for snapshots of your work, and you’ll find a lot to like here.
Read our full Homestyler review
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Space Designer 3D is an online service which can work from any popular browser, whose purpose is to allow you to create 3D design projects anywhere you happen to be.
It offers a free ‘Starter’ plan which is marred by too many restrictions, but should give you enough of an idea of how the service works for you to decide if it’s right for you. Other plans remove these restrictions, and range from $25 to $45 a month for individuals, and from $75 upwards for businesses and enterprises.
We found the interface to be simple and well-designed, making it easy to find the tool you need and start working on your project. The responsiveness was excellent and it didn’t take long for us to forget we were working on a browser window, so fluid was the interface.
You can design with ease, work in 2D or 3D (although wall creation is restricted to 2D), and the fact you can work on your project from any computer since everything is online, is a great plus. Definitely worth checking out.
Read our full Space Designer 3D review
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Ashampoo Home Design 9 is a Windows-only 3D interior design software package which is available for the very decent one-off cost of $50 (and sometimes, incredibly, even goes as low as $20). You can also explore it for free for a very generous 30 days.
The software does what it says on the tin: it allows you to construct buildings and its surroundings, and offers you great precision and impressible customizability. All of this is great. Sadly, the interface doesn’t match the software’s prowess.
First, it feels antiquated, like it hasn’t been updated in over 10 years, which is far from impressive.
Then it’s the way you interact with your tools which feels incredibly cumbersome. You can’t click and drag stuff to alter it; you have to double-click on it, alter its parameters through input fields in a floating window, check how it looks, and do it again, and again, and again, until you’re happy with the results. Regretfully frustrating.
Read our full Ashampoo Home Design 9 review
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Spoak is an online interior design service, aimed at making design fun and intuitive. It’s not free, mind: prices range from $15 a month for individuals, $50 a month for businesses, to bespoke prices for enterprises.
What this is not is a 3D design studio. It’s much more ‘free spirit’ than that. You get to play with mood boards, where you add various furniture to see how they work together for instance. You have the ability to create 2D floor plans, 2D front-facing elevation drawings, and more. It’s very versatile, although we felt constrained by the limited number of objects we could add to a project.
We also didn’t like the penny pinching attitude which charges to remove the background from an object present in Spoak’s own inventory, and having to pay to remove the watermark, even though you pay for the not-insubstantial subscription.
We see the potential, but we feel it needs more refinement, better thought out layout, and more inventory before it can truly shine.
Read our full Spoak review
Best interior design software: FAQs
What is interior design software?
Interior design software or home design software helps you visualize a space, allowing you to experiment with decor, design, furniture, and more. It’s also an excellent tool for demonstrating design concepts and sharing ideas with clients, colleagues, and friends. Many of them are designed with simplicity in mind – you’ll find the top tools are delightfully intuitive to use.
Beyond stunning aesthetics, these roomplanner apps also offer advantages for designers and real estate professionals in a real-world environment. The best software for interior design can now create an accurate model of your space simply by scanning the room with a camera or phone.
While there are professional home interior design programs, most room planner apps won’t let you professionally draw up the sort of plans that will pass a local authority inspection. Think of them as a sort of home-centered mock-up sites – blank canvases to sketch out ideas, share thoughts and collaborate online, or experiment with new forms and designs.
How to choose the best interior design software for you
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When selecting which interior design software is best for you, start by assessing your needs. If you’re designing the layout and decor of your own home or making simple edits to an existing file, free interior design software and browser-based programs will likely meet all your needs.
The best design software for interior designers and more demanding enthusiasts typically offer advanced features, like you’ll find in programs and apps like MagicPlan and Chief Architect. Time and cost-savings mean the software will pay for itself. However, the easy user interface of both make them a good choice for beginners looking to develop their skills.
For prototyping and product design, check the specs, because some 3D home decor software is compatible with the best 3D printers.
Time is a considerable factor. Even some of the best interior design software takes a long time to render concepts, especially when using photorealistic images. It’s a natural price to pay for high-resolution 3D designs. For some, speed may trump quality.
Check the system requirements for the software In certain cases, highly professional interior design computer programs require high-performance computers. In this case, you may need a machine comparable to the best laptops for architecture students or the best laptops for engineering students. These are build to smoothly run complex CAD designs.
Check the price (and pricing model), too. Some options, like HomeByMe, offer free, paid-for, and subscription versions of its home design software. Others offer only one pricing model, so choose the one that best suits your creative budget.
How we test the best interior design software
We’ve tested a massive range of creative apps, including the best digital art and drawing software and the best graphic design software. But whether we’re testing out the top tools for 3D design or the best software for interior decorating, we follow the same fair and rigorous review process.
When testing the best interior design software for homes, we’re looking to see how easy the experience is, how powerful the tools are, and how well the software performs. Designing in 3D can often take its toll on computers, after all.
Asset library sizes are a factor — interior design tools should make your creative ideas a reality, not just a loose approximation. We’re also reviewing these design apps based on use. Unlike consumer software, professional-grade tools offer more advanced features, but might also have steeper learning curves and more expensive pricing models. So, we assessed how well the interior design program delivers for its intended market – whether they’re professionals or personal users.
Essentially, when we test the very best interior design software for ourselves, we expect to see it work for its intended audience — whether they’re professional interior designers or creative enthusiasts.
During our tests across the best home design software tools, we first set up an account with the relevant software platform, whether as a download or online service. We then tested each app using a handful of files to see how the software for interior design could be used for creating indoor spaces from scratch, bearing in mind issues such as ease-of-use, professional viability, and performance.
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