For any landscape design and project, a plan is a must. Whether you are a DIY homeowner or home designer who wants to renovate, rebuild or even create a backyard or any other part of the house outdoors, you need free landscape design software to help you get a deal. It is because this software offers you two helpful functions, which are to streamline the drafting and collaborating process as well as to facilitate you with the accurate representation of outdoor spaces.
Using the landscape design software will enable you to predict the cost, digitalize the plans, and integrate with the other software to make your plans real. The software presents some outstanding features. You can optimize them to make the best plans you desire.
In this time, we come with the best free landscape design software you can read and find one that suits your plans. Read the review below and note the features and the reasons why some users use the software. Thus, you know how strong and weak any of the software we are presenting below.
10 Best Free Landscape Design Software To Create Gardens and Backyards Design Ideas
1. SketchUp Free
SketchUp Free
The first landscape design software free you can consider to design your landscape is SketchUp Free. This software has been familiar with home designers, architects, builders, and engineers. It is widely used to provide them with the best tools to draft, model, and render the ideas into reality.
SketchUp Free is a web-based version of SketchUp Pro and now is available for free. This software will allow you to design your landscape by drawing in 3D on any web browser. The landscape designers will also leverage this software to turn the initial models into files of a dimension and context-full design.
The free version is offered as a web-browser based version. It includes the modeling tools that the users can optimize well to design the landscape. SketchUp Free also comes with the free version of SektchUp for Schools. However, this one can only be downloaded through the G Suite for Education Platform. This way, the files are saved in Google drive. SketchUp Free for Schools is very good for teachers and learners to study how to plan projects.
The features offered by this software include the 3D modeling, rendering, editing, support for Trimble Connect and support for the most web browsers and operating systems. Most users tend to use this software due to its availability of free version and easy access as well as the low entry-level skill requirement and high skill. This software deserves the good results.
2. Kerkythea
Kerkythea
The next free landscape design program you can try to use in planning the landscape is Kerkythea. As free software, it is designed as an open-source rendering software providing a full of staging applications for all the users. This is aimed to enable the users to render the models and illustrations used in architecture.
Kerkythea is available for both architectural professionalism and educational institutes. It is free and downloadable so that the users, including the learners, can use the software without spending much money on software licensing.
The features you can optimize just after downloading the software are the singular interface for rendering, global illumination rendering engine, and the availability of materials and plant repository along with the surrounding images.
Most of Kerkythea users state that the software is pretty good due to the great renders and visualizations as well as the compatibility. Although the free version makes you limitedly optimize the features, you can use other landscape software for additional support like SketchUp and Blender. They are just good friends for rendering.
3. Pro Landscape Home
Pro Landscape Home
Another, landscape design program you can download and use freely is Pro Landscape Home. If you want to find software offering you photo imaging, CAD, 3D rendering, and customer proposal drafting tools, you can definitely consider using Pro Landscape Home. This software is suitable not only for architects but also for some homeowners who want to design landscapes.
Pro Landscape Home is a mobile app that everyone can use flexibly on their Apple, Android, and Amazon devices. The features offered are almost the same as the professional version except for the features of editing the hardscapes, creating customer proposals, and 3D files.
The features you can definitely optimize include the free “lite” version of Pro Landscape, the free and downloadable Companion App for iOS and Android. Noticeably, this is free only for those who have already had the PRO Landscape version.
Other features you can consider optimizing are the ability to create photo imaging and CAD designs, object image library, plant database, and the “Find a Professional” lookup feature.
More people like to use this software because it speeds up the design to work fast and properly. It also provides them with the plants and accessories needed to complete the design.
4. Showoff.com the Visualizer
Best Free Landscape Design Software
If you are looking for software to plan the real estate and marketplace, Showoff.com is the right one to consider. Listed and one of the recommended landscape design software, this software comes with design tips and layouts. It also offers an online service which is called “Visualizer” to help you design your dream house and outdoor landscape along with the tip and consultation. This site is just free to download and use and compatible with Windows operating system.
There are two big features you can expect to optimize that are the database of elements, photos, setups and materials, and the community forum. Showoff.com is pretty easy to use. It is a great tool to help the client visualize the design.
5. Arborgold
arborgold
Have you ever heard of the software called Arbogold? If you are a person who usually designs a home, you will be familiar with the software. Yup, Arbogold is pretty nice to use for designing part of the home particularly the landscape.
Arbogold comes as comprehensive customer management, job scheduling, and business management solution for some companies with service-based. It recently offers a free online landscape design tool for clients either professionals or homeowners. In this case, they will be able to create and save the design. Greatly, this software is suitable for professionals especially when they want to itemize the landscape proposals.
Arbogold is featuring job site illustrations, the library of plants, lighting, and hardscape, photos import and geo-satellite images as well as the freehand drawing.
6. Lands Design
Lands Design
Designed as free software, this software has more to offer. It releases a beta version every 90 days, takes the feedback and updates the features as well as fixes the errors. It also comes with a landscaping design plugin for 3D modeling tool Rhino. In this way, the architects can create 3D images and virtual tours to resemble the landscape. There is also the availability of plants, trees, and urban furniture libraries.
There are some features you can actively use just after downloading the software. Those are the plant species and database, freedom landscape modeling, virtual tour creator, editing tool, and AutoCAD file support.
7. Plan-a-Garden
plan-a-garden software
Along with the slogan “Better homes and gardens”, Plan-a-Garden comes as one of the best landscape design software for online usage. It would best be used by both DIY home designers and homeowners. It helps them visualize the remodeling plans before they hand off the designs to a professional contractor. Plan-a-Garden has a free browser-based tool to offer with the feature of plants and hardscapes database.
8. Garden Planner
Garden Planner
Now you can also consider Garden Planner as an easy-to-use garden and landscape design software. There are more to offer including providing the users with the drag-and-drop interface to help them organize the visual elements used in the design.
More users say that Garden Planner is just flexible and support 3D virtual tour, thus, you can imagine how great your landscape, in reality, will be. Additionally, the free license of Garden Planner is available for charities, non-profit organizations, and schools. In short, this software will be good either for professionals or for students.
There are at least four main features to easily operate that are the library of plants and object symbols, drag-and-drop interface, garden notes ability, and free future updates. If you download this software to design your landscape, make sure you optimize all of the features maximally to get the best result.
9. iScape App
iScape App
The next considerable free landscape design app is the iScape. It is compatible with the android and iOS app making you easily download and install the software on your Phone with iOS compatibility. iScape is an application for landscape design allowing the homeowners, professionals, and product retailers to design as well as collaborate on landscape design.
Using this app will enable you to visualize the end of the projects accurately before you embark on the landscape design projects. Some features that help you create the best designs include the easy-to-use design tool, sharing capabilities, plant and materials database, and the availability of the inventory using iScape partners.
10. DreamPlan Home Design
DreamPlan Home Design
DreamPlan Home Design is another free landscape design software to take into consideration. This software helps both the professionals and homeowners visualize the overall designs before the redesign. It focuses on supporting the design of the home, floor, landscape, and garden as well as the interior room. Thus, it is said that DreamPlan Home Design works for all designs.
Being one of the widely used landscape design software, DreamPlan Home Design comes with an easy-to-use interface, making the users easy to draft the design. Even the beginner will be able to use this software well without interruption.
DreamPlan Home Design is free for non-commercial use. In other words, you can use the free version for non-commercial usage. On the other hand, if you want to use it for commercial use, for example, to sell the design, you can use the paid version.
The features include 3D and 2D rendering, blueprint vie mode, and supports both Windows and Mac operating systems. Make sure you optimize all the features to work out for you so that you will get the best result.
FAQ: Best Landscape Design Software
Is there an app for landscape design?
If you want to try your hand at designing your own landscape you will find software which may assist you, for example, Home Outside, iScape, Landscaper's Companion, and a lot more. Home Outside offers updated services from phone/video consultations with professional landscape designers to finish designs completed remotely.
How much does it cost to get a landscape design?
Just like the majority of home improvement projects, the purchase price can fluctuate greatly based on the size and scope of the project. Homeowners can expect to pay $2000 to $8000 for an expert landscape layout to be drafted to their own property. As a rule of thumb, homeowners spend approximately 10 percent of the home's value.
What is a free app for landscape design?
There are several recommendations for free apps for landscape design for android such as iScape, Houzz, My Lawn: A Guide to Lawn Care, PRO Landscape Home and VR Gardens.
How do you design a landscape garden?
Generally, I design a landscape garden using iScape.
Now you can choose selectively which software suiting you best. Get your dream house into real by making your own design.
