Chief Architect / Home Designer Alternatives (Real Limits Compared)
Chief Architect / Home Designer is a solid choice, but people look for alternatives because of the fine print: There's no free tier, only a non-expiring trial that disables saving, printing, exporting, and walkthrough recording, so you can explore in 3D but can't get any work out without a paid subscription. On top of that, 2026 is subscription-only; the one-time purchase is gone. Strong options to compare include Live Home 3D, SketchUp, Cedreo, and Planner 5D. Below we line up the real free limits of each — what it exports, what it watermarks, and which platforms it runs on — so you switch for the right reason.
Alternatives at a glance
Live Home 3D
Free, with limitsThe free version limits you to one active project at a time, watermarks all image and video exports, and disables 3D-model export entirely; a one-time Standard purchase removes those limits.
SketchUp
Free, with limitsSketchUp Free is free for personal, non-commercial use in the browser only; you can model and download skp/png/stl, but DWG/DXF/OBJ/PDF export, the desktop app, and extensions all require a paid plan.
Cedreo
Free, with limitsThe free plan gives 1 project and only 5 photorealistic renders that are watermarked and personal-use only, with no blueprint download and no commercial use; everything beyond that requires a paid plan.
Planner 5D
Free, with limitsFree to design unlimited 2D/3D projects, but about half the furniture catalog is locked, you get no proper renders, and DWG/DXF export plus custom 3D import require the Professional plan.
Switch to one of these if…
Each card leads with its pricing and free-tier reality — pick the one whose limits you can live with.
Live Home 3D
Free, with limitsThe free version limits you to one active project at a time, watermarks all image and video exports, and disables 3D-model export entirely; a one-time Standard purchase removes those limits.
SketchUp
Free, with limitsSketchUp Free is free for personal, non-commercial use in the browser only; you can model and download skp/png/stl, but DWG/DXF/OBJ/PDF export, the desktop app, and extensions all require a paid plan.
Cedreo
Free, with limitsThe free plan gives 1 project and only 5 photorealistic renders that are watermarked and personal-use only, with no blueprint download and no commercial use; everything beyond that requires a paid plan.
Planner 5D
Free, with limitsFree to design unlimited 2D/3D projects, but about half the furniture catalog is locked, you get no proper renders, and DWG/DXF export plus custom 3D import require the Professional plan.