6 Best Interior Design Software 2020

Whether you’re a student looking to learn doing interior design via software or a professional interior designer that wants to find a more versatile and multi-functional program, you’ve come to the right place.

Hardly anyone living in the ‘90s wouldn’t be surprised if somebody told them that people would draw sketches without using their hands.

In fact, the times have changed so much you don’t need to be good at drawing sketches with your hands to get enrolled into a CAD college or university.

But each and every interior design program is different which is why you need to know their pros and cons in order to get the best interior design software out there.

We’ve compiled a list of top 6 best interior design programs and listed their pros and cons to help you in your endeavor.

Top 6 Interior Design Software Choices Table

PictureNamePlatformPriceRating (1-5)
Picture
Name
Platform
Price
Rating (1-5)
1. Chief Architect Home Designer Essentials 2017 Windows, Mac$$$$4.4
2. The Sims 2: Kitchen & Bath Interior Design StuffWindows$4.1
3. Sweet Home 3DWindows$3.5
4. Turbofloorplan Deluxe V16 2D/3D Home Design Windows$$2.9
5. HGTV Home & Landscape Platinum Suite 3.0 Windows$$$2.3
6. Punch! Interior Design Suite v18 for Windows PC Windows$$$2.2

Things to Consider About Interior Design Software

On the hunt for the best interior design software, you need to figure out what are your intentions of creating interior design plans.

If you’re looking to just have some fun playing around with interior design sketches, you may want to get a special interior design edition of Sims.

But if you’re planning to present your interior design sketches to somebody (whether it’s another architect or your clients), you’ll need a professional tool.

You also need to consider that there are 2D and 3D-based interior design programs, and some visualize sketches better when their objects are two-dimensional.

While others want to see the whole picture and in addition to 2D sketches they want to create 3D sketches and make it feel as if they’re walking around those self-created homes.

But since some of the below-listed interior design programs are sophisticated, it’s recommended to hire a tutor or attend special courses to truly understand how it works and get all the benefits of using it.

But there are also programs that are quite easy to follow and you can understand the principles of using them by yourself.

Top 3 Best Interior Design Software Reviews

1. Chief Architect Home Designer Essentials

Chief Architect Home Designer Essentials is our today’s leader and the only interior design software in our list that is compatible with Mac.

Thus, if you’re looking for the best design software and own a Mac, you can stop reading here and go ahead with this one.

This program allows you to do designing, interior designing, landscaping as well as remodeling.

The Home Designer Essentials by Chief Architect is the most advanced interior design software out there, which allows you to visualize your ideas with 3D models and even take virtual tours.

This program also features more than 500 landscaping plants, and all of them look incredibly realistic. But what’s probably the most useful feature of this program is that it allows you to generate a cost estimate.

And it’s easy for beginners to follow and learn since it features how-to videos as well as step-by-step instructions.

2. The Sims 2: Kitchen & Bath

You’re probably surprised to see a videogame in the list of best interior design programs. But why be? It’s Sims we’re talking about!

Of course, nobody is going to take your interior design plans serious if you show them in your virtual house created in Sims, but nonetheless this game has a number of advantages.

First of all, it has a great number of furniture, landscaping and house options. And second of all, you get to actually live in those self-created houses!

Not by yourself though, but still. You get to see how it feels sitting in that chair while the fireplace is on the right side and the window is on the left side.

But what’s probably the most disappointing con of Sims is that it has way too-cartoony looking objects.

3. Sweet Home 3D

Sweet Home 3D takes our today’s No. 3 spot thanks to its feature to view all changes you make in interior design in the 2D and 3D views simultaneously.

You can easily draw walls and rooms on more than just one levels and customize colors and textures of your objects. This program allows you to create a very realistic image of what a house with its walls, floors, ceilings and furniture will look like.

Another great advantage of Sweet Home 3D is that you can import more 3D models and export your renderings. The only major disadvantage of Sweet Home 3D is that it’s not compatible with Mac.