![]() When Trimble acquired SketchUp, it forked the product into several tiers, keeping the free desktop version around as “SketchUp Make. The SketchUp web app is decent and might be good enough for many people, but for a long time, the desktop version was completely free, too. If you want the latest full desktop app, you’re looking at $300 a year for personal use. At the time of this writing, the only modern free version of SketchUp is a web app. SketchUp has changed hands a few times over the years, once having been owned by Google, and currently owned by a company called Trimble. Trimble even warns it might have security problems as it hasn’t been updated since 2017. However, as of May 2022, the official SketchUp website is no longer offering the free version (SketchUp Make 2017) for download. ![]() Update, 5/23/22: This worked when we published it in 2021. Or does it? You can still download a free desktop version if you know where to look. There are other dedicated 3D modelling tools which are better than SketchUp so you’re better off testing it first.Originally released as free open-source software, the popular 3D-modeling program SketchUp now comes with a premium price tag. If you’re planning to use SketchUp for 3D modelling however, you may be better off using the free versions first to learn the ropes. There are other limitations to SketchUp Free and the best advice we can give is, if you’re a professional architect, go straight for the Pro version as you’re going to need the added powerful touches. These are mainly used for terrain modelling to realistically simulate the environment for house designs. SketchUp Pro also has far more sand box tools than SketchUp Free. The quality of exported files from SketchUp Free is also not as good as from SketchUp Pro. The free version of SketchUp only allows you to export in PNG and STL but for professional needs, you’ll need to upgrade to either SketchUp Go for $119 or SketchUp Pro for $199 which both support exporting in DWG and DXF. The big drawback of SketchUp Free vs SketchUp Pro are the lack of export formats.Įspecially if you need to export your designs for professional presentations, you’ll definitely need SketchUp Pro. SketchUp is currently also the only CAD tool that allows Mac users to use Enscape on Mac via the Enscape SketchUp Extensions. The SketchUp Extension Warehouse features everything from 3D rendering tools to vegetation extensions and texture packs. SketchUp ExtensionsĪnother amazing feature of SketchUp is the number of extensions that are available for it. First, download the installation file for your operating system. If it’s home design, then Live Home 3D is a better option. If you want to just create floor plans, then SmartDraw is much easier to use. The patented “push and pull” feature in SketchUp Free is impressive and allows you to drag and manipulate designs however you want.Īlthough SketchUp Free is powerful, it’s certainly takes time to get results and there are far easier home design software that are much easier to use have the steep learning curve. You can move the camera around your 3D design at any time and there are predefined camera angles and you can choose how long you want transitions between angles to be. There’s everything from houses to skyscrapers and a huge range of objects to choose from. There are no templates as such but you can download examples of other people’s 3D models in 3dwarehouse which you can modify yourself. On the right are a range of panels including the Instructor which provides tips on how to manipulate your designs and how to find certain tools and functions. On the left are the navigational and drawing tools which is what you use the most. The toolbars appear discreetly on the left and right hand side of the screen. The first thing you notice about SketchUp Free is the interface is extremely simple. When you sign-up for SketchUp, you’ll initially get a free 30 day trial of the Pro version and then it will revert to the free version if you choose not to upgrade. Choose SketchUp for Mac from the list of available downloads. However, SketchUp Make is no longer being developed and won’t be supported in future versions of macOS so our advice is to use the browser based SketchUp Free. Go to the SketchUp website (and click the Download button. There are two free versions of SketchUp: SketchUp Free which works in any browser and SketchUp Make which you can download on your desktop. SketchUp Pro costs $299 per year and yet the free version is almost exactly the same as the Pro apart from it has less import and export options. There are two versions of SketchUp: Free and Pro.
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