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SketchUp

SketchUp

Starting at $119 per year
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Overview

What is SketchUp?

SketchUp is 3D modeling software with an emphasis on usability. SketchUp is a Trimble product.

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Recent Reviews

TrustRadius Insights

SketchUp is a versatile tool that is widely used in various industries, including architecture, interior design, structural design, …
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Non simple copy command

6 out of 10
June 29, 2022
I have been using SketchUp for architectural building modeling for about 6 years. and There is no direct command for copy paste and this …
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SketchUp Review

7 out of 10
December 20, 2021
Incentivized
I'm a designer for my organization and use SketchUp to design the work for different use cases on 3D software and interior design.
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Awards

Products that are considered exceptional by their customers based on a variety of criteria win TrustRadius awards. Learn more about the types of TrustRadius awards to make the best purchase decision. More about TrustRadius Awards

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Pricing

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Free

$0.00

Cloud
per year

For Schools (free with G Suite or Microsoft education account)

$0

Cloud

For Students

$55.00

Cloud
per year

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee
For the latest information on pricing, visithttps://www.sketchup.com/plans-and…

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services

Starting price (does not include set up fee)

  • $119 per year
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Product Demos

SketchUp Instant Door and Window Demo 1 - Vali Architects

YouTube

SketchUp PlaceMaker Demo www.suplacemaker.com

YouTube

Sketchup demo 1

YouTube

Component Stringer SketchUp Plugin Demo

YouTube

Visualizer for Sketchup Demo

YouTube

BoolTools for SketchUp Demo

YouTube
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Product Details

What is SketchUp?

SketchUp is 3D modeling software with an emphasis on usability. SketchUp is a Trimble product.

SketchUp Video

Sketchup Demo

SketchUp Technical Details

Deployment TypesOn-premise, Software as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based
Operating SystemsWindows
Mobile ApplicationNo

Frequently Asked Questions

SketchUp starts at $119.

Reviewers rate Support Rating highest, with a score of 8.5.

The most common users of SketchUp are from Small Businesses (1-50 employees).
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Comparisons

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Reviews and Ratings

(186)

Community Insights

TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!

SketchUp is a versatile tool that is widely used in various industries, including architecture, interior design, structural design, landscape design, and manufacturing design. Users have found SketchUp to be a fast and efficient solution for creating 3D models for designing buildings, furniture, equipment, and brochures. Its affordability and ease of learning make it accessible for both clients and consultants. SketchUp Pro, in particular, is a popular choice among organizations without extensive training. Real estate professionals rely on SketchUp to help sellers visualize different staging and marketing options for homes. It is utilized throughout all phases of design and construction documents for both residential and commercial projects. SketchUp excels at creating 3D drawings that meet various design requirements.

In addition to its architectural applications, SketchUp also finds use in other fields. For example, it provides visual assistance in test setups by allowing users to build 3D models that demonstrate the connection and transfer of forces. The software is internationally recognized for its extensive capabilities in making 3D designs easily, making it popular among architects, engineers, and industrial designers. In the construction industry, SketchUp is employed for design visualization and collaboration among team members. Nonprofit organizations utilize SketchUp to create visual representations of tradeshow displays, television studio set mockups, and graphics for printed publications. Designers in the furniture industry depend on SketchUp to quickly develop 3D models of office furniture and create prototypes.

Overall, SketchUp helps professionals from a range of disciplines connect better with their clients by providing a visual experience beyond traditional 2D drawings. It serves as the main visualization and 3D modeling tool for architects during client presentations, internal study sessions, and quick adjustments based on feedback. With its broad range of features and ease of use, SketchUp continues to be embraced by users across industries to enhance their design understanding and visualization capabilities.

Users of this software have made several common recommendations. Firstly, many users suggest exploring compatible plugins to enhance the experience. They feel that these plugins can greatly improve the functionality and capabilities of the software. Secondly, users recommend watching YouTube tutorials and taking advantage of the software's free version to learn and familiarize themselves with its features. They believe that this approach can help in mastering the software more effectively. Lastly, users highly recommend using SketchUp for architecture and civil work as it is considered a great tool for visualizing designs in a realistic and accurate way. They find the software intuitive and easy to use with a great component library which aids in communication during design processes.

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-25 of 46)
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Score 6 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
SketchUp is available in all areas associated with the design. In addition, thanks to its simple and plain interface, it can be a tool to support experimental learning for children.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
SketchUp is very well suited for rendering, diagramming, iterative design, fly-throughs, and phasing. It is a great tool for students and senior designers alike, and eases employees into more complex BIM software.
SketchUp is not great at construction documents, or anything that requires the Layout program; this is a headache.
Brian Walker, AIA | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
SketchUp itself does not always produced highly polished renderings of 3D models, but it really does not need to. It can quickly create models for us, which is typically more important since it saves time and money. When we want a highly polished image, since SketchUp is so widely used, it can export natively to most other platforms (I.E. Twinmotion, ARCHICAD, etc...)
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
At our company, we often need to make "down and dirty" plans for video shoots (normally corporate promotional and marketing films). These plans are intended for internal use: making sure our production team has a clear vision for what they need to accomplish in the limited time we have available. So they don't need to be fancy, they just need to be clear and easy to generate. SketchUp is great for this. It's easy to quickly mark out rough floorplans of the stages and locations where we shoot, then diagram camera placement and movements.
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I think SketchUp is really well suited for nimble design iteration and visualization. you can crank out some massing studies and make sweet-looking diagrams to explain broad concepts. where it falls short is when you want to get a more precise design going and leverage that geometry into Revit.
December 20, 2021

SketchUp Review

Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I've specifically used SketchUp for architecture projects, interior design projects, and renderings. It's incredibly well suited for these projects specifically with its seamless plugins and ability to learn how to use them.
Arcoma L. Lambert | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Real estate is not really the most likely use for Sketchup, since it has so many choices and possibilities. But, it is an innovative way to differentiate yourself from the competition. The program is very well-suited to the myopic seller or buyer who can't visualize future changes and their effect on value.
April 01, 2021

SketchUp Review

Brian Gernetzke, AIA | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
SketchUp is a lightweight BIM alternative that allows for efficient workflow from the early phase of design through construction documentation. It's most suitable for smaller projects, as models are only able to be accessed by one user at a time.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
SketchUp is best used to solve difficult 3D design problems. It is the best tool to quickly model solutions, move around freely to review, and try alternative solutions. Once options are set, SketchUp plugins allow quick and flexible rendering production. SketchUp is very friendly to non-technical users and works well at client meetings to give a better sense of what traditional drawings represent.

In most cases, a separate documentation tool is required. We use Revit for a number of reasons, mainly to automate updates to drawings as the design progresses. Revit and SketchUp can work together, especially exporting geometry from Revit to SketchUp. In this case, you can freely move around the exported geometry in SketchUp and make adjustments for approval before returning to Revit for slower technical modeling/drawing.
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Sketchup is an excellent tool for quick 3D studies and the production of clean presentation graphics, from cartoony diagrams to full rendered scenes (with the right plugins). Sketchup excels particularly at material mapping, which is much more intuitive than other 3D software. The way it handles material and texture also makes it an excellent tool for creating photorealistic renderings and virtual reality walk-throughs.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
With SketchUp 3D, we can clearly and simply, with well-defined and developed tools, and the SketchUp 3D library, the software provides an incredible response to commands. And with that, we can quickly create different shapes and volumes.
Like the physical model, always used in architecture, 3D modeling allows us to advance in terms of time and precision, with materiality and spatiality that no two-dimensional design would allow.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
SketchUp is well suited for pretty much anything related to engineering, whether it be civil, mechanical, etc. It’s particularly useful in the civil/construction industry for design and modeling of features you otherwise wouldn’t be able to see in 3D space. Although it’s multi-talented, SketchUp shouldn’t be used for anything that requires extreme precision.
Michael Prewitt | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • For creating quick conceptual mockups of real-world objects (particularly large objects), SketchUp cannot be beaten. In some industries, such as building construction and architecture, it appears to hold a very strong position. I am not in those industries, but I find the software very easy to use.
  • SketchUp has some powerful tools for creating complex renderings, but some of the methods take some study and practice. I wouldn't say they are immediately intuitive. However, the company behind SketchUp has created a lot of great YouTube videos for training.
  • In my experience, photorealistic rendering is not an ideal use of this application, although it can be done. Some impressive renders have been done, but it seems like a lot of work that this app may not be ideally suited for. For creating photorealistic renderings, particularly of small objects (products, etc.) I would recommend Boxshot, Adobe Dimension, or a traditional 3D modeling app.
  • The methods of creating, combining, and manipulating objects are unique to SketchUp — quite different from standard approaches in other 3D apps. While I personally find them easy to use, there is a learning curve, and it is an entirely different process than one would find in an app like Maya, Cinema 3D, or Blender.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
It is good to use SketchUp with urgent projects because it is fast, easy to use, convenient, and very efficient. But it still has some disadvantage points that need to be fixed as soon as possible. Anyway, I would recommend SketchUp for other uses because of what its benefits can bring to us.
Nathan Bowman | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
SketchUp's compatibility is very dependent on your use case. If someone said, "Hey, do you know a software suite for rendering highway transportation plans?" I wouldn't suggest SketchUp - as much as I've used it, I've not seen that it's not good for precise measurements or for laying out clear plans - but it's great for rough planning or drawing up quick ideas.
Ed Hart | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I have recommended SketchUp a number of times to colleagues. The main reason is that it's a pretty accessible tool that for the most part that is user-friendly and intuitive. I use the tool sporadically when we have projects to be designed, and I've found that it's one of those tools that I can get back into and quickly get "back up to speed" even though I don't use it all the time. I've tried some other tools and they are so complicated that if I'm not using it every day, it's easy to forget all the techniques.
February 06, 2020

Architecture Live!

Frank Genese | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
SketchUp is a fantastic tool for showing clients the design in 3D. It allows clients to see a change instantly, and to see their feedback presented in a way they can understand. It is also a terrific tool for detailing the interior of the space, since furniture and equipment can be easily moved around. Most clients have trouble visualizing in 3D, and this allows them the ability to do so.
Mohit Prasad | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I would like to recommend SketchUp for project modeling and design of rough sketches with less detailing. When your design requires complex detailing especially for the mechanical components, SketchUp is not what you are looking for. In that case different CAD solutions are available in the market. Apart from these, working on small prototypes or simple designs SketchUp is the best solution.
Oral Tosun | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I think SketchUp is best for architectural designs. It could be used for both interior and exterior building designs effectively. SketchUp has some difficulties regarding 3D printing applications. There is always some "STL" file format exporting errors on SketchUp. (3D printers utilize mainly "STL" file format.).The other file formats which are supported by 3D printers cannot be usable with SketchUp. But SketchUp provides rapid 3D design creation possibilities, which are suitable to use in urgent customer projects.
Bin Cai | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
SketchUp is a good start-up software for beginner to make 3D drawings since it offers basic elements and models for design. Additionally, tremendous tutorials of SketchUp are available online and this free software does not have a big footprint, therefore it will not consume lots of memory and RAM of a user's computer. Limited sources for design constrain this software's broader usage.
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