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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
  • Practice
  • Basic
  • Simple
  • There is no direct command for copy-paste and this is a big problem. To copy, it is necessary to hold down ctrl after the move command. copy should be a stand-alone command. Working with the move command is a waste of time.
  • All commands must have adjustable shortcuts. a waste of time selecting commands one by one from the right screen
Brian Walker, AIA | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
  • Intuitive 3D modeling tools
  • Vast web based library
  • Exportable to a vast range of other software
  • Better integration of "Layers"
  • Having a "Free" viewer program so I can share models with clients to explore
  • Auto size to sheet size option for importing PDF's so I don't have to constantly scale.
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • it is intuitive, the hotkeys make sense, you can pick it up and start making 3D forms really quickly and it doesn't look overwhelming out of the box.
  • quick and nimble to create 3d geometry, morph it around, push and pull faces, vertices, edges, etc.
  • visualizing 3d geometry. It's called SketchUp and I really like the sketchy quality of everything. it feels looser than say AutoCAD.
  • you can't do NURBS modeling or true curves. everything is mesh-based. for example, if you want to make a circle, it will really be a polygon with many facets on it.
  • interoperability with other software isn't great.
  • construction documentation? it's possible but not as good as Revit or even AutoCAD/Rhino.
Shawn Dehner | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • The 3D modeling capabilities of SketchUp are superb.
  • SketchUp has a large community of professionals and enthusiasts that share component models. These can be useful for quickly developing working 3D models.
  • Rendering is limited. Photo-realistic images are not possible using SketchUp alone.
  • Unlike traditional architectural software SketchUp is not automated. You need to understand code to a high degree in order to be able to draw models correctly.
  • More development of the software would be nice.
April 01, 2021

SketchUp Review

Brian Gernetzke, AIA | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • 3D visualization.
  • Clear communication of design and detailing.
  • Over reliance on plugins vs. real product development.
  • The inability to group and collapse scenes make navigation and organization somewhat complicated.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • 3D modeling.
  • Rendering.
  • Walkthrough/Animation.
  • Design review.
  • View styles.
  • Complex geometry.
  • Parametric modelling (ex. adjustable profile extrusions).
  • Additional views within the modeling window.
  • Grouping views.
  • Collaborative/simultaneous modeling.
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Very easy to learn.
  • Robust enough to manage various file types and modeling tasks
  • Great graphics options, easy to get clean presentation exhibits from 3D models.
  • Not very useful for document production, like scale drawings.
  • It has limited file type compatibility.
  • It does not have the tools for complex geometry.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • You can create different types of 3D models, from architectural sketches, as it is widely used, to furniture, toys, mechanical parts, that is, whatever you want.
  • I don’t have anything to complain about SketchUp 3D, is a straightforward software that everyone can learn.
Michael Prewitt | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Very easy to use compared to most other 3D modeling programs
  • Works with a huge library of free 3D components (3D Warehouse)
  • Sometimes SketchUp combines or joins objects in ways you did not intend and undoing that can be frustrating, especially if the Undo command is no longer an option.
  • The process of creating photorealistic renderings is somewhat convoluted compared to other 3D apps.
Nathan Bowman | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Speedy modeling of simple shapes - You can very quickly get an idea sketched out.
  • Rendering basic shapes to then export and use in other programs - If I need a specific background to pull into a photoshop drawing.
  • SketchUp is very difficult to maneuver in - It can take ages to position objects correctly.
  • It can also be tough to teach - l am working with engineers that are building models in MicroStation and AutoCAD and they can't understand how to build objects.
Ed Hart | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Relatively simple to learn and use as compared with other 3D modeling tools.
  • Ability to share and access other models using the 3D Warehouse.
  • Sometimes I have to hunt around for ways to do stuff. I can usually find a solution on YouTube.
  • Sometimes some of the more complicated controls are counter intuitive.
Oral Tosun | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • SketchUp has a vast 3D model repository. You don't need to design the wheel from scratch.
  • SketchUp's extension warehouse provides a lot of solutions for different design problems. You could solve your design bottlenecks via extensions. I often use SketchUp's STL exporter extension to get 3D printable designs for my business.
  • It is a little bit hard to get manifold 3d files from SketchUp. Manifoldness is a must-have rule for a 3D printable file.
  • SketchUp cannot import well-known CAD file formats.
Bin Cai | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • SketchUp is relatively easy to start learning how to make 3D graphs compared to other programs that are designed for specific disciplines.
  • SketchUp is a free software for all users to download and use.
  • SketchUp drawings can be directly imported to some more advanced software to further edit.
  • Built-in models and elements are limited in this free-edition software to offer help in the computer-aided design.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Quick product creation with use of components, grouping, and the unique hide rest of model tool
  • Great Maxwell add-on application to create photo-realistic renderings
  • Some sudden application shutdowns make auto-save an important feature to turn on
  • Complex warehouse models greatly reduces the speed of the model. In some cases, this makes the model unusable
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