Products Comparison

Home Designer Pro 8.0 Architectural Home Designer Home Designer Suite 8.0 Home Designer Landscaping & Deck Designer Interior Designer
 
MSRP $495 $199 $99 $59 $79 $79
Design Tools
Design Planning Center provides inspiring design and product material information from the editors of the magazine Better Homes and Gardens® Limited Exterior Only Interior Only
Design Inspiration Gallery, a collection of design inspiring photos by room category - 80+ Exterior Images Interior Only
Design Templates aid in quickly beginning a new project 62 62 37 16 42 22
Library Items to customize and create designs 9,000+ 7,000+ 6,000 4,000+ 5,500+ 5,000+
Advanced library items: Cabinets/door hardware, and molding profiles - - - Moldings Only
Ability To Read Custom Libraries - - - - -
Free Sample home plans 5,000 1,500+ 1,500 500 - 1,000+
Create Billboard Image: Import a photo of your home and add Landscaping
Reference Display Tool: Turn on Reference of adjacent floors to aid in designing multi-tiered decks.
House Wizard™ provides more control over choosing the room types for each floor -
Model Maker™ helps print 3D models - -
Virtual Graph Paper™ displays a reference grid
Material eye-dropper and Color Chooser™ allow "drag-and-drop" application of materials in 3D
Plan Check™ reviews your design against basic building principles - -
IRC – Residential Design Checklist to review your design against national building codes - - - - -
Standard Cabinet Tools -
Advanced Cabinet Tools - - - -
3D Tools
Import 3D Library objects in 3DS, OBJ, & Sketchup formats - - -
Create photo-realistic 3D renderings with shadows cast from the sun
Full 3D shadows created by any light source, natural or man-made. Create accurate day or night-time views of your lighting plan No Night Views
Define custom lighting with shadows, attenuation, intensity, and more - - - -
Save and load 3D and Render Views to quickly view your favorite camera images - - - -
Full control of render settings allows you to customize your photo-realistic rendering for speed or visual quality - - - - -
Delete Surface tool. Explore your structure in 3D by temporarily removing surfaces without changing your design - - - -
Line-based "blueprint"-style 3D views - - - - -
Define the North Pointer for Sun Angles - - - - -
Create 3D objects (countertops, slabs, terrain features, and more) from CAD objects - - - - -
Panoramic or Spherical backdrops. Backdrops rotate to make 3D walkthroughs more realistic - - - - -
Aerial View gives overview for fast navigation of plan while editing - - - - -
Blend Color tool allows you to change the color of any material
Record Walkthroughs along a specified path - - -
Cost Estimating/Materials List
Standard Project Cost Estimator automatically generates a materials list for budgeting and planning an entire project Housing Materials Deck & Landscaping Materials Interior Materials
Advanced Project Cost Estimator automatically generates a materials list for budget planning, by room, by floor, or by entire project - - -
Export Material Lists to spreadsheet programs including Microsoft® Excel
Save snapshot Material Lists for different stages of the project. Allows you to evaluate different ideas, compare cost differences, and plan stages of construction - - - - -
Add detail to each individual component in the material list for a comprehensive cost estimate breakdown. For example, assign components to your cabinets, such as doors, pulls, and hinges and assign costs for each item - - - - -
Master List allows you to store and manage commonly-used material prices - - - - -
Dimension Tools
Manual and Automatic dimensioning. Includes One-Click™ Automatic dimensions
Temporary dynamic wall dimension – displays temporary dimensions as walls are drawn
Advanced dimensioning tools including angular, end-to-end, and interior dimensions Interior Dimensions Interior Dimensions - - Interior Dimensions
Fully editable dimension lines, and configurable dimension editing. Change where dimensions locate walls, windows, doors, and other objects, both when generating dimensions automatically or manually - - - -
Manually enter dimensions (lengths or angles) to precisely position walls and objects. Use dimensions to quickly position objects with precision Lengths - - - -
CAD/Elevation Tools
Export plans in DXF file format - - -
Standard CAD tools to detail your designs - - -
Advanced CAD tools to detail cross-section views with insulation, cross-boxes, and more - - - - -
Advanced CAD editing tools such as replicate, line weights, point-to-point move, custom patterns, and more. Compatible with AutoCAD® patterns - - - - -
CAD-to-Walls™ – Convert CAD lines from DXF file format to walls. Convert plans created in other CAD programs - - - - -
Visual CAD Snaps™ feature with setup dialog and snap options to control - - - -
Layers can be used to separate key building components such as electrical or framing. Display or hide features of your design, set colors, lock layers, and use reference layers for precise editing Limited Limited Limited Limited Limited
Create back-clipped Cross Section\Elevation Views to limit your view to relevant details for precise plan editing - - - -
Building Tools
Automatic building tools for roof generation, stairs, dimensioning, foundations, and more
Automatic building tools for framing and electrical - -
Ceiling Plane tool – create custom ceilings of any slope and shape; vaulted, cathedral, and more - - - - -
Building tools to customize floors and ceilings. Control over ceiling height and vault. Use any floor materials you like -
Automatic Roofs: gable, hip, shed, gambrel, and more
One-Click Auto Dormer™ – builds dormer on roof automatically while cutting hole in room - - -
Automatic Structural Dormers – builds dormers automatically with walls that reach the floor - - - - -
Unblock and manually edit Automatic Dormers - - - - -
Auto Roof Returns™ - - -
Create any custom roof plan with the Manual Roof tools. Edit and create roof planes to create a roof of any pitch and shape. Start with an automatic roof and then add custom details, or create the entire roof manually - - - - -
Customize construction methods for walls, floors, ceilings, and foundations. For example, identify the exact placement of a framing component. Specify wall layers, floor structure, platform height, mudsills, framing methods, and more - - - - -
Advanced stair tools allow control of shape, starter treads, flaring, tread width, and more. Full control over curved staircases Limited - - - -
Wrap Around Stairs – join stairs on outside or inside corners
One-Click Stairs – add stairs to terrain, or sunken room with a single click
Create pony walls and edit wall shape in cross-section view. Add beadboard to a kitchen, or create a stepped foundation for a hillside lot - - - - -
Specify Foundation types by room - - - - -
Manual framing tools for fully editable framing, including joists, rafters, trusses, beams, posts, and more. Create any framing system for your design - - - - -
Advanced architectural object editing including replication, rotation, and reflection - - - - -
Multiple-select editing. For example, select all your cabinets and change them all with one command - - - - -
Use callouts to reference between details, plans, and cross-sections in a blueprint layout - - - - -
Create blueprint layouts with 3D, CAD, Cross-Section\Elevation, and Plan Views - - - - -
Plan Export – exports a bundle of all the files referenced in your plan, good for sharing with other users who do not have your custom materials and images - - - - -
Rotate and Flip Plan - - - - -
Design and edit Custom Countertop shapes and styles - - - -
Landscaping, Decking, & Terrain Tools
Landscaping Plants 3,500+ 3,500+ 1,500+ 500+ 3,500+ Interior Plants Only
Plant Encyclopedia & Plant Chooser™ Advanced; New Plant Encyclopedia from Better Homes & Gardens Advanced; New Plant Encyclopedia from Better Homes & Gardens Advanced; New Plant Encyclopedia from Better Homes & Gardens - Advanced; New Plant Encyclopedia from Better Homes & Gardens -
Plant Hardiness Zone Maps - -
Grow Plants Slider Tool: 0 - 20 years - - -
Landscaping Style Templates - - Templates -
Top-Level Deck & Fence Tools - - -
Advanced Railing Tools: Custom Railing Panels, Control of Height & Railing Styles – Great for Custom Decks - -
Advanced Fence Tools: Control Height of individual Fence Components - - -
Pre-designed garden beds from the editors at Better Homes and Gardens - - -
Standard Landscaping Terrain Tools -
Advanced Landscaping Terrain Tools – hill and valley tools for terrain features - -
Terrain Hole Tool: Cut holes in Terrain – great for pools, spas, and advanced terrain features -
Advanced editing of Terrain Tools - - -
Define custom Terrains, including sloped lots and input elevation points - -
Input accurate elevation data for true to life Terrain models - - -
Import Terrain Wizard - -
Create split-entry homes with daylight basements - -
Straight & Curved Terrain Walls, Curbs, & Retaining Wall Tools Straight Only Straight Only -
Straight & Curved Roads & Sidewalks, & Driveway & Parking Lot Tools Straight Only Straight Only -
Stepping Stone Tools - - -
Water Feature Tools: various shaped ponds Round Only Round Only -
Stream Tools - - -
Image/Plant Object Specification: set the x and y coordinates for image and plant objects – for specific planting definition - - -
Define Terrain Elevation Splines, Elevation Regions, and Terrain Breaks Elevation Regions - - -
Polygon Deck tool creates deck shapes automatically - -
Deck Planking Control – change angles and create patterns with deck planking - - -
Import GPS Wizard - -
Dimension to Plants & Images -
General/Support
Maximum Print Size Architectural C 18" x 24" 12" x 18" 12" x 18" 8.5" x 14" 12" x 18" 12" x 18"
Loan/Mortgage Calculator - - -
Fully editable working environment including customizable toolbars - - - - -
Compatible with: 3D Home Architect® (Version 4.0 and prior)
Compatible with Chief Architect®
(Version 10.0 and prior)		 Viewing Mode Only Viewing Mode Only Viewing Mode Only Viewing Mode Only Viewing Mode Only Viewing Mode Only
Compatible with Chief Architect®
(Version X1)		 Full Editing Basic Editing, Change Materials & Colors, Move Furniture Basic Editing, Change Materials & Colors, Move Furniture Viewing Mode Only Viewing Mode Only Basic Editing, Change Materials & Colors, Move Furniture
Training Tutorials with "How-To" videos 75+ videos 70+ videos 60+ videos 50+ videos 40+ videos 40+ videos
Free online technical support