Comparison
SketchUp Alternative: Free Floor Plans in the Browser
SketchUp is a general 3D modeler; FloorGen is built for floor plans. Walls with thickness, rooms that report their area, doors and windows that cut their walls, print sets at a real scale, DXF, IFC and PDF export, a photoreal Render and an MP4 walkthrough, free to start in the browser. Trace a plan exported from SketchUp and carry on.
- Checked
- November 2026
- FloorGen
- Free: 5 projects, no card
- SketchUp Go
- $10.75/mo, billed yearly
- Its 2D drawings
- LayOut, on Pro and Studio
The short version: if the job is a house plan rather than a free-form model, FloorGen gives you the 2D drawings SketchUp puts in LayOut on Pro and Studio, plus DXF and IFC export, and starts free.
At a glance
| FloorGen | SketchUp | |
|---|---|---|
| Price and free tier | Free: 5 projects, with 3D, Render, video, MCP and every export; Lite 20 projects, Pro and Studio no cap. Free and Lite exports carry a small FloorGen mark, Pro and Studio exports none. The full furniture library is on paid plans | SketchUp Free in the browser; Go $10.75, Pro $33.25 and Studio $71.58 per user a month, billed annually, before tax; a 7-day Pro trial |
| Drawing sets | Print sets to scale (Letter to ARCH D, A4 to A1) with a title block; permit sheets (cover, site, roof and foundation); electrical sheets; elevations and sections | LayOut 2D documentation on Pro and Studio |
| Exports (DWG, DXF, PDF) | PDF, PNG, SVG, DXF (R12), glTF, IFC, CSV, HTML; no DWG | Free exports SKP, PNG and STL, per its Free plan page; its help page lists STL only for Free; no DXF export listed for Free |
| Import a CAD file (DXF) | DXF as editable walls, doors and windows (ASCII DXF, R12 to AutoCAD 2018); DWG is not read | Free imports SKP, JPG and PNG; Pro lists improved IFC and DWG compatibility |
| Code checks | Code checks as a design aid: IRC (US), NBC Canada, OBC (Ontario), BCBC, NBC Alberta, CCQ (Québec), UK Approved Documents, DIN 18065 and MBO (Germany), CDMX, CCH (France), COE São Paulo, SP 55 (Russia), Building Standards Act (Japan), NCC (Australia) | Not stated on its pages |
| AI and MCP | MCP server with 201 tools that edit the plan; in-app AI chat with sign-in | Not stated on its pages; 1,000+ extensions on Pro |
| Sign-up to start | Not needed to draw; a free Google sign-in unlocks exports and cloud sync; no card | Not stated on its pages |
| Platforms | Any modern browser on computers, tablets, phones and Chromebooks; nothing to install | Browser; Go adds iPad; Pro adds desktop; Studio adds Windows desktop |
| 2D and 3D | 2D plans; 3D orbit, dollhouse and walk modes | A 3D modeler; 2D documentation with LayOut on Pro and Studio, not on Go |
| Photoreal stills | Render: a photoreal path-traced picture made in the browser, 1200 × 750 up to 2400 × 1500 (1600 × 1000 on touch devices and at 4 GB of memory or less), on every plan | Photoreal rendering on Studio; Photoreal Materials on iPad with Go |
| Furniture library | About 11,500 models in 25 categories; over 2,000 essentials and every building part free | 3D Warehouse of user and manufacturer models; Go downloads capped at 250 a day |
| Units | Imperial or metric, to 1/16 in or 1 mm | Not stated on its pages |
| Trace an image or PDF | Image or PDF; two-point scale; suggested walls you accept | Free imports JPG and PNG images |
| Languages | 13 languages in the editor | Not stated on its pages |
| Video | MP4 or WebM walkthrough, up to 1440p, with captions | Animation and 360° panorama export on Studio |
| Collaboration | Invite editors or viewers by email and edit together live, with a free account; no public view link or comments | Go and up: real-time sharing and comments; Free: 10 GB of Trimble Connect storage to share projects |
We make FloorGen; SketchUp's facts here come from sketchup.trimble.com and its help center, read in November 2026. SketchUp's own pages differ on what Free can export, so we quote both. Its pricing page shows no monthly-billing prices.
Where FloorGen is the better choice
- Built for floor plans. Walls with thickness, rooms with areas, doors and windows that cut their walls and fill a schedule, stairs and floors, with dimensions typed to 1/16 in or 1 mm. SketchUp is a general modeler: a plan is built from its shapes and Warehouse components.
- Drawings without a second tool. Print sets at a real scale with a title block, permit sheets, electrical sheets, elevations and sections come from the plan. SketchUp lists LayOut 2D documentation on Pro and Studio.
- CAD and BIM files on the free plan. DXF (R12), IFC and glTF, with DXF import back in. Free and Lite exports carry a small FloorGen mark; Pro and Studio exports have none.
- Code checks, Render and video. Rooms, stairs and escape windows under IRC, NBC Canada, OBC, UK, DIN, CDMX and more as a design aid, a path-traced photoreal Render, and an MP4 walkthrough on every plan.
- Any device and AI that edits. Phones, tablets and Chromebooks in the browser, live co-editing by invite, 13 languages, and an MCP server with 201 tools so Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor can draw and edit the plan.
Where SketchUp is the better choice
- Free-form 3D modeling. Any shape, not only buildings, with 1,000+ extensions on Pro. FloorGen models buildings.
- 3D Warehouse. User and manufacturer models to download. FloorGen's library is its own.
- Desktop and iPad apps, and on Studio, Revit import, point-cloud modeling, animation and photorealistic rendering.
Switching from SketchUp
FloorGen cannot open .skp files. Move a plan across as a picture, or as a DXF if you have one:
- Export a top view of each floor as a PNG or, from LayOut, a PDF, with dimensions showing.
- Start a trace in FloorGen with the button above and pick the file; for a DXF, import it and choose what each layer becomes.
- Set the scale from the longest dimension.
- Accept the suggested walls or draw over them, then add doors, windows and furniture from FloorGen's library.
- Check a few room sizes against the original.
Questions
Is SketchUp free, and what is free in FloorGen?
SketchUp Free runs in the browser with 10 GB of cloud storage and 3D Warehouse. Its Free plan page lists SKP, PNG and STL export. FloorGen's free plan holds 5 projects with 2D, 3D, Render, video and every export, with a small FloorGen mark on free exports.
How do I import my SketchUp model into FloorGen?
Not as a model file. Export a top-view image or PDF and trace it; converting a floor plan image shows how.
Does FloorGen work on a phone or tablet?
Yes, in the browser on phones, tablets and Chromebooks, with nothing to install.
Which formats can FloorGen export?
PDF, PNG, SVG, DXF (R12), glTF, IFC, CSV and an HTML view, with print sets at a real scale. There is no DWG.
Is FloorGen easier than SketchUp?
For a house plan it may be quicker: you draw walls and rooms and drop in doors and windows, and it starts from templates. SketchUp is more flexible for shapes that are not buildings.