If you’re an interior designer, then you know how important it is to have the right tools for the job. After all, your business is only as good as the designs you produce.
The software you use can either make or break your business. That’s why it’s so important to choose e-design software that is not only affordable, but also easy to use and packed with all the features you need.
Below, we show you the best e-design software for interior designers, both premium and budget-friendly options. So, whether you are just starting out in the industry or you have been designing interiors for years, there is sure to be a platform here that is perfect for you.
1. DesignFiles
The DesignFiles Suite is a simple-to-use, fully-functional design and business management platform. You can sell design packages and collect payments, send questionnaires, create moodboards and 3D renderings, generate shopping lists and communicate with your clients. The best part is you don’t need any Photoshop skills or CAD experience to create stunning designs for your clients.
Features:
- Moodboard creator (750,000+ products available)
- Paint library including collections from Benjamin Moore, Sherwin Williams, Dulux and Farrow and Ball
- 3D renderings (60,000+ 3D models available)
- Floor planner
- Product clipper for online sourcing
- Sell online design packages
- Send design questionnaires
- Generate shopping lists for clients
- Add affiliate links to boost your income
- Client communication portal
- Contracts
- Project time tracker
- Quotes, invoices, and purchase orders
- Quickbooks + Stripe integration
Pricing:
With the e-Design plan you can get most of our features for $49 per month. Or opt for the Full Service plan for $69 per month and unlock all of our features.
DesignFiles also has a free plan which you can use for one project at a time for as long as you want! Get access to the most useful tools and exceptional customer service with a DesignFiles membership.
2. Coohom
You can use Coohom to create 3D renderings and floor plans for design projects. The system provides a model library to make the process go much more quickly. Coohom is a good choice for designers with no CAD expertise.
Features:
- Floor plan creator
- 3D rendering
- 3D model library
Pricing:
You get access to 20,000 3D models on the free plan, but you can only work on one project at a time. For $25 per month on the Pro plan, you may work with up to 200 projects simultaneously.
Pro Tip: When using 3D software you are often not able to use the exact decor or furniture piece you’re recommending to your clients. Most vendors have not yet created 3D models of their entire collections and because of this you will often need to find a similar-looking 3D model to help your client visualize the space. For this reason, many designers will often create a moodboard that includes the exact items they are recommending and present this along with the 3D floor plan. You can use something like PowerPoint or Canva to create your moodboard designs or you can use a software that includes both moodboard and floor plan capabilities (like DesignFiles, Spoak, MyDoma or Houzz Pro) to streamline your process.
3. Spoak
With Spoak, you can create to-scale floor plans, full room designs, and mood boards without any Photoshop or CAD experience required. It’s used by interior design professionals and homeowner enthusiasts alike.
Features:
- Product clipper
- Room modeler
- Floor plans
- Editorial boards
Pricing:
Spoak costs $14.99 per month, but doesn’t offer all of the design and project management tools a designer needs, so expect to have other software costs as well.
4. Floorplanner
As the name would suggest, Floorplanner is a design tool dedicated to floor plans. You can create floor plans with the 3D product library and then share the 3D floor plans and 2D images with your client. However, you can’t use it for moodboards, client reviews, proposals, or invoices, so you’ll need to find a separate platform that lets you run more facets of your e-design business.
Features:
- 3D floorplans
- 2D and 3D floorplan images
- Shareable links
- 3D product library with 150,000 items
Pricing:
e-designers will need the Pro plan, which costs $29 per month, however this gives you 30 credits per month, and you’ll likely need to purchase additional credits to use advanced features on your projects.
5. Canva
Canva is a great platform for interior designers because it provides access to millions of high-quality images, fonts, and templates. With Canva, you can easily create stunning mood boards and proposals. However, it does not provide floor plans or 3D renderings.
Features:
- Video editor
- Image editor
- Image creator (can be used for mood boards)
Pricing:
Canva has a free plan which has plenty of features for most designers. If you want to save your branding (fonts, logo, colors) in Canva to design proposals and social media graphics faster, than you’ll need the Pro plan which costs $119.99 per year.
6. MyDoma
MyDoma is an interior design business software that you can use to create and sell online design packages, source products, create simple moodboards, and communicate with your clients. They recently added 3D rendering features so you can create realistic designs as well.
Features:
- Product clipper
- Embeddable design packages
- Purchase orders and invoices
- Client communication portal
- Contractor management
- Mood board tool
- Time tracker for projects
Pricing:
Solo designers pay $59 per month for the Solo plan, while teams of up to eight people will pay $79 per month for the Team plan. Teams of nine or more individuals will pay $129 per month for the Agency option.
7. Homestyler
Homestyler is an interior design app that allows users to create three-dimensional floor plans and visualize different design options. The software provides a realistic preview of how furniture and other objects will look in a given space. While primarily designed for amateurs and homeowners, it can be used by interior designers as well.
Features:
- Cloud based 3D floor planner
- 3D rendering
- 100,000+ 3D models and materials
Pricing:
Homestyler has a free plan that gives you access to their 3D models and materials. On the Pro plan, which starts at $4.90 per month, you can remove the Homestyler watermark from your designs.
8. Morpholio Board
Morpholio Board software is a versatile tool that allows interior designers to create moodboards, presentations, color charts, shopping lists, and furniture books and more. You can also browse through their project library of furniture and home decor products to find the right piece for your project.
Features:
- AR Furniture
- Shopping lists
- Mood boards
- Swatch maker
- Product library
Pricing:
A Pro subscription costs just $11.99 per year, but it doesn’t offer all of the design and project management tools a designer needs to manage their business and stay organized.
9. Foyr
Foyr is 3D software that was built specifically for interior designers. It doesn’t offer project or client management tools, meaning you’ll need a separate platform for those features. It includes 50,000 models and you don’t need any prior CAD or modeling training to use it.
Features:
- Product library with 50,000 items
- 2D floor plans
- 3D renderings
Pricing:
The Basic plan is $59 per month and includes 30 renders per month. Or with the Standard plan, you’ll get a total of 1620 renders per year for $89 per month. Yearly discounts are available.
10. SketchUp
Sketchup is a software that allows interior designers to create 3D models. Designers can use Sketchup to create models of rooms and furniture pieces, or select from the wide range of existing furniture that is available in the software. Sketchup also allows designers to import photos of fabrics, wallpaper, and flooring so that they can see how these materials will look in their design.
Pro Tip: While you could choose to create your own 3D models with Sketchup to show your client the exact item you’re recommending for their space, keep in mind that it takes a significant amount of time to create these models. If you’re offering e-design services, you may find your projects will be a lot more profitable if you use similar-looking models in your 3D designs to show the overall layout of the space and then provide a simple moodboard that includes the actual products you’re recommending.
Features:
- 3D modeling
- Object library
- Materials library
Pricing:
SketchUp’s most useful and popular plan is called Pro and it costs $299 per year.
Do you want to have all of the best tools in one location?
With DesignFiles, you’ll find mood boards, 3D renderings, floor plans, client communication, and more within a beautiful platform.
Sign up for DesignFiles and get the best tools, community, and customer support.
