SketchUp is one of the most used 3D modeling computer programs in architecture, landscape architecture, interior design, mechanical engineering, civil engineering, film industry, and video game industry. One of its main advantages is that it’s light for computers and straightforward to use compared to most CAD programs.

However, SketchUp comes in a variety of plans and pricing and we must be careful to choose the plan that not only fits our budget but also fills our design and modeling needs. SketchUp wont to be solely desktop software, offered on Mac and PC. Nowadays, there’s SketchUp on our phone, SketchUp on our tablet, SketchUp in our browser.

Among SketchUp’s plans, SketchUp Free and SketchUp Pro are the foremost commonly used. But what’s the difference? What would make us choose one and not the other? during this guide, we shall closely examine each of the two SketchUp plans looking into their key features while also laying out their differences.

SketchUp Free

SketchUp Free runs inside our browser, so we need an internet connection, and any device that runs a modern browser will technically work. We could open up the browser on our phone and run SketchUp Free, but it’s not really designed for touch input, so unless we have a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard, We wouldn’t recommend it. SketchUp Free is licensed for personal use only.

Features:

10GB Cloud Storage through Trimble connect,
customer support by SketchUp community,
Limited Downloads of 3D warehouses,
Standard model viewing on iOS & Android devices, and
Basic interoperability means it can only support SKP & STL Import file types and STL & PNG export file types.

This plan is best suited for personal use. If we are looking for a SketchUp program for a company, for example, this may not be the best option. Besides, since it is a web-based application, we can only use its features while online and thus requires a very good internet connection. In SketchUp Free Plan, we will be able to use all the above applications for free except Sefaira, used for early-stage analysis by designers who care about building performance, which you will require to buy.

SketchUp Pro

Contrary to SketchUp Free which has limited features, SketchUp Pro may be a full-featured web and desktop modeller and maybe want to create anything. The most powerful version of SketchUp is SketchUp Pro. SketchUp Pro may be a desktop software bundle for Mac/PC and includes three programs: SketchUp Pro, Layout, and elegance Builder. (Style builder lets us create custom sketchy edge styles.) SketchUp Pro is the desktop version of SketchUp and has advanced features like superior import/export options, Solid tools, Dynamic Component creation, and the ability to install extensions. We can view available extensions on the Extension Warehouse, and some additional extensions available on the Sketchucation plugin store.

Features:

Unlimited Cloud Storage through Trimble connect,
Customer support through SketchUp community, email and phone,
Standard model viewing on iOS & Android devices
Allows Augmented Reality, computer game and Mixed Reality applications for XR headset viewing using XR Hololens, WMR, Oculus Rift, Oculus Quest, HTC Vive, and SteamVR.
Professional interoperability that permits it to support a good range important and Export File Types
Unlimited 3D Warehouse Extensions
Unlimited downloads from the 3D warehouse
Allows for 2D layouts

This plan is best for professionals also as students in Primary and secondary schools. It are often downloaded onto desktops while offline. The SketchUp Pro plan comes with most of the flamboyant advanced tools required for 3D modelling and style presentations required by professionals and students.

SketchUp Pro allows us to access all SketchUp features that include:

SketchUp for Desktop
SketchUp for Web
3D Warehouse
Extension Warehouse
SketchUp Viewer
SketchUp Community Forums
Sefaira

The SketchUp Pro desktop platform provides us with all the tools you require to do a professional 3D model.

If we need to download 3D models from the 3D warehouse, we just have to click on the ‘Get Models…” open box-like button, which is the third from the right end of the top ribbon. Additionally, you can also upload your 3D models to the 3D warehouse by clicking the adjacent button on the right.

To share our 3D modelled components, we will have to download the Desktop SketchUp viewer. Once we download it the last button to the right on the top ribbon will become active and we can always use it to share our 3D models and 2D designs with colleagues. It also allows us to do terrain modelling, model rendering, and walk through animations, among others through its wide range of tools.