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Victoria Hopkins

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With over 7 years of experience in interior design, Victoria is an acclaimed expert renowned for her ability to create vibrant, personalized spaces. She skillfully transforms concepts into elegant, comforting homes.

Home » Design Software & Tools » 8 Best Free Landscape Design Software Tools in 2024

The landscaping of a home is an integral part of both architecture and design. Think about it, it’s the space that all your neighbors, visitors, and even the homeowners notice first when entering the house. It may be a backyard or the front yard landscape design, a street view, or fenced, regardless, it is the space that adds aesthetic value to a financial real estate investment.

For interior designers, landscaping has been a challenge because it doesn’t follow the conventional color palette, themes, and furniture designs but it is just as important. So, as an interior designer, what do you do to solve this challenge? How can you design an exquisite, not to mention professional landscape to beautify the house?

Whether you want to add a backyard swimming pool, or a vegetable garden, or a pergola, or water features to your backyard landscape design, or simply convert it into an outdoor seating space, you can do so using these landscape design tools.

Read also – 15 Best Interior Design Software

8 Best Landscape Design Software and Tools For Your Modern Landscape Design

Before we start listing the options for you to choose from, we need to share valuable insight with you. Most of the software programs listed below allow you to use a free trial so you can decide whether or not you want to continue using them. We just want to say that if you find a landscape or home design software that works for you to facilitate all your design needs, then make the decision to pay and use all the features available.

Even the best free online landscape design software will only take you so far. If you don’t have options for different templates, floor plans, high-quality 3D rendering, and various furnishing choices, then it is hard to make an impression on a client. The price that you pay for design software is negligible compared to the easement in your design process. So do consider it.

The choice is yours but at least now we’ll know that we helped you decide why it is worth it. Please read on to know more about the best available design software programs for your landscaping needs.

Read also – 10 Reasons Why Landscape Architecture Is Important

  1. Foyr Neo

Foyr Neo

Foyr Neo is the most affordable and brilliant choice for all your design needs.

We say this, not because we designed it, but because we compared all the existing tools in the market, collected interior designers’ feedback, and carefully incorporated every single feature to help you smoothen your design process. This home design software takes care of the interiors and exterior landscaping design with an articulate selection of design programs. The app is extremely user-friendly so beginners and professional designers find it highly beneficial. There is a free version available for 14 days trial so you can design a project and see for yourself just how effective it is.

You can sign up for the advanced design functionality for only $49 per month and access all manners of 3D modeling and 3D rendering of all your design work. The landscaping options include everything from what trees and shrubs to plant all the way to accessories that will beautify your garden landscape design. The reason Foyr Neo is our personal favorite is that it allows both interior and exterior design options. You can check out the available tutorials to learn how to use every feature to your advantage.

It is a cloud-based platform available on both iOS and Windows. You can easily design and save these files and also share them with clients for feedback. You can design virtual tours so they get an accurate idea of what you have in mind and how the design plan will translate to reality. Add anything from plants to sprinklers, to pavers, to a backyard 3D warehouse. The 3D mode is particularly helpful for augmented reality and rendering. The super-smart AI’s auto-lighting option helps you ace landscape lighting design.

Apart from that you can also access a multitude of floor plans, tons of landscape design ideas and templates, and create photo-realistic renditions of the landscaping project in the paid version. You can design ad redesign as many times as you want by making simple adjustments as per your client’s suggestions.

Read also – 6 Best Home Design Apps for House Interior Design

  1. SketchUp

SketchUp - landscape design softwareImage credits: Sketchup

A design tool for professionals, SketchUp provides an array of landscaping features and meets the demand for high-quality 3D models. Sketchup is a home interior design and landscape design company and the tool makes it a good choice for anyone who wants to create 3D renderings of their design model.

However, the interface of SketchUp is anything but user-friendly. If you want to design appropriate plans then you need some knowledge of coding. The design software is not at all automated like Foyr Neo.

Furthermore, it is hard to create photo-realistic images on this platform due to its complicated and limited resources. Therefore, while you may be able to create a virtual tour, the images won’t accurately decipher your online 3D landscape design.

Read also – 10 Best 3D Modeling Software

  1. SmartDraw

smartdraw - landscape design softwareImage credits: Smartdraw

One of the top home design software programs that also allows landscaping. SmartDraw is a user-friendly, downloadable software design that allows you to design the patio, pavers, garden, and outdoor spaces in general. It also allows you to add a grill, swing, and other accessories to the deck for an accurate idea of the garden design.

You can render 3D models of your design and share them easily with clients. The problem is, that the walkthroughs may lack clarity if they don’t have supportable software available. Also, since SmartDraw is not cloud-based like Foyr Neo, you stand a chance of losing all your data if your operating system crashes. Plus, the download option is not ideal because it can slow down your system considerably.

Read also – 12 Best 3D Architecture Software

  1. VizTerra

vizterra - landscape design softwareImage credits: Vizterra

VizTerra is a garden design software that is available for both online and offline use so landscape designers can develop 3D models from 2D rendering. The app has a free trial which you can use before you delve into app purchases.

VizTerra offers a broad library of design options to choose from. Therefore, Windows users can definitely use it for their design needs. However, VizTerra is not available for iOS platforms and mobile devices. You can only use it on computers, which means you cannot design on the go or redesign components impromptu when clients specify something. It makes it a little challenging for professional landscape designers.

Read also – 6 AI-Powered Interior Design Software Tools

  1. Idea Spectrum

Image credits: Ideaspectrum

A user-friendly garden and landscape design software that offers a multitude of options for your garden design needs. The program is available on Windows platforms on your PC so you can check out feasible creatives for your landscape. Idea Spectrum allows users to explore what kind of trees they want towering over their property, what plants to ground, and which pretty flowers would brighten up their landscape design.

Although the software is quite feasible, it does not offer any free versions for trial or otherwise. You make a purchase, you use; that’s the deal. On top of that, it only works on Windows computers therefore impromptu redesign is out of the question.

Read also – 12 Best 3D Visualization Software For Designers

  1. Pro Landscape

prolandscapeImage credits: Prolandscape

If you’re looking for free landscape design software for your one-time need with not too many complicated options, then you can go for Pro Landscape. You can simply use an image to add your plants, pavers, garden or patio furniture, grass, etc. to the layout. There are some stability issues but that is common for free design programs.

Although the app is free to use, it does require in-app purchases for additional design features. If you’re a professional designer then we do not recommend this for two reasons. One, the design options are pretty limited, almost basic. Two, it has a lot of advertisements that redirect clients to landscaping professionals nearby. There’s a good chance you might lose business.

If you are a homeowner, then you can use this app to get a basic idea of what your garden design should look like. You can check where you want to place which item in vague and use your instincts to fill in the gaps.

Read also – 10 Best Furniture Design Software

  1. iScape

iscape - landscape design appImage credits: iScape

If you have an Apple iPad or an iPhone, then iScape can be of help to you. All you need to do is turn on the app and hover around the garden space.

The iScape app will identify the layout available for the landscaping project and allow you to make alterations and check what works. It is reliant on a sophisticated system of augmented reality that you can manipulate by adding and mirroring the elements available. There are a wide variety of plants, trees, garden accessories, and fences to choose from. Although an excellent choice for homeowners who try to find a perfect balance in their outdoor space on their own, this app is not that great for professional designers. For one, this is not exactly a CAD software system, therefore the levels of designing are pretty low.

Furthermore, it only works on Apple operating systems so if your client is using an Android OS, you will face some problems. It doesn’t really allow you to export your design files, which pretty much limits your options to only working with iOS-using clients.

Read also – 9 Best Interior Design Apps for Design Your Home Interiors

  1. Garden Planner

garden planner - landscape design softwareImage credits: Gardenplanner

A user-friendly software program that allows you to choose a variety of planting options from a wide-ranging library. You can customize your plants, and add photo-realistic imagery and a lot of other features to your garden design. It is a good product for beginners, however, professional designers may find it a bit lacking due to its 2D planning mode and limited hardscapes. Homeowners may not get an accurate idea of their outdoor space when they see the walk-through, which is a little problematic despite the 3D viewing option after a 2D planner.

Despite its drawbacks, it does work on both Mac and Windows platforms thus making it simpler for sharing. It uses a drag-and-drop interface so selecting the options is super simple. You can try it out for a base fee and see if it works for you. It doesn’t fare well as compared to Foyr Neo but nothing really does.

With the growing need to accommodate the means for air purification and anti-pollutants in the vicinity of a livable home, landscaping is quickly becoming a need rather than a choice.

A beautiful garden with trimmed hedges or a backyard swimming pool for hot days added to your landscape pool design, or even majestic water features perhaps with a fire element looks amazing. More than that, incorporating eco-friendly options in order to find an ecological balance in this upended climatic depletion is essential.

Read also – 15 Best Kitchen Design Software

Conclusion

If you can create a rock garden or add plants and succulents to enhance the aesthetic value of a property, it is only secondary to the deeper purpose that you’re actually furnishing homeowners with the means to breathe clean air. The landscape design software programs mentioned above will equip you with the necessary free online landscape design tools.

Among all other design programs, we promise that the Foyr Neo software is worth every penny and in reality, doesn’t cost a lot. With its robust features and accurate visualization, you can also save a ton of money on the landscape design cost. Sign up for Foy Neo for a 14-day free trial now!

FAQs

Free landscape design software may have limitations in terms of available features, design elements, and customization options. Paid versions often offer more advanced tools and a broader selection of assets.

Interior designers should consider user-friendliness, available design features, compatibility with their computer system, and the ability to export or share designs when selecting free landscape design software.

Interior designers should review the terms of use for each software tool to ensure compliance with licensing agreements. Some free tools may have restrictions on commercial use or distribution of designs.

The suitability of free landscape design software for large-scale projects depends on the tool’s capabilities. Some may be better suited for smaller residential designs, while others can handle more extensive landscapes.

Free landscape design software typically includes libraries of plants, trees, and outdoor elements. The diversity of these assets varies, so interior designers should explore the available options for their specific project needs.

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