Last Updated: December 2, 2019If you want to redesign your home or office, we’ve taken a look at the very best home design software for Mac in 2019. Lucidchart is another easy to use cloud diagramming software that makes designing floor plans very easy on all platforms.Lucidchart is similar to SmartDraw although it has a Chrome extension which allows you to work offline as well. Although it has less templates than SmartDraw, it still has plenty to complete most diagramming tasks quickly and easily.There are several Floorplan templates that you an customize and adapt for your own designs. You can also import and even export to Visio format although you’ll need a Team subscription or higher in order to do this.Lucidchart also has an iPad app which allows you to create floor plans on the move (see our for more).Overall, Lucidchart is a simple, convenient and fast way to draw floor plans on macOS.You can read more in our and you can also.You can watch an overview of how to create a floor plan in Lucidchart below. Homestyler was originally made by Autodesk, the makers of the industry leading AutoCAD for Mac software and was an incredibly powerful floor planning software for Mac and PC.It discontinued the product in 2017 but it has been continued as a somewhat lighter version under Chinese ownership by Easyhome.The surprising thing is that Homestyler is still completely free to use but still feels like a professional floor plan app. The only requirement is that you sign-up for an Easyhome Homestyler account.The latest version of Homestyler has recently been given a facelift with a new interface that’s streamlined and more responsive than the old Flash based one.Creating floor plans in Homestyler is simply a case of dragging and dropping elements in your web browser. You can add small details like grass, gravel and water elements to add realism to your floor plans.
It even allows you to import and export DWG files.When it was owned by Autodesk, Homestyler could even provide pricing for your mock ups although unfortunately that is no longer possible. However, the new owners have added some interesting touches such as 3D walk throughs, an enhanced furniture library and mobile apps with Augmented Reality.These allow you to take a photo of a room and then start decorating it with products immediately from the Easyhome catalog which really brings things to life.You can also share designs made in Homestyler to social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest etc.It’s really amazing that Homestyler is a free application and if you just want some fun redesigning your home, you can’t do much better. CFloorplanner is a very slick dedicated online floor plan software that makes creating floor plans or redesigning your home fun.
Floorplanner is designed with beginners in mind that need help creating professional and striking floor plans on Mac.Floorplanner conveniently snaps items and objects into place to keep your designs both geometrically correct and tidy with minimal effort. There are even convex tools to help you create complex rounded walls and dividers in floor plans.Like Homestyler, you create designs in 2D but you can render them in 3D. This is a really nice touch as it allows you to better visualize what your floor plans will look like if you were standing in the room.The good thing is that you can use Floorplanner for free although this only entitles you to one saved floor plan.
You then need to pay $4.99 for each additional floor plan or you can pay $14.95 which entitles you to 5 floor plans per year with additional floor plans at $2.99 each.The Pro version is $29.99 per year and gives you 15 floor plans and additional floor plans $1.99 each plus it allows you to brand floor plans.Floorplanner is great for beginners and professionals alike and although it’s not the cheapest floor planning software for Mac, it’s probably worth it for those serious about creating professional floor plans.You can watch Floorplanner in action below. It’s hardly surprising that furniture giant Ikea has gone into the world of floor planning software and Ikea Home Planner is Ikea’s way of helping you re imagine your home (and then buy its furniture of course).Ikea Home Planner is actually a plugin for Chrome, Safari and Firefox that allows you to create floor plans in your browser.Although it’s nowhere near as advanced as most of the other software featured here, it is completely free to use and fine for creating simple mock-up floor plans.Ikea Home Planner allows you to place objects around a floor space to rearrange your home in 2D and 3D. The smart thing is you can “look” around the room at ground level in 3D mode to see exactly how your new home design would feel.Of course, because it’s an Ikea product, you can get pricing for all of the objects so that you can order them in store or online where available.Of course, you are limited to objects and furniture in the Ikea catalogue although as anyone that has been to an Ikea will know, that’s pretty extensive.
It’s also limited to lounge and kitchen floor plans.You can watch Ikea Home Planner for Mac in action below. Mac Home Design & Floor Plan Software ChecklistThere are a few things to be aware of when choosing home design software on Mac. Most of the best floor planners and interior design software for Mac is online and although some have already moved to, the majority still use Adobe Flash. It’s therefore recommended to use rather than browsers such as Firefox or Safari as it tends to perform better and be more stable with Flash based software. Although Firefox and Safari both work with Flash, they are more prone to block elements especially if your version of Adobe Flash needs updating. Chrome generally works better with Flash and is faster and more responsive when running Flash based applications such as floor planning software.
Avoid Java based home design software on Mac. There are simply too many problems with Java on Mac, not least that its impossible to fully. Although there isn’t much floor planning software on either Mac or PC that still uses Java, Sweet Home 3D still does and is one of the most popular which we mention at the end of these reviews. Floor planning software doesn’t need to be expensive. The great thing is that some of the best software for creating blueprints on Mac is completely free to use.
Homestyler and Roomle are perfect examples of professional 3D floor planning software for Mac which are professional interior design software for Mac which don’t cost a cent. Others like Live Home 3D are produce high quality results and are very reasonable priced at around $30 while most of the rest use a subscription based pricing model.
Some like Floorplanner offer freemium versions which limit you to just one saved floor plan and then charge you for each additional floor plan you create. The days of needing expensive CAD software or dated apps like are gone. Although VR is still a fledgling technology when it comes to floor plans, it’s ideal for doing walk-throughs of 3D floor plan designs. So far however, only Roomle supports VR with a VR Viewer app for iPhone which works with any VR viewer.