SketchUp Reviews & Insights

Score7.6 out of 10

192 Reviews and Ratings

Community insights

TrustRadius Insights for SketchUp are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, third party data sources.

Business Problems Solved

SketchUp is a versatile tool that is widely used in various industries, including architecture, interior design, structural design, landscape design, and manufacturing design. Users have found SketchUp to be a fast and efficient solution for creating 3D models for designing buildings, furniture, equipment, and brochures. Its affordability and ease of learning make it accessible for both clients and consultants. SketchUp Pro, in particular, is a popular choice among organizations without extensive training. Real estate professionals rely on SketchUp to help sellers visualize different staging and marketing options for homes. It is utilized throughout all phases of design and construction documents for both residential and commercial projects. SketchUp excels at creating 3D drawings that meet various design requirements.

In addition to its architectural applications, SketchUp also finds use in other fields. For example, it provides visual assistance in test setups by allowing users to build 3D models that demonstrate the connection and transfer of forces. The software is internationally recognized for its extensive capabilities in making 3D designs easily, making it popular among architects, engineers, and industrial designers. In the construction industry, SketchUp is employed for design visualization and collaboration among team members. Nonprofit organizations utilize SketchUp to create visual representations of tradeshow displays, television studio set mockups, and graphics for printed publications. Designers in the furniture industry depend on SketchUp to quickly develop 3D models of office furniture and create prototypes.

Overall, SketchUp helps professionals from a range of disciplines connect better with their clients by providing a visual experience beyond traditional 2D drawings. It serves as the main visualization and 3D modeling tool for architects during client presentations, internal study sessions, and quick adjustments based on feedback. With its broad range of features and ease of use, SketchUp continues to be embraced by users across industries to enhance their design understanding and visualization capabilities.

SketchUp Reviews

24 Reviews

Small Businesses (1-50 employees)

Non simple copy command

Rating: 6 out of 10

Incentivized

June 29, 2022

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

I have been using SketchUp for architectural building modeling for about 6 years. and There is no direct command for copy paste and this is a big problem. To copy, it is necessary to hold down ctrl after the move command. copy should be a stand-alone command. Working with the move command is a waste of time.

Pros

Practice
Basic
Simple

Cons

There is no direct command for copy-paste and this is a big problem. To copy, it is necessary to hold down ctrl after the move command. copy should be a stand-alone command. Working with the move command is a waste of time.
All commands must have adjustable shortcuts. a waste of time selecting commands one by one from the right screen

Likelihood to Recommend

SketchUp is available in all areas associated with the design. In addition, thanks to its simple and plain interface, it can be a tool to support experimental learning for children.

Verified User

Professional in Research & Development (Architecture & Planning company, 1-10 employees)

Vetted Review

5 years of experience

The best quick and diverse 3-D modeling software available

Rating: 9 out of 10

Incentivized

March 24, 2022

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

SketchUp is our go to 3D modeling software to quickly visualize a space and share it with clients. On multiple occasions we have used it's large web based library to find objects that we integrate into our models and then export into rendering software to provide a polished 3D visual for our clients. The super intuitive nature makes it easy for anyone to 3D model, and I prefer it over our other 3D modeling programs with use.

Pros

Intuitive 3D modeling tools
Vast web based library
Exportable to a vast range of other software

Cons

Better integration of "Layers"
Having a "Free" viewer program so I can share models with clients to explore
Auto size to sheet size option for importing PDF's so I don't have to constantly scale.

Likelihood to Recommend

SketchUp itself does not always produced highly polished renderings of 3D models, but it really does not need to. It can quickly create models for us, which is typically more important since it saves time and money. When we want a highly polished image, since SketchUp is so widely used, it can export natively to most other platforms (I.E. Twinmotion, ArchiCad, etc...)

Brian Walker, AIA

Architect in Professional Services at Align Architecture & Planning, PLC (Architecture & Planning, 1-10 employees)

Vetted Review

17 years of experience

View profile

The Free Version is an Amazingly Solid Product for the (Non-existent) Price

Rating: 8 out of 10

Incentivized

February 15, 2022

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use SketchUp two ways. The first is as a layout tool for planning video production on location and stages (ie, mapping sets, camera movement, etc.). We also use it to mock up installations for clients' approval prior to building them (for conferences, conventions, etc.).

Pros

Incredibly easy and intuitive to use
Great for simple layouts and diagrams

Cons

Sometimes buggy
Limited ability to customize and fine tune the look of printed materials (in the free version)

Likelihood to Recommend

At our company, we often need to make "down and dirty" plans for video shoots (normally corporate promotional and marketing films). These plans are intended for internal use: making sure our production team has a clear vision for what they need to accomplish in the limited time we have available. So they don't need to be fancy, they just need to be clear and easy to generate. SketchUp is great for this. It's easy to quickly mark out rough floorplans of the stages and locations where we shoot, then diagram camera placement and movements.

Matt Eddy

Creative Director in Marketing at The Buzz Lab (Marketing & Advertising, 1-10 employees)

Vetted Review

10 years of experience

Quick and easy tool

Rating: 8 out of 10

Incentivized

December 20, 2021

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

I use SketchUp to provide sketches, layouts, elevations, and renderings for my interior design clients.

Pros

quick sketching with measurements
easy renderings
layouts of spaces

Cons

could be easier to maneuver

Likelihood to Recommend

Quick renderings in 3D of kitchens and bathrooms are great and fast. For 2D layouts, something like AutoCAD is more appropriate.

Chiara Ricci

Owner in Professional Services at Amare House & Design LLC (Architecture & Planning, 1-10 employees)

Vetted Review

10 years of experience

Great tool

Rating: 10 out of 10

Incentivized

December 18, 2021

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Sketchup is my go-to program for 3D modeling of interior architecture.

Pros

Ease of Use
Good Warehouse of Components
Fast and Reliable

Cons

Always room for more components
Make creating rounded objects easier
Make it look more realistic

Likelihood to Recommend

Great for 3D modeling, and super fast and easy. I have always had to transfer the information to CAD later on in order to move forward with CDS.

Paulina Drozdzowski

Project Lead at Waring Associates (Design, 11-50 employees)

Vetted Review

10 years of experience

SketchUp for Real Estate: PRICELESS

Rating: 10 out of 10

Incentivized

December 6, 2021

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Real Estate is very competitive right now. Getting a seller's attention is hard. We use Sketchup to differentiate ourselves from the pack of real estate professionals by allowing the seller to visualize how the home will be staged or marketed differently. It takes the "picture is worth 1000 words" concept and puts it in 3D.

Pros

Visualization of Staging
Visualization of Changes
Possible Rehab Outcomes

Cons

Takes a minute to get used to the flow of the software
Any new software is intimidating, this one has so many choices...so very many

Likelihood to Recommend

Real estate is not really the most likely use for Sketchup, since it has so many choices and possibilities. But, it is an innovative way to differentiate yourself from the competition. The program is very well-suited to the myopic seller or buyer who can't visualize future changes and their effect on value.

Arcoma L. Lambert

Business Development Manager in Sales at PCS Title (Real Estate, 11-50 employees)

Vetted Review

3 years of experience

View profile

Great for conceptual models and interior finishes

Rating: 7 out of 10

Incentivized

March 12, 2020

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Sketchup is used for early massing models and design studies in the conceptual phase of large scale commercial office projects, and in later stages of design for interior and retail projects. Sketchup models are often used as a basis for clean graphic exhibits, and for 3D renderings, fly-throughs, and virtual reality.

Pros

Very easy to learn.
Robust enough to manage various file types and modeling tasks
Great graphics options, easy to get clean presentation exhibits from 3D models.

Cons

Not very useful for document production, like scale drawings.
It has limited file type compatibility.
It does not have the tools for complex geometry.

Likelihood to Recommend

Sketchup is an excellent tool for quick 3D studies and the production of clean presentation graphics, from cartoony diagrams to full rendered scenes (with the right plugins). Sketchup excels particularly at material mapping, which is much more intuitive than other 3D software. The way it handles material and texture also makes it an excellent tool for creating photorealistic renderings and virtual reality walk-throughs.

Verified User

Professional (Architecture & Planning company, 11-50 employees)

Vetted Review

5 years of experience

Quick and easy mockups of real-world buildings and structures

Rating: 10 out of 10

Incentivized

February 23, 2020

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use SketchUp primarily for mocking up tradeshow displays. It is a quick and easy way to get a visual of how the various components of our tradeshow presence will work on the floor of the exhibit hall. We can look at it from multiple perspectives. I'm able to render out 3D walk-through or walk-around movies so everyone on the team and get an idea of what the structures will look like.
Additionally, we have also used SketchUp for television studio set mockups and graphics for printed publications, such as executive reports of projects that we've worked on.
It is a very easy-to-use app, and with nonprofit discounts, it is very economical for us. Plus, the free viewer app on the SketchUp website allows anyone to interact with the models even if they are not a licensed user. The free app runs in the cloud, so it can be used from anywhere, without needing to install the software.

Pros

Very easy to use compared to most other 3D modeling programs
Works with a huge library of free 3D components (3D Warehouse)

Cons

Sometimes SketchUp combines or joins objects in ways you did not intend and undoing that can be frustrating, especially if the Undo command is no longer an option.
The process of creating photorealistic renderings is somewhat convoluted compared to other 3D apps.

Likelihood to Recommend

For creating quick conceptual mockups of real-world objects (particularly large objects), SketchUp cannot be beaten. In some industries, such as building construction and architecture, it appears to hold a very strong position. I am not in those industries, but I find the software very easy to use.
SketchUp has some powerful tools for creating complex renderings, but some of the methods take some study and practice. I wouldn't say they are immediately intuitive. However, the company behind SketchUp has created a lot of great YouTube videos for training.
In my experience, photorealistic rendering is not an ideal use of this application, although it can be done. Some impressive renders have been done, but it seems like a lot of work that this app may not be ideally suited for. For creating photorealistic renderings, particularly of small objects (products, etc.) I would recommend Boxshot, Adobe Dimension, or a traditional 3D modeling app.
The methods of creating, combining, and manipulating objects are unique to SketchUp — quite different from standard approaches in other 3D apps. While I personally find them easy to use, there is a learning curve, and it is an entirely different process than one would find in an app like Maya, Cinema 3D, or Blender.

Michael Prewitt

Creative Director at It Is Written, Inc. (Religious Institutions, 11-50 employees)

Vetted Review

10 years of experience

View profile

SketchUp Review

Rating: 10 out of 10

Incentivized

February 10, 2020

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use SketchUp in all phases of design and construction documents for both residential and commercial projects.

Pros

3D visualization.
Clear communication of design and detailing.

Cons

Over reliance on plugins vs. real product development.
The inability to group and collapse scenes make navigation and organization somewhat complicated.

Likelihood to Recommend

SketchUp is a lightweight BIM alternative that allows for efficient workflow from the early phase of design through construction documentation. It's most suitable for smaller projects, as models are only able to be accessed by one user at a time.

Brian Gernetzke, AIA

Principal Architect at WiFIVE architects (Architecture & Planning, 1-10 employees)

Vetted Review

5 years of experience

View profile

Easy to use 3D Modeling software

Rating: 10 out of 10

Incentivized

February 9, 2020

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We've used SketchUp to create models of showroom displays for our flooring showroom. We use these models to develop a detailed plan of assembly and cut list. We've built a variety of displays to exhibit our tile products. We've also used SketchUp as an alternative to Autocad when doing some minor re-designs of our showroom and workspace.

Pros

Relatively simple to learn and use as compared with other 3D modeling tools.
Ability to share and access other models using the 3D Warehouse.

Cons

Sometimes I have to hunt around for ways to do stuff. I can usually find a solution on YouTube.
Sometimes some of the more complicated controls are counter intuitive.

Likelihood to Recommend

I have recommended SketchUp a number of times to colleagues. The main reason is that it's a pretty accessible tool that for the most part that is user-friendly and intuitive. I use the tool sporadically when we have projects to be designed, and I've found that it's one of those tools that I can get back into and quickly get "back up to speed" even though I don't use it all the time. I've tried some other tools and they are so complicated that if I'm not using it every day, it's easy to forget all the techniques.

Ed Hart

Chief Marketing Officer in Marketing at South Cypress (Retail, 11-50 employees)

Vetted Review

7 years of experience

View profile

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Quick and easy mockups of real-world buildings and structures

Rating: 10 out of 10

Incentivized

February 23, 2020

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use SketchUp primarily for mocking up tradeshow displays. It is a quick and easy way to get a visual of how the various components of our tradeshow presence will work on the floor of the exhibit hall. We can look at it from multiple perspectives. I'm able to render out 3D walk-through or walk-around movies so everyone on the team and get an idea of what the structures will look like.
Additionally, we have also used SketchUp for television studio set mockups and graphics for printed publications, such as executive reports of projects that we've worked on.
It is a very easy-to-use app, and with nonprofit discounts, it is very economical for us. Plus, the free viewer app on the SketchUp website allows anyone to interact with the models even if they are not a licensed user. The free app runs in the cloud, so it can be used from anywhere, without needing to install the software.

Pros

Very easy to use compared to most other 3D modeling programs
Works with a huge library of free 3D components (3D Warehouse)

Cons

Sometimes SketchUp combines or joins objects in ways you did not intend and undoing that can be frustrating, especially if the Undo command is no longer an option.
The process of creating photorealistic renderings is somewhat convoluted compared to other 3D apps.

Likelihood to Recommend

For creating quick conceptual mockups of real-world objects (particularly large objects), SketchUp cannot be beaten. In some industries, such as building construction and architecture, it appears to hold a very strong position. I am not in those industries, but I find the software very easy to use.
SketchUp has some powerful tools for creating complex renderings, but some of the methods take some study and practice. I wouldn't say they are immediately intuitive. However, the company behind SketchUp has created a lot of great YouTube videos for training.
In my experience, photorealistic rendering is not an ideal use of this application, although it can be done. Some impressive renders have been done, but it seems like a lot of work that this app may not be ideally suited for. For creating photorealistic renderings, particularly of small objects (products, etc.) I would recommend Boxshot, Adobe Dimension, or a traditional 3D modeling app.
The methods of creating, combining, and manipulating objects are unique to SketchUp — quite different from standard approaches in other 3D apps. While I personally find them easy to use, there is a learning curve, and it is an entirely different process than one would find in an app like Maya, Cinema 3D, or Blender.

Michael Prewitt

Creative Director at It Is Written, Inc. (Religious Institutions, 11-50 employees)

Vetted Review

10 years of experience

View profile