Best Apps for Interior Design in 2026: 8 Apps Compared

Planner 5D is our pick for most people who want to redesign a room without learning design software. You draw walls, drag in furniture, switch between 2D and 3D views and try layouts in minutes. The catalogue covers sofas, tables, beds, kitchens and decor, and you can change colours, materials and sizes to match what you already own. It works on the web and on mobile, so you can plan on a laptop and tweak a layout on a phone in a shop.

The free plan is useful, but it limits part of the catalogue and the number of high-quality renders. If you want a photorealistic snapshot of every room, a paid plan will be needed. Planner 5D is also not a full building design tool, so it is less suited to structural changes or permit drawings. For decorating, furniture placement and trying ideas before you buy, it is the easiest app on this list to pick up and use.

Homestyler is a good choice if you want to see how a room could look, not just a flat plan. You can draw a floor plan, furnish it in 3D and render a lifelike image, or upload a photo and try a new style on that photo. That visual step helps when you are choosing colours, flooring or a sofa, because a rendered image shows light and texture better than a top-down plan. The furniture library is broad, and the app is easy to use on a phone or in a browser.

The trade-off is precision. Homestyler is strong on visuals, but it is less strict about measured construction drawings than a dedicated floor plan tool. Higher-resolution renders and some advanced features also sit behind paid plans. Homestyler suits a homeowner or renter who wants to visualise a redesign and share images with family or a decorator. For a builder-ready plan, pair it with a measured tool, or choose RoomSketcher instead.

RoomSketcher is the pick when measurements matter. You draw walls to scale, add doors and windows, furnish rooms and view the result in 3D, with a walkthrough that helps you spot tight doorways or awkward furniture placement. That measured approach suits renovation planning, property listings and anyone who needs to show a builder or estate agent a clear plan. The 2D plans are clean and easy to read, which matters when a plan is shared with someone else.

The free plan is limited, and the full furniture library, measured features and high-quality exports need a paid plan. That cost is worth it if you are planning a real renovation or selling a home, but it is more than a casual decorator may want to pay. RoomSketcher is best for a serious project where scale, door swings and room sizes must be right. For quick decorating ideas, Planner 5D will feel faster and cheaper.

Houzz is less a planner and more a source of ideas, products and professionals. You can browse millions of room photos, save ideas to boards, preview some products in your room with augmented reality and find local designers, builders and tradespeople. That makes it a strong starting point for a renovation, because you can collect a style, find similar products and contact a pro from the same app. The core app is free, which makes it easy to use alongside a planner.

The limit is that Houzz does not replace a measured plan. You cannot draw a scaled floor plan and hand it to a builder in the same way as RoomSketcher, and product availability and pro listings vary by region. Use Houzz for inspiration, product research and finding help, then use Planner 5D or RoomSketcher for the plan itself. As a free ideas tool, it is hard to beat, provided you treat photos as inspiration, not as a substitute for measurements.

HomeByMe suits buyers who want to see real products in a room before they buy. You plan a room in 2D, switch to 3D and furnish it with brand-name items, then view a photorealistic image that shows how a sofa, table or cabinet might look in context. That helps avoid the common mistake of buying furniture that is the wrong scale or colour for a room. The planning tools are simple enough for a home user, and the visuals are clear enough to share with family.

The catch is catalogue and render limits. Not every brand is available in every region, and higher-quality renders and some features need a paid plan. HomeByMe is also a decorating tool, not a construction drawing tool, so it will not produce permit-ready plans. It is best for a shopper who has a shortlist of real products and wants to test them in a room first. For a full renovation plan, use it beside a measured planner.

magicplan is different from the other apps here, because it starts with your real room. Point a phone camera around a room, and the app builds a floor plan, which you can then edit, measure and annotate with photos and notes. That is useful for renovation quotes, insurance records, property work and anyone who does not want to measure every wall by hand. The ability to add notes and photos to a plan makes it practical for tradespeople as well as homeowners.

Scan accuracy is the honest limit. Results depend on the phone, lighting, room shape and clutter, so a scanned plan should be checked against a tape measure before it is used for ordering or building work. The free plan allows a limited number of projects, and full exports need a paid plan. magicplan is best as a fast starting point for a real room, especially for renovation and documentation. For a polished, measured plan, refine the scanned result in RoomSketcher or Floorplanner.

Floorplanner is the quickest browser option for a clean floor plan. You open a web page, draw rooms, add furniture and view the plan in 2D or 3D, without installing software. That speed makes it popular with estate agents, landlords and homeowners who need a presentable plan fast. Sharing links make it easy to send a plan to a partner, agent or builder, and the interface is simple enough for a first-time user.

The free plan limits the number of projects and the export options, and some advanced features use credits or a paid plan. Floorplanner is not as deep as a desktop design tool for complex builds, and its furniture catalogue is more practical than decorative. It is best for quick, clear plans in a browser, especially for property and rental work. For a detailed decorating project with a large catalogue, Planner 5D or Homestyler will give you more visual choice.

Sweet Home 3D is the best free, offline option on this list. It is open source, runs on Windows, Mac and Linux, and lets you draw a home in 2D, furnish it and view it in 3D, without a subscription or an internet connection. You can import extra furniture models, change wall colours and materials, and print or export plans. For a user who refuses subscriptions, or who works offline, that freedom is a real advantage.

The interface looks dated, and the built-in furniture library is basic compared with Planner 5D or Homestyler. You will need to find and import extra models for a polished result, which takes time. Sweet Home 3D suits a patient user who wants a free, private, offline planner and does not mind a plain interface. For a quick, pretty render on a phone, a modern app will be faster. For a no-cost desktop plan you own outright, Sweet Home 3D is hard to beat.