Landscape design is the process of using your imagination and creative ideas to improve the visual appeal of outdoor spaces such as private properties, houses, parks and small businesses. It involves the visualization and actualization of preliminary sketches by using appropriate landscape tools such as paints, brushes and even lighting equipment.
Landscape design is an art form that is also a science. It is the blending together of the beauty in nature with man-made objects to create living outdoor spaces that are in harmony with each other. If you are searching for the best landscape design software to help you build your landscapes, it can be confusing when you find so many programs available on the Internet.
SmartDraw
SmartDraw makes working on landscaping design collaborations more accessible and easy to share among peers and clients.
What We Like
- Available for mobile devices and desktop computers
- User-friendly
- Offers a free trial
- Affordable
What We Don’t Like
- Company doesn’t focus solely on apps for landscaping design
With its headquarters in Texas, SmartDraw was established in 1994 and has provided design software solutions to individuals and businesses ever since. Yearly, the company garners about three million downloads across all of its apps.
SmartDraw allows its users to build landscaping plans and designs for gardens, patios, decks, and backyards, to name a few. The software can be used for any type of structure, whether a house or a commercial facility. Some of SmartDraw’s highlights are its landscape templates, gallery of landscaping icons, and free company support. If you are part of a team, multiple personnel can work on the same project by using the SmartDraw folder sharing feature or a different sharing platform like Google Drive or Dropbox.
The SmartDraw software is compatible with computers (PCs and Macs), mobile devices (Android and iOS), and most operating systems. You can use the program via a free trial before buying it. The SmartDraw Online Edition is for around $120 a year for one person or a package for multiple users. Large companies can purchase a license for $2,995.
VizTerra
Why We Chose it: VizTerra helps professionals bring their creative ideas to life with the program’s 3D visual landscaping designs.
What We Like
- Designers can convert 2D designs to 3D in one click
- 3D design library
- Free trial
- Video design creation
- Can be used offline
What We Don’t Like
- Not available on mobile devices
- One-time setup fee of $95
- Not compatible with Mac software
Structure Studios created the VizTerra landscaping design software in 2009, specializing in helping users create 3D landscaping plans.
Utilizing VizTerra’s landscape design software, you can create personalized plans for your clients or yourself. Thanks to its technology, you can convert 2D designs to 3D in a split second. It’s dedicated to its “Smart Library” feature which, allows you to add any of the 3D items on file‚ from trees and plants to accessories and furniture. In addition, you can utilize the video and photo mode to share your project with others. Plus, the software allows you to design landscaping plans in stages, calculate material costs, and include custom icons, colors, and more.
VizTerra starts at $97 a month per user, plus a one-time setup fee of $95 with the option to upgrade to more sophisticated design features. However, those who pre-pay for an annual membership result in the price being $84 a month. The system is only available for PCs running Windows 8.1 or higher.
iScape
Why We Chose it: iScape is quickly revolutionizing the landscape design industry with its mobile apps that landscapers can use to create their designs.What We Like
- Specializes in iOS products
- Close to 5 million designs created
- User-friendly platform
- Offers a free app
What We Don’t Like
- Not compatible with Android devices
iScape was created in 2018 and quickly became a favorite among individuals, pros, and even retailers. As of September 2021, over 5 million projects have been designed using its technology.
iScape is a mobile app that is used only on iOS devices. The app’s “envision and plan” tool helps users create projects faster and easily visualize an idea. Meanwhile, the “share” feature gives you the option to easily collaborate on the project with others. In addition, you can buy any of the plants, trees, furniture, or special features you add to your landscaping design directly from within the app.
This free, user-friendly app is compatible with iPads, iPhones, and iPods. Landscaping professionals can purchase iScape Pro, which includes additional features like creating proposals and leads for $29.99 a month or $299 a year.
Lands Design
The website for Lands Design describes its product as a ‘work in progress, but it’s much more sophisticated than that label might suggest. Lands Design first appeared in 2012, and the ninth Beta version was made available back in July 2019.
Where this product is different from others is that this isn’t a standalone tool, but a plugin for the 3D modeling tool Rhino. Therefore, to use Lands Design requires a version Rhino, though it can also be used with AutoCAD.
If you have Rhino, then this is a remarkably powerful solution that includes freeform landscape modeling, a database of more than 1800 plant species, an urban furniture library, and both 2D and 3D representations.
Using Rhino rendering engines can turn a design into a photo-real representation, and it can also generate virtual tours. Buildings and furniture can also be imported from AutoCAD, and the finished designs exported to that platform if required.
With all the power of Rhino under the surface, this solution isn’t for those that tinker with landscape gardening, but professionals that are likely to work with architects.
Garden Planner
Garden Planner by Small Blue Printer is an accessible garden and landscaping design tool that is available for both Windows PC and Apple Mac. On either platform, this is a drag-and-drop interface where objects are selected from a comprehensive library and simply added to the design.
Once the placement of plants, furniture, and features is complete, Garden Planner will create a selection of notes that includes a list of everything added and any notes you created while working on the project.
New to version 3.7 is 3D views, but all planning is in 2D. The representation of plants and paving is highly stylized, and it doesn’t offer photo-real rendering or light calculations. What it does have is the ability to add your own plants, and control how they appear.
Overall, this is a simple tool with limited objectives. But, if those are to produce a map of a garden with changes to give to a landscape gardener, then it might be ideal.
The pricing for Garden Planner is very straightforward; a one-off fee with no subscriptions and no in-app purchases. Site licenses are also available, as are educational deals for up to 500 computers.
PRO Landscape
PRO Landscape has an interesting approach to landscape design that starts with you using a phone or tablet to take pictures of the area you wish to redevelop.
Using the image as a start point, plants, grass, mulch, pavers, furniture, and more, can be placed into the scene.
This product is funded through in-app purchases. The product is free to download and install, but you pay for access to the extended library of plants, pavers, etc.
It also has adverts, and these can direct you to local landscape services and resellers. These are useful, but the selection of free plants is very limited and takes no account of the geographic location of the user and their garden.
PRO Landscape is a very basic product for exploring landscaping ideas. If you want to produce plans or detailed instructions for a landscaper to follow, this probably isn’t the tool.
Gardena
Gardena is a website that sells all types of landscaping products for water management (hoses, sprinklers, etc.), lawn care (lawnmowers), tree and shrub care (hedge trimmers, shears, etc.), and other garden care tools.
Their free online software (available at their website; it’s not an app) is a way to get you interested in their products. I like this arrangement because they can afford to invest in decent free landscaping software. In other words, they aren’t looking to profit from the software itself; instead, the software is a way to attract people to their site and promote various products. It’s a win/win between Gardena and us consumers looking for free design tools.
Realtime Landscaping Pro
Realtime Landscaping Pro is a premium-quality landscape design tool that’s powerful enough for professional designers to use, but accessible and intuitive enough for homeowners to get to grips with too.
Design an accurate model of the exterior of your house, and sculpt the surrounding land to match your own backyard using the built-in topography builder.
Then plan your garden using the extensive library of 5,700 realistic plants, and thousands of more garden accessories – many of which are replicas of real-world brands available for purchase.
Once your design is complete, you can view it in 3D from the perspective of your choice, or activate the immersive walkthrough mode – complete with realistic lighting, shadows, running water, and even moving leaves – to help you visualize how your finished garden will feel.
This impressive feature set makes Realtime Landscaping Pro hard to beat among landscape design tools – especially for less than $100 – which is why it’s our overall pick for the best landscape design software on the market right now.
Total 3D Landscape & Deck Deluxe
Compared to the other landscape design tools in this guide, it’s fair to say that Total 3D Landscape & Deck Deluxe is the rough-and-ready option. At just $19.99, this is entry-level software for beginners who want to see their ideas rendered in 3D – provided the accuracy and level of detail isn’t a top priority.
There’s a very impressive-sounding library of 4,600 plants, which on paper puts Total 3D Landscape & Deck Deluxe squarely in between TurboFloorPlan Home & Landscape Pro and Realtime Landscaping Pro in terms of its inventory.
However, this is a ‘plant encyclopaedia’ rather than an object library of an equivalent standard to those other packages. You’ll find useful information about the different plants to help you choose, but when added to your landscape design they are flat, blocky and pixelated renditions.
There are some useful time-saving tools to be found within Total 3D Landscape & Deck Deluxe, however. The Smart YardBlock tool, for instance, uses drag-and-drop functionality to add entire lawns, decks or pools to your landscape design.
If your budget only stretches to $20, this is a very affordable way to visualize your garden ideas, if the free versions of iScape or SketchUp don’t suit your needs.
TurboFloorPlan Home & Landscape Pro
TurboFloorPlan Home & Landscape Pro is an easy-to-learn yet a feature-rich tool that includes both landscape design and home design functionality. At just under $100 it’s in the same price bracket as our overall top pick Realtime Landscaping Pro, which makes direct comparison inevitable.
While it has a substantially smaller object library than Realtime Landscaping Pro – including around 2,000 fewer plants to choose from – the fact that TurboFloorPlan Home & Landscape Pro also enables you to design the inside of your home may be a factor that swings it in your favor.
TurboFloorPlan Home & Landscape Pro is particularly effective for designing custom decking for your garden, with a range of easily customized template designs, as well as the IntelliDeck tool, which follows the contours of your house as you draw.
Additional useful time-savers include the Visual Array tool, which makes complex planting schemes easily by aligning plants to a pre-determined path, with custom spacing. You can also drag and drop into zone-specific groupings.
Another reason to swing your decision away from Realtime Landscaping Pro is if you’re a Mac user, as our top pick is PC-only. Be warned, however: the Mac version of TurboFloorPlan Home & Landscape Pro is substantially more expensive.
Virtual Architect Ultimate Home
Virtual Architect Ultimate Home Design helps you visualize what your outdoor space could look like. With easy-to-use tools and simple navigation, this software also has a good library of plants, branded items, and it benefits from good drawing tools.
There’s a handy tutorial window that helps you navigate your way around this software so that you’ll be able to get to grips with it fairly quickly. It’s worth noting, however, that this software didn’t run very quickly on hardware with a low battery. This version is also only available for PC but more basic versions are available for Mac.
What you will be able to do with this software though, is create decked and paved areas, add gazebos and walls, and importantly, you’ll also be able to use the visualizer to see what your plants and shrubs could look like once they’re fully established.
There’s also an extensive selection of plants, fencing, and other more permanent fixtures, as well as a broad library of furniture too.
Conclusion
Landscape design software is what landscape designers use to plan; plot, design, store, and create modifications to existing landscape designs. Landscape design software is also used by parks departments across the country to maintain existing landscapes. This can be anywhere from a parks department for a county to a huge city.