Revit vs SketchUp

Introduction

The architectural software market is broad and multifaceted, and the term itself describes many kinds of solutions, including CAD, BIM, and other options. There is also the fact that many of these solutions overlap in features and capabilities, making it difficult to pick just one option to work with.

Additionally, this software market is highly competitive, making it very difficult to find a single source to compare several solutions with one another. Our goal today is to become one such resource, comparing the capabilities and unique aspects of Revit and SketchUp in a centralized manner.

Revit vs SketchUp – Which Is the Best?

Before we can delve into the specifics, we should address the common issues in comparing BIM and CAD solutions. The fact that some BIM tools offer basic CAD capabilities does not help matters, either, since this is not a common theme for the entire market. We can take a basic BIM data management solution as an example to see that a lot of its alternatives do not have any modeling capabilities built-in, making the topic even more confusing.

As such, comparing specific solutions is often the better option to eliminate confusion and start the comparison process somewhere. Both Revit and SketchUp fall into the same category of construction software, but they are also completely different from each other in accessibility, feature set, pricing, and more.

For example, Revit is the best for companies looking for a comprehensive BIM solution that is hyper-focused on construction projects. SketchUp, on the other hand, is an incredible sketching and modeling solution that is most effective in the hands of architects and designers.

Researching BIM or CAD software can be a time-consuming process, with no single resource answering all questions at once. The issue is made even worse by the fact that many solutions have overlapping capabilities or features. To address this, we have gathered detailed information about both solutions to provide comprehensive details of each one. Any detailed comparison must include direct comparisons, customer reviews, benefits, shortcomings, and more. In this article, our primary objective is to compare Revit with SketchUp to determine their best and worst use cases.

Detailed Comparison of SketchUp and Revit

Revit

Autodesk Revit is a BIM-centric software that enhances the work of construction professionals worldwide, leading to the creation of higher-quality buildings that are also much more energy-efficient. Revit offers a wide range of features for structural engineering, MEP, architectural design, and construction, making it a versatile solution that can be beneficial to practically any participant involved in a construction project.

Revit facilitates the creation of information-rich models, which allows architects, engineers, and constructors to make well-informed decisions and collaborate effectively throughout the project realization process. Its feature set helps eliminate miscommunication, reduces the need for rework, and improves overall build quality. The entire product model remains consistent and up-to-date at all times, instantly reflecting any design changes made by stakeholders.

SketchUp

SketchUp is a renowned 3D modeling platform that finds a certain balance between simplicity and versatility. It is known as one of the most popular modeling tools available, used by architects and designers on a regular basis. Additionally, it often serves as the introductory software for architecture students entering the industry. Even though it was created back in 2000, SketchUp underwent substantial transformative changes with its acquisitions by Google in 2006 and later by Trimble in 2012, resulting in several waves of massive feature enhancements.

SketchUp is an excellent sketching and modeling tool that empowers users to create a wide range of objects and models with minimal knowledge requirements. The vast library of ready-made models in the 3D Warehouse can also be used as a starting point for current or future projects, as we have mentioned above. The software prioritizes user-friendliness over feature complexity, offering an extensive toolset for creating and modifying 3D models to encourage limitless creativity while producing the best possible results.

Pricing and Features

Revit

Autodesk Revit can offer two different pricing models – a subscription-based one and Autodesk Flex.

Autodesk Revit subscription can be purchased in three different packs:

• $365 for one month
• $2,910 for one year
• $8,730 for three years

Autodesk Flex is a pay-as-you-go pricing model that uses tokens to provide access to some of Autodesk’s features, including Autodesk Revit. Autodesk Revit’s price in tokens is 10 tokens per day, and there are several different token packages that a user can purchase on Autodesk website:

• $300 for 300 tokens
• $1,500 for 1500 tokens
• A custom token amount

Comprehensive BIM capabilities are the prime selling point of Revit, making it possible to create integrated models capable of storing both geometric and non-geometric information about the project. Revit excels at parametric modeling and maintaining intelligent relationships between building elements, making it extremely useful throughout the entire AEC sphere for true multidisciplinary coordination while using only one platform.

In addition to its modeling capabilities, Revit is also excellent in terms of its documentation capabilities, enabling the automatic generation of schedules, drawings, and quantities using the most up-to-date information from the project model. It also supports bi-directional associativity, making it possible to reflect any changes to the project throughout every single schedule or drawing (to eliminate miscommunication). Advanced analytics is another interesting aspect of Revit’s feature set, supporting structural analysis, energy performance, and clash detection, and its visualization tools simplify the creation of virtual walkthroughs and realistic renderings.

SketchUp

SketchUp has four different pricing plans it can offer:

• “Free” is, as the name suggests, a pricing plan that costs $0 and offers basic 3D modeling features in the web version of the software, with limited access to 3D warehouse, limited Trimble connect cloud storage capacity, and basic file import/export capabilities
• “Go” – $119 per year, all of the previous features with the addition of a dedicated iPad app, advanced exporting, access to Live Components, and an unlimited Trimble Cloud storage capacity/3D warehouse access
• “Pro” – $349 per year, the most popular paid pricing plan of SketchUp with access to all previously mentioned features, as well as a desktop SketchUp Pro app, 2D documentation, Extension Warehouse, PreDesign, ability to view models using AR/VR headsets, and more
• “Studio” – $749 per year, the complete feature set of SketchUp, includes everything above, as well as Revit-to-SketchUp file importing, photorealistic visualizations, Scan Essentials, and so on

The brunt of SketchUp’s capabilities is in intuitive 3D modeling, which uses the signature push-pull technology to quickly create or modify geometry with little-to-no overhead. This solution’s drawing tools were designed to simplify and speed up the concept development and visualization processes as much as possible, and the existence of a built-in component library (3D Warehouse) expands this capability even further by giving access to millions of user-made models to choose from.

It is definitely not as robust as Revit when it comes to operating with technical documentation, but its existing capability to improve its feature set with the help of extensions helps bridge this gap in a significant manner. There is also the LayOut companion app with basic 2D documentation tools, as well as vast compatibility with different file formats and design applications, greatly boosting SketchUp’s interoperability and compatibility.

Long-Term Cost of Ownership

Revit uses Autodesk’s subscription model, with an annual cost of about $3,000 depending on the package and commitment period. Aside from licensing, organizations must account for implementation expenses: standardization efforts, the development of templates, content creation, and maybe even consulting services, which is often a lot more than a single year of the software’s subscription fee. On top of that, there is also the hidden cost of the productivity impact during the initial learning period, which can take months, as well as necessary hardware upgrades every few years and the potential need for specialized BIM management personnel with their own costs.

SketchUp and its tiered subscription model is a much more accessible option in comparison, but it does also target a completely different market in most cases. Minimal hardware requirements and simpler content management also greatly reduce total implementation costs, and the shallow learning curve leads to lower productivity losses during adoption. All in all, SketchUp is a lot cheaper from a long-term cost standpoint than Revit, although their target audiences and general capabilities are different enough to make it difficult to compare them directly.

Certification and Training

Certification and training are both extremely important for any potential client, since most architectural software has at least some degree of complexity that requires additional investments in training and onboarding, as well as regular certification to refresh knowledge and learn of newer developments.

Revit

Autodesk has an entire certification program for Revit with a defined structure, from entry-level to professional expertise. The Autodesk Certified User credential validates basic skills with the software, while Autodesk Certified Professional demonstrates advanced proficiency in operating Revit for complex projects. These certifications are industry-recognized, serving as valuable credentials for the validation of expertise or job seeking. Autodesk’s exam for Revit covers practically every topic imaginable, from fundamental modeling concepts to high-grade documentation and collaboration capabilities.

The entire learning ecosystem of Revit is impressive on its own, with official Autodesk learning channels, as well as authorized training centers and a variety of third-party resources to choose from. Autodesk offers a structured learning path with its Autodesk Learning platform, and there are also a myriad of video courses, training programs, and books that cater to specific goals, specializations, or learning styles. Creating in-house Revit training programs is also common, which reflects both the overall market share of Revit when it comes to BIM software and the high resource investment in developing competent users.

SketchUp

Compared to Revit, there are not many options to choose from in Trimble’s certification options. The one designation that many users strive for is SketchUp Certified Professional, which validates user proficiency across the core features of the software. This certification process verifies practical modeling skills, efficiency techniques, and workflow optimization, making it somewhat more specialized than Revit’s. Despite its seeming lack of complexity, SketchUp’s certification is still considered a formal recognition of the user’s competency, differentiating professionals in some segments of the design field.

SketchUp’s ease-of-use philosophy is also reflected in its training resources, which emphasize quick skill development and accessibility more than anything. Trimble offers a self-paced learning process through SketchUp Campus, with many guided exercises and video tutorials, and there is also a network of authorized trainers who can provide much more personalized instruction. The gentle learning curve reduces the need for extensive formal training, making it possible to achieve proficiency with nothing but practice and self-guided exploration.

Compatibility and Versatility

Compatibility with other tools and general versatility are both extremely important factors in the architectural software industry. They determine the collaborative potential of the environment, as well as its general efficiency and even the potential return on investment for design firms.

Revit

Revit is a part of Autodesk’s extensive software ecosystem, making integration with other solutions from the software provider extremely easy. Luckily, Autodesk has no shortage of popular and powerful solutions to choose from, including AutoCAD, 3ds Max, Civil 3D, Navisworks, ACC, and so on. As for third-party applications, Revit also provides its users with robust API access with many specialized add-ins for practically any use case imaginable, from advanced structural analytics to photorealistic rendering. The solution even supports the IFC standard for improved interoperability, even if the same level of data fidelity is not guaranteed when information is exchanged outside of the Autodesk ecosystem.

Despite the fact that Revit was originally developed for building design, it has successfully evolved to accommodate industrial and infrastructure projects with its specialized toolset. Revit’s biggest advantage is in managing large-scale and complex projects that rely on data-rich modeling and coordinated documentation. However, it can feel somewhat cumbersome for less complex projects or businesses, making it difficult to recommend to businesses outside of the large enterprise segment of the client base.

SketchUp

SketchUp is the polar opposite of Revit in more ways than one, and that includes the software’s approach to compatibility. It supports many different file formats, including DWG, DXF, 3DS, IFC, DAE, etc. This way, SketchUp can serve as a versatile connector between design platforms, even if it lacks the native integration capabilities that solutions like Revit provide. SketchUp’s attempt to compensate for this disadvantage results in a library of third-party extensions that can bridge certain functionality gaps. Its general lightweight nature contributes to the primary purpose the solution was always aiming for: creating concepts and sharing them with more complex software for further development.

SketchUp also demonstrates impressive adaptability across different design disciplines outside of purely architecture. It can find applications in urban planning, product development, interior design, landscape architecture, and more. This high degree of accessibility is especially valuable for smaller businesses that work on different types of project but do not have the resources to maintain several specialized software platforms on a constant basis. Of course, such versatility also comes at the cost of not being as in-depth and specialized as Revit or some of its alternatives.

Hardware Requirements

The hardware specifications for both solutions differ significantly, since Revit and SketchUp have completely different goals and sets of features.

Minimal hardware requirements

There is a very clear disparity in the hardware requirements for Revit and SketchUp, which mostly stems from their primary use cases:

Recommended hardware requirements

For the most optimal experience in large and complex projects, both solutions require much more powerful hardware than their minimal requirements, although the disparity between the two is still easily noticeable:

Community Support

Both the quality and quantity of community support surrounding a design software application can make or break its attractiveness in the eyes of potential buyers. It can even impact general user success due to the ability to offer crucial resources for problem-solving, workflow optimization, and skill development beyond what the traditional channels provide.

Revit

Revit’s community ecosystem is considered mature and professionally-oriented, with over two decades of experience under its belt. The Autodesk Forums are a popular hub for Revit users, who can access direct support from Autodesk staff, with a myriad of threads covering all kinds of specialized workflows, case-specific questions, and troubleshooting recommendations. There are also many independent communities that operate in a similar fashion (such as RevitForum), facilitating knowledge exchange among Revit users.

In all fairness, most of these resources do focus a lot on advanced techniques and topics instead of basic functionality. However, this particular aspect of the Revit user base makes it a great place for creating and sharing user-generated content, such as templates, families, scripts, and other resources that can address very specific concerns. Alternatively, there are annual events and conferences such as Autodesk University that offer opportunities for networking and learning in-person, complemented by a multitude of specialized training providers. The professional orientation of Revit entails a more definitive lean toward production efficiency and standards-compliant workflows than toward artistic exploration.

SketchUp

The SketchUp community is another sign of its much broader target user demographic, especially when compared with more specialized software (such as Revit). The primary audience of SketchUp includes hobbyists, educators, students, and professional designers, all of whom have their own preferences. The SketchUp Community Forum is often seen as the primary platform for most users to interact with each other, creating a wide audience of variable skill levels capable of answering most baseline questions of both beginners and advanced users with ease.

The 3D Warehouse is one of SketchUp’s most distinctive community assets. It contains millions of models generated by regular users and which are available to the rest of the audience for free. A collaborative repository such as this tends to dramatically improve the speed of modeling workflows, fostering a culture of sharing instead of developing each component from scratch.

User-Friendliness

The convenience of using each solution can be a very important factor for certain organizations, prioritizing ease of use over variety of features.

Revit

Revit’s overwhelming popularity does not deter from the fact that it is a solution with a very steep learning curve. The comprehensive set of BIM features necessitates a much more complex approach to geometry planning, with complete building systems in mind. Revit’s interface also has a reputation of being notably complex and having an abundance of different panels, properties, toolbars, and ribbons that can be overwhelming for many first-time users. Even the most basic operations within Revit necessitate a certain degree of understanding how the solution works, making immediate productivity extremely difficult.

With that being said, Revit does become a lot more reasonable once the fundamental concepts of it are learned. The substantial learning investment pays off long-term, especially in complex projects where a lot of businesses use Revit purely because of its current popularity and market share.

SketchUp

In a way, SketchUp can be seen as the complete opposite of Revit from a user-friendliness standpoint. It is remarkably intuitive as-is, and its “push-pull” approach to modeling simplifies the 3D modeling process even further. There is a lot of emphasis on simplicity and direct geometric manipulation in SketchUp, making it a good option for practically any user with or without a technical background. It provides a streamlined toolbar and a minimal learning curve that makes it possible to create complex models within hours instead of days or weeks.

SketchUp uses a conceptual and visual approach to 3D modeling, with speed and design exploration being the biggest priorities. It is a great way to produce quick design iterations and concepts, and the extensive library of pre-made components accelerates the process even further. It is a lot more simple and convenient than Revit, but at the cost of reduced detail in construction documentation and building system integration.

Target Audiences and User Ratings

The intended user base of each design solution differs for one reason or another. A good understanding of the audience that each solution is targeting should greatly simplify the process of making the appropriate software selection while keeping long-term strategic goals in mind.

Revit

Revit serves AEC professionals in mid-to-large scale projects for most of its use cases, covering commercial, institutional, and complex residential tasks where the use of BIM is practically mandatory at this point. The platform works best in multidisciplinary firms that manage projects throughout their complete lifecycle, from early design concepts to post-construction facility management. They often require significant training investment, standardized protocols, and dedicated BIM specialists to operate properly. Government contractors, specialized consultants in regulated environments, and enterprise-level organizations are the primary audience for Autodesk Revit.

As for customer ratings, Revit is evaluated as follows:

• Capterra – 4.6/5 points rating based on 384 customer reviews
• G2 – 4.5/5 points rating based on 795 customer reviews
• TrustRadius – 8.7/10 points rating based on 189 customer reviews

SketchUp

SketchUp’s audience is extremely diverse, covering various creative fields in addition to urban planning, interior design, architecture, landscape design, and more. Any field that requires the rapid development of concepts and extensive visual communication is highly suitable for the use of SketchUp. It appeals the most to small-to-medium companies or projects, as well as independent designers and educators (and their students), putting accessibility, minimal onboarding time, and creative freedom at the top of the priority list.

When it comes to user reviews, SketchUp has the following reputation:

• Capterra – 4.5/5 points rating based on 962 customer reviews
• G2 – 4.5/5 points rating based on 896 customer reviews
• TrustRadius – 8.3/10 points rating based on 176 customer reviews

Sustainability

The sustainability capabilities of design software are a much more important factor now than just a decade ago. Environmental regulations are getting more strict, and client demands for green buildings grow on a regular basis. As such, the capabilities of each solution in terms of sustainable design and construction should be evaluated with a certain degree of priority.

Revit is an extremely feature-rich solution by itself, and this includes a robust toolset for sustainability analysis, both as a native capability and as one of the countless add-ins. Energy Analysis for Revit uses cloud computing to simulate building performance, offering insights about energy consumption, thermal behavior, solar exposure, and more. The parametric nature of the solution also facilitates rapid testing capabilities for multiple design scenarios with different material selections, orientations, and envelope configurations. The interoperability introduced by the platform creates an expansive ecosystem for practically everything a company may need in the sustainability department, from advanced performance optimization to basic LEED documentation.

SketchUp approaches sustainability with a strategy based primarily on extensions, allowing users to integrate various environmental analysis tools into the basic SketchUp platform. The simplicity of creating and modifying geometry makes SketchUp a perfect choice for early-phase studies where design fluidity is at its most important, and an abundance of third-party tools offer reasonably complex sustainability analysis. It may lack the native material data management capabilities that Revit has, but SketchUp’s solar studies are much better in comparison thanks to built-in shadow analysis, as well as a number of specialized plugins that can visually communicate the environmental impact of certain design decisions to non-technical stakeholders.

Customizability

Certain platforms can be much more effective at adapting to specific organizational workflows, project needs, or industry requirements. Considering how much impact this adaptability can bring in terms of team efficiency, it is only natural that one would like to know which solutions are more customizable than others.

Revit can be customized extensively with its multi-layered approach, which includes template customization, family editing, and more. The open API policy that Revit provides with its own scripting language, Dynamo, allows for an unprecedented level of customization in terms of algorithmic design and computational automation without the need to learn traditional programming. It is even possible to use complete programming languages such as Python or C# to develop completely custom plugins due to the full API access Revit provides.

SketchUp is slightly more accessible in its customization efforts, focusing on ease of implementation and flexibility over rigid standardization. The software’s extension ecosystem is the primary pathway for customization, with the Extension Warehouse providing access to hundreds of case-specific tools and features. SketchUp’s Ruby API is a straightforward framework for creating custom tools and automation scripts for various purposes, while other tools provide simple mechanisms for creating collections of firm-specific content without the parametric complexity Revit families usually come with. Quick implementation and individual productivity enhancements are the primary points of concern for SketchUp, which is a much more preferred approach for smaller businesses or those with limited resources.

Potential Shortcomings

The limitations and weaknesses of each architectural solution are essential context for implementation planning, which helps businesses develop appropriate mitigation strategies and create realistic expectations about what the software offers.

Revit’s best-known issue is its complexity, which necessitates a high level of investment in training to achieve proficiency. It is also highly dependent on powerful (and expensive) hardware in order to operate at peak efficiency, especially in large and complex projects. The rigid data structure of the solution also tends to reduce the range of possibilities for creative exploration in conceptual design, and the centralized file approach is known for creating potential information exchange bottlenecks.

SketchUp’s limited BIM capabilities are probably the most notable disadvantage of the solution in the current context, with the complete absence of the data management or parametric intelligence features that are required in order to establish comprehensive building information modeling in construction projects. It also struggles with bigger models, introducing performance degradation and other issues in certain cases, while the existing modeling methods are not precise enough to be used directly in BIM environments without causing various geometry issues. SketchUp is not particularly detailed in its documentation capabilities, and the built-in analytical capabilities are extremely lackluster for enterprise purposes.

Which Solution Is Best for Newcomers?

As we mention above, the barriers to entry for architectural design software are often significant contributors to final purchasing decisions, making it important to cover initial learning and other similar topics.

It would be fair to say that Revit is not a user-friendly solution whatsoever, and a lot of its new audience is only there because of its market share and/or complexity. Users’ first interactions with the interface are described as overwhelming, and the amount of information needed to be able to operate at a certain level of proficiency is moderately high. Many users must invest from 3 to 6 months into learning the solution before achieving proficiency and seeing the benefits it can provide.

SketchUp is the complete opposite of this: it is a definitive entry-level 3D modeling solution for various architectural visualization purposes, achieved with a combination of an intuitive interface and minimal specialized terminology. Most users achieve basic modeling competency within hours of starting to work with SketchUp, and its progressive disclosure of functionality makes it possible for users to gradually discover advanced features as their own skills develop.

Conclusion

Autodesk Revit and SketchUp represent different aspects of the architectural software industry, offering somewhat comparable feature sets and obvious differences in their target audiences and feature sets.

Autodesk Revit is a full-fledged BIM platform with a wealth of different features. The solution in question can create and modify information-rich models that act as a single source of truth for all project participants to eliminate miscommunication and greatly reduce the number of reworks. Revit also has two different pricing models, native integration with other Autodesk products, and an extensive library of add-ons to expand Revit’s already impressive feature set even more.

You can find more information about Revit in comparison with another, completely different software application, called Navisworks, in this article.

SketchUp is a wonderful 3D modeling tool often considered one of the best on the market. It offers precise modeling and sketching tools while also providing the ability to use community-made objects in your own projects from SketchUp’s 3D Warehouse. In addition to this, SketchUp also has a dedicated Extension Warehouse, its primary source of compatible add-ins and plugins to expand the base functionality in different ways.

One such extension is called Sefaira. It is a respectable toolset that revolves primarily around BIM-adjacent capabilities, such as design comparisons, analyses, simulations, and more. It is nowhere near close in complexity to Revit, but it can be enough to conduct basic BIM operations with SketchUp alone.

At the end of the day, the “best” possible software for each company differs depending on a large number of parameters. One company might find more use with a user-friendly sketching and modeling tool such as SketchUp. Another business might look for a comprehensive BIM solution with an abundance of advanced capabilities. As such, we can only recommend that businesses assess their own needs and limitations in order to decide which solution is best.