Looking for a photorealistic 3D house planner program

SweetHome3D is certainly a good start, but eventually, you will hit its limits. The operation is so-so, but you can learn it. The rendering engine is okay, but implemented so terribly (snail slow) that it eventually stops being fun. For me, the models eventually became too large and the work sluggish. But you can get quite far with it, just don’t expect photorealism.

I eventually ended up with cadvilla professional. It is a CAD program. It has a steep learning curve and a somewhat different philosophy than the "painting program" SweetHome3D. If you are willing to invest a lot of time, you really get usable results. For furnishing, you can use various 3d object formats, including SketchUp. Additionally, it offers the possibility to import AutoCAD files to use them for planning. That means if you ever have an architect, you can relatively quickly and easily use the dimensioned construction plans from them, which is very practical. There are plenty of tutorials for learning it. Cost is about 130€.

SketchUp is actually a 3D modeler, with which, after some getting used to, you can get really far. It runs most smoothly and is really powerful. With the free Twilight rendering plugin, you basically get photorealistic renderings. But especially if you aim for photorealism, you will have to invest a lot of time.

I ended up with Cadvilla and also make renderings for my wife with it so she can imagine details. We currently also use it for planning/positioning the sockets and ventilation valves. It is helpful for us.

I once also crafted a 3D model out of foam boards myself. However, I had the first draft/construction plans from the architect for this. If you have nothing yet and difficulty imagining in 3D, I consider that path the most difficult.

One more thing about the architect. Five figures for LPH 0 and 1 seems exaggerated to me. They usually bill according to HOAI, meaning you would calculate somewhere around 10% of their fee for the first two service phases (basic evaluation and preliminary design including cost estimate), so roughly about 1% of what you want to spend on the construction project, including incidental building costs, excluding land. For 400,000 €, that would be about 4,000€ – very, very roughly. Actually, it is calculated from the eligible construction costs, but as a rough guide, that fits.

Our architectural office made (in the end three) drafts for us at a fixed price of 1,500€ (including cost estimation) and charged that in case of commissioning. We found that fair....

Without some 3D imagination, designing on the computer can be difficult anyway. The programs can’t magic either [emoji6]

I would probably start with SweetHome3D to see if you really get along with the basic design of 3D buildings with a 2D program or if it is suitable. It costs nothing anyway. I would hold off on investing in more expensive architectural software at first...

(Sent from on the go)

I believe the OP mentioned the old Arcon last week: that is basically the best for amateurs. And affordable! It is now available under a different name. More 3D simply doesn't work, unless you buy a professional tool for a five-figure sum. But I'm out of that. Kerstin and I use Arcon here. I with limitations, as it doesn't run on MAC. Homebyme already takes one or more hours to render! A room for a realistic representation. For a house, you might then wait overnight to be able to continue working. Rendering trees is impossible on a normal user PC. Grass too. That's how it is! Forget about fidelity. Either you can implement it mentally yourself or not. Then choose an architectural office with professional equipment. But even there, there are limits.

A bit generalizing and therefore perhaps not acceptable to the majority [emoji6]

I think the OP mentioned the old Arcon last week: that is basically the best for amateurs.

Why?

More 3D simply doesn’t work, unless you buy a professional tool for a five-figure sum.

Nope

Kerstin and I use Arcon here. Me with limitations, because it doesn’t run on MAC.

Oh, well then... [emoji849]

Homebyme renders for one or more hours! A room for a realistic depiction.
For a house, you might wait overnight until you can continue working.

Not sure if ONE would like that. Would be okay for me...

Rendering trees is impossible on a normal user PC. Same with grass. That’s how it is!

With all due respect, that’s simply nonsense... how many real-time capable renderers have you written? What is this assessment based on?

Forget about level of detail.

What do you mean by that? Does LoD mean anything to you?

Either you can mentally implement it yourself or not. Then choose an architectural firm with professional equipment. But even there, limits are set.

Generally agree here, only with limitations you can get pretty far in the private sector [emoji4]

Basically agree here, you can get quite far in the private sector with restrictions [emoji4]

Dear Sir! The OP does not want restrictions, he wants "THE" program that can do both.

And now you come!

Dear lady! Read and understand: the limitation can also relate to the learning curve. I mentioned examples above. Sketchup in connection with a photorealistic rendering engine is one of them. Since Sketchup is primarily a modeler and therefore works with various renderers, there is something suitable for that as well. Twilight was mentioned, it even integrates into the texture and material management. By the way, it also runs on the Mac (and has several architecture profiles). The question is always whether it is so clever to regard only what one knows as the absolute standard and to be tempted to argue with "This is how it is!" ... the fall height rises very quickly.

So, I went, now you please. I do agree with you on some points, but some claims are not quite correct that way. I am not sure whether the OP means by photorealism what you understand by it, therefore I find the generalization rather difficult.