Planner 5D alternatives
Planner 5D is a home planner that covers gardens as one feature among many. You draw the space to scale and drop in objects, and the free tier limits the catalogue. People look for an alternative when they want a tool built for outdoor space, a free tool without those limits, or a result that looks like their actual yard rather than a 3D scene. Options with a free tier come first.
What Planner 5D actually is
Planner 5D is a consumer design tool for laying out homes and outdoor spaces in 2D and viewing them in 3D. It is aimed at people who want to plan a layout themselves rather than commission a designer, and it covers gardens as part of a broader home design offering rather than as a specialism.
Pricing: Free tier with a limited catalogue; paid plans typically in the low tens of dollars per month or a one-off unlock. Turnaround: Hours to build a scene, depending on how detailed you go.
The 7 options, by what they are
DIY 3D software
- SketchUp: Free 3D modelling tool widely used by hobbyists and pros for landscape and garden design.
- Realtime Landscaping: Windows landscape design software aimed at contractors and serious DIY, with CAD-grade layout tools.
AR mobile apps
AI design tools
- Neighborbrite: Browser-based AI landscape design with a genuinely free tier and a large plant and hardscape library.
- AI Garden Design(ours): photoreal AI redesign of your own garden photo, in under two minutes
- HomeDesignsAI: AI design tool covering both interior and exterior, with a broader product surface and similar AI redesign workflow.
1. SketchUp
DIY 3D software
SketchUp is the de facto free 3D modelling tool for landscape DIY and is also used by many landscape architects for client presentations. It is a true CAD-style tool, you build the model element by element, including terrain, structures, and plants. The learning curve is real, but the output is fully customisable.
- Best for
- You need accurate scale for hardscape, structures, or grading
- Pricing
- SketchUp Free is genuinely free with web access; SketchUp Pro is around $349 per year; photoreal rendering plug-ins add roughly $200–$500 per year
- Speed
- Hours to days per design once you know the tool; weeks if you are learning
2. iScape
AR mobile app
iScape is the most established AR landscape design app on iOS. You point your phone at your yard and place plants, hardscape, and structures on top of the live camera feed. The output is more like a design mock-up than a photorealistic render, but the AR placement is genuinely useful for getting plant sizes right against the real space.
- Best for
- You already have a planting plan and want to verify scale in the real space
- Pricing
- Free tier with a basic plant library; Pro is roughly $30 per month or about $300 per year
- Speed
- Real-time AR placement, but designs are built by hand element-by-element
3. Neighborbrite
AI design tool
Neighborbrite is a web-based AI landscape design tool that turns a photo of your yard into a redesign, with an unusually generous free tier. It is the most direct free competitor in this category, and the main reason people arrive at a comparison page like this one is to work out whether paying for anything else is justified.
- Best for
- You are doing one project and do not want to pay anything
- Pricing
- Free tier available with no install; paid Pro and Business tiers add customisation and high-resolution export (pricing is not published on the marketing site, check in-app)
- Speed
- Seconds per render, in the browser
4. AI Garden Design
OursAI design tool
Photorealistic AI redesign of your actual garden photo. Pick from fifteen distinct garden styles (modern, japanese, mediterranean, cottage, and more) and get a share-ready render in under two minutes. 3 free designs, then unlimited designs for $4.99 a week or $44.99 a year. Cancel anytime.
- Best for
- You want to see your own yard in several styles before paying for anything
- Pricing
- 3 free, then $4.99/week or $44.99/year
- Speed
- Under 2 minutes per design
5. DreamzAR
AR mobile app
DreamzAR is a mobile landscape design app that pairs AR placement of plants and features in your yard with AI-generated redesigns from a photo. It is one of the closest direct comparisons to AI Garden Design, with the main differences being platform reach, output style, and how the two handle iteration.
- Best for
- You want to stand in your yard and place objects in AR
- Pricing
- Freemium with in-app purchases; subscription and credit packs, typically low tens of dollars per month
- Speed
- Minutes for an AI redesign; AR placement is real time
6. Realtime Landscaping
DIY 3D software
Realtime Landscaping, from Idea Spectrum, is desktop landscape design software sold in tiers from homeowner to professional. It is one of the few tools in this space built specifically for landscapes rather than adapted from general home design, and the professional tiers are used by contractors to produce client presentations and build documentation.
- Best for
- You are producing documentation a crew will build from
- Pricing
- One-off licence, typically low hundreds for homeowner tiers up to several hundred or more for professional editions
- Speed
- Hours to days per project, depending on detail
7. HomeDesignsAI
AI design tool
HomeDesignsAI is one of the broader AI design tools on the market, it covers interior rooms, exteriors, gardens, and commercial spaces from a single platform. The breadth is the selling point: if you want one subscription that handles redecorating your living room and reimagining your garden, it is a reasonable fit. AI Garden Design is the opposite bet, narrow, garden-specialised, with garden-specific styles, plant guides, and the design knowledge baked into the prompts.
- Best for
- You also want to redesign your kitchen, living room, or office
- Pricing
- Subscription tiers, roughly $20–$100 per month depending on plan and usage limits
- Speed
- Comparable, under a few minutes per redesign
See your own yard redesigned first
Upload a photo of your garden and get a photoreal redesign in under two minutes. 3 designs free, no credit card.
Redesign my yard freePlanner 5D alternatives: frequently asked questions
What is the best alternative to Planner 5D?
It depends on why you are leaving Planner 5D. Pick SketchUp if you need accurate scale for hardscape, structures, or grading. Pick iScape if you already have a planting plan and want to verify scale in the real space. Pick Neighborbrite if you are doing one project and do not want to pay anything.
How do these Planner 5D alternatives compare on price?
SketchUp: SketchUp Free is genuinely free with web access; SketchUp Pro is around $349 per year; photoreal rendering plug-ins add roughly $200–$500 per year. IScape: Free tier with a basic plant library; Pro is roughly $30 per month or about $300 per year. Neighborbrite: Free tier available with no install; paid Pro and Business tiers add customisation and high-resolution export (pricing is not published on the marketing site, check in-app). AI Garden Design: 3 free, then $4.99/week or $44.99/year. DreamzAR: Freemium with in-app purchases; subscription and credit packs, typically low tens of dollars per month. Realtime Landscaping: One-off licence, typically low hundreds for homeowner tiers up to several hundred or more for professional editions. HomeDesignsAI: Subscription tiers, roughly $20–$100 per month depending on plan and usage limits.
Which Planner 5D alternative is fastest?
SketchUp: hours to days per design once you know the tool; weeks if you are learning. IScape: real-time AR placement, but designs are built by hand element-by-element. Neighborbrite: seconds per render, in the browser. AI Garden Design: under 2 minutes per design. DreamzAR: minutes for an AI redesign; AR placement is real time. Realtime Landscaping: hours to days per project, depending on detail. HomeDesignsAI: comparable, under a few minutes per redesign.