Best Landscape Design Apps in 2026

Quick answer: For designing on a photo of a yard, use iScape (homeowners, $29.99/mo PRO) or PRO Landscape+ (contractors, $90/mo). For a full 3D or CAD plan, use Realtime Landscaping (Windows, from $149 one-time), SketchUp, or Vectorworks Landmark. For a fast photorealistic concept from a photo, sketch, or 3D model with no GPU, use Render a House, which is free for 3 credits a day.

Updated Oct 2026.

Platforms and list prices as published on each vendor’s own site, checked Oct 2026. Prices are in USD unless the vendor lists another currency, and exclude tax. “Not published” means the vendor’s site did not state the detail.

We read each vendor’s pricing, product, and system-requirements pages in Oct 2026 and recorded only what they publish: platform, what you design from, and list price. We did not run a scored test, collect ratings, or rank output quality. The apps fall into three groups: photo-based yard designers (iScape, PRO Landscape+), 3D and CAD modelers (Realtime Landscaping, SketchUp, Vectorworks Landmark), and AI renderers that turn existing inputs into concept images (Render a House, mnml.ai, Gendo). Home Outside is a special case, covered below.

Render a House is an AI rendering tool for architects and real estate.

What it does for landscapes. Upload a photo of the yard or exterior, a hand sketch, a site plan exported to PNG or JPG, or a 3D model, and describe the planting, paving, lighting, or season you want. It runs in the browser, so there is no GPU to buy and nothing to install. The uploader accepts PNG, JPG, and WebP images plus SKP, GLB, GLTF, OBJ, and STL models; a SketchUp .skp file uploads directly without exporting. PDF is not accepted, so export a plan sheet to PNG or JPG first. The landscape viewer places a GLB, GLTF, or OBJ site model on map context so you can save cameras and render each view.

Price. Free gives 3 credits per day at 1K with a watermark. Pro is $39/month with 240 credits, and Studio is $99/month with 1000 credits. Video is included on all paid plans, top-ups start at $5, and checkout is by card. See plans and pricing.

Limits. It produces concept images, not landscape plans. It does not draw planting schedules, calculate grading or drainage, or estimate material quantities, so pair it with a design or CAD app when you need construction documents.

What it is. iScape is a mobile app for designing directly on a photo of a yard or job site, with plants, pavers, furniture, and hardscape items you drag onto the image, plus 2D and 3D augmented-reality designs, per the iScape homepage. The site describes it as an app for iOS and Android, while the pricing page lists 2D and 3D design as iOS only.

Price. Free to download with limited features; PRO is $29.99/month or $299.99/year per user, with a trial, and adds the full plant database, a proposal tool, and uploading your own images, per iScape pricing. Enterprise pricing is by contact.

Best for. Homeowners and landscape contractors who want a quick before-and-after on the actual yard, and Pro users who need a materials list and PDF proposal from the design.

What it is. PRO Landscape+ is Windows design software for landscape contractors that covers photo imaging, CAD plans, 3D rendering, lighting design, and proposals, per the PRO Landscape site. Each license covers one computer plus the free Companion app on one iPad or Android tablet, per the Companion app page.

Price and platform. $90 billed monthly or $900 billed annually, listed as compatible with Windows 10/11 only, per PRO Landscape+ buy page. The system requirements recommend a premium or gaming video card for the 3D Editor and say Mac users run it through Parallels, a setup the vendor does not support.

Best for. Contractors who design on site with the customer, then bid and close the job from the same file.

What it is. Realtime Landscaping from Idea Spectrum is 3D landscape design software for yards, gardens, decks, fencing, and pools, sold in Plus, Pro, and Architect editions, per the Idea Spectrum site.

Price and platform. Plus 2026 is $149, Pro 2026 is $279, and Architect 2026 is $599, each a one-time license with no subscription, a free trial, and a 30-day money-back guarantee, per the same page. It runs on Windows 64-bit 10 or 11; the vendor says there is no Mac version and that virtual machines and Parallels are not supported, per the Realtime Landscaping FAQ.

Best for. Homeowners and designers on Windows who want a walkable 3D yard and prefer a one-time purchase.

What it is. SketchUp is a general 3D modeler, not a landscape-specific app, but it is widely used to model terraces, decks, walls, and site context. SketchUp Free runs in a web browser and imports SKP, JPG, and PNG files, per the SketchUp Free page.

Price and platform. Go is $10.75/month billed annually for iPad and web only, Pro is $33.25/month billed annually and adds the desktop modeler and LayOut, and Studio is $71.58/month billed annually, Windows only, with V-Ray, per SketchUp plans and pricing.

Best for. Designers who want to model hardscape and grade changes. To get a photoreal image without V-Ray, you can upload the .skp file to Render a House; see AI architectural rendering.

What it is. Vectorworks Landmark is professional landscape design software for sketching, modeling, and documenting projects of any size, per the Vectorworks Landmark page, which also offers a free trial.

Price and platform. $170/month billed monthly, or $127.50/month billed annually at $1,530/year. Listed operating systems are macOS 26 (Tahoe), macOS 15 (Sequoia), and Windows 11, with 8 GB of RAM or more, per Landmark pricing.

Best for. Landscape architects who need drawings, plant data, and documentation, not just a picture of the result.

What it is. mnml.ai is a web platform of AI tools for architecture. Its landscape design tool works from a photo of the garden or a site plan, adds planting, paving, water, and lighting, and can show seasonal and time-of-day variants of one design, per mnml.ai Landscape Design.

Price. Every new account gets 100 free credits that do not expire, with no card required; the Lite plan is $29/month for 1,000 credits, per mnml.ai pricing.

Best for. Quick AI garden concepts from a photo and showing a client the same design across seasons.

What it is. Gendo is a collaborative AI canvas for architecture studios, with image tooling, material transfer, upscaling, and video. Its pricing page does not list a landscape-specific mode, so it fits teams that already render buildings and want to include gardens in the same workflow.

Price. Free is £0 with one active canvas, a Gendo watermark, and 1K export. Studio is £79/month, or £66/month billed annually at £790/year, with no watermark and 2x/4x upscaling, per Gendo pricing. Prices are listed in GBP and exclude tax.

Best for. Studios that collaborate on AI images with clients and teammates on a shared canvas.

What it is now. Home Outside is often listed as a homeowner landscape design app, but in Oct 2026 the Home Outside website presents a product for independent garden centers: shoppers scan a sign, answer questions about sun, soil, and style, and get a planting plan by founder Julie Moir Messervy with a pick list of plants the store stocks. The site says it is enrolling a founding group of garden centers for fall 2026.

Price and platform. Not published (checked Oct 2026). The site does not list a homeowner plan, app store links, or prices.

Who it fits

Gardeners whose local garden center offers it. If you want to design your own yard, pick one of the other apps here.

• You have a photo of the yard: iScape for a hands-on design on your phone, mnml.ai or Render a House for an AI concept you can restyle.
• You are a contractor who needs to bid: PRO Landscape+ (Windows plus tablet) or iScape PRO for proposals.
• You want a walkable 3D yard: Realtime Landscaping on Windows, or SketchUp on web, iPad, or desktop.
• You need drawings and documentation: Vectorworks Landmark.
• You already have a model, sketch, or plan and need a client-ready image on any computer: Render a House, with no GPU and a free daily allowance.

What is the best landscape design app?

It depends on what you start from. iScape and PRO Landscape+ let you design directly on a photo of the yard, Realtime Landscaping and Vectorworks Landmark build full 3D or CAD plans on Windows or Mac desktops, and Render a House turns a yard photo, sketch, or 3D model into a photorealistic concept render in the browser.

Is there a free landscape design app?

Yes, with limits. iScape has a free tier with limited features, SketchUp Free runs in a browser, mnml.ai gives 100 free signup credits, Gendo has a free plan with a watermark and 1K export, and Render a House Free gives 3 credits per day at 1K with a watermark.

Which yard design app works on a Mac?

Vectorworks Landmark lists macOS 26 and macOS 15. SketchUp runs in a browser on its Free and Go plans. Browser tools such as Render a House, mnml.ai, and Gendo work on a Mac without an install. PRO Landscape+ is a Windows application, and Realtime Landscaping says it has no Mac version.

What is the best 3D landscape design software?

For a 3D model you can walk around, Realtime Landscaping (Windows, one-time license), SketchUp, and Vectorworks Landmark are the main options in this list. Render a House does not model the yard for you, but it can take a 3D model you already have, including a native SketchUp .skp file, and render views of it.

Can AI design my backyard from a photo?

Yes. mnml.ai says its landscape tool works from a site photo or plan, and Render a House can restyle an uploaded yard or exterior photo with new planting, paving, and lighting. Treat the result as a visual concept: it does not check grading, drainage, plant hardiness, or quantities.