Landscape Design Software: 7 Tools for Landscapers Compared
November 2, 2026 · 9 min read
Sell it at the curb
iScape Pro
$29.99 a month: design over a photo of the yard and send a priced PDF proposal.
Photo, plan and proposal in one
PRO Landscape+
$90 a month or $900 a year on Windows, with a tablet app and 1-click proposals.
No subscription
Realtime Landscaping Architect
$599 once for 3D walkthroughs and a material list that exports to Excel.
Installation plans every week
DynaSCAPE Design
Landscape CAD with a hand-drawn look, $158 a month or $1,599 a year.
The landscape design software most landscapers shortlist is iScape (a $29.99-a-month app that designs over a photo of the yard), PRO Landscape+ (photo imaging, CAD and proposals for $90 a month), Realtime Landscaping Architect ($599 once, 3D), SketchUp, DynaSCAPE, Vectorworks Landmark and Land F/X. They split into photo imaging, scaled plans and 3D models, and the right one is whichever kind your jobs are sold on. Every price here comes from the vendor's own page, and the calculator below shows what one designer's first year costs. For scheduling and invoicing apps, see the best lawn care software comparison.
Three Kinds of Landscape Design Software
“Landscape design software” covers three different jobs. Most of the gap between a $299.99-a-year tablet app and a $1,599-a-year CAD seat is the gap between those jobs, so decide which one your sales need before you compare brands.
Photo imaging
You photograph the client's front yard and drop plants, beds, pavers and lighting onto the picture. It sells the job on the spot; it does not give the crew a scaled layout.
Tools: iScape, PRO Landscape+, Realtime Landscaping
Scaled 2D plans (CAD)
A drawing to scale with plant symbols, bed lines, hardscape and a plant schedule. It is what the install crew digs from and what a takeoff counts.
Tools: DynaSCAPE, Land F/X, Vectorworks Landmark, PRO Landscape+
3D models
A model the client can turn and walk through, with grades, walls and structures in their true heights. It earns its keep on patios, walls and outdoor living.
Tools: SketchUp, Realtime Landscaping, Vectorworks Landmark, DynaSCAPE Sketch3D
7 Landscape Design Programs at a Glance
Kind, starting list price, how it bills and what it runs on. Checked on each vendor's own pages on November 2, 2026.
| Program | Kind | Starts at | Billing | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| iScape | Photo imaging | $29.99/mo | Monthly, or $299.99/yr | iOS and Android app (2D and 3D design on iOS) |
| PRO Landscape+ | Photo imaging + CAD | $90/mo | Monthly, or $900/yr | Windows 10/11, plus a tablet companion app |
| Realtime Landscaping Architect | 3D + plan | $599 once | One-time license, no subscription | Windows 10/11 |
| SketchUp | 3D modeling | $10.75/mo | Per user, billed annually | Web and iPad (Go); desktop from Pro |
| DynaSCAPE | CAD plans (+ color, 3D) | $119/mo | Monthly; Design also $1,599/yr | Design on Windows; Creator in the browser |
| Vectorworks Landmark | CAD + BIM | Not shown (US) | Monthly or annual subscription | macOS and Windows 11 |
| Land F/X | AutoCAD plugins | $675/yr | Annual only, no monthly | AutoCAD, Civil 3D or F/X CAD (planting also on Revit, Rhino, SketchUp) |
What One Designer's First Year Costs
Monthly, annual and one-time prices only compare over the same stretch. Many crews draw mostly in the off-season, so set the months you would actually pay; the cheapest listed cost turns green.
First-year cost of one designer's license
Set how many months a year you would pay. Where a vendor sells monthly and annual, the cheaper one is used.
| Tool | First year | Billed as | List price |
|---|---|---|---|
| iScape Pro | $299.99 | annual | $29.99/mo or $299.99/yr |
| SketchUp Pro | $399 | annual | $33.25/mo billed annually (no monthly price shown) |
| Realtime Landscaping Architect | $599 | one-time | One-time license |
| PRO Landscape+ Subscription | $900 | annual | $90/mo or $900/yr |
| DynaSCAPE Creator | $1,428 | 12 × monthly | $119/mo, no annual price listed |
| DynaSCAPE Design | $1,599 | annual | $158/mo or $1,599/yr |
| Land F/X Planting F/X + F/X CAD | $1,450 | annual | $675 + $775 a year; $675 if you own AutoCAD |
Paying month to month only in the months you draw assumes you can stop and restart the plan; check each vendor's terms first. Realtime Landscaping is bought once, so its cost drops to upgrades from the second year.
Each Landscape Design Tool, and Who It Fits
iScape
Free tier to tryBest for: Owner-operators who sell plantings and patios at the client's curb
- You design over a photo of the client's own yard, picking from thousands of plants, pavers and hardscape items, then share the design.
- Pro ($29.99 a month per user, or $299.99 a year) adds the full library, your own images and a proposal tool that turns a design into a PDF with pricing and your contact details.
- The free tier is limited, and iScape lists 2D and 3D design as iOS only. Larger companies with many licenses go to an Enterprise quote.
PRO Landscape+Drafix Software
No refundsBest for: Design-build contractors who want photo designs, a scaled plan and a proposal from one file
- Photo imaging, CAD, 3D rendering, lighting design, material takeoffs and 1-click proposals, plus an AI tool that turns a design into presentation images while keeping its plants and layout.
- One license covers one Windows computer and the free Companion app on one iPad or Android tablet. Drafix says many Mac users run it through Parallels, though a Mac may need specific settings.
- $90 a month or $900 a year. The buy page lists no free trial and says there are no refunds, so ask for the demo first.
Realtime Landscaping ArchitectIdea Spectrum
30-day money backBest for: Residential designers who want 3D walkthroughs without a monthly bill
- Plan and perspective views update together; you can design over a photo of the property, then walk the client through it in 3D with lighting and shadows.
- Over 8,000 plants, sprinkler heads with set radius and angle, landscape and pool lighting, DWG, DXF and PDF import, and a material list that exports to Excel for the quote.
- $599 once, with optional discounted upgrades, a free trial and a full refund within 30 days. The cheaper Pro ($279) and Plus ($149) editions are aimed mainly at homeowners.
SketchUpTrimble
Free web modelerBest for: Hardscape and outdoor-living builders who model walls, patios and pergolas in 3D
- A general 3D modeler, not a landscape program: plants and site details come from its 3D Warehouse or from plugins such as Planting F/X and DynaSCAPE Sketch3D.
- Go ($10.75 a month, billed annually) runs on iPad and the web. Pro ($33.25 a month, billed annually) adds the desktop modeler, LayOut for 2D drawing sets and over 1,000 extensions.
- Studio ($71.58 a month, billed annually, Windows only) adds V-Ray photoreal rendering and animation. SketchUp Free runs the core modeler in a browser.
DynaSCAPE
Hand-drawn lookBest for: Landscape designers who draw installation plans every week
- Design ($158 a month or $1,599 a year, Windows) is landscape CAD with a hand-drawn look. Creator ($119 a month) is the cloud version that runs in a browser on Mac or PC.
- Color ($59 a month or $600 a year) adds rendered color to plans; Sketch3D ($59 a month or $600 a year) works with Design and SketchUp and carries over 1,000 landscaping icons.
- Bundles start at $1,629 a year for Creator + Color; Design + Color is $1,999 a year. Manage360 is DynaSCAPE's separate business software for estimates, scheduling and billing.
Vectorworks LandmarkVectorworks
Free trialBest for: Landscape architecture firms on large or public projects
- Runs from bubble diagrams and 2D concepts to 3D site models; hardscapes, landscape areas and plantings are smart objects, so a change updates the drawings, model and schedules together.
- Evaluates water budgets as part of its BIM data and exchanges files in over 20 formats, including AutoCAD, Revit, SketchUp and Rhino. Runs on Mac as well as Windows.
- Sold monthly or annually with a free trial. Its store showed us a regional price, not a US one, so confirm the US figure with Vectorworks sales.
Land F/X
15-day trialBest for: Firms already drafting in AutoCAD, and irrigation designers
- Plugins that adapt AutoCAD to landscape and irrigation design: smart plant blocks with per-unit cost, instant labels and schedules, a detail library, and irrigation pipe sizing with flow and pressure math.
- Planting F/X is $675 a year; Irrigation F/X is $995 a year and includes the planting tools. No AutoCAD? F/X CAD is a $775-a-year platform for it. AutoCAD LT cannot run the plugins.
- Land F/X sells annual subscriptions only. With Cloud Data, a lapsed license loses its functions and project data, so follow its export steps before a renewal date passes.
Which Landscape Design Software Your Jobs Need
Start from the work you sell, not from the feature lists. Each row is a type of company and the kind of tool that earns back its seat there.
| The work you sell | What you need | Where to look |
|---|---|---|
| Mowing routes with the odd bed refresh | Usually none, or a free tier | A photo with a few plants dropped on it covers an upsell. A subscription seat rarely pays back on maintenance work alone. |
| Residential plantings, beds and small patios | Photo imaging | iScape at the curb, or PRO Landscape+ when the same file must also become a plan and a proposal. |
| Design-build installs bid from a drawing | Scaled plan + takeoff | DynaSCAPE, PRO Landscape+ or Realtime Landscaping Architect: the plan sets the plant count the bid is priced on. |
| Walls, patios, pergolas and outdoor kitchens | 3D | SketchUp Pro for the model and LayOut for the drawing set, or Realtime Landscaping for walkthroughs without a subscription. |
| Commercial work or a landscape architect on staff | CAD / BIM | Land F/X on AutoCAD, or Vectorworks Landmark on Mac or Windows. Irrigation design points to Irrigation F/X. |
Design Software Is Not Your Business Software
Design tools draw the job and count the materials. They do not schedule crews, route trucks, invoice or chase payments. Those belong to field-service platforms such as Jobber and Service Autopilot, compared in our best lawn care software roundup, and to estimating systems such as LMN for companies that bid installs from budgets and production rates.
The hand-off between the two is the material list. Realtime Landscaping exports it to Excel, PRO Landscape+ and Land F/X build takeoffs and plant schedules from the drawing, and iScape prices the design inside its own PDF proposal. Put those quantities into your landscaping estimate template with your labor and markup, then send the drawing with a landscaping proposal.
Four Checks Before You Subscribe
Mac or Windows?
PRO Landscape+, Realtime Landscaping and DynaSCAPE Design are Windows programs. Vectorworks Landmark runs on Mac; DynaSCAPE Creator and SketchUp Go run in a browser.
Can you try it first?
iScape has a free tier and a Pro trial; Realtime has a free trial and refunds within 30 days; Land F/X a 15-day trial; Vectorworks a free trial. PRO Landscape+ lists no trial and no refunds, so book its demo.
What happens when you stop paying?
Land F/X warns that a lapsed license on Cloud Data loses its functions and project data. Export your drawings before any subscription runs out.
Does it work on the tablet?
iScape is a phone and tablet app (2D and 3D design on iOS). A PRO Landscape+ license includes its Companion app on one iPad or Android tablet.
Design one real job in the trial. Take a yard you bid last season, draw it end to end, and time it. If the drawing takes longer than your sketch did, the tool has not earned its seat yet.
Quick Reference: Landscape Design Software
Save This Summary
Cheapest 3D subscription
SketchUp Go $10.75/mo
Landscape app at the curb
iScape Pro $29.99/mo
No subscription
Realtime Architect $599
Photo + CAD + proposal
PRO Landscape+ $90/mo
Hand-drawn-look plans
DynaSCAPE Design $158/mo
Already on AutoCAD
Land F/X from $675/yr
SketchUp prices are billed annually; Vectorworks Landmark's US price was not shown to us, so confirm it with Vectorworks. Draw one real job before you pay.
Common Questions
What is the best landscape design software for a small landscaping company?
It depends on what you sell. For plantings and small patios sold at the client's curb, iScape Pro ($29.99 a month) designs over a photo of the yard and sends a priced PDF proposal. If you also need a scaled plan from the same file, PRO Landscape+ ($90 a month or $900 a year, Windows) combines photo imaging, CAD and proposals.
Is there landscape design software with no monthly fee?
Yes. Realtime Landscaping Architect is a one-time $599 license for Windows with no subscription, a free trial and a full refund within 30 days. Upgrades to later versions are optional and usually discounted.
Can I use SketchUp for landscape design?
Yes, mainly for hardscape and structures. SketchUp is a general 3D modeler, so plants and site details come from its 3D Warehouse or from plugins such as Land F/X Planting F/X and DynaSCAPE Sketch3D. SketchUp Pro ($33.25 a month, billed annually) adds the desktop modeler and LayOut for drawing sets.
Which landscape design software runs on a Mac?
Vectorworks Landmark runs on macOS and Windows. DynaSCAPE Creator and SketchUp's web plans run in a browser. PRO Landscape+, Realtime Landscaping and DynaSCAPE Design are Windows programs; Drafix says many Mac users run PRO Landscape+ through Parallels.
Does Land F/X work with AutoCAD LT?
No. Land F/X says AutoCAD LT does not allow third-party add-ons, so its plugins need full AutoCAD, Civil 3D or its own F/X CAD platform ($775 a year). Planting F/X is $675 a year and Irrigation F/X $995 a year, billed annually only.
Prices change often and some vendors publish only annual rates. Every figure here was checked on the vendor's own pricing, product or FAQ page on November 2, 2026; confirm the current plan before you buy. MowBook has no affiliate relationship with any vendor listed.