Listen Now: Best Design App For Your Home's Exterior
TL;DR
Exterior home design software shows how a house will look with new siding, roofing, windows, doors, or paint before any work starts. The best tools work from a photo of the real house and use real manufacturer products. The five worth your time:
- Renoworks Pro: best overall for contractors. Photorealistic designs on the homeowner's own photo, with 350+ real brands.
- Hover: best when you need measurements, an estimate, and a signed proposal behind the visual.
- Planner 5D: best free option for sketching a home in 2D and 3D from scratch.
- Cedreo: best for builders drawing new homes and additions fast.
- SketchUp: best for designers who want full control of a 3D model.
Selling exterior work? See how contractors use Renoworks Pro to help homeowners decide in one visit.
The 5 Exterior Design Apps at a Glance
| Tool | Best for | Starts at | Works from a photo of the house? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Renoworks Pro | Contractors and remodelers selling exterior jobs | Annual plan, quoted | Yes, one photo |
| 2Hover | Contractors who measure and quote on-site | Pay per project | Yes, guided multi-photo capture |
| 3Planner 5D | DIY planning on a budget | Free | No, you model the house |
| 4Cedreo | Home builders and design-build firms | Free (1 project) | No, you draw the plan |
| 5SketchUp | Designers and architects | Free web version | No, you build the model |
Prices checked November 2026. Confirm on each vendor's pricing page before you buy.
What Is Exterior Home Design Software?
Exterior home design software is a digital tool for planning changes to the outside of a house. It lets you try siding, roofing, windows, doors, trim, stone, and paint colors, then see the result before you buy materials or sign a contract.
The category splits two ways, and the split matters more than any feature list:
- Photo-based visualizers (Renoworks Pro, Hover) start from the house as it stands. You upload a photo, the software detects the surfaces, and you apply real products to them. This is what most people mean by an "exterior design app," and it is what contractors use to sell re-siding, roofing, and window jobs.
- Modeling tools (Planner 5D, Cedreo, SketchUp) start from a blank screen. You draw or model the house first, then style it. They are stronger for new builds and additions, and slower for showing a homeowner their existing house with a new look.
How We Picked These Five
We judged each tool on the job most people search for: showing what a specific house will look like after an exterior project.
- Realism on a real house. Does the result look like a photograph, or like a rendering?
- Real products. Can you apply actual manufacturer siding, shingles, and colors, or only generic textures?
- Time to first design. Minutes from sign-in to something you can show a homeowner.
- Price and fit. What it costs, and whether it fits the way a contractor or homeowner actually works.
1. Renoworks Pro
Renoworks Pro turns one photo of a client's home into a photorealistic design using real products from more than 350 building product brands. Contractors use it live at the kitchen table, then send the homeowner an editable design link to review after the visit.
AI does the tedious part. Auto-Recognition detects the siding, roof, windows, and doors in the photo and prepares them for design, and Image Enhance improves lighting and shadows so the finished design reads like a real photograph, without changing the product colors. You keep full control of the edit, which matters when a homeowner wants the trim one shade darker.
Contractors can also put a branded Renoworks visualizer on their own website. Each inquiry arrives with the homeowner's design, products, and project details attached, so the first call starts with what they actually want.
Strengths
- Real products, real house: 350+ brands applied to the homeowner's own photo.
- Built for the sales visit: live design sessions and shareable design links.
- Proven at the close: Renoworks contractors report a 30% higher close rate and a 20% shorter sales cycle.
Watch-outs
- No self-serve price: annual plans are quoted on a demo.
- Made for professionals: more than a homeowner needs for a quick color check.
Pricing: Annual plan based on expected project volume. Pricing is quoted on a short demo.
Try it: See how Renoworks Pro works
2. Hover
Hover started as measurements from smartphone photos and, after its January 2026 relaunch, now runs the whole job: capture the home, build a measured 3D model, design the exterior, estimate it, and get the proposal signed.
Strengths
- Measurement-grade 3D, so quantities and the design match.
- Photo to signature: capture, measure, estimate, and e-sign in one platform.
- Exports to CAD and connects to common CRMs and estimating tools.
Watch-outs
- Per-project fees add up as job volume grows.
- Guided capture takes effort: several photos from set angles, not one existing photo.
- Renders a 3D model, which reads less like a photo of the actual house.
Pricing: Pay per project, with an optional Pro membership (about $999 a year as of November 2026) that lowers per-project fees. See Hover pricing.
Compare: Renoworks vs Hover, head to head
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3. Planner 5D
Planner 5D is an easy drag-and-drop home planner. You draw the house in 2D, switch to 3D, and style it from a large library of materials and objects. It is mainly an interior tool, but it handles exterior walls, roofs, and landscaping well enough for early planning.
Strengths
- Genuinely free to start, with unlimited projects.
- Shallow learning curve: usable in an afternoon.
- Interior and exterior in one model.
Watch-outs
- Not your actual house: you rebuild it, so the result is an approximation.
- Generic materials, not real manufacturer siding or shingles.
Pricing: Free plan. Premium is $19.99 a month, or less when billed yearly. See Planner 5D pricing.
4. Cedreo
Cedreo is built for residential builders who need to turn an idea into floor plans, elevations, and a 3D rendering in one sitting. It is fast for new homes and additions, and its renders are good enough for a sales presentation.
Strengths
- Fast plans: 2D floor plans, elevations, and 3D in one workflow.
- 7,000+ objects and materials for detailing.
- Presentation-ready renders without a separate render engine.
Watch-outs
- Starts from a drawing, so re-siding an existing house is slow.
- Monthly render caps on paid plans, and unused renders expire.
Pricing: Free for one project. Paid plans start around $129 a month. See Cedreo pricing.
5. SketchUp
SketchUp is a general 3D modeling tool. With push/pull modeling and the huge 3D Warehouse library, you can model any exterior in exact detail. That control is the point, and also the cost: it takes real time to learn.
Strengths
- Total design control down to the trim profile.
- 3D Warehouse: millions of ready-made models and components.
- Works with CAD tools such as AutoCAD and Revit.
Watch-outs
- Steep learning curve past the basics.
- Photoreal renders need Studio or a rendering plugin.
Pricing: Free web version. Go is about $129 a year, Pro about $399 a year, and Studio (with V-Ray rendering) about $819 a year. See SketchUp pricing.
Can AI Design a House Exterior?
Yes, in two very different ways. Image AI, the kind inside Renoworks Pro, detects the surfaces in a photo of the real house and applies real products to them, so what you see is something you can buy and install. Generative AI, such as ChatGPT, creates a new image from a prompt. It is quick for inspiration, but it can invent products and change the house itself.
For a contractor, that difference decides whether the picture helps close the job or starts an argument at install. We compare the two in Can ChatGPT design house exteriors? and Renoworks vs ChatGPT, and cover the full picture in our guide to AI for home exterior design.
So Which Exterior Design App Should You Choose?
- Selling siding, roofing, or windows? Use Renoworks Pro. It shows the homeowner their own house with real products, during the visit.
- Need measurements and a signed proposal in the same app? Hover covers capture to signature.
- Building new homes or additions? Cedreo gets you from idea to plans and renders fastest.
- Want full control of a detailed 3D model? SketchUp, if you have the time to learn it.
- Planning a project yourself on a budget? Planner 5D is the easiest free start.
Related Comparisons for Contractors
Weighing two platforms against each other? These head-to-head breakdowns go deeper:
- Renoworks vs Hover
- Renoworks vs Roomvo
- Renoworks vs Hyphen
- Hover vs ChatGPT
- Hover vs Hyphen Solutions
- Hover vs Roomvo
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best home renovation software tools?
For exterior projects, the best home renovation software tools are Renoworks Pro, Hover, Planner 5D, Cedreo, and SketchUp. Photo-based tools like Renoworks Pro and Hover show changes on a photo of the real house. Modeling tools like Planner 5D, Cedreo, and SketchUp build the house in 2D or 3D first.
What is the best exterior home design app?
For contractors selling siding, roofing, or window jobs, Renoworks Pro is the best exterior home design app because it designs on a photo of the client's actual house using real products from 350+ brands. Hover is the strongest choice when measurements and estimates matter most.
Is there a free exterior home design app?
Yes. Planner 5D has a free plan with unlimited projects, SketchUp has a free web version, and Cedreo offers one free project. Free tools model a house from scratch with generic materials, so they suit early planning more than showing real products on a real home.
Can I design my house exterior from a photo?
Yes. Photo-based visualizers such as Renoworks Pro detect the siding, roof, windows, and doors in a photo of the house and let you apply real products to them. Hover builds a measured 3D model from a set of guided photos instead.
Is AI good for exterior home design?
AI is useful when it works on a photo of the real house with real products. Image AI detects surfaces and improves lighting so the design looks like a photograph. Generative AI, such as ChatGPT, is fine for inspiration but can invent products and alter the house.
How do contractors use exterior design software to win jobs?
Contractors design the homeowner's own house during the sales visit, compare options side by side, and send a shareable design link afterward. Renoworks contractors report a 30% higher close rate and a 20% shorter sales cycle, because homeowners decide faster when they can see the finished result.
Conclusion
The right exterior design app depends on where you start. If you are drawing a house that does not exist yet, a modeling tool like Cedreo or SketchUp fits. If you are changing a house that already stands, start from a photo of it. Homeowners commit when they see their own home finished, which is why photo-based visualizers have become a standard part of selling exterior work.
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