The best kitchen design tool in 2026: 8 apps and programs compared

The short list

Eight kitchen design tools and the job each one does best. Prices are what each company lists for US customers.

Prices from each company's own pricing page, read November 8, 2026.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]} PlaceAnew: Scanning, floor plans, 3D, editing, the kitchen designer with prices and exports are free.

Tool	Best for	Price
1. PlaceAnew	Designing a new kitchen on the measured walls of the one you have	Free. Early access, not yet on the App Store
2. IKEA kitchen planner	Planning an IKEA kitchen	Free
3. Houzz Pro	Pros who want a scan, an estimate and client tools in one subscription	Free plan with the 3D Floor Planner; Pro $199 a month
4. Home Designer (Chief Architect)	Homeowners drawing a whole house and its kitchen in 3D	$495 a year or $79 a month
5. Design Flex (formerly 2020 Design Live)	Kitchen dealers who sell from manufacturer catalogs	US$1,895 or US$2,495 a year
6. Planner 5D	Decorating, with a big furniture catalog	Free with half the catalog; Premium $59.99 a year
7. RoomSketcher	A clean plan to take to a kitchen showroom	Free to start; Pro $144 a year
8. SketchUp	Modelling anything in 3D, if you will learn it	Free in a browser; Pro $33.25 a month, billed yearly

How we compared them

One job: design a new kitchen that fits the room and can be built. For each tool we read its own pages on November 8, 2026 and asked five things:

1. Where does the room come from? Measurements you type in, walls you draw, or a scan.
2. Which cabinets? One brand, a manufacturer's catalog, or sizes any supplier sells.
3. What does it run on? A computer, a browser, or the phone you carry into the kitchen.
4. What does it cost? Free, a subscription, or a licence.
5. What do you hand on? A shopping list, a price, drawings for the cabinetmaker.

How the kitchen design tools compare

Facts from each company's website and help center, read November 8, 2026.^{[9][10][11][12][11][12][13][3][14][15][16][14][17][18][17][19][20][21][22][23][8]} PlaceAnew facts from its features page.

Tool	Where the room comes from	Cabinets	Runs on
PlaceAnew	One LiDAR walk: walls, doors, windows and the appliances where they are	Stock US widths, fillers, a corner cabinet for each corner; shop drawings	iPhone Pro, iPad Pro
IKEA kitchen planner	A room shape you pick, then measurements you type in	IKEA SEKTION only	A computer's browser; not phones
Houzz Pro	A RoomPlan LiDAR scan in its app, or walls you draw; editing on a desktop	Generic cabinets in any size, with standard-width presets	Phone app to scan, computer to edit
Home Designer	A 2D floor plan you draw	Smart cabinets that follow kitchen standards; manufacturer and generic catalogs	Windows or Mac
Design Flex	Walls you define; LiDAR scanning "coming soon"	Manufacturer catalogs for authorized dealers, or generic	Windows 10 or 11
Planner 5D	Walls you draw and dimensions you type; Scan Room on LiDAR iPhones	Its furniture library; half of it on Free	iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, web
RoomSketcher	Walls you draw, or an uploaded plan converted by AI	A plan to bring to your kitchen manufacturer	Computers and tablets, not phones
SketchUp	You model it; the iPad app's room scan is a test "Labs" feature	Manufacturers' models from 3D Warehouse; extensions on Pro	Browser (Free), iPad and web (Go), desktop (Pro)

Why the best kitchen design starts from measured walls

A kitchen design is only as good as the room it is drawn in. Cabinets come in 3-inch steps,^[24] a work aisle wants 42 inches for one cook,^[25] and a run that is a few inches off ends in a filler nobody planned or an island that does not fit. That is why IKEA tells you to have your measurements ready before you open its planner,^[9] and why one cabinetry firm spends 90 minutes to two hours measuring a rowhouse kitchen.^[26]

PlaceAnew does the measuring as you walk. Apple's RoomPlan finds the walls, doors, windows and openings and recognizes the refrigerator, stove, oven, dishwasher, sink and cabinets.^[27] In a 2026 peer-reviewed study, an app built on the same Apple RoomPlan technology found all 8 rooms of a house and came within about 5% of a laser scanner's total floor area.^[28] In our own office, every wall we could compare with a hand-measured plan came within 2.5 inches.^[29]

The tools, one by one

1. PlaceAnew: design on the kitchen you have

Scan the kitchen, and the kitchen designer opens on its real walls, doors and windows. Add, move and remove base and wall cabinets, counters and appliances; the US cabinet rules are built in: stock widths, fillers where a run meets a wall, and a corner cabinet that fits each corner. Try styles and colors for doors, counters and floors, see the new kitchen in 3D, and see the price in the Cost tab. When it is decided, PlaceAnew makes the shop drawings: the plan, an elevation of every wall, a sheet for each cabinet, the cut list and the hardware. Scanning, floor plans, 3D, editing, the kitchen designer with prices and exports are free.

Why it is first: it is the only tool here where the room comes from a scan and the job ends in drawings a cabinetmaker can build from, all on one phone, free. The catch: it needs iPhone 12 Pro or a newer Pro model, or an iPad Pro from 2020 or later, it designs in stock US sizes rather than a brand's catalog, and it is in early access. How designing from a scan works.

2. IKEA kitchen planner: for an IKEA kitchen

Free, in a browser, with IKEA's SEKTION cabinets and the price as you click.^[30] You pick a room shape and type in your measurements,^[9] and it does not run on phones.^[10] IKEA kitchen planner alternative.

3. Houzz Pro: scan, estimate and client tools

Houzz Pro's app scans a room with Apple's RoomPlan and LiDAR,^[11] labels kitchen cabinets as base, wall and tall, though a row of cabinets may come in as one stretched cabinet,^[11] and can turn the scan into an AI estimate.^[11] Editing the plan needs a desktop computer.^[11] The free plan includes the 3D Floor Planner; Pro is $199 a month.^[2]

4. Home Designer: the whole house in 3D

Chief Architect's home product: you draw a 2D floor plan, see it in 3D, and smart cabinets snap together and follow kitchen standards.^[13] It runs on Windows and Mac,^[3] for $495 a year or $79 a month; the free trial never expires but cannot save, print or export.^[3] Pros use Chief Architect Premier, which can bring in scans from Chief's free As-Built app.^[31]

5. Design Flex: for kitchen dealers

The software once called 2020 Design Live,^[16] with manufacturer catalogs such as KraftMaid and Wellborn for authorized dealers^[16] and photorealistic renderings.^[16] Windows only, from US$1,895 a year.^[14][4] 2020 Design alternative for small contractors.

6. Planner 5D: decorate the room

Draw the walls, type the dimensions and place cabinets from its library,^[17] or scan a room on a LiDAR iPhone.^[18] It is at its best with furniture and decor: 8,400+ items and photo-real pictures.^[19] Free gives half the catalog; CAD export is on Professional.^[17]

7. RoomSketcher: a plan for the showroom

Draw the kitchen or upload a plan and let AI convert it,^[20] then take the plan to your kitchen manufacturer. You can start free.^[20] It runs on computers and tablets, not phones.^[21]

8. SketchUp: model anything

A general 3D modeler. SketchUp Free runs in a browser;^[7] cabinet work usually means Pro and its 1000+ extensions,^[8] at $33.25 a month billed yearly.^[8] The iPad app has a RoomPlan scan, labelled a Labs feature that may change or be removed.^[22]

Which kitchen design tool fits your job?

If you are	Pick
Remodeling the kitchen you live in	PlaceAnew: scan it, design on its walls, take the drawings to your contractor
Buying an IKEA kitchen	IKEA's planner, with PlaceAnew's measurements typed in
A remodeler selling at the kitchen table	PlaceAnew for the scan, design, price and shop drawings; Houzz Pro if you want its estimates and client tools
A dealer ordering a manufacturer's cabinets	Design Flex
A cabinet shop with a CNC	Mozaik or Cabinet Vision; see the best cabinet design software
Designing a whole new house	Home Designer or Chief Architect Premier

Is there free kitchen design software?

• PlaceAnew: free, from the scan to the shop drawings. Scanning, floor plans, 3D, editing, the kitchen designer with prices and exports are free.
• IKEA kitchen planner: free, for IKEA cabinets, on a computer.^[1]
• Houzz Pro: a free plan with the 3D Floor Planner.^[2]
• Planner 5D: free with half the furniture catalog.^[17]
• SketchUp Free: in a browser, with limited file types.^[7]
• Home Designer: a trial that never expires, but cannot save, print or export.^[3]

The big stores design for you too: Home Depot's kitchen design consultation is free, in store or by video,^[32] and so is Lowe's, which asks you to take the measurements and email them to the designer before the meeting.^[33]

Questions people ask

What is the best kitchen design app for iPhone?

PlaceAnew, if your iPhone has LiDAR: it scans the kitchen and designs on the real walls on the phone. It runs on iPhone 12 Pro or a newer Pro model, or an iPad Pro from 2020 or later. IKEA's planner does not run on phones,^[10] and Houzz Pro scans on the phone but edits on a computer.^[11]

Can I design a kitchen in 3D for free?

Yes. PlaceAnew shows the new kitchen in 3D on the scanned walls, free. IKEA's planner is free and 3D for IKEA kitchens.^[30]

Do kitchen designers use these apps?

Dealers and showrooms work in catalog software such as Design Flex, built for kitchen and bath designers, retailers and remodelers.^[16] Remodelers and cabinet makers use PlaceAnew for the first visit: the scan, the layout and the price. See PlaceAnew for kitchen and bath remodelers.

Which kitchen design software works on a Mac?

Home Designer runs on Mac and PC.^[3] Design Flex lists Windows only.^[14] IKEA's planner runs in a browser on any computer.^[1] PlaceAnew runs on iPhone and iPad Pro.

Is PlaceAnew on the App Store?

Not yet. It is in early access through TestFlight; ask to join on the download page.

Design your kitchen on its real walls

Lay out the shape first in the best kitchen layout planner, size the boxes with the standard kitchen cabinet sizes chart, or get early access to PlaceAnew.