Alternatives
ArCon Alternative
Plan the house and see it in 3D at once, then draw the sections and elevations and print them. DWG and DXF in and out, IFC4 out, in a browser tab.
ArCon: No published price. Home 3D Plan (home3dplan.com): Free.
What ArCon does, and where it is here
Plan and 3D
Walls drawn in plan give the rooms, slabs and the 3D model straight away. See the tool
Elevations
Outside elevations from the walls, and every room's walls from a click. See the tool
Roofs and dormers
Roofs with pitch and overhangs, and dormers, skylights and chimneys that cut them. See the tool
Stairs
23 stairs checked step by step. See the tool
Home 3D Plan and ArCon, side by side
| Feature | Home 3D Plan | ArCon |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | No published price since the 2023 sale. Last known £550 |
| Free option | Start in the browser with no account | See vendor |
| Runs on | Any modern browser: Windows, Mac, Linux, ChromeOS, iPad and phone | Windows |
| Install | None. Can be installed as a web app | Desktop install |
| IFC | IFC4 export of architecture, structure and services | See vendor |
| DWG and DXF | DWG and DXF in and out | DWG and DXF import and export |
| Structure | Columns, beams, braces, footings and gridlines, with a reinforcement bar schedule | See vendor |
| Services (MEP) | Electrical, plumbing and heating, drainage, ventilation, gas and solar PV | See vendor |
| Site and terrain | Survey levels, terraces, retaining walls, roads, paving and planting | See vendor |
| Quantities | Takeoff by storey, element, function and material, as CSV or a workbook | See vendor |
| Drawings and sheets | Sections, elevations, 1:5 details and sheet sets to PDF, DWG, DXF and SVG | Plans, sections and elevations |
| Rendering | Four render tiers, the top one a GPU path tracer on desktop | Built-in rendering |
| Team work | Organisation projects with discipline roles and live presence | See vendor |
| AI and agents | MCP server with 38 tools for Claude, ChatGPT and other agents | See vendor |
ArCon prices as published on 10 October 2026 (https://eleco.com/regulatory/disposal/). "See vendor" means the vendor does not publish the fact or we could not confirm it. ArCon is a trademark of FirstInVision. Home 3D Plan is not affiliated with FirstInVision.
What ArCon does that Home 3D Plan does not
- A desktop program long used by German speaking architects and builders.
- Local drawing conventions its users are trained on.
- Works offline on one computer.
Moving from ArCon
Export the ArCon plans as DWG or DXF and open them here; wall lines turn into walls. Or trace a PDF of the plans set to scale.
Drawings go back out as DWG, DXF and PDF, and the model as IFC4.
Which one fits your work
Pick ArCon when
- Your office has years of projects in ArCon files.
- You want a desktop program that works offline.
- Your team is trained on its conventions.
Pick Home 3D Plan when
- You want house design in a browser on any computer.
- You want structure, services and the site in the same model.
- You want IFC4 for engineers and BIM teams.
How to start
Open the editor
Go to home3dplan.com and open the editor. Nothing to install and no account needed to start.
Bring your drawing
Open a DWG or DXF and turn its lines into walls, or trace over a PDF or a scan set to scale.
Build the model
Draw walls and the storeys, rooms, slabs and 3D model follow. Add roofs, structure, services and the site.
Send it out
Print sections, elevations and sheets to PDF or DWG, and send the building out as IFC4.
ArCon and Home 3D Plan, answered
What happened to ArCon?
Eleco sold its German ArCon business to FirstInVision in February 2023. We could not find a published price since; the last one we know was £550.
How much does ArCon cost compared with Home 3D Plan?
ArCon: No published price since the 2023 sale. Last known £550, as published on 10 October 2026. Home 3D Plan is free to use in the browser today.
Does Home 3D Plan export IFC and DWG?
Yes. The building goes out as IFC4, with its architecture, structure and services, and the drawings go out as DWG, DXF, PDF and SVG. DWG and DXF also come in. The editor does not open IFC files.
Do I need to install anything?
No. Home 3D Plan runs in any modern browser on Windows, Mac, Linux, ChromeOS, iPad and phones, and can be installed as a web app if you want an icon.
Read on
- Walls: Draw walls in 2D and get rooms, floors and the 3D model, with build ups and heights.
- Home design software: Plan, build and furnish a house in the browser.
- Chief Architect alternative: Houses, roofs, kitchens and services, in the browser.
- Home Designer alternative: Plan, roof, kitchen and furniture, with drawings out.
- All alternatives: Every product we compare against, with its price.