Alternatives
MiTek Sapphire Alternative
The structure a designer draws: beams with real sections and bearings, columns, braces and footings, in the house model, and the building sent to the truss maker as DWG or IFC4.
MiTek Sapphire: Quote only. Home 3D Plan (home3dplan.com): Free.
What MiTek Sapphire does, and where it is here
Beams and headers
Timber, glulam, steel and concrete beams with real sections and bearings, drawn with their tags and billed in the takeoff. See the tool
Posts and columns
29 columns from classical orders to steel sections, piers and pilasters. See the tool
Bracing
Diagonal members from floor to head, in the beam's own sections. See the tool
Foundations
Strip and pad footings derived from the walls and columns, with a bar schedule. See the tool
Roof geometry
Hipped, gabled, shed and flat roofs with pitch, overhangs, caps and gutters. See the tool
Home 3D Plan and MiTek Sapphire, side by side
| Feature | Home 3D Plan | MiTek Sapphire |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Quote only. One directory lists MiTek Structure from $198 a month |
| 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 | See vendor |
| Structure | Columns, beams, braces, footings and gridlines, with a reinforcement bar schedule | Truss and wall panel design, engineering and manufacturing |
| 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 | Material and production data |
| Drawings and sheets | Sections, elevations, 1:5 details and sheet sets to PDF, DWG, DXF and SVG | Layouts and shop drawings |
| Rendering | Four render tiers, the top one a GPU path tracer on desktop | 3D model of the frame |
| 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 |
MiTek Sapphire prices as published on 10 October 2026 (https://www.trustradius.com/products/sapphire-structure/pricing). "See vendor" means the vendor does not publish the fact or we could not confirm it. MiTek Sapphire is a trademark of MiTek. Home 3D Plan is not affiliated with MiTek.
What MiTek Sapphire does that Home 3D Plan does not
- Truss and wall panel engineering, sealed for manufacture.
- Production data that drives saws and assembly in the plant.
- Load design of the whole frame.
- A network of truss plants that use it.
Moving from MiTek Sapphire
Draw the house here and send it to the truss maker as DWG, PDF or IFC4; they design the trusses and panels in MiTek.
The editor does not open MiTek files.
Which one fits your work
Pick MiTek Sapphire when
- You make trusses or wall panels.
- You engineer and seal frames.
- You drive production machinery from the design.
Pick Home 3D Plan when
- You design the house and hand the frame to a truss maker.
- You want beams, columns and footings in the architectural model.
- You want to work in a browser.
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.
MiTek Sapphire and Home 3D Plan, answered
Does Home 3D Plan design trusses or wall panels?
No. It models beams, columns, braces and footings, and the roof geometry. Truss and panel design and engineering stay with the truss maker, who can take the house from it as DWG or IFC4.
How much does MiTek Sapphire cost compared with Home 3D Plan?
MiTek Sapphire: Quote only. One directory lists MiTek Structure from $198 a month, 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
- Beams: Timber, glulam, steel and concrete beams with real sections and bearings.
- Footings: Strip and pad footings derived from the walls and columns.
- Vertex BD alternative: The house and its structure, ready to hand to the framer.
- Weyerhaeuser Javelin alternative: Beams and floors in the house model, before the dealer.
- All alternatives: Every product we compare against, with its price.