Alternatives
Lumion Alternative
Draw the house, furnish and light it, and render it in the browser, up to a GPU path tracer, with the drawings and IFC4 coming from the same model.
Lumion: About £1,499 a year. Home 3D Plan (home3dplan.com): Free.
What Lumion does, and where it is here
Path tracing
The Studio tier: a progressive GPU path tracer, in the browser. See the tool
Real time view
Orbit and walk through the model in the browser, in the same tab you draw in. See the tool
Lighting
Point, spot and area lights that light the model and its renders. See the tool
Furnishing
769 catalogue models in 24 categories, each part with its own finish. See the tool
Vegetation
62 trees, shrubs and palms, houseplants in pots, and lawns grown tuft by tuft. See the tool
Home 3D Plan and Lumion, side by side
| Feature | Home 3D Plan | Lumion |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Pro about £1,499 a year |
| Free option | Start in the browser with no account | Trial. Student licence |
| Runs on | Any modern browser: Windows, Mac, Linux, ChromeOS, iPad and phone | Windows |
| Install | None. Can be installed as a web app | Desktop install, with links from modelling programs |
| IFC | IFC4 export of architecture, structure and services | Through the host program |
| DWG and DXF | DWG and DXF in and out | Through the host program |
| Structure | Columns, beams, braces, footings and gridlines, with a reinforcement bar schedule | Through the host program |
| Services (MEP) | Electrical, plumbing and heating, drainage, ventilation, gas and solar PV | Through the host program |
| Site and terrain | Survey levels, terraces, retaining walls, roads, paving and planting | Landscape and terrain for scenes |
| Quantities | Takeoff by storey, element, function and material, as CSV or a workbook | Through the host program |
| Drawings and sheets | Sections, elevations, 1:5 details and sheet sets to PDF, DWG, DXF and SVG | Through the host program |
| Rendering | Four render tiers, the top one a GPU path tracer on desktop | Real time and ray traced, with video |
| 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 |
Lumion prices as published on 10 October 2026 (https://archademia.com/blog/enscape-vs-lumion-vs-twinmotion-the-best-real-time-renderer-for-architects-in-2026/). "See vendor" means the vendor does not publish the fact or we could not confirm it. Lumion is a trademark of Act-3D. Home 3D Plan is not affiliated with Act-3D.
What Lumion does that Home 3D Plan does not
- A very large library of objects, materials and effects.
- Video and animation of projects.
- Fast, presentation ready results.
Moving from Lumion
Lumion renders a model made elsewhere; here you draw and render in one place. Bring plans in as DWG and build the house.
Renders are captured from the editor as images.
Which one fits your work
Pick Lumion when
- You present projects with video.
- You need its object and effects library.
- You render models from several programs.
Pick Home 3D Plan when
- You want to render the house you are drawing.
- You work on a Mac or a Chromebook as well as Windows.
- You want drawings and IFC4 from the same model.
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.
Lumion and Home 3D Plan, answered
Does Home 3D Plan make videos?
No. It renders still images from the model and lets you walk through it live. Video is where Lumion is stronger.
How much does Lumion cost compared with Home 3D Plan?
Lumion: Pro about £1,499 a year, 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
- Lights: Point, spot and area lights that light the 3D model and its renders.
- Enscape alternative: Render the model where you draw it, in the browser.
- Twinmotion alternative: Model and render in one browser tab.
- All alternatives: Every product we compare against, with its price.