My team and I went hands-on with the best landscape design software to find out which tools really help you create stunning outdoor spaces.
My top choice is Idea Spectrum's Realtime Landscaping Pro - we recently reviewed the 2026 edition of this premiere landscaping design app and absolutely adored planning out garden with it. It's really easy to use for beginners, but very powerful. The app comes packed with thousands of plants, objects, and even the ability to create animations of your landscapes. And it makes the entire process of planning your garden design feel fun. Bonus points, too, for not having any subscriptions, just a one-time fee and a generous trial. An easy recommendation.
Best landscape design software overall
Idea Spectrum’s Realtime Landscaping Pro is easily the best pick for most people designing and creating stunning outdoor spaces. And the 2026 version is absolutely superb, building on previous editions that were already very good, to deliver the sort of software that has everything users need.
I must say, it’s a much better version. Not that 2025 was bad - it was great, in fact - but the additions made here give you greater scope to create original, and detailed landscapes. True, you still can’t design inside a building, but then again, that was never the software’s purpose. It's all about design eye-catching gardens.
What I particularly love is that there are no subscriptions here. Just a one-time fee of $280 (or $130 if you're upgrading an older version). A trial version is also available for download. This will watermark your output and offer a reduced number of objects and materials, but isn't time-limited and is otherwise fully functional.
It's easy to use, packed with over 6000 plants, a wealth of objects, people. You can even create animations and short movies meandering through your newly designed landscapes.
The 2026 edition expands the tools to include extras like improved lighting, animations, and curve support, while dropping in new materials and objects, too.
The only real downside here is that the software is restricted to Windows. And even though it can slightly lag when your gardens get too complicated, I found Realtime Landscaping Pro fun to use. It allows you to be as precise as you need it to be, but flexible enough to allow the enjoyment of creating any landscape to shine through.
Read our full Idea Spectrum Realtime Landscaping Pro review
Best landscape design software on a budget
DreamPlan is easily my top choice for those looking to spend a little and avoid subscriptions. There's a free version, alongside one-off licenses for home and commercial use, which are both nicely affordable.
Here, you can design gardens, rooms, and homes in 2D and 3D, and under review, it worked brilliantly. Admittedly, the interface felt a little outdated, but underneath, we found a surprisingly versatile app for designing outdoor and indoor spaces. You're free to create everything from basic ideas to complex projects.
Landscaping is one of the key features here, letting you design gardens and add pools, decking, and even plants. Everything is hugely customizable, too, which is one of the first things we look for in any landscape design software - the closer designs can get to your ideas, the better.
Alongside this, you're free to design and decorate rooms full of furnishings, so it's quite the all-rounder. It might not be much to look at, but Dreamplan is a powerful app that for the cost is well worth exploration.
Read our full DreamPlan review
Best landscape design software for interior and exterior spaces
If you're looking to create indoor and outdoor spaces, the Chief Architect Home Designer Suite is an excellent pick that we found easy to use and absolutely full of essential features.
On the landscaping side of design, you'll find plenty of options here to help you bring your ideas to life. This includes the ability to adjust exterior elevations and add all the plant-life you'll need. You have almost total control over every element on-screen.
Interior design is just as rich with fittings and furnishings. What we really like here is the way the software tracks the materials you use, letting you find out how to turn any design into a reality, if you're planning a DIY project.
It might look a little overwhelming when you first start, but it's actually relatively straight forward - especially if you're familiar with interior and exterior design tools - and there are a few tutorials to help you find your way around, too.
Read our full Chief Architect Home Designer Suite 2025 review
Best landscape design software for beginners
Space Designer 3D is really aimed at interior designers, but there's plenty of scope with this browser-based tool for landscaping and creating outdoor spaces in 2D and 3D.
We really liked the generous library of trees, plants, and flowers found here, and it's remarkably simple to use, too. The interface is clean, uncluttered, and easy to navigate. As a browser tool for landscaping, we were a little dubious, but actually, this one is fast, fluid, and responsive, working as well as any downloadable software around.
If you're just starting out, this is a really good place to begin your landscaping journey without spending a cent. However, it's absolutely not suitable for intermediate, advanced, or even professional users. See, there are a couple of downsides here. For one thing, you can’t alter the ground’s elevation, so you're stuck with flat terrain in any garden you create. We also found that the the free tier is somewhat limited (we couldn't even add a roof to our home plan).
For anyone who wants to nose around the basics of landscape design, there's plenty to like here - but if you're getting serious about designs, you'll want to graduate to a more powerful tool.
Read our full Space Designer 3D review
Best landscape design software for professionals
FloorPlan Home & Landscape is a complete digital interior design and landscaping program that comes in two flavors - Deluxe and Pro.
The software offers the ability to create and furnish rooms, build custom cabinets, and design outdoor living spaces - the ideal landscaping tool for the full virtual home experience.
The Templates section is especially good. Here, you’ll find a vast selection of ready made groups of items, like a table and chairs, say, or a ready-made landscape section. It’s all there to help speed up the design process. There’s also a host of tools for creating truly accessible areas.
You can create designs in very little time. Fine-tuning and customizing is just as easy, and it’s only marred by a potentially glitchy 3D interface where objects occasionally aren’t selected first time.
The landscaping aspect is simple and intuitive to use - whether you’re a home user or professional contractor. And for the most part, FloorPlan delivers.
You’ll find loads of features designed to make the creation process more efficient. The help menu is only ever a click away, and the interface is friendly and inviting. Experience, then, is no barrier to professional 3D landscape design.
Read our full FloorPlan Home & Landscape Pro review
Best landscape design software for homeowners
Virtual Architect Ultimate with Landscaping and Decks Design is an all-in-one package for creating stunning indoor and outdoor spaces.
It's very flexible when it comes to DIY garden design, letting you work on multiple elevations, create paths, and add lighting effects. There’s a large library of plants, arbors, and trellises for your garden. The complete plant encyclopedia boasts more than 7,500 entries and a seasonal plant care calendar. You can also add gazebos, fences, walls, and even sprinklers for ultimate realism.
In use, it’s a fairly intuitive landscape design app. But, there are a handful of clunky interface choices that mar an otherwise solid experience. Easing the burden on beginners, the software comes with a number of wizards. This includes one for quickly creating decks, potentially saving you a lot of time.
There’s no subscription fees for one of the best landscape design software suites. Just a one-off payment. The garden design app is Windows-only, but it does run on VR headsets HTC Vive and Occulus Rift.
Read our full Virtual Architect Ultimate with Landscaping and Decks Design review
For more home design tools, we've tested the best architecture software and best interior design software.
Best landscape design software: FAQs
What is landscape design software?
Landscape design software helps you plan your garden creations using virtual outdoor spaces and letting you fill them with plants, buildings, people, and more.
The best apps give you full control over both appearance and placement, to the on-screen version perfectly matches your creative vision.
There are options available for home users searching for inspiration for their own gardens (or just having fun). There are also business-grade tools for professional landscapers who want to map out and plan landscaping projects, and flag up any potential problems or difficulties before presenting to clients.
What makes good landscape design software?
There are several key features that we think makes a garden planning app worth downloading.
Assets
From plants and people to ponds and outdoor buildings, the best tools feature a wealth of objects that both bring your outdoor space to life and don't restrict your creativity.
Process
A good tool should be simple to use, with a well-organized interface that makes it easy to navigate and start planning your space.
How to choose the best landscape design software for you
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When choosing which landscape design software is best, there are several key features that we think makes a garden planning app worth downloading.
Assets
From plants and people to ponds and outdoor buildings, the best tools feature a wealth of objects that both bring your outdoor space to life and don't restrict your creativity.
Design process
A good tool should be simple to use, with a well-organized interface that makes it easy to navigate and start planning your space. Even powerful tools for professionals should be intuitive to use (and include proper documentation).
Platform
While we like to see a range of platform support, this can be a maze when it comes to landscaping design tools. Some are Windows or Mac-only, others are available across platforms. And Space Designer 3D is a wholly browser-based design canvas.
Outdoor & indoor
Landscape apps typically focus on creating outdoor spaces, of course - and we don't mark down a piece of software for only offering this option. However, if you're looking to design exteriors and interiors, check what's on offer. We will say, though, some tools that let you do both can feel ‘tacked on’ like an after-though. If you’re a professional, it focus on strict landscaping designers, creating home design interiors in a separate program.
How we test the best landscape design software
When testing the best landscape design software, we go through several key stages to assess the tool, its capabilities, and how it compares to other apps in the field.
Not all landscaping apps are the same, though - professional-grade and consumer-level design software offers different toolkits for different purposes. We believe it’s important to assess the individual merits of each one based on its audience.
Cost
First, we look at the cost and payment plans, and compare these to similar software. We're not just looking for the cheapest, but the apps that offer the best value for money. For example, Realtime Landscaping Pro has a high initial outlay compared to a month subscription, but you own the software forever after that, it has lots of tools, and you get a lot for your money.
Design process
Next, we begin evaluating the design process, exploring the interface, and understanding the full capabilities of the tool. We're looking for software that's easy for beginners and intermediate designers to pick up, and in the case of professional-grade apps, we want to see full documentation for users to get started.
Design assets
Once we have a clear idea of how to plan a garden space, we start exploring what we can actually place in it. We're looking for a wide variety of flora that won't restrict your designs, as well as full control over terrain and buildings.
Final thoughts
Ultimately, we expect the very best landscape design software to allow your imagination flow across virtual outdoor spaces. It’s on this basis that we test and review each tool.
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