Planner 5D
A feature-rich 3D design service that’s easy to use, but marred by the odd crash and resource hogging
PRICE £50 (£60 inc VAT) per year for Personal subscription from planner5d.com
If there’s one advantage online services have over native apps, it’s that you can use them anywhere, from any device. Native apps, on the other hand, can better take advantage of a computer’s resources, and are usually more responsive as a result. But why not combine the two and get the best of both worlds?
This is what the people at Planner 5D have done: you can use the service from any web browser or use native apps in iOS (13 and above), Android (4.1 and above), Windows (10 and above) and macOS (10.15 and above). Best of all, you can try it out for free. You’ll encounter limits of course, such a restricted catalogue and no access to high-quality digital renders, but it will allow you to see how the system works, and if it’s right for you.
Using your browser, it appears as if you can get started right away by clicking on “Start Designing for Free”, where you can select either a blank slate or a template. The second you try to add something or alter an item, however, you’re asked to set up an account. Still, it’s easy to create one.
One advantage of the native app is the ability to try the premium memberships free for three days. This should give you a good idea if this is the right 3D design software for you.
Whichever platform you’re using, you have a choice between starting from scratch or a template. Mobile devices also allow you to “Capture Your Room”. Once you grant the app access to your camera, you can use it to create a virtual representation of the room you’re in simply by moving your phone around. This is still labelled as a beta, so don’t expect perfection every time.
Adding walls is easy and, if you’re familiar with such design services, intuitive. Inserting windows and doors is just a matter of choosing the type you want to use and dragging it to its desired location. If it’s not exactly right, just select it and drag it to another place. You’ll find doors and windows “snap” to existing walls, and when altering the walls themselves, they’ll automatically snap at right angles to other walls.
The catalogue of items you can use is extensive, as long as you pay for a subscription. In the free version, you can see all objects in the catalogue, but those with a padlock at the top right of the thumbnail are only available to premium members - and that’s practically all of them, save a couple or so for each category. However, the number of categories is extensive, allowing you to go beyond the basics of a living room, kitchen or office, venturing to patios, swimming pools, and even trees and bushes.
Once you’ve built your home, it’s time to decorate it. Let’s start with the walls and floors. There are many customisation options open to you. You can apply different materials to the inner and outer walls, or add carpet or laminate flooring, for instance. Modifying an object’s colour is also a possibility, which will be applied over the selected material and style. It’s all very straightforward.
3D view allows you to explore your virtual world and makes it easy to apply materials to the walls, floors and ceilings. Such alterations can be performed when you’re working in the default top-down 2D view, but it’s easier to see what you’re doing in 3D.
You can’t add furniture in 3D, though, or even alter the position and length of walls, nor the placement of doors and windows. All of this must happen in the 2D environment.
When it comes to customising furniture, you’ll find the online version has the advantage, if you use the free version of the service. In the browser, you can edit the items you’ve added to your project without paying a penny for a subscription; in the apps, this is treated as a premium service. Still, the apps do let you see how such objects can be changed
(for example, its length, height and even its elevation from the floor).
If you like how Planner 5D works, and you don’t want to exploit such loopholes, you might want to grab yourself a subscription to gain access to additional features. Personal will cost you £5 per month (billed yearly at £60) and gives you access to the entire catalogue. You’re also granted 60 renders and 60 textures, have access to academy courses, and can make use of Plan Recognition. This nifty feature means you can import a pre-designed plan, and Planner 5D will transform it into a 3D editable building for you.
The second subscription is called Commercial. It’s twice as expensive and grants you all of the above, but doubles the number of renders and textures. Whichever plan you’re on, even the free one, photorealistic renders are merely a credit card number away: 20 for £8, 200 for £40.
Planner 5D is a well-designed service that allows you to create projects very quickly. If you want full access to all its features then you’ll have to pay for the privilege, but there’s still enough here for free to satisfy the enthusiastic amateur. Whichever level you’re at, it’s well worth the hassle of setting up an account.
“You can go beyond the basics of a living room, kitchen or office, venturing to patios, swimming pools, and even trees and bushes”