- Are you confused about
what the differences are between all the different
versions of SketchUp? If you are, you're definitely not alone. SketchUp comes in a bunch of
different shapes and sizes, and trying to decipher exactly
what you're getting with each from SketchUp's website
is a bit confusing. I'm Alex Oliver, lead
instructor at SketchUp School, the place where professionals go when they're serious
about learning SketchUp. And today, I'm gonna walk you
through the 10 key differences between SketchUp Free,
SketchUp Shop, and SketchUp Pro to help you figure out which
version is right for you. Ready to jump in? Let's start with number
one, web versus desktop. SketchUp's website mentioned SketchUp, SketchUp for Web, SketchUp Free, SketchUp Shop, SketchUp Pro, SketchUp Studio, plus a whole
bunch of other products. And we'll dive into the critical details about just what comes
with all those versions, but before we do, there's one
very important distinction you need to know about first, and that's that SketchUp can be used in two different formats. What do I mean by that? Well, some versions of
SketchUp are available as a web-based application or web app, meaning you actually use
SketchUp within your web browser like Google Chrome or Safari, and you have to be
connected to the internet in order to use it. The other versions of SketchUp come as a more traditional
desktop application, the kind that you download
and install on your computer and can use whenever, even if you're offline. Now, whether you're getting
started with either the web or desktop version of SketchUp, the good news is that
both have pretty much the same core SketchUp tools and workflow. But just know, they do have different user interfaces, so there will be a bit of a learning curve if you end up switching from
using one to the other later. All right, now that you
know that key distinction, let's move on to our next topic. Number two, intended users. As we've discussed, there are quite a few versions of SketchUp that you'll find on their website. You've got SketchUp Free, SketchUp Shop, SketchUp Pro, SketchUp Studio,
SketchUp Studio For Students, SketchUp Studio For Educators, SketchUp For Schools, and a desktop only version of SketchUp Pro available under statewide K
through 12 educational grants. So how are we supposed to compare all these options side-by-side without getting totally confused? The key is in understanding what user base each version of SketchUp is intended for, and in doing so, we can actually narrow
this giant list down to just three main versions
of SketchUp to compare. How? Well, first we can
eliminate SketchUp For Schools and the educational grant
version of SketchUp Pro from our list. SketchUp For Schools is, for all intents and purposes, just SketchUp Free. It has all the same features we'll discuss when we talk about Free, but it's connected to Google
and Microsoft cloud services and is geared towards
educators and students in primary and secondary schools. In the educational grant
version of SketchUp Pro is just SketchUp Pro, so we'll also remove this
from our comparison list. Its features are the same as Pro, and it's primarily geared
towards educational settings, such as computer labs. Next, let's talk about SketchUp Studio. We can also eliminate this
version from our comparison list because SketchUp Studio is
actually just SketchUp Pro bundled with two additional
software programs, Scan Essentials, which
allows you to import and work with point cloud data, and V-Ray, which you can
use to create renderings with photo realistic
lighting and materials, both are valuable tools
for the right professional. But for the purposes of comparing SketchUp
versions and features, let's take studio off our list, since on the SketchUp side, it has all the same features as pro. That leaves us with SketchUp Free, SketchUp Shop, and SketchUp Pro. Wooh, this seems a little more manageable, so how do we compare them? First, let's go back to the
previous topic on our list, web versus desktop, and see how these three versions relate. SketchUp Free and SketchUp Shop are both web only applications. SketchUp Pro, on the other hand, is a desktop application, and each version is intended
for a different type of user. SketchUp Free is intended for hobbyists looking to use it for personal
projects or just for fun. As the name suggests, it's completely free to use, but the trade-off is that it's licensed for
noncommercial projects only, and it comes with fewer
features than the paid versions, which we'll cover in a bit. SketchUp Shop is an upgraded
version of SketchUp Free, which gives you more tools and features in the same web based app. It's offered as a $119 a year subscription and is aimed at people
focused on woodworking, 3D printing, and DIY projects. SketchUp Pro, on the other hand, is a desktop application, and it's the company's flagship product, while SketchUp for web versions have only been around
for the last few years. SketchUp Pro was first
launched over two decades ago, and over that time, SketchUp Pro has developed
to include tools and features for professionals across
a number of industries, including architecture, interior design, construction, landscape architecture, urban planning, woodworking, 3d printing, set design, event design, and more. We'll cover more about why SketchUp Pro is great for professionals
across all these industries as we go along. But for right now, just know that SketchUp Pro
is licensed for commercial use and geared towards people who
plan to use it professionally. SketchUp Pro is offered as
a $299 a year subscription. It's also important to note
that a SketchUp Pro subscription comes with access to both
the web based SketchUp Shop and the desktop application SketchUp Pro. All right, ready to dive deeper into the features of each
of these three versions to get a better idea of
what each has to offer? One quick thing, I know we're covering a lot in this video, so I put together a set of notes for you to make it easy to
review everything later. You can find a link to
download them in the cards. Okay, now let's talk about one of the key feature differences between these versions of SketchUp. With number three, SketchUp Extensions, sometimes known as Ruby
scripts or plugins, Extensions are tools that
you can add onto SketchUp to solve time-consuming
or difficult problems or to give you features and functionality beyond what's included in SketchUp. Some of the most popular
extensions out there include tools for creating
photo realistic renderings from your SketchUp models with realistic lighting and materials, tools to help with
complicated modeling tasks, such as roofing or stairs, and tools for sculpting complex geometry, just to name a few. Now we don't have time to go into everything that
extensions can help you with in this video. But if you're interested in learning more, be sure to check out our video covering the top SketchUp extensions for architects and design professionals. I've put a link to it in the cards. For this video, the important thing you need to know is that extensions can only be used with the desktop version SketchUp Pro. There's no way to add extensions
to the web based versions, SketchUp Free or SketchUp Shop. Of course, at this point, if you're new to SketchUp
or just starting out, you might not know enough about SketchUp or extensions to know
whether you need them or not, and that's okay, now that you know what extensions are, I'll be sure to mention when and how they might come in handy as we move through the rest
of the topics on our list. Speaking of which, we're ready to talk about
our next key difference. Number four, starting
from an existing CAD file. Depending on what you'll
be using SketchUp for, you may need to import
a CAD reference file such as DWG, and then you SketchUp to
turn it into a 3d model. For example, a floor plan for a house or a profile for crown molding. SketchUp Free doesn't allow
you to import CAD files as a starting point for your 3D model. If you need that capability, you would either need
SketchUp Shop or SketchUp Pro, both allow you to bring
in DWG and DXF files that you can use as a reference
when building your 3D model. Speaking of which, let's talk about the differences between the three versions of SketchUp when it comes to actually
building your model with number five, 3D modeling tools. SketchUp is one of the most fun and intuitive programs out
there for bringing your ideas to life in 3D, and with all three versions of SketchUp, you get most of the same drawing, editing, and navigation tools for
creating 2D and 3D shapes, meaning whichever version
of SketchUp you choose you'll be able to use
SketchUp score functionality to build almost anything you can imagine. That being said, there are a couple of key differences in terms of the modeling tools
available in each version. First, there's a set of
tools called the Solid Tools that are really handy for
creating complex 3D shapes and maybe necessary if you plan on creating
3D principle models. The Solid Tools are not
part of SketchUp Free, so if you think you need to cut shapes and
objects into one another, you'll need SketchUp Shop or SketchUp Pro. Another tool missing from SketchUp Free is called the Outliner. As you begin to make groups and components of parts and pieces in your model, the Outliner can be a really helpful tool to help you keep track of
how your model is organized, and the Outliner is only
available in Shop or Pro. All right, but what about
tools that only come with Pro? If you need to model organic
shapes such as terrain, that's when you'll need SketchUp Pro's terrain modeling tools called the Sandbox Tools. These aren't available to
you in either Shop or Free, and another tool that's only
available in SketchUp Pro is called Match Photo, which can help you create
a model from a photo, and last, but certainly not least, there are extensions. As I mentioned earlier, Extensions can only be
used with SketchUp Pro, and many of them are tools geared towards helping you build better, more accurate, and complex
models faster and easier. These can be extensions
that help you quickly round and bevel edges, add doors and windows, model organic forms, beyond what you can do
with the Sandbox Tools, or automate pretty much any modeling tasks that while you could do it yourself using SketchUp's default tools would be really complicated
or time consuming. If you're gonna be using SketchUp
in a professional setting, extensions like these
can be real game changers in terms of speeding
up the modeling process and increasing your efficiency. Your future self will
definitely thank you. (Alex slurping)
(relaxing music) Sup? I've just got all this free time now from using those SketchUp Extensions. Thanks, man. All right, let's talk about
another key difference between the three versions. Number six, adding prebuilt 3D models. One of the great features of SketchUp is how easy it is to
utilize pre-made 3D models in your own projects, such as furniture
pieces, cabinets, plants, or brand specific objects like appliances, and all three versions of SketchUp allow you to download and use any of the millions of pre-made models from the SketchUp 3D Warehouse for free. On the Warehouse, you'll find tons of objects that others have already modeled, plus accurately scaled and
detailed product models created by manufacturers, all shared for you to
use on your projects. There are also entire
buildings and even towns, not to mention all sorts of
models you might not expect, just about every kind of
object you can imagine. It's important to note that
if you're using SketchUp Free, you're limited to 100 downloads per day or 1000 downloads per month
from the 3D Warehouse, whereas SketchUp Shop and Pro both include unlimited downloads. Also, you should know that
there are a number of websites besides the 3D Warehouse out there with fast libraries of 3D models, some models you can find for free and some you have to pay for, but these sites can be a great resource for high quality SketchUp models, especially if you can't
find something specific on the 3D Warehouse. What's more, many manufacturers
have SketchUp models of their products available for download on their own websites. Don't worry. I put links to some of the sites I
recommend checking out in the notes for this video. Now, before we move on, there are two more key differences I should quickly point out between the three versions of SketchUp when it comes to using
pre-built 3D models. First is that SketchUp Free will not allow you to import 3D objects built in other 3D modeling software, you'll need SketchUp Shop
or SketchUp Pro to do that, meaning if you find the
perfect model of say a sofa on a site like cgtrader.com, but it was built in 3ds Max and there isn't a SketchUp version, you won't be able to import
that model into SketchUp Free. However, you can import it into a project using SketchUp Shop or SketchUp Pro. The second thing to note is that sometimes importing
files from other 3D software doesn't work quite right. In those cases, there are extensions such as Transmutr that are built to help you
seamlessly import those files into your sketch-up projects, but again, these extensions can only be added to SketchUp Pro. If you liked that tip, make sure to give this video a like. All right, we've gone over some of the fundamental differences when it comes to building your model. Next, let's talk about number seven, creating custom colors and materials. Once your 3D design begins to take shape, you'll probably wanna add colors and materials to your model. All three versions of SketchUp come loaded with a predefined palette of colors and a number of low-resolution materials that you can use to create
a basic look for your model. But often, you'll wanna
customize the colors or add your own unique or
high resolution materials to your model, and that's where there are
a couple of differences between SketchUp versions
that you should know about. With all three versions, you can insert PNG and JPEG images to use either as materials on your model or to use for things like
artwork, backgrounds, and more. If you upgrade to SketchUp
Shop or SketchUp Pro, you'll have the ability
to import more file types beyond PNGs and JPEGs. Now, if you need to move beyond
the predefined set of colors to select your own shades, you'll need the desktop
version of SketchUp Pro it's the only version that will allow you to specify exact color values for something like a particular paint hue that you can then apply to
surfaces in your designs. And lastly, if you're looking
for more realistic materials with texture or reflections, you'll need an additional rendering extension or application. Unfortunately, the workflow for rendering is too much to cover here, but if you're interested in
how that works with SketchUp, make sure to check out our learn to render and SketchUp video. It covers how the process
works in SketchUp, and we'll help you get
started down the right path. I've added the link to it in the cards. All right, let's talk about
the next item on our list. Number eight, importing satellite imagery and location information. For certain types of projects, you'll need to import a site
plan, satellite imagery, or terrain to serve as the
context for your model. In all three versions of SketchUp, you can use the add location feature to geolocate your model. Once your model is geolocated, you're able to bring in
lower resolution maps, plus you can use SketchUp shadows feature to cast accurate shadows across your model based on the time of day
and date of the year. But the differences between
the SketchUp versions come into play when you need to import terrain files in higher resolution satellite imagery. First with both SketchUp
Shop and SketchUp Pro, you're able to import
your own CAD site plans or terrain files. Second, you should know
that the advocation feature in SketchUp Pro also includes higher
resolution satellite images and will automatically import 3D terrain based on the location you specify. Pretty cool, right? And again, it's worth noting that there are extensions
available for Pro only, such as PlaceMaker, which allows you to bring in far more 2D and 3D site information than you can get from Sketchup's
add location feature alone, making it a huge time-saver for
the right types of projects. Okay, we've covered the key differences between SketchUp versions when it comes to the process
of creating your 3D model, but chances are once
you've got a 3D model, you'll wanna do one of two things, either create a visual
presentation of your model or use the model to
fabricate the real thing. Let's cover fabrication
next with number nine, 3D printing and CNC fabrication. If your plan is to either 3D print or use a CNC router to bring
your design ideas to life, you'll wanna make sure you're using the right
version of SketchUp. The first thing to know
is that all three versions can export STL files, so if that's all you need, then any of them will do. However, if you're
going to be 3D printing, you'll need to use the Solid
Tools I mentioned earlier, as well as the solid inspector, to ensure your model is 3D principle. Those tools are only available
in SketchUp Shop or Pro. With Shop and Pro, you can also export DWG or DXF files, which can be used by other applications to translate your design to cutting paths for your CNC machine. You can't export DWG or DXF
files using SketchUp Free, and lastly, again, know that there are a number
of extensions out there, like BoolTools, that are
designed to improve your workflow when it comes to creating solids and exporting for CNC routers, and as I've mentioned many times now, extensions only work with SketchUp Pro. Now, if your goal is more about creating a visual
presentation of your model, then pay attention to this
last topic on our list. Number 10, exporting renderings, walk-throughs, drawings, and more. All right, you've built
a great SketchUp model. Now chances are you'll wanna present it, and this final piece of the puzzle is where we see some of
the biggest differences between the different
versions of SketchUp. First, know that all
three versions of SketchUp come with a bunch of predefined styles that allow you to change the
look and feel of your model with a single click. This allows you to present
your ideas, a rough sketch, a technical drawing, or
with colors and materials, just to name a few. And with all three versions of SketchUp, you're able to export a PNG image that you can either present as is or that you can take
into another application like Photoshop to enhance. Just know that if you're
using SketchUp Free, the SketchUp logo will
appear as a watermark in the upper right-hand
corner of your exported PNG. If you're using Shop or Pro, you can export a PNG
without the SketchUp logo, but that's just the beginning when it comes to the
differences between the versions for this part of the process. Next, if you want more
control over the styles than what you can select in SketchUp Free, you'll need to upgrade
to either SketchUp Shop or SketchUp Pro; both allow you to edit
the display of edges, faces, the background, and more. And in terms of export options, if you need DWG files or files that can be viewed in augmented reality viewing apps, you can only get those using
SketchUp Shop or SketchUp Pro. If you need to export other image types such as a JPEG or TIF or a vector files such as an EPS or PDF, those aren't an option with
SketchUp Free or SketchUp Shop, and are only possible using SketchUp Pro. But that's not the only
thing you get with Pro that isn't available with the other two. First, SketchUp Pro comes
with an animation feature that makes it easy to export walkthrough or fly through video tours of your model to share with clients. This feature isn't part of
either SketchUp Free or Shop. Next, if you're a design professional that needs to create
plans, elevations details, or other construction documentation from your SketchUp model, you should know that SketchUp Pro comes bundled with a 2D
design documentation tool called LayOut, which can
be used for everything from creating presentation packages to full fledged construction documents. If you wanna know more about
getting started with LayOut and how to avoid the common missteps that cause people to struggle when they're first learning it, be sure to check out this
other video on our channel. I've put a link to it in the cards. What's more, if you're a
film and stage designer, know that SketchUp Pro comes with a set of advanced camera tools that allow you to place real world cameras and gives you precise
control over settings like focal length, aspect ratio, and image width to accurately
preview camera shots, right inside SketchUp. These aren't available
to you in Shop or Free. And if you're wanting to
view your SketchUp model on a virtual reality headset, you'll only be able to do
that using SketchUp Pro. Last but not least, as I mentioned before, you can add rendering
extensions to SketchUp Pro that could be an extension like SketchFX that goes above and beyond the default SketchUp style features, or it can be a photo
realistic rendering extension, like V-Ray for SketchUp, which you can use to produce amazing photo realistic renderings that mimic real world
lighting and materials. All right, now that you
know the 10 key differences between SketchUp Free, Shop, and Pro, which version is right for you? Let us know in the comments below, or if you're not quite sure, head over to this page on our website, tell us about your situation, and we'll help you decide. Once you picked a version, it's time to learn how to use it, depending on whether you're going with the web based SketchUp Free or Shop or the desktop based SketchUp Pro, I recommend watching
one of these two videos. They both covered the things
that often trip people up when they're first getting
started with SketchUp until next time, happy sketching. (Alex slurping)
(upbeat music)
