With two version of the program, it worthwhile to know the differences between Sketchup Free and the commercial pro version.
Both 3D modeling programs have the same core tools that you need to create the geometry of SketchUp designs. So, if your focus is on 3D modeling itself, the free version will work just fine. However, you will find differences in many other aspects of the program that add a more professional edge to it.
The free version of SketchUp comes with a basic renderer that is useful to share simple images of your work. However, the pro version not only allows you to export high-res images, but you can add rendering plugins that can be photorealistic or highly stylised. Moreover, you are no longer limited to static images, you can create animated sequences that bring your projects to life!
SketchUp Pro also comes with a presentation tool called “LayOut”. It can help explain your design to your clients by producing stunningly designed schematic presentations, detailed illustrations, and other options. LayOut is even able to produce detailed construction documents that display professional features like bills of materials, elevations, sections, or construction details.
The standard tools in the 3D modeling software are meant for modeling geometric shapes like buildings. But if you want to model organic shapes such as terrain, the free version of SketchUp is not sufficient. However, the pro version features a sandbox tool that enables this more advanced kind of shapes.
The greatest asset of SketchUp Pro is the Extensions Manager that allows users to add additional tools and features to the program. Some of them are for free, others are offered for a fee by third-party developers. For example, the 3D modeling software does not support STL files out of the box. Instead, importing and exporting STL files are enabled by the extension “SketchUp STL” that can be downloaded and installed from within the program.
In addition, this 3D modeling software supports a handful of handy free extensions to prepare your SketchUp files for 3D printing. For example, CleanUp3 Extension, Solid Inspector2, 3D Printing Model Repair Service (MakePrintable), or CADspan.
We also want to point out several extensions that connect SketchUp Pro to external services. These provide important functionalities such as cleaning up meshes, getting an estimate for the cost of printing and ordering a print (i.materialise, Makeprintable) – be aware that these services may require you to subscribe in order to work.
