Floor plans are one of the most universally needed documents across real estate, construction, design, insurance, and facilities management. And yet the tools people use to create them range from graph paper and a tape measure to laser scanning systems that cost more than a new truck. Most professionals live somewhere in the gap between those two extremes, which is exactly where the right software choice saves the most time and money.

The problem with most floor plan software comparisons is that they treat the category as if every tool does the same thing. They don't. Some tools scan a real space and produce a measured plan. Others give you a blank canvas to draw one from scratch. Some require dedicated hardware. Others run on a phone. Some export to CAD. Others export a JPEG. Comparing them without accounting for those differences is like comparing a tape measure to a pencil.

This article compares seven of the most widely used floor plan tools across the dimensions that actually matter for professional work: accuracy, speed, cost, and output quality. Every tool is evaluated on what it produces, how fast it produces it, and who it's built for.

Two Kinds of Floor Plan Software (and Why It Matters)

Before getting into the comparison, there's a distinction worth establishing upfront, because it's the one that determines whether you're even looking at the right category of tool.

Scan-based tools capture a real physical space and generate a floor plan from spatial data. The dimensions come from the scan, not from the user typing numbers into boxes. These tools are for professionals who need to document what already exists: existing conditions, as-builts, listing floor plans, insurance documentation. Polycam, CubiCasa, magicplan, Matterport, and iGUIDE all fall into this category, though as this comparison shows, they differ significantly in output quality, cost structure, and how useful the result actually is for professional work.

Draw-based tools provide a blank canvas where you design a floor plan manually, dragging walls, placing doors, and entering dimensions by hand. The output is a design document, not a measurement document. These tools are for people planning what will exist: space layouts, furniture arrangements, interior design concepts, marketing floor plans. RoomSketcher and Floorplanner are the main options here.

A real estate agent who needs a floor plan of a listed property has a fundamentally different need than a homeowner rearranging furniture. The first person needs accuracy pulled from a real space. The second person needs a design canvas. Choosing the wrong category wastes time and money, and comparing tools across categories is meaningless. Keep that in mind as you read through the comparison below.

Best Floor Plan Software Compared

Scan-Based Tools

Polycam — Best Overall for Speed, Accuracy, and CAD-Ready Output

Polycam uses LiDAR scanning from an iPhone Pro or iPad Pro to capture a space and generate a floor plan automatically. Walk the room and the app detects walls, windows, doors, fixtures, and furniture in real time. The floor plan builds on-device as you move through the space, which means it's ready before you leave the building. No cloud queue, no waiting for processing, no return visit if something looks off.

A single capture produces four outputs simultaneously: a 2D floor plan, a 3D floor plan, a 3D mesh, and a walkthrough. No other tool in this comparison delivers all four from one capture. The export list is also the most complete here: DXF, PDF, PNG, SVG, CSV, OBJ, FBX, and point cloud formats among others, totaling 15+ formats from one scan.

The DXF export is worth calling out specifically because it's what separates Polycam from most of the competition. The file is layered, with walls, openings, fixtures, and room labels on separate named layers, and it imports directly into AutoCAD or Revit without cleanup. For AEC professionals, that's the difference between a reference image and a file you can actually work from. Most tools in this comparison export PNG or PDF. Only Polycam and magicplan export DXF, and Polycam's layered structure is the more useful of the two for drafting workflows.

Pricing is a flat $36 per member per month on the Business plan (annual billing), with no per-plan fees, no per-space hosting costs, and no credit system. At any meaningful volume, that math becomes hard to argue with.

For context on real-world results: JNR Architecture captured a full house in one hour using Polycam, compared to an estimated 16 hours of manual measurement for a comparable project.

The one hardware consideration: LiDAR capture requires an iPhone Pro or iPad Pro. Non-Pro devices use photogrammetry, which produces less precise dimensional results.

Best for: AEC professionals, real estate photographers, contractors, facilities managers, and insurance adjusters who need measured floor plans with CAD-grade output from a phone. For most professionals reading this comparison, this is where the search ends.

CubiCasa — A Per-Plan Option for High-Volume Real Estate Listings

CubiCasa works on any iOS or Android device and puts floor plan output through a human QA review before delivery. The ANSI Z765 compliance that QA process produces is relevant for US appraisers and some MLS submissions, and for brokerages where that certification is a firm requirement, CubiCasa is worth knowing about.

Outside of that specific use case, the limitations are significant. There's no CAD export, so any AEC professional who needs to work in AutoCAD hits a wall immediately. The per-plan pricing starts at $22.99 and scales linearly: at 50 plans per month, you're looking at $1,150 to $1,500 monthly before any volume discounts. And because the output goes through a QA queue, the floor plan isn't available on-site. You scan, leave, and wait.

Consider if: Your brokerage requires ANSI-compliant floor plans for MLS or appraisal submissions and per-plan cost is manageable at your volume. For everything else, Polycam's flat rate, on-site delivery, and CAD export make more sense.

magicplan — Limited to Estimation-Specific Workflows

magicplan covers a lot of ground: AR scanning, Bluetooth laser meter input, estimation tool integration, 3D visualization, and reporting. The one area where it has a genuine differentiator is its native integration with Xactimate and CoreLogic FML, the estimation platforms used widely in insurance and construction. If your floor plan output feeds directly into one of those systems, magicplan is the only tool here that connects those workflows without an extra step.

Outside of that integration, the case for magicplan weakens. The per-project pricing at $40 per month scales poorly with volume. The breadth of features means the tool doesn't go particularly deep in any single workflow. And for professionals who need a floor plan that drops into AutoCAD, Polycam's layered DXF export is a cleaner solution.

Consider if: Your workflow specifically requires Xactimate or CoreLogic integration and you're pricing insurance claims or construction estimates directly from the floor plan. For general AEC and real estate use, Polycam is faster, cheaper, and produces a more useful output.

Matterport — A 3D Tour Platform, Not a Floor Plan Tool

Matterport is primarily a 3D virtual tour platform. Floor plans are available as an add-on, generated from the 3D scan data, but the output is schematic quality. Matterport's own documentation describes it this way: the plans convey layout and proportion, not precise dimensions. That's fine for marketing and categorically unsuitable for construction, CAD, or any workflow where measurements need to be right.

The cost structure reflects the platform's origins as a hosting product. Floor plans cost $14.99 per property on top of a subscription starting at $9.99 per month, on top of $20 per space per month for hosting. If floor plans are your primary deliverable, that overhead is hard to justify when Polycam delivers measured, DXF-exportable floor plans at a flat monthly rate with no hosting fees.

Consider if: You're already running Matterport for 3D virtual tours and want a schematic floor plan as a secondary add-on for marketing purposes. If floor plans are your primary output, Matterport is the wrong starting point.

iGUIDE — High Precision, High Cost, Limited Output

iGUIDE uses a proprietary PLANIX R1 camera mounted on a tripod to capture from multiple positions within a space. The precision is the best in this comparison at ±0.5% accuracy, and for workflows where that level of measurement certainty matters, it earns it.

The tradeoffs are substantial. The hardware costs $2,000 to $2,500 before your first scan. Per-scan processing adds $7.99 to $33 on a pay-as-you-go basis. The tripod-based workflow is slower than walk-through scanning. The tool is locked into iGUIDE's own processing ecosystem. And there's no CAD or DXF export, which limits its usefulness for AEC professionals who need to draft on top of the plan.

For most professional documentation work, Polycam's LiDAR-based accuracy is well within the tolerance the job requires, without the hardware investment or the ecosystem lock-in.

Consider if: You're a real estate professional or appraiser for whom maximum measurement precision is a non-negotiable requirement and you're willing to invest in dedicated hardware. For general AEC work, the lack of CAD export is a significant gap.

Draw-Based Tools

RoomSketcher — For Design, Not Documentation

RoomSketcher is a manual drawing tool with clean 3D visualization and a solid object library. You drag and drop walls, doors, windows, and furniture on a blank canvas and input the dimensions you want. The output looks professional and works well for client presentations and interior design concepts.

What it doesn't do is measure anything. Accuracy is entirely on the user. If you measure and draw correctly, the plan reflects reality. If you don't, it doesn't. There's no scan, no spatial data, and no path to CAD output. Pricing runs from $12 per month for 5 credits to $35 per month for 20 credits, with credits required for 3D renders and high-resolution exports.

Use for: Interior design visualizations, marketing floor plan graphics, and space planning presentations where the goal is a good-looking layout rather than a verified measurement document.

Floorplanner — A Free Option for Simple Layouts

Floorplanner is a browser-based drag-and-drop editor that works for simple layout exercises. The free tier covers 5 projects with a 10-minute export cooldown. Paid plans start at $5 per month. Like RoomSketcher, it has no scanning capability, no measurement accuracy beyond what the user inputs, and no CAD export.

Use for: Quick marketing floor plans and casual space planning where budget is the primary constraint.

Side-by-Side Comparison

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At 20 plans per month, Polycam's flat $36 Business rate against CubiCasa at $460 to $600, magicplan at $800, and Matterport at $300 plus subscription and hosting is where the cost advantage becomes impossible to ignore.

Accuracy Breakdown: What "Accurate" Actually Means

Every tool in this comparison claims accuracy. What that word means varies considerably, and it matters for evaluating whether a tool's output is actually usable for your work.

Scan-based accuracy is measured from real spatial data. Polycam and iGUIDE both use LiDAR to capture actual geometry. iGUIDE leads on raw precision at ±0.5% because of its dedicated hardware and controlled capture method. Polycam delivers within a few centimeters, which covers as-builts, listing floor plans, bid packages, pre-permit drawings, and renovation documentation for the vast majority of professional projects. CubiCasa's human QA layer catches scan artifacts but means the output isn't available until after the site visit.

Schematic accuracy, Matterport's category, conveys layout and proportion rather than precise dimensions. That's appropriate for marketing materials and a problem for any workflow that depends on measurements being right.

Draw-based accuracy is whatever the user inputs. RoomSketcher and Floorplanner have no measurement capability. There's no catch built into the tool.

For most professional use cases, the accuracy threshold is lower than people assume. Real estate listings work at ±1 to 3%, which is the ANSI Z765 standard. AEC as-builts and renovation documentation are workable at a few centimeters of tolerance for the vast majority of projects. Survey-grade precision for contractual or legal documents is a different matter, and none of the tools in this comparison replace a licensed surveyor for that work.

Which Floor Plan Tool Is Right for You?

For most professionals reading this comparison, the decision is simpler than the number of tools suggests.

If you need measured floor plans from real spaces, on-site delivery, and CAD export from a phone at a flat monthly rate, Polycam is the answer. It's the only tool in this comparison that delivers all three without dedicated hardware, per-plan fees, or a cloud processing wait.

The other tools cover specific situations where a particular constraint changes the equation. CubiCasa if ANSI compliance is a hard requirement for your MLS or appraisal workflow and per-plan cost is manageable. magicplan if your floor plans feed directly into Xactimate or CoreLogic and you need that integration natively. Matterport if you're already on the platform for 3D tours and want a schematic floor plan as a secondary output. iGUIDE if you need ±0.5% precision and will make the hardware investment. RoomSketcher or Floorplanner if you're designing a space rather than documenting one.

Outside of those specific situations, Polycam covers the use case.

How Professionals Are Using Scan-Based Floor Plans Today

The workflow shift is already well underway across several professional categories.

Real estate photographers and agents are producing listing floor plans between showings, scanning a space in under 10 minutes and attaching the plan to the listing the same day. JNR Architecture captured a full house in one hour using Polycam, compared to an estimated 16 hours of manual measurement for a comparable project. GCs are dropping DXF exports directly into AutoCAD for bid package markup without a separate drafting step. Facilities managers are documenting building portfolios at scale where flat-rate pricing means the cost stays consistent no matter how many spaces get captured. Insurance adjusters are producing property layouts as part of the same site visit as the inspection, with the floor plan ready before they leave.

The common thread is that the measurement and documentation step, which used to sit outside the site visit as a separate workflow item, has moved into it.

The Right Tool for the Right Job

Floor plan software is not a single category. Draw-based tools help you design spaces. Scan-based tools help you document them. If your work depends on capturing what's actually in a building, the relevant comparison is between scan-based tools, and the criteria are accuracy, speed, cost, and export quality.

On those criteria, Polycam delivers the best combination for most professional use cases: LiDAR-scanned floor plans from a phone, ready on-site in minutes, exportable as layered DXF for CAD workflows or PDF and PNG for client handoffs, at a flat monthly rate with no per-plan fees and no dedicated hardware required.

The Business plan covers LiDAR floor plans, DXF export, team sharing, and unlimited captures from the phone you already carry. There's a 7-day free trial at poly.cam/pricing. Scan one real space, export the file, and see whether the output meets the standard your work requires.