Compare · SketchUp alternative
SketchUp is the quickest way to push a massing model around. The trouble starts when the job needs plans, sections and a drawing set: that means LayOut, extensions and a renderer, and every change has to travel between them. In Toras the plan comes first, and the 3D model, the renders and the sheets all follow from it.
No credit card · nothing to install
01 / Plan
Draw walls, doors and windows with real dimensions and the 3D model stands up as you go, floor by floor. You never redraw the plan from the model, or the model from the plan.
02 / Document
Plans, sections, elevations and schedules land on drawing sheets inside Toras and update when the design does. No LayOut round-trip, no re-linking views after every change.
03 / Render
Render straight from the 3D model in one click: the light, the materials and the furniture are already there. In SketchUp, V-Ray comes with Studio, which runs on Windows only.
Checked against SketchUp’s own pages on October 18, 2026.
| Feature | SketchUp | Toras |
|---|---|---|
| Getting started | ||
| Price | Go $129 a year; Pro $399 a year or $99.99 a month; Studio $858.96 a year | Free plan, then Pro at $37.99 a month (regular $49.99) |
| Free option | Free web version: no imports, STL-only export | Free plan: 2 full projects, no card |
| Runs on | Pro: Windows and Mac. Go: web and iPad. Studio: Windows | Any browser, Mac or Windows |
| Design | ||
| 3D modeling | Fast push-pull, 3D Warehouse | Builds from the plan, plus push-pull |
| 2D plans | In LayOut (Pro and Studio) | Walls, doors, windows, dimensions |
| Real site | Geo-location with terrain and imagery | Terrain, buildings, roads and sun, built in |
| Rendering | V-Ray in Studio, Windows only | Photoreal renders, built in |
| Documents and files | ||
| Drawing sheets | LayOut, a separate app | Update with the design |
| File exchange | SKP; DWG and DXF for subscribers; IFC in Pro | DXF, IFC, PDF, PNG; imports OBJ, FBX, STL, GLB |
Many architects sketch the idea in SketchUp and draw the building in Toras.
Toras opens the formats SketchUp users already have.
Import 3D models as OBJ, FBX, STL or GLB to design around.
Bring 2D plans and site drawings in as DXF.
Try it on a live job on the free plan, with no card and nothing to install.
Two full projects on the free plan, from the real site to the drawing set. No credit card, nothing to install.
Start freeYes, in the browser, with limits: no imports, STL-only export and watermarked images. In mid-2026 Trimble also tested capping new models at two a month. It no longer appears on the main pricing page.
$399 a year, or $99.99 a month. SketchUp Go, web and iPad only, is $129 a year. Studio, which adds V-Ray, is $858.96 a year and runs on Windows only.
Toras imports OBJ, FBX, STL and GLB models and DXF drawings. SKP is SketchUp’s own format.
For loose concept massing, SketchUp is famously fast. Toras is quicker where SketchUp slows down: from the plan onward, because the model, the renders and the sheets come from one design.