SketchUp AI Render vs a pay-per-render alternative

AI Render is Trimble's generative render feature inside SketchUp. It takes a snapshot of your current model view and generates images from it with a text prompt. You can also use preset prompts, which include regular and negative prompts.

It runs on SketchUp for Desktop, SketchUp for iPad and SketchUp for Web. On desktop it is an extension you install from Extension Warehouse, and it needs SketchUp 2024 or newer. On iPad it is in the Expanded Toolset from version 6.4. On Web it is also in the Expanded Toolset. It needs an internet connection.

Beyond the prompt, it has Sketch, Paint and Erase tools for changing parts of an image, a Gallery of recent output, and Add Scene to turn a result into a model scene. SketchUp's help puts a generation at about 13 to 20 seconds.

AI Render is for paid subscriptions only. SketchUp's help says it needs an active Go, Pro or Studio subscription, and the AI Credits page says a free subscription includes no credits. Each paid plan includes a set number of credits a month.

At the time of writing, the US price page lists Go at $10.75, Pro at $33.25 and Studio at $71.58 a month, billed annually. Studio is Windows only. Prices vary by region and change, so check the page for yours.

Generating output with AI Render costs 10 credits, according to the AI Credits help page last updated in September 2026. Older help pages listed a lower figure, so check the current page before you plan a month around it. Credits come off only when output is added to your Gallery; a failed generation costs nothing.

Your balance resets to your plan's full amount on your monthly renewal date. Unused credits do not carry over. The same balance works on desktop, iPad and Web.

If you need more, the SketchUp AI subscription adds 1,500 credits a month for $11.99 a month at the time of writing. It can only be bought on top of Go, Pro or Studio, and only one per account. The credits also pay for Generate Object, which costs 30 credits. AI Assistant Help is free.

Its main strength is that it lives inside the model. There is no export step, and no browser tab to switch to.

• It works on the live model view. Change the camera or the model, refresh, and generate again.
• Add Scene saves a result alongside your model's scenes.
• Sketch adds elements you draw, Paint prompts a selected area, and Erase removes artifacts.
• One credit balance covers desktop, iPad and Web.
• If you already pay for SketchUp, the monthly credits come with the plan you have.
• On iPad, Opacity lets you blend the generated image over the model to compare.

ArchFor is a web app that turns 3D model screenshots, sketches and existing renders into photorealistic architectural images. Credit packs from $9.99; no plugin and no subscription required. It runs in the browser on Mac, Windows, iPad and phones, and does not need SketchUp at all.

You export a view from SketchUp, or any other modeler, and upload one JPG, PNG or WebP up to 10 MB. You do not write a prompt. You pick the input, space, style, time of day and image size and can add a short note on materials, 200 characters at most. The recipe treats your image as the authority for massing, roofline, floor count, openings and camera, and removes axes, guides and edge lines. This is best effort: the results are AI images, and small details can shift.

Each click returns four options at the size you pick, 1K, 2K or 4K, most often in less than a minute at 2K. From a result you can ask for Brighter, Moodier, Night, Add people & planting, or a new facade material. A round of 4 costs 4, 8 or 12 credits by size. Failed images are refunded automatically.

The table sets out the facts for each. Where SketchUp's documentation does not state a figure, the cell says so.

Two rows matter most in practice. The input row decides your workflow: AI Render reads the model in front of you, while ArchFor reads a picture of it, so every design change means a new export. The unused credits row decides what a slow month costs. On ArchFor, only the uploaded image leaves your computer, never the model file, and both uploads and results are visible only to you.

On SketchUp Go, billed annually, about $10.75 a month gets you the modeling app plus 10 AI Render generations a month. Pro gives 15, Studio 20. With the $11.99 add-on, you get 150 more each month. Unused generations are gone at renewal.

On ArchFor, the Starter pack is $9.99 for 80 credits: 40 images at 2K, which is 10 rounds of 4. A Project pack is $24.99 for 220 credits, or 110 images at 2K. Pack credits last 12 months, so a quiet month does not cost you anything. Each image downloads at the size it was made, with no extra charge.

The two do not count the same thing. A SketchUp generation and an ArchFor round of 4 are not the same unit, so compare by the number of usable images you need per project, not by credits.

Stay with it if most of these describe you. For many SketchUp users the built-in tool is the right choice, and a second tool would add cost and steps.

• You already pay for Go, Pro or Studio, and 10 to 20 generations a month cover your needs.
• You iterate while modeling and want to regenerate after every design change without exporting.
• You want to keep results as scenes in the .skp file with Add Scene.
• You like writing your own prompts and editing areas with Sketch, Paint and Erase.
• You work only in SketchUp and do not render sketches, elevations or other modelers' views.
• You would rather keep one vendor and one bill.

A separate tool earns its place in a narrower set of cases. Be honest about which one is yours.

• You render a few times a year and do not want credits that reset every month.
• You use SketchUp Free, or a modeler other than SketchUp, or you work from hand sketches and elevations.
• You want 4 options per click to choose from, plus one-click Night, people and facade material changes.
• You need more images in a busy month than your plan's credits allow.
• You prefer presets to writing prompts.
• You need an existing render from Enscape, Lumion or V-Ray made more photoreal, which ArchFor's Render Enhancer does in one action per run.