Autodesk Forma Build vs Home Designer

Autodesk Forma Build is paid construction project software connecting office, trailer, and jobsite teams. It manages documents, costs, quality, safety, collaboration, and workflows including RFIs, submittals, meetings, issues, forms, and schedules. Web, iOS, and Android access are listed, and the Autodesk Forma mobile app can provide project data offline. Forma Build Essentials includes punch lists, issue management, daily reports, forms, current sheets and files, and mobile field access. Autodesk describes Build features including Autodesk Assistant, Construction IQ, photo autotags, automatic sheet extraction, and AI-assisted specification and submittal workflows. Integrations include Forma Design Collaboration, Forma Data Management, TradeTapp, accounting connections, and Forma Construction Connect, which supports custom connections to more than 200 systems. Autodesk also lists an AECO partner ecosystem with more than 400 integrations. A free trial lasts 30 days; users who do not subscribe afterward lose project access. Plans include Forma Build Essentials at $100 per user monthly and Forma Build - per user at $175 per user monthly.

Home Designer is desktop software for DIY home design, remodeling, kitchen and bath projects, and cost estimation. It runs on Windows and macOS and provides 2D floor plans alongside 3D views, cross-sections, elevations, and real-time ray-trace rendering. Automatic design tools generate roofs, floors, foundations, ceilings, and framing as users work. Users can create scaled construction documents and site plans, produce materials lists, assign prices for estimates, and dimension plans manually or automatically. The software also supports customizable smart cabinets, automatic door and window framing, and materials takeoffs. Virtual tour walkthroughs can be recorded, and interactive 3D Viewer models can be exported to Chief Architect’s cloud for mobile sharing. Core, bonus, and manufacturer library items are available; bonus and manufacturer catalogs are free downloads. Home Designer is compatible with Chief Architect software for project sharing. A trial is available, but trial users cannot save, print, export, or record walkthroughs, and Library Browser functions are restricted. The monthly plan is $79 a month; annual subscription is $495 a year.