Comparison
SketchUp vs 3D Event Builder
Plenty of good event people lay out shows in SketchUp, and it works. This page is not about whether you can. It is about what you are doing by hand that you would not have to.
What it costs
| Plan | Month to month | Or a year up front |
|---|---|---|
| SketchUp Go | $19.99/mo | $10.75/mo — $129.00 at once |
| SketchUp Pro | $99.99/mo | $33.25/mo — $399.00 at once |
| SketchUp Studio | not offered | $71.58/mo — $858.96 at once |
| 3D Event Builder — Basic | $9.99/mo | no year to buy |
| 3D Event Builder — Pro | $29.99/mo | no year to buy |
| 3D Event Builder — Team | $79.99/mo | no year to buy |
Compare the column you would actually be paying. Month to month, SketchUp Go is $19.99 against our $9.99 — double. Pro is $99.99 against our $29.99 — more than three times. Their cheaper numbers are a year bought up front: $129 for Go, $399 for Pro, paid on the day you sign.
We do not sell a year, at a discount or otherwise. Every plan is month to month, cancel in one click from inside the app, and a month you do not use is a month you do not buy. For work that comes in seasons — and most event work does — that is the difference between software you pay for when you are busy and software you pay for in February.
What SketchUp does that we do not
| Feature | SketchUp | 3D Event Builder |
|---|---|---|
| Model any shape you can think of | Yes | Our catalogue only |
| 3D Warehouse — millions of free models | Yes | No |
| Extensions and a huge plugin market | Yes | No |
| Drawing and documentation (LayOut, Pro and up) | Yes | Pull sheet and packet only |
| Photoreal rendering (Studio) | Yes | AI concept images only |
| Use it for anything that is not an event | Yes | No |
What we do that it does not
| Feature | SketchUp | 3D Event Builder |
|---|---|---|
| Truss, panels and staging with real part numbers | Warehouse models | Yes |
| Parts that only join where they really join | No | Yes |
| Pull sheet counts itself off the drawing | No | Yes |
| Power and data runs worked out for a video wall | No | Yes |
| Tells you when a wall will not fit the processor | No | Yes |
| Ground support and rigging built for you | No | Yes |
| Share a show with a client by link | Export a file | Yes |
A Warehouse model is a picture of a truss
It is the right shape and it looks right in a render. It does not know its own part number, it does not know what it will mate with, and it will not appear on a list at the end. So the layout is quick and everything after the layout — the count, the order, the plot, the power — is a spreadsheet you keep in step by hand.
Ours are the parts you actually hire. Join two sticks and they either mate or they do not. Build a video wall and the panels know their pixel pitch, their draw and their data runs — which is why we can tell you the processor is three ports short before the truck leaves. The LED wall calculator and the power calculator are that same arithmetic, out where anybody can use them without signing up.
Who should stay on SketchUp
- You design custom scenic — things nobody sells, that have to be drawn before they are built.
- You model venues from scratch and need the geometry to be exact.
- You already use it for work that has nothing to do with events.
- You need photoreal renders and you have Studio.
Who should try us
- Your shows are built from gear you own or hire, not from shapes you invent.
- You are keeping a parts list in a spreadsheet beside the drawing.
- You have ever had the wrong amount of truss turn up.
- You want the crew to open it on an iPad without installing anything.
Also worth reading
If you are weighing up proper event CAD rather than a general modeller, the Vectorworks Spotlight comparison is the other side of this.
Try it
Seven days free. It runs in a browser, so there is nothing to install and nothing to uninstall if you do not like it. The trial asks for a card and nothing is charged during it; cancel in one click from inside the app. Start a drawing.