Why is arkia first on this list?

We make arkia, so we put it first and say so. The other tools are grouped by the job they do, not scored, and every fact about them links to the maker's own page with the date we read it.

Is there a free AI tool for architects?

Several tools have a free tier or a trial. arkia gives 200 credits at signup, then 75 every Monday, with no card. mnml gives 100 credits at signup, LookX has a free Basic plan with 100 credits, Krea gives 100 units a day, Runway 125 one-time credits, Maket 30 one-time credits, and Finch has a free single-user plan. Veras and Autodesk Forma offer free trials. The "Free options" section above lists each one.

Do AI renderers need a 3D model?

No. arkia, mnml, LookX and Veras also start from a sketch, and arkia and mnml from a photo. Maket starts from a plain-language description of a house and generates floor plans and 3D renders.

How do I keep a design consistent across several renders?

Start every render from the same view and change one thing at a time. In arkia, every render keeps its recipe, and Remix reopens a past render so you can change one input and relaunch without rebuilding the settings. With the other tools, reuse the same exported view and the same settings for each render.

No. Browser tools such as arkia and Krea work from an image you export, so they work with any software and any version, with one export per view. Plugins remove that export step: Veras works inside Revit, SketchUp, Rhino, Archicad, Vectorworks, Forma and Allplan, mnml inside SketchUp, Revit, Rhino and Grasshopper, and LookX inside SketchUp and Rhino. Some teams use both.

Which AI tool is best for architectural rendering?

The one that starts from what you have. If you want to render the view open in your modeling software, look at Veras or mnml; LookX has plugins for SketchUp and Rhino. If you start from exported views, renders, sketches or photos and want task templates, video and a shared team workspace, look at arkia. Test each one on the same view of your own project before you choose.

Can I use ChatGPT or Claude for architecture work?

Yes, for the text side of the job and more. ChatGPT creates and edits images from a prompt or an uploaded image. Claude reads the PDFs and images you upload, writes code and produces documents, spreadsheets and slides. Both have free plans, $20/mo individual plans and team plans priced per seat.

Best AI tools · Architects

The best AI tools for architects in 2026

Q: What is the best AI tool for architects?

It depends on the job. To render the views you already have, look at arkia, Veras, mnml or LookX. For concept images from a prompt, Midjourney or Krea. To test massing on a site, Autodesk Forma, TestFit, Finch or Maket. To upscale or animate a render, Magnific or Runway. For writing, briefs and code, ChatGPT or Claude.

Q: Can AI keep my geometry?

It depends on the tool, and few makers state it. arkia keeps the camera and the geometry of the view you upload: the before / after on this page is the same view, unchanged. Chaos states that Veras edits change only the geometry and materials you specify, keeping the massing intact, and mnml that its masked edits leave the rest of the image untouched. For the other tools, run one of your own views and compare it with the original before you rely on it.

Short answer: to render the views you already have, look at arkia, Veras, mnml or LookX. For concept images from a prompt, Midjourney or Krea. To test massing on a site, Autodesk Forma, TestFit, Finch or Maket. To upscale or animate a render, Magnific or Runway. For writing, briefs and code, ChatGPT or Claude. Below, 14 tools sorted by the job they do, with what you put in, who each one fits and what it costs, with dated sources.

We make arkia, and it is first on this list. The others are sorted by the job they do, not scored.

Facts and prices checked Oct 18, 2026

Free to try
No plugin
No credit card

Photoreal — input — Runs the Photoreal template

How we chose

We started from the tools that come up again and again in the lists architects read, then kept the ones that do a job in a practice: rendering a view, making a concept image, testing massing on a site, upscaling or animating an image, and writing. Each tool had to have a public product page we could read, and published plans or prices.

For each tool we checked the same things: what you put in (a 3D view, a sketch, a plan, a photo or text), what comes out, whether the maker states that your geometry is kept, whether it runs as a plugin or in the browser, whether there is a free tier, the entry price and the team plan.

Prices are in USD, as the maker publishes them. When a maker shows another currency, or a limited-time offer, we say so instead of converting it. "Keeps your geometry" reflects what the maker's own pages say: "Not stated" means we did not find it written, not that the tool cannot do it.

Every fact links to the maker's page, with the date we read it. There are no scores and no ranking between the tools after arkia: the right one depends on what you start from and what you need to deliver.

The list

14 tools, sorted by job.

We make it · Rendering from your model

arkia

arkia runs in the browser from any image: a render, a viewport capture, a sketch or a photograph. Over 50 templates each do one job, such as a photoreal render, people, planting or another material, and Animate turns a result into video.

Works from: Render, viewport capture, sketch or photo
Keeps your geometry: Yes
Price: Free: 200 credits at signup, then 75 every Monday, no cardFrom $15/mo (Explorer)Teams: $149/mo (Studio)

Fits if you want one browser workspace for the whole team, starting from the views you already have.

Credits never expire
Studio has unlimited seats, shared projects and a team wallet
Video from 1 to 30 seconds depending on the quality level (Draft and Standard up to 15 s, Final up to 30 s), up to 1080p
Photoreal keeps the camera and the geometry of the view you upload

Rendering from your model

Veras

chaos.com

An AI rendering plugin from Chaos that renders the view you have open in your design software. It is available for Revit, SketchUp, Rhino, Archicad, Vectorworks, Forma and Allplan, inside Enscape, V-Ray and Corona, and as a web app that takes sketches, images and prompts.

Works from: The open view in Revit, SketchUp, Rhino, Archicad, Vectorworks, Forma or Allplan; sketch, image or prompt
Keeps your geometry: Not stated
Price: Free: 14-day trial with 100 creditsPlans and credits are listed on Chaos's site, with prices shown in your local currency.

Fits if you want to render the view open in Revit, SketchUp, Rhino, Archicad or Enscape without exporting an image.

Chaos states that edits change only the geometry and materials you specify, "keeping your massing intact"
Veo 3.1 video clips of 4, 6 or 8 seconds, up to 4K, with audio
Named license per user, or a floating team license shared among users

Rendering from your model

mnml

mnml.ai

An AI rendering studio with tools by input (exterior, interior, sketch, landscape, masterplan, floor plan) and controls for style, camera angle, time of day, weather and people. It runs in the browser, with free plugins and a connector for AI assistants.

Works from: Sketch, 3D view, plan or photo; free plugins for SketchUp, Revit, Rhino and Grasshopper; AI assistant through MCP
Keeps your geometry: Not stated
Price: Free: 100 credits at signup, no cardFrom $29/mo (Lite, 1,000 credits)Teams: $179/mo (Team Starter, 3 seats plus an IT admin)

Fits if you want to render from inside SketchUp, Revit, Rhino or Grasshopper, or from an AI assistant, with team plans published on the site.

Masked edits by polygon, rectangle, lasso or brush, and upscaling to 8K; mnml states the rest of the image is not touched
Video clips of 10 or 15 seconds, priced by the second
Unused plan credits roll over, up to two months of credits

Rendering from your model

LookX

lookx.ai

An AI platform for architects and designers that turns text and sketches into renders, with a style adapter for reference images, video from an image or text, upscaling and custom models trained on your own images.

Works from: Text, sketch or reference image; plugins for SketchUp and Rhino
Keeps your geometry: Not stated
Price: Free: Basic plan with 100 creditsFrom $20/mo (580 credits a month, 7-day trial) or $199 a yearTeams: $269/mo (5 seats)

Fits if you work in SketchUp or Rhino and want to train a model on your own style of images.

Video generated from an image or from text
Team plan with a credit balance shared by all members

Concept images

Midjourney

midjourney.com

Generates images from a text prompt, with image references, and animates an image, including one you upload, into a short video (Animate Image).

Works from: Text prompt; an image to animate
Keeps your geometry: Not stated
Price: From $10/mo (Basic), $8/mo billed yearly

Fits if you want concept and mood images from a prompt, early in a project or for a competition board.

Unlimited image generations in Relax Mode from the Standard plan ($30/mo)
Stealth Mode, which keeps images and videos private, on the Pro and Mega plans
Companies with more than $1,000,000 in gross yearly revenue must buy Pro ($60/mo) or Mega ($120/mo)

Concept images

Krea

krea.ai

A browser suite that generates and edits images and video with Krea's own models and third-party ones, with a real-time mode, an upscaler and LoRA training. Its architecture page shows views exported from Revit, Rhino, SketchUp and other tools as starting points.

Works from: Exported views, a shared viewport, a hand sketch, an image or text
Keeps your geometry: Not stated
Price: Free: 100 units a dayFrom $9/mo (Basic), $5.25/mo billed yearlyTeams: Business $200/mo, up to 50 members

Fits if you start from your own exported views and want images, video and upscaling in one subscription.

Turns stills into flythrough and walkthrough clips
Upscales frames to print resolution for boards and decks
Commercial license on every paid plan

Early design and massing

Autodesk Forma (Site Design, Building Design)

autodesk.com

Forma Site Design is a cloud tool for site planning, feasibility and early design: geolocated site context, drawn or generated massing with automatic area metrics, and sun, daylight, wind and noise analyses, including AI wind and noise analyses. Forma Building Design takes schematic design (facades, floor plans, units) to Revit.

Works from: A site location and drawn or generated massing; Revit, Rhino, Dynamo, IFC and OBJ
Keeps your geometry: Not applicable
Price: Free: Free trialIncluded with Revit subscriptions and the AEC Collection; also sold on its own (price on Autodesk's store).

Fits if you already work in Revit or the AEC Collection and want site context, massing and environmental analysis before modeling in Revit.

Runs in a web browser, with nothing to install
Every Revit subscription includes Forma Site Design and Forma Building Design
A Revit license is not needed to use Forma Site Design

Early design and massing

TestFit

testfit.io

A real estate feasibility platform that generates site plans with unit mix and parking counts, 2D and 3D massing and parking layouts, and links a pro forma to the site plan.

Works from: A site and a program; Revit add-in, SketchUp and DXF export
Keeps your geometry: Not applicable
Price: From $195/mo (Parking Solver)

Fits if you run feasibility on multifamily, parking or mixed-use sites and need unit counts, parking and a pro forma from one site plan.

Site Solver from $15,000 a year, billed annually
An MCP connection lets you prompt site plans from an AI assistant (+$100/mo, included in Site Solver)
Revit and SketchUp integrations on every plan

Early design and massing

Finch

finch3d.com

A platform for building design that generates design options and shows building performance metrics in real time as you explore them, with floor plans, area calculations and BIM geometry.

Works from: Design options in a web app, from concept to schematic design
Keeps your geometry: Not applicable
Price: Free: Single user, editing tools and real-time metricsPaid plans priced in EUR on their site.

Fits if you want to generate and compare housing or office layouts with live area and performance metrics before moving to BIM.

Enterprise adds AI floor plan generation and an AI agent for design workflows
14-day free trial on the Basic plan

Early design and massing

Maket

maket.ai

Generates residential floor plans, furnished layouts and 3D renders from a plain-language description. You start from a new concept, an uploaded plan or a blank canvas, then edit by text or by moving walls and openings.

Works from: A text description, an uploaded plan or a blank canvas
Keeps your geometry: Not applicable
Price: Free: 30 one-time credits, no cardFrom $20/mo (300 credits)

Fits if you design single-family homes and want floor plan options to start from.

PDF and DXF export on paid plans
Pro at $100/mo with 3,000 credits; Scale on request, with an API

Upscale and video

Magnific (formerly Freepik)

magnific.com

A platform that brings together image, video, audio and 3D models, the Magnific upscaler, editing tools such as relight and change camera, and a library of over 250 million stock assets. Freepik is now called Magnific.

Works from: Image, video or text
Keeps your geometry: Not stated
Price: Free: 10 stock downloads a dayPlans billed annually; the prices shown when we checked were a limited-time offer, so check the current price on their site.

Fits if you want an upscaler, third-party image and video models and a stock library in one annual subscription.

Magnific and Topaz upscalers from the Premium+ plan
Credits valid for one year, with no monthly reset
30-day refund guarantee

Upscale and video

Runway

runway.com

Generates and edits video and images with Runway's models (Gen-4.5, Gen-4, Aleph) and third-party models such as Nano Banana Pro.

Works from: Image, video or text
Keeps your geometry: Not stated
Price: Free: 125 one-time creditsFrom $15/mo (Standard), $12/mo billed yearlyTeams: $69 per seat a month, $55 billed yearly (2 to 9 people)

Fits if you want to animate or edit renders as video, with a credit pool shared by two to nine people.

Team credits are pooled across the workspace, with one month of rollover
Credits you buy on top of a plan never expire

Assistants

ChatGPT

chatgpt.com

OpenAI's assistant. Beyond text, it creates and edits images from a prompt and from the images you upload.

Works from: Text and uploaded images
Keeps your geometry: Not stated
Price: Free: Limited image creationFrom $20/mo (Plus)

Fits if you already use ChatGPT for writing and want ideation images without another subscription.

Image creation on the Free, Go, Plus and Pro plans, unlimited on Pro
Paid plans (Go, Plus, Business and Enterprise) are priced per user per month

Assistants

Claude

claude.com

Anthropic's assistant. It reads the PDFs and images you upload, searches the web, writes code, and produces files such as documents, spreadsheets and slides.

Works from: Text, PDFs, images and other files
Keeps your geometry: Not applicable
Price: Free: Free plan on web, desktop and mobileFrom $20/mo (Pro), $17/mo billed yearlyTeams: $25 per Standard seat a month, $20 billed yearly (2 to 150 people)

Fits if you want help with briefs, reports, schedules and scripts, working from the PDFs and images you already have.

Projects keep files and instructions together, up to 5 projects on the free plan
Max plans from $100/mo for more usage

At a glance

The same tools, side by side.

The best AI tools for architects in 2026: category, input, geometry, free tier and entry price of each tool.
Tool	Category	Works from	Keeps geometry	Free tier	From
arkia	Rendering from your model	Render, viewport capture, sketch or photo	Yes	200 credits at signup, then 75 every Monday, no card	$15/mo (Explorer)
Veras	Rendering from your model	The open view in Revit, SketchUp, Rhino, Archicad, Vectorworks, Forma or Allplan; sketch, image or prompt	Not stated	14-day trial with 100 credits	Plans and credits are listed on Chaos's site, with prices shown in your local currency.
mnml	Rendering from your model	Sketch, 3D view, plan or photo; free plugins for SketchUp, Revit, Rhino and Grasshopper; AI assistant through MCP	Not stated	100 credits at signup, no card	$29/mo (Lite, 1,000 credits)
LookX	Rendering from your model	Text, sketch or reference image; plugins for SketchUp and Rhino	Not stated	Basic plan with 100 credits	$20/mo (580 credits a month, 7-day trial) or $199 a year
Midjourney	Concept images	Text prompt; an image to animate	Not stated	—	$10/mo (Basic), $8/mo billed yearly
Krea	Concept images	Exported views, a shared viewport, a hand sketch, an image or text	Not stated	100 units a day	$9/mo (Basic), $5.25/mo billed yearly
Autodesk Forma (Site Design, Building Design)	Early design and massing	A site location and drawn or generated massing; Revit, Rhino, Dynamo, IFC and OBJ	Not applicable	Free trial	Included with Revit subscriptions and the AEC Collection; also sold on its own (price on Autodesk's store).
TestFit	Early design and massing	A site and a program; Revit add-in, SketchUp and DXF export	Not applicable	—	$195/mo (Parking Solver)
Finch	Early design and massing	Design options in a web app, from concept to schematic design	Not applicable	Single user, editing tools and real-time metrics	Paid plans priced in EUR on their site.
Maket	Early design and massing	A text description, an uploaded plan or a blank canvas	Not applicable	30 one-time credits, no card	$20/mo (300 credits)
Magnific (formerly Freepik)	Upscale and video	Image, video or text	Not stated	10 stock downloads a day	Plans billed annually; the prices shown when we checked were a limited-time offer, so check the current price on their site.
Runway	Upscale and video	Image, video or text	Not stated	125 one-time credits	$15/mo (Standard), $12/mo billed yearly
ChatGPT	Assistants	Text and uploaded images	Not stated	Limited image creation	$20/mo (Plus)
Claude	Assistants	Text, PDFs, images and other files	Not applicable	Free plan on web, desktop and mobile	$20/mo (Pro), $17/mo billed yearly

Facts as of October 2026 · Sources in each card · — means not stated on the pages we read

Before you choose: three things to check

What you start from. Most rendering tools on this list take an image: a viewport capture, a white model, a sketch or a photo. Some also run as a plugin inside your modeling software: Veras and mnml render the view you have open, and LookX has plugins for SketchUp and Rhino. Massing tools start further upstream, from a site and a program (Autodesk Forma, TestFit, Finch) or a description of a house (Maket). Concept tools start from a prompt (Midjourney) or from your own exported views (Krea).

Whether your design stays your design. For a client image, the camera, the massing and the openings of your view must survive the render. Few makers state it plainly. arkia keeps the camera and the geometry of the view you upload. Chaos states that Veras edits change only the geometry and materials you specify, and mnml that masked edits leave the rest of the image untouched. For the other tools we did not find it written: test one of your own views before you commit.

How credits behave. Most tools sell monthly credits, and the rules differ. arkia credits never expire. mnml rolls unused plan credits over for up to two months. Chaos credits reset at the start of each billing cycle. Magnific credits are valid for one year. Runway credits bought on top of a plan never expire.

Free options

arkia: 200 credits at signup, then 75 free credits every Monday, with no card.

Veras: a 14-day trial with 100 credits, including video renders.

mnml: 100 credits at signup, with no card required.

LookX: a free Basic plan with 100 credits.

Krea: a free plan with 100 compute units a day.

Autodesk Forma: a free trial, and Forma Site Design is included in every Revit subscription.

Finch: a free plan for a single user, with editing tools and real-time metrics.

Maket: 30 one-time credits, with no card.

Magnific: a free plan with 10 stock downloads a day.

Runway: 125 one-time credits to try its tools.

ChatGPT: a free plan with limited image creation.

Claude: a free plan on web, desktop and mobile, with up to 5 projects.

For students: arkia Explorer, listed as "Student & curious", costs $15/mo.

How to pick

You model in Revit, SketchUp or Rhino and need images this week. If you want to render from inside the software, Veras and mnml have plugins for all three, and LookX for SketchUp and Rhino. If you would rather export a view and work in the browser, arkia takes the image from any software and version, and its templates add people, planting or another material on the result.

You only have sketches. arkia, mnml, LookX and Veras all start from a sketch. For concept images, Midjourney works from a prompt and Krea from a hand sketch or an exported view. When the concept is settled, run the same sketch through a rendering template to get a client image.

You test massing on a site. Autodesk Forma Site Design gives site context, massing and sun, daylight, wind and noise analyses, and Forma Building Design takes the scheme to Revit. TestFit generates site plans with unit mix, parking and a pro forma. Finch generates layouts with live area and performance metrics. For single-family homes, Maket generates floor plan options from a description.

You need a moving image for a presentation. arkia animates a result into a clip of 1 to 30 seconds. Runway generates and edits video from images. Veras makes Veo 3.1 clips of 4, 6 or 8 seconds, mnml clips of 10 or 15 seconds, and Midjourney animates an image into a short video.

You are equipping a whole team. arkia Studio is $149/mo with unlimited seats and a shared workspace. mnml team plans start at $179/mo (Team Starter, 3 seats plus an IT admin). LookX Team is $269/mo for 5 seats. Krea Business is $200/mo for up to 50 members. Runway Team is $69 per seat a month for 2 to 9 people. For text work, ChatGPT and Claude both have team plans priced per seat.

You need diagrams or presentation graphics. arkia has templates that turn a 3D view into a Diagram (a white massing diagram with one accent color), an Axonometric, an Exploded Axonometric or a Watercolor, and a Collage template that composes a Dogma-style collage for a board.

Before / after