Chief Architect Premier Reviews & Product Details

1. Perpetual license. I own my software/designs. So many companies are going to subscription-based software, and I couldn't justify spending thousands of dollars only to lose my work if I didn't renew my subscription. I would prefer to own it and pay to update it as necessary; Especially since I'm only doing residential design to build my own homes.

2. Designing in CA is fun! It's a rewarding creative outlet. I spend time every day working on my designs. I can make them as minimal or as elaborate as my heart desires.

3. The software has, directly and indirectly, expanded my understanding of construction principles and vocabulary. If I don't understand a word or option in the program, I simply research it. I've learned so much since I started using the program!

4. It's a pretty robust software program and it can do A LOT! Here is what I believe are Chief Architect's best features: Automatically build roofing and framing layers; Print real, usable architectural drawings which may be used by general contractors; Watermark, so the user may copywrite their work; Incredible library of materials; Allows the user to update their plan in both 2D and 3D; Home may be uploaded to their website and viewed by those the user gives permission. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Could be more user-friendly by designing it so common adjustments are relatively simple.

For example:

Allowing users to change wall heights at the wall level

Make it easier to raise/lower floors

Create attic space as a useable room based on truss style

Make it easier to raise or lower the terrain for walk-outs

I like that I can upload my home to their website but I wish the allowable file size wasn't so small. I found it to be very disappointing when I wanted to share a large home design (6000sq feet, including garage) with friends to get their feedback.

That said, I still feel Chief Architect Premier was worth the money and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a comprehensive design program. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Chief Architect Premier consists several features, like you can easity build up a sketch and see you drawing in 3D. it helps you add built in designs and tools to your project. There are different architect styles available to choose from. Software suggests you about different features available. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I feel difficulty when adding personal drawings and sketches as one can do in SketchUp. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Quick 3d images, reasonably quality images. Cloud sharing of model. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

CAD clunky. Sometimes reluctant to rely on technical side of things (though may be down to training?) Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The most powerful tool to me was that I could make changes on the 2D floor plan and immediately see the changes in the 3D rendering. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

There is not a lot of forum participation for troubleshooting issue or things I am unsure how to do. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I like the endless customization available; it seems there are options for everything. It is certainly designed primarily for 2D drawing, but the 3D rendering works quite well. The Layout Designer is very powerful and easy to use. I feel like this is one of the larges benefits of Chief Architect; the ability to create professional print drawings from the actual draft. There are many options for this such as scaling, title bars, etc... Overall, I would certainly recommend Chief Architect Premier. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

There's a steep learning curve to be proficient; I would recommend the Chief Architect training classes. It doesn't work very well for 3D modeling; for that I would certainly recommend dedicated 3D software such as something AutoCAD offers. Also, a timeline would be very nice to be able to edit earlier changes. I've been spoiled with Fusion 360's timeline, which shows project history, and every action is editable. This is perhaps more of a benefit with 3D modeling over architectural.. Another small complaint is the high cost of the support subscription. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I would say Chief Architect is expensive over other similar products but it justifies the price tag. For starters it has Excellent Raytracing, Option to Exchange Floors, the room labelling capabilities are best in class. Every IT guy who works with Architect Firms would agree that Polyline Tools are necessity, here we have them. Then, there is the feature that lets user put Walls on different layers which help in satisfying the customer. Being an IT guy what I love more is that it has option to import GPS text files and DWG. Then there is annotation sets available.

When I was a student I liked playing around with Chief Architects older versions. They were good. But now with the Premier, the possibilities of architecture have gone to another level. I was fortunate enough to get a job in a firm as IT head where Architects work.

Then their Support Assurance program is best value.

All in all this is the best Architecture suite. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Not much. But I would say the Premier clubbed with Support Assurance is expensive for a small firm. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I love how Chief Architect is like SketchUp and AutoCad had a really awesome baby. Being able to space plan a space to perfection and then click to make sure it looks good too is such a wonderful sales tool. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Sometimes it's difficult to design unusual attributes but that doesn't mean something can't be figured out. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I love the fact that Chief Architect Premier is very user friendly. It is a great drafting tool for the person just starting out in the drafting world. The simplicity makes it quick to learn how the software works. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Chief makes it difficult to own this program. The program is very expensive especially for the common folk. The trial version is also difficult as it doesn't let you save your work. As in other free trials you have more capabilities. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I love that you can do something simple just to get an idea of what it would look like, or you can get really in-depth and define actual materials, do the correct math for things like wall thickness (including the types of drywall and insulation you want to use) and you can even get detailed enough to use it as a tool to map out your budget for your building project. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I think the textures/materials menu is a little clunkier than it needs to be, and I would love to have a sort of 'dumbed down' interface option for if you just want to show someone a little less advanced in the software how to rough out a room so they wouldn't have to see so many buttons at first. It would be nice if it was a little cheaper but the price tag makes sense. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I love how easy it is to go from 2d to 3D. Clients love the rendering aspect to visualize their soon to be new space. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I dislike the card features. It is still easier to do architectural details in autocad than it is to do them in chief. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.