Quick answer
Layoutr is a HomeByMe alternative that needs no sign-up. HomeByMe is free to start but asks you to create an account, then has you build your room before decorating it in 3D. Layoutr uses the floor plan you already have: set its real scale by clicking two points, then drag real-sized furniture on top to see what fits. HomeByMe is the better pick if you want to decorate a room from a brand catalog and keep editing the scene.
HomeByMe is a polished home design tool, and if you want to decorate a room piece by piece from a brand catalog it does that well. But it is built around designing and visualizing a space, which means signing up and building your room before you learn anything. When the question is narrower, whether the bed fits with the wardrobe doors still opening, that is a long way round. Here is an honest comparison.
Is HomeByMe free?
HomeByMe offers a free version and describes itself on its own site as free home design software, with sign-up required before you can start. Its pricing page carries the paid options and the exact limits of the free plan, so check there rather than relying on a summary.
Layoutr's core tool is free with no account at all. Its own limit sits elsewhere: the free tier places up to 3 furniture pieces and exports your plan as an image, while saving a project to reopen later and placing more pieces are Pro features, at €4.99 per month or €19.99 once.
Layoutr vs HomeByMe at a glance
| Layoutr | HomeByMe | |
|---|---|---|
| Price to start | Free, full core tool | Free version available |
| Account required | No | Yes, sign-up first |
| Built for | Checking what fits in a real room | Designing and decorating a space |
| Use your own floor plan | Yes, upload and set scale | You build the room in the tool |
| Furniture at real-world scale | Yes, drag and drop | Yes |
| 2D / 3D | 2D fit-checking + 3D, from above and at eye level | 2D plan, 3D decoration, 4K images |
| Free tier limits | Up to 3 furniture pieces, saving is Pro | See their pricing page |
| Paid plans | €4.99/mo or €19.99 lifetime | Listed on their pricing page |
Free tiers and pricing change. HomeByMe's free version, its sign-up requirement and its 2D and 3D positioning were checked against home.by.me on 12 September 2026. The exact limits of its free plan are not quoted here because they are not stated on that page. Confirm the current terms on their site before deciding.
What HomeByMe is good at
HomeByMe is built for the part Layoutr deliberately does not do. Its own pitch is design in 2D, decorate in 3D, and visualize in 4K images, and that is a fair description: you can furnish a room with real brand catalogs and come away with an image that looks like a photograph of the finished space. If you are choosing finishes, showing a partner what a room could look like, or want something presentable to work from, that visual payoff is the reason to use it.
Where Layoutr is simpler
Layoutr skips both the sign-up and the room-building step. You upload the floor plan you already have, set the scale by clicking two points a known distance apart, and immediately drag real-sized furniture onto the plan. Every piece is sized to real-world dimensions, so clearances and walkways are obvious at a glance. Trace the rooms over the plan and you can also see the layout in 3D, from above in Dollhouse mode or at your own eye level in Inside mode. It is a plain view of the space rather than a decorated one, and it answers the question the plan cannot: not whether the bed fits, but how much room is left once it is in place. There is no account and the core tool is free. The free tier places up to 3 furniture pieces and exports your plan as an image; saving a project and placing more pieces are Pro features, from €4.99 per month. You can work in meters, feet, or inches, and the planner runs in a desktop browser.
A worked example. A 3-seater sofa runs 175 to 230 cm (69 to 91 in) wide and 85 to 95 cm (33 to 37 in) deep, and a main traffic route needs 900 mm (36 in) of clear floor. On a plan set to real scale those are numbers you see rather than numbers you calculate, because every piece is drawn at its real dimensions.
Which should you choose?
- Choose HomeByMe if you want to decorate a room with real brand catalogs and keep refining the scene, and creating an account is no obstacle.
- Choose Layoutr if you want to check what fits on the plan you already have, in a couple of minutes, for free and with no sign-up.
Frequently asked questions
Is HomeByMe free?
HomeByMe offers a free version and describes itself as free home design software, with sign-up required before you can use it. Paid options and the exact limits of the free plan are listed on its own pricing page, so check there for current details. Layoutr's core tool is free with no account at all, places up to 3 furniture pieces, and Pro is €4.99 per month or €19.99 once.
Can I use HomeByMe without an account?
No. HomeByMe asks you to sign up before designing. Layoutr runs its core tool in a desktop browser with no sign-up, so you can upload a plan and start placing furniture immediately.
How is Layoutr different from HomeByMe?
HomeByMe is a home design tool: its own description is design in 2D, decorate in 3D, and visualize in 4K images, and you build your room in its interface first. Layoutr is a fit-checker. You use the floor plan you already have, set its real scale by clicking two points a known distance apart, and place real-sized furniture on top. No account, and no room-building step before the fit check. If you want 3D too, trace the rooms over your plan (AI room detection does it for you on Pro), then see the layout from above, walk it at your own eye level, and have AI render a photorealistic still of a view you frame (Pro). What you do not get is a decorated, editable 3D scene.
Which is better for checking whether furniture fits?
For a fit check, Layoutr is the more direct route, because it skips both the sign-up and the room-building step and works on the plan you already have. HomeByMe is the better tool if you want to decorate a room piece by piece from a branded catalog, since Layoutr's 3D view is there for judging space and its renders are single images rather than a scene you keep editing.
Does Layoutr do 3D or photorealistic renders?
Both. Layoutr plans in 2D, because a fit check is a question about footprints and clearances, and both are answered in plan view. From there, Dollhouse mode shows the whole floor in 3D with the roof off, and Inside mode puts you at your own eye level. Frame a view in Inside mode and AI interior renders turn it into a photorealistic image in one of twelve interior styles (Pro). What it does not do is let you decorate: there are no materials or lighting to set and no brand catalog, so the render is an impression of your layout rather than a specified design. HomeByMe is built for the latter.
Check what fits, no sign-up
Upload your floor plan and place furniture at real dimensions on your actual room. Free to use, no account required.
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