What it is
Chief Architect Premier is 3D software for residential and light commercial design, remodeling, kitchens, baths, and interiors. Drawing walls and placing architectural objects creates a model alongside materials lists and construction documents such as site plans, framing plans, sections, and elevations. Materials lists can track quantities, unit and labor costs, markup, and project costs, with updates as the design changes. Rendering options include realistic and artistic views, 360-degree renderings, virtual tours, and walkthrough videos. The 3D Library contains fixtures, appliances, millwork, furnishings, and manufacturer-specific products. Premier imports and exports AutoCAD DXF and DWG, and imports OBJ, SKP, STL, and DAE. The As-Built app uses LiDAR on supported iPhones and iPads to make room models for remodeling. A trial has no expiration, but saving, printing, exporting, and virtual tours are disabled. The Premier plan is 229.00 USD per month, billed $229 a month.; it includes software upgrades, premium catalog downloads, priority technical support, and Chief As-Built plan import.
Who it suits. Chief Architect Premier suits residential and light commercial designers, remodelers, and people planning kitchens, baths, or interiors. Its material and construction-document tools may also suit teams estimating project costs as designs change.
Good
- Creates 3D models and construction documents.
- Materials lists update as designs change.
- Includes realistic and artistic rendering options.
- Imports and exports AutoCAD DXF and DWG.
- LiDAR room models can support remodeling.
Watch for
- No free plan is available.
- Trial disables saving, printing, exporting, and virtual tours.
- Mac support requires Apple M1 or newer.
- Internet access is required for installation and license authentication.
Verdict
Chief Architect Premier brings modeling, documentation, material costing, and visualization into one design tool. Consider its trial restrictions, system requirements, and 229.00 USD per month price before committing.
Plans and prices
| Plan | Price | Billed |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Architect Premier | $229 a month | $229/mo. |
| Chief Architect Premier | $1,995 a year | $1,995/yr. $166.25/mo.—save 27% |
From Chief Architect's own pricing page, checked 2 Oct 2026. Every plan
What the maker publishes
- Building tools
- As users draw walls and place architectural objects, the software creates a 3D model, materials lists, and construction documents such as site plans, framing plans, sections, and elevations. source
- Company
- Chief Architect, Inc. is privately held, headquartered in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and says its software began in 1992. source
- Design catalog
- Its 3D Library includes thousands of objects such as fixtures, appliances, millwork, furnishings, and manufacturer-specific products. source
- Estimating
- Materials lists can include unit costs, markup, labor costs, quantities, and project costs, and update as the design changes. source
- Founded
- 1992 source
- Headquarters
- Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, United States source
- Integrations
- Chief Architect imports and exports AutoCAD DXF and DWG files and imports several 3D formats, including OBJ, SKP, STL, and DAE. source
- Internet requirement
- Internet access is required for installation, license authentication, deactivation, video and catalog access, with license authentication required once every 14 days. source
- Mobile scanning
- The As-Built app uses LiDAR on supported iPhones and iPads to create room models that can be imported into Chief Architect for remodeling. source
- Purpose
- Chief Architect Premier is 3D software for residential and light commercial design, remodeling, kitchens, baths, and interiors. source
- Security and privacy
- The company says it protects information to industry standards, does not sell personal information, does not store credit card numbers, and uses a PCI-compliant payment processor. source
- Sharing
- 3D Viewer models can be shared or embedded on web pages and viewed using free iOS and Android apps; the cloud account stores up to 99 models unless a larger storage plan is purchased. source
- Support
- Priority support is available for X17 and X18; versions X14–X16 have paid per-incident support for $125, and X13 and earlier are ineligible. source
- Supported desktop systems
- Premier runs natively on Windows 10 or 11 64-bit and supported Macs; the listed minimums include 16 GB RAM, and Mac support requires Apple M1 or newer. source
- Trial limits
- The trial does not expire, but saving, printing, exporting, and virtual tours are disabled. source
- Visualization
- The software supports realistic and artistic rendering, 360-degree renderings, virtual tours, and walkthrough videos. source