SmartDraw vs ArcSite

See why SmartDraw is the better choice for organizations who need floor plans, site plans, and business diagrams in one easy-to-use app.

While both SmartDraw and ArcSite offers contractors floor plans in the field and estimates, SmartDraw goes further by offering a broader platform with significantly more templates, symbols, and professional use cases. From office layouts and facilities planning to evacuation diagrams and warehouse layouts, SmartDraw gives teams more ways to create detailed, professional floor plans in one app.

Features SmartDraw ArcSite Why It Matters
Draw Floor Plans from Scratch Yes Yes Both apps make it easy to draw precise floor plans without CAD training.
Import Satellite Maps Yes Yes Both apps let users import a satellite map as background references.
Import Existing Plans Yes Yes Both apps let you import an existing PDF plan as a starting point to trace, attach products and pricing, and generate manifests.
Basic Estimates and Manifests Yes Yes Both tools let you generate manifests for estimates based on floor plans for easy, visual-based quotes. ArcSite has a more complex system dedicated to automated takeoffs and proposals.
Custom Symbols Yes Yes Both apps let users create and save custom symbols to recreate their proprietary product catalog.
Shared Custom Symbol Libraries Yes Limited SmartDraw allows users to share custom symbols across their entire company. ArcSite limits this by requiring the user to contact ArcSite support and have it set up for you.
Shape Data Yes Yes Both tools offer custom shape data that lets users add pricing and specs to shapes.
Layers Yes Yes Both offer the ability to show, hide, lock, and organize information using layers.
Version Control Yes Yes Both apps let organizations keep track of who made what changes, and roll back if needed.
Long-Term Documentation Support and Specializations Yes Limited SmartDraw gives users more tools to create ongoing floor plan documentation for public safety, emergency preparedness, accessibility planning, facility management, and designing complex landscapes and site plans.
Cloud Storage Integration OneDrive, SharePoint, Google Drive, Dropbox, and Box No ArcSite is limited to its own internal storage. SmartDraw lets you save files to your preferred storage solution.
Export Options Visio, PDF, SVG, PNG, JPEG PNG, PDF (DXF and DWG with a premium subscription) SmartDraw offer more export options even for a basic license. ArcSite exports only to PNG and PDF and offers DXF and DWG with a premium paid plan.
AR Room Scan No Yes Only ArcSite offers AR room scanning for floor planning and measurements.
Industry Standard Symbols Yes Yes Both tools come with built-in symbols, however, SmartDraw offers hundreds more.
Real-Time Co-Editing Yes No Only SmartDraw offers real-time collaboration for team members.
iPad & Tablet Support Yes Yes Both apps have iPad/Tablet support.
Browser-Based Work Yes No ArcSite offers an Android/IOS app or Windows download. SmartDraw works in any browser on any device.
Templates Extensive Limited SmartDraw offers 100s of templates, creating an easier starting point for users. ArcSite only has a limited number of examples for users.
Other Diagramming Options Yes No In addition to floor plans, SmartDraw users can create flowcharts, org charts, mind maps, network diagrams, and more. SmartDraw is a more complete solution.
Overall Best For Organizations that need to go beyond just field drawings and estimates and could benefit from the broader coverage and versatility SmartDraw provides along with custom storage solutions. Contractors and field teams primarily focused on drawings, takeoffs, estimates, and proposals.

Why Organizations Prefer SmartDraw Over ArcSite

SmartDraw Does More Than Just Estimates

ArcSite is built around sales teams that need to create drawings to generate an estimate or proposal. This is valuable for sales teams and contractors, but most organizations need more. While SmartDraw also lets users create quick drawings in the field and easy estimates, it also supports more complex tasks like designs and documentation for floor plans of all kinds, including site plans, office layouts, facility plans, fire safety diagrams, and evacuation plans along with a broader use across an organization that includes flowcharts, org charts, technical diagrams, and much more. For professionals who need a more versatile tool with broader use cases, SmartDraw is the stronger choice.

Floor plan types in SmartDraw

SmartDraw Works Across All Departments

ArcSite is a specialized tool for field sales teams, estimators, and contractors. SmartDraw can be used by more than just sales teams in an organization. SmartDraw can help create drawings and diagrams for facilities, IT, HR, project management, sales, and leadership teams. This makes SmartDraw easier to justify as a company-wide drawing and diagramming app instead of a specialized field tool.

Collection of business diagrams

SmartDraw Fits Your Existing File Storage Workflows

SmartDraw can save files directly to an organization's preferred storage system like OneDrive, SharePoint, Google Drive, Dropbox, and Box. This gives user control over their own data, whether they are in the field, working remotely, or in the office. ArcSite only offers an internal storage option for files.

SmartDraw Gives You More for One Lower-Cost Subscription

ArcSite splits its features across multiple plans, including Draw Basic, Draw Pro, Takeoff, and Estimate. To access ArcSite's full estimating and proposal features, users need the Estimate plan, which is listed at $129/month when billed annually. SmartDraw, by comparison, starts at a fraction of that price at $7.95/month for the first year when billed annually. This low price gives users access to SmartDraw's full diagramming platform, including floor plans, site plans, templates, symbols, business diagrams, and estimating and collaboration features.

Floor Plans Site Plans Templates Symbols Business Diagrams Estimating Collaboration Features

SmartDraw Gives You More

With SmartDraw, users get instant access to an extensive, industry-standard symbol libraries tailored for every trade, including electrical wiring, HVAC, A/V equipment, public safety, NFPA, plumbing, and ADA compliance. SmartDraw also empowers teams to build, save, and share custom symbol libraries across their entire organization. Meanwhile, ArcSite holds your workflow back: its symbol selection is significantly more limited, and sharing custom assets requires your team to submit a support ticket and wait for manual intervention.

Floor planning symbols

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About SmartDraw vs ArcSite

What is the main difference between SmartDraw and ArcSite?

ArcSite is focused on field drawings, takeoffs, estimates, and proposals. SmartDraw is a broader floor plan and diagramming app that supports floor plans and estimates, but takes it a step further by offering office layouts, public safety diagrams, project charts, org charts, network layouts, process maps, and much more.

Is ArcSite more expensive than SmartDraw?

Yes. ArcSite only gives access to certain features based on the plan you select. To just draw floor plans on its cheapest plan costs $10/month. Its most expensive plan, which gives access to every feature, costs $129/month. In comparison, SmartDraw starts at $7.95/month for the first year and gives users access to all of its features. SmartDraw also offers special discounted team and enterprise pricing to license your entire organization.

Does SmartDraw let you import existing plans?

Yes, SmartDraw lets users import any existing floor plans as a PDF or image. Users can scale the imported plan, trace over, or simply use it as a background to annotate or add new symbols to. The imported plan can become a long-term part of any design, documentation, or even public safety planning.

Does Smartdraw let you import existing satellite imagery?

Yes, SmartDraw lets users import Google Maps or any satellite imagery and scale it to become part of a new plan or documentation. This helps users create site plans, landscape designs, and public safety plans. Users can add parking lots, roads, utilities, building structures, and plots.

Does SmartDraw let you create custom shapes?

Yes, not only does SmartDraw let users create custom shapes by importing images from proprietary product catalogs, teams can easily share entire custom libraries across the organization to create consistent proposals and documentation.

Does SmartDraw let you add shape data?

SmartDraw lets users attach pricing, specifications, and other key data directly to symbols on their floor plan. Users can then generate manifests and turn floor plans into an estimate or proposal.

Does SmartDraw support collaboration?

Yes. SmartDraw supports real-time co-editing, allowing multiple users to work on a floor plan simultaneously. ArcSite does not support this.

Is SmartDraw easier to use than ArcSite?

Yes. SmartDraw is easier for organizations that need to create a wide variety of floor plans, site plans, documentation, and diagrams. SmartDraw is designed around a drag-and-drop system, ready-made templates, automatic formatting, and thousands of symbols tailored to a variety of needs. SmartDraw lets users start creating floor plans and site plans immediately, without a large learning curve. ArcSite is easy to use in the field for sketching and measuring to build quotes, but it also requires complicated setup for connecting to product catalogs, pricing databases, proposal systems, and CRMS integrations. In general, ArcSite will require more initial configuration before it's fully usable to take advantage of its estimating and CRM capabilities.

Which software is better for specialized use cases for floor plans?

Both tools help contractors create floor plans and site layouts, but SmartDraw extends far beyond estimating workflows. SmartDraw supports a broader range of specialized use cases, including ADA accessibility planning, facility and operations management for offices, schools, hospitals, and warehouses, as well as public safety applications such as fire pre-plans and evacuation plans. While ArcSite is primarily focused on helping teams create drawings that lead to estimates and proposals, SmartDraw is designed to support the entire lifecycle of a project from early planning and design through ongoing documentation, collaboration, compliance, and facility management. SmartDraw's documents are meant to be shared and updated throughout the life of a building, site, or facility.

SmartDraw is the Smart Choice for Professionals

ArcSite is a useful tool for contractors who want to draw in the field and turn those drawings into takeoffs, estimates, and proposals. But when professionals need more than a field sales app, SmartDraw is the smarter choice.

SmartDraw gives teams floor plans, site plans, custom symbols, data-enabled diagrams, collaboration, cloud storage integrations, and a full range of business diagrams in one easy app.