SmartDraw vs Edraw for Floor Plans

Learn why professionals choose SmartDraw over Edraw for floor planning

Both SmartDraw and EdrawMax offer a solution that lets anyone create both floor plans and business diagrams. For the purposes of this page, we will only compare the floor plan capabilities of the two apps. If you mainly want to create floor plans, which one is the better floor plan creator? While both EdrawMax and SmartDraw offer the basics for creating floor plans, SmartDraw is designed for projects that require greater precision and flexibility and fits in better with professional workflows. It makes it easy to create accurate scaled drawings, start your floor plan with an existing PDF, add data for construction estimates and proposals, and save files to your preferred cloud storage without storage limits. When you need precision, scalability, and support for real projects, SmartDraw is te best choice.

Features SmartDraw Edraw Why It Matters
Architectural Symbols Yes Yes Both apps offer architectural symbols.
Wall Tool Yes Limited Smartdraw allows users to draw walls with a pen, and corners snap automatically. Edraw only offers wall symbols that have to be connected manually.
Layers Yes Yes Both apps allow users to add layers to their diagrams.
Shape Data Yes No Only SmartDraw allows users to tie data and information directly to their shapes.
PDF Import Yes No Only SmartDraw allows users to import a PDF file.
Metric & Imperial Scale Yes Limited Both apps allow users to display units of measurement in both metric and imperial. But only SmartDraw offers a predefined industry-standard scale. Edraw requires users to manually set up each document.
Export Options Visio, PDF, SVG, PNG, JPG, Office Visio, PDF, SVG, PPTX, Word, Excel, HTML, images Edraw exports to a slightly wider set of file formats.
Visio Import/Export Yes (files & stencils) Yes (files) Both apps allow users to import and export Visio files. Only SmartDraw allows users to import stencils.
Floor Plan Templates Yes Yes Both tools offer templates for floor plans and more.
Real-Time Collaboration Yes Limited Only SmartDraw allows users to work on the same floor plan at the same time. Edraw offers co-editing for some of their other diagramming types, floor plans is not one where co-editing is supported.
Shareable Links Yes Yes Both apps allow users to create a link and share files.
Version History Yes Yes Both tools offer version history on files.
Included Cloud Storage Unlimited 1GB (subscription) / 10GB (perpetual) SmartDraw includes unlimited storage. Edraw offers only 1GB of storage (10GB with a perpetual license).
Dark Mode No Yes Only Edraw offers a dark more.
Additional Third-Party Storage Options OneDrive, SharePoint, Google Drive, Dropbox, and Box None Only SmartDraw offers users the option to store files in third-party storage.
3D Conversion Yes Yes Only Edraw converts drawings into 3D images.
Perpetual License Options Yes Yes Only Edraw offers a perpetual license for their desktop app.
Overall Best For Professionals who need accurate, data-rich floor plans that support real-world projects with collaboration and integrations. Individuals who want an all-in-one app with only occasional basic floor plan use and prefer a perpetual license.

Why Users Prefer SmartDraw over Edraw to Create Floor Plans

SmartDraw is Easier to Use Than Edraw

While both apps can create floor plans, SmartDraw is more intuitive, making it faster and easier to draw accurate layouts. In Edraw, walls are treated as individual symbols, requiring users to drag each wall into place and manually connect them. In SmartDraw, users simply draw the walls, and they connect automatically. Once the walls are in place, users can enter precise dimensions for greater accuracy. SmartDraw also supports both Imperial and Metric architectural scales. Edraw only provides Metric architectural scales. While it can display measurements in feet and inches, users must manually adjust the scale each time to work in a true Imperial scale.

Changing scale on floor plan

SmartDraw Lets You Turn Drawings Into Actionable Plans

Unlike Edraw, SmartDraw allows users to attach key data such as model numbers, pricing, and vendor details directly to symbols on their floor plan. With built-in data, you can export manifests, which help you create estimates, proposals, and documentation directly from your floor plan.

Approved floor plan proposal

SmartDraw Helps Your Team Collaborate Better

SmartDraw allows multiple users to work on the same floor plan simultaneously, helping teams review changes, make updates, and complete projects faster. EdrawMax offers sharing and collaboration features, but SmartDraw provides a more seamless, real-time collaborative experience for teams working together on floor plans.

Set Wall Thickness Cut Add Hyperlink Change Wall Shape Copy Add Comment Add Wall Segment Paste Bring to Front Separate Wall Send to Back Lock Emily Caleb John

SmartDraw Provides Better Storage

Edraw only gives users 1GB of storage with their standard subscription plan. SmartDraw provides unlimited storage for users as well as the option to connect to third-party storage. SmartDraw connects to OneDrive, SharePoint, Google Drive, Dropbox, and Box.

SmartDraw Lets You Build on Existing Plans

In SmartDraw, users can import PDF floor plans to quickly trace over existing drawings or make edits directly on top of them. The imported PDF can also be scaled, making it easy to add new walls, rooms, or other changes with precision. Edraw does not support PDF imports for floor plans, instead only allowing image imports, which cannot be scaled for accurate editing.

Importing a floor plan into SmartDraw

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About SmartDraw vs Edraw

Which tool is better for floor planning?

SmartDraw. While both tools offer floor planning, only SmartDraw gives users robust tools like automatic wall and dimension tools, thousands of industry-standard shapes, shape data, easier-to-use layers, and more. For users who want an easy-to-use and precise tool, SmartDraw is the clear choice.

Which tool should I use if I want to start with an existing floor plan?

Only SmartDraw allows users to import a PDF or floor plan image and scale it. In SmartDraw, users can import their existing plan as a background for their drawing and scale it. In Edraw, users can only insert unscaled images.

Can both SmartDraw and EdrawMax create floor plans to scale?

Yes. Both applications support scaled drawings, but SmartDraw includes predefined architectural scales for both Imperial and Metric measurements. EdrawMax supports Metric scales, while Imperial projects require users to manually configure the drawing scale.

Does SmartDraw support collaboration?

Yes, SmartDraw offers real-time co-editing, third-party storage, and share links, giving users every tool needed to collaborate. Edraw offers share links and co-editing on other diagram types, but not floor plans, making Edraw much more limited.

Which tool is better for teams or businesses?

SmartDraw is better suited for teams and organizations because it offers better collaboration and strong integrations with the Microsoft Enterprise Suite and Google Workspace.

Which tool is better for generating proposals and estimates?

SmartDraw. Because you can attach data to shapes and export manifests and bills of materials, allowing users to generate estimates and project documentation directly from the drawing. Edraw does not offer anything similar.

Which is easier to learn for floor plans: SmartDraw or EdrawMax?

SmartDraw is generally easier for floor planning because walls are drawn naturally and connect automatically. In EdrawMax, walls are individual symbols that must be placed and connected manually, which can make creating floor plans more time-consuming.

Which is better for construction projects?

SmartDraw offers accurate architectural scales, print to scale, dynamic layers, and CAD precision, while still being easy to use. While Edraw offers good diagramming, its floor plan tool is much more manual and less advanced, making SmartDraw the clear choice. SmartDraw also allows users to attach custom data likes costs, model numbers, vendors, room information, and maintenance details to individual shapes. This information can later be exported into reports or manifests for proposals.

Can both applications import and export Visio files?

Yes. Both support Visio file import and export. SmartDraw also supports importing Visio stencils, making migration from Visio easier.

How much cloud storage is included?

SmartDraw includes unlimited cloud storage. EdrawMax limits its cloud storage with its subscription plans and offers more storage with its perpetual desktop license. SmartDraw also integrates directly with OneDrive, SharePoint, Google Drive, Dropbox, and box, allowing organizations to save files wherever they already work.

Professionals Choose SmartDraw for Creating Floor Plans

If you only need to create a basic floor plan, Edraw may be enough for you. But if your work requires precision, collaboration, and data-rich diagrams, SmartDraw is the more powerful choice. From construction estimates and remodels to facility management and office planning, SmartDraw lets you create floor plans for professional projects.