SmartDraw vs Floor Plan Creator

Learn why professionals choose SmartDraw over Floor Plan Creator

Both SmartDraw and Floor Plan Creator create 2D floor plans, but they serve different audiences. Floor Plan Creator is ideal for homeowners and casual users who want a simple tool to visualize a space. SmartDraw is designed for professionals who need industry-standard symbols, layered plans, and real-time collaboration. If your work goes beyond basic residential floor plans, SmartDraw is the more powerful solution.

Features SmartDraw Floor Plan Creator Why It Matters
2D Floor Plans Yes Yes Both tools help users create accurate 2D floor plans.
3D Floor Plans No Yes SmartDraw focuses on precise 2D floor plans while Floor Plan Creator is better for users who need to visualize their layouts in 3D.
Editable Templates Yes No SmartDraw allows users to start with professionally created template, not a blank page.
Layers Yes No Only SmartDraw offers layers for users to have distinct views for HVAC, electrical, and plumbing to avoid mistakes and clutter.
Import Existing Floor Plans Yes Yes Both tools allow users to import an existing plan to use as a background.
Industry-Standard Symbols Yes Limited SmartDraw offers thousands of NFPA, HVAC, electrical, plumbing, and emergency symbols. Floor Plan Creator is limited to doors, windows, furniture, electrical, and some fire symbols.
Custom Symbols Yes Yes Both tools let you create custom symbols for reuse, but only SmartDraw lets you create a custom symbol library you can share with other on your team to standardize drawings.
Shape Data Yes No Only SmartDraw lets you attach pricing and specs to objects for usable project data.
Manifest Yes No Only SmartDraw lets you turn drawings into estimates, proposals, and documentation.
Print to Scale Yes Yes Both tools allow you to print your floor plan to scale.
Specialized Use-Cases Yes Limited In addition to residential floor plans, SmartDraw supports office plans, facility plans, retail layouts, fire pre-plans, evacuation plans, accident reconstructions, crime scenes, and more. Floor Plan Creator is limited to basic residential floor plans, electrical, and fire survey layouts.
Real-Time Co-Editing Yes No Only SmartDraw lets multiple users edit a floor plan at the same time.
Integrations with Teams, Slack, and Confluence Yes No Only SmartDraw fits into existing business and document workflows.
Other Diagram Types Yes No SmartDraw lets you create flowcharts, org charts, and other diagrams in addition to floor plans. Floor Plan Creator is limited to floor plans only.
Overall Best For For professionals and organizations that need accurate floor plans and collaboration on projects that go beyond residential layouts. Individuals creating basic residential layouts and floor plans.

Why Professionals Choose SmartDraw Over Floor Plan Creator

SmartDraw Supports Professional Use Cases, Not Just Home Layouts

Floor Plan Creator is designed for creating residential floor plans, but is of limited use to professionals. SmartDraw is built for professional design, planning, and documentation across multiple industries including construction, landscaping, remodeling, fire departments, police departments, plumbing, and more. Floor Plan Creator is for home floor plans, while SmartDraw lets you create office plans, facility layouts, warehouse plans, site plans, landscape designs, and more.

Floor plan types in SmartDraw

SmartDraw Has Industry-Standard Symbols

SmartDraw includes a large collection of industry-standard symbols including electrical, HVAC, plumbing, and NFPA symbols so professionals in any industry can create accurate, compliant plans. Floor Plan Creator's symbols focus more on residential floor plans with a basic mix of furniture and fixtures. Floor Plan Creator has a basic set of electrical symbols, but SmartDraw's collection is more complete including every kind of symbol a professional might need for electrical plans, plumbing drawings, HVAC drawings, and more. While Floor Plan creator has some basic fire survey symbols, SmartDraw has a more complete collection needed for fire pre-plans. SmartDraw's symbol collection is broader and supports multiple professional applications.

Floor planning symbols

SmartDraw Keeps Floor Plans Organized with Layers

SmartDraw's layers feature gives users control over complex plans by separating electrical, HVAC, plumbing, and other systems onto dedicated layers that can be toggled on and off. This makes floor plans easier to view and maintain while reducing clutter when needed. Floor Plan Creator supports multiple floors within a project, but it does not offer dedicated layer management for organizing different building systems.

Floor plan layers dialog

SmartDraw Can Turn Plans Into Estimates and Proposals

SmartDraw lets users attach model numbers, pricing, vendor information, and other data directly to symbols in a floor plan. That data can then be exported as a manifest, helping contractors and businesses create estimates, equipment lists, and proposals. Floor Plan Creator does not offer a similar feature.

Approved floor plan proposal

SmartDraw Includes A Wide Variety of Editable Templates

SmartDraw's editable template library covers a wide range of professionally created floor plans including offices, warehouses, restaurants, hospitals, and more. This gives users a nice starting point, instead of having to start with a blank page. Floor Plan creator does not offer editable templates, meaning users have to start from scratch every time.

Floor planning templates

SmartDraw Goes Beyond Floor Plans

SmartDraw is more than just a floor plan tool. Users can also create flowcharts, org charts, network diagrams, mind maps, and more. Floor Plan Creator is limited to only residential floor plans.

Collection of business diagrams

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About SmartDraw vs Floor Plan Creator

What is the main difference between SmartDraw and Floor Plan Creator?

Floor Plan Creator is focused on letting users visualize residential spaces in 2D and 3D. SmartDraw is a professional 2D floor plan creator with industry-standard symbols, CAD-like layers, and the ability to turn floor plans into estimates and proposals. Additionally, SmartDraw empowers organizations to create flowcharts, organization charts, project charts, and more.

Which tool has more symbols for creating floor plans?

Floor Plan Creator includes a basic set of residential floor plan symbols like doors, windows, furniture and fixtures needed to plan a home. It includes a small set of electrical components, fire survey symbols, and landscape shapes, but nowhere near the broad coverage SmartDraw provides. SmartDraw has thousands of symbols including NFPA, emergency, HVAC, electrical, and plumbing symbols that professional plans require.

Can I import an existing floor plan into both tools?

Yes. Floor Plan Creator allows users to import an existing plan as a template, while SmartDraw can import PDFs, images, and other backgrounds that can be traced, scaled, and enhanced with additional layers and symbols.

Which tool is better for collaboration?

Floor Plan Creator does not offer real-time collaboration. SmartDraw, on the other hand, allows multiple users to work on the same floor plan at the same time.

Which tool is better for teams?

SmartDraw is generally the better choice for teams because of it offers real-time collaboration, third party storage integrations, the ability to create custom templates and symbol libraries, and enterprise-level administration features.

Which tool is better for creating commercial floor plans?

Floor Plan Creator is primarily geared toward residential layouts and interior design. SmartDraw provides additional symbols, templates, layers, and planning tools that are better suited for commercial facilities, offices, warehouses, schools, healthcare facilities, and other professional environments.

Which tool is better for creating estimates for contractors?

Floor Plan Creator does not support attaching data to symbols or exporting a manifest. SmartDaw allows users to attach key data to symbols and then export a manifest, which can turn a drawing into a proposal or estimate.

Which tool is better for site plans and landscape designs?

SmartDraw. In addition to floor plans, SmartDraw includes dedicated templates and symbols for site plans, landscape plans, parking layouts, utility planning, and property documentation.

Which tool is better for facility management and operations planning?

SmartDraw. Its layers, specialized symbols, shape data, and facility planning templates make it better suited for maintaining building documentation and operational plans over time.

Which tool is better for specialized plans like fire pre-plans or evacuation plans?

SmartDraw is the more capable tool for specialized public safety plans. Floor Plan Creator is designed for residential layouts. SmartDraw includes dedicated templates and industry-standard symbols for fire pre-plans, fire incident reports, evacuation plans, crime scenes, accident reconstructions, and more.

Can SmartDraw do more than just floor plans?

Yes. In addition to floor plans, SmartDraw users can create flowcharts, org charts, mind maps, network diagrams, and more. Floor Plan Creator is limited to floor plans only.

SmartDraw is the Professional Choice

Floor Plan Creator is great for simple residential design for users who want to create a basic home layout. SmartDraw is the better choice when projects become more detailed, collaborative, or documentation-heavy. If your work requires precise 2D drawing, industry-standard symbols, real-time collaboration, and the ability to turn floor plans into estimates and proposals, SmartDraw will be the best fit.