Home Outside vs SmartDraw Garden
Compare these garden design tools head-to-head. See which one fits your needs — or discover why gardeners choose Arden instead.
Feature matrix
Home Outside
Home Outside is a mobile landscape design app created by a professional landscape architect, offering a palette-based approach to garden planning.
- Designed by a landscape architect
- Quick sketch-style layouts
- Simple palette system
- No AI or photo-based design
- No plant database
- Paid only
- No 3D visualization
- Limited updates
SmartDraw Garden
SmartDraw is a general-purpose diagramming tool that includes garden and landscape plan templates for creating top-down layouts.
- Professional diagram quality
- Garden layout templates
- Export to multiple formats
- Not a garden-specific tool
- No AI or visualization
- No plant data
- Subscription required
- Desktop focused
Home Outside edges ahead at 1/8 features; SmartDraw Garden sits at 0/8. Neither one does AI-Powered Design, 3D Visualization, Plant Database, Climate Zones, Seasonal Planning, Free Tier, Photo-to-Design — those come standard in Arden. For what it's worth, Arden hits 8/8 with the photo-in, design-out workflow and climate-matched plants — and it's free.
Frequently Asked Questions
01 Which is better, Home Outside or SmartDraw Garden?
Both have their thing. Home Outside is good at designed by a landscape architect; SmartDraw Garden is good at professional diagram quality. If you want to take a photo of your yard and see a garden on it, Arden does that in one step and it's free.
02 Are either of them free?
Home Outside is paid. SmartDraw Garden is paid. Arden is free to download — no credit card needed.
03 Which has better previews?
Home Outside doesn't do 3D. SmartDraw Garden is 2D only. Arden skips the 3D step and renders straight onto your yard photo — what you see is what your space looks like.
04 Is there a simpler option than both?
Arden. Photo of your yard, pick a style, see the result. 20+ garden styles, climate-matched plant picks, free on iOS and Android.
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