The Facts on Sodium and High Blood Pressure

Everybody has sodium in their diet; it's a fact of life. Sodium is an essential nutrient. Some of us, however, may be getting too much, and often we aren't even aware of where it's hiding in the foods we're eating. Learn why lowering your sodium intake may benefit your health.

Sodium Intake Adds Up

The good news first: Salt has many uses. It raises the boiling point of water, tenderizes meats and enhances the flavour of many foods. The bad news is that table salt contains 2,300 milligrams of sodium per teaspoon. For most people and children 14 years and older, the recommendation is to limit sodium to less than 2,300 milligrams per day. For those with existing blood pressure or other health concerns, the recommendation may be even lower. According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, children ages 1 through 3 are recommended to limit sodium intake to 1,200 milligrams per day; 1,500 milligrams per day for children ages 4 through 8; and 1,800 milligrams per day for ages 9 through 13.

It would be difficult to consume that much sodium in one concentrated bite. Instead, sodium intake adds up throughout the day. And based on estimates by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only a small amount of the average American's daily intake comes from adding salt to food at the table. Salt in processed and ready-to-eat foods delivers the majority of sodium in our diets.

Sodium is prevalent in many of the foods we eat and in excess can be harmful to our health. However, a number of studies show that decreasing sodium intake can lower blood pressure. Consuming less than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day for adults can have an additional impact on lowering blood pressure, especially when combined with the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, or DASH, eating plan, a fruit and vegetable-centred diet that is lower in sodium and fat. Good sources of potassium — an important mineral of the DASH diet which has been shown to help decrease blood pressure — include potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, beans and orange juice.

Sodium's Hidden Sources

Beware: Sodium isn't only in salty snacks or the table shaker. Many of the already prepared foods and meals you consume at restaurants, cafes and grab-and-go items at grocery stores have sodium because it's an inexpensive way to add flavour and is an effective way to preserve foods. Even foods with low to moderate sodium content can lead to a high sodium diet if you consume too much of them.

Topping the list for the highest percentage of our daily sodium consumption are items such as bread, cold cuts and cured meats, pizza, fresh and processed poultry, soups, sandwiches (including burgers), cheese and pasta.

How to Reduce Sodium Intake

The best way to combat high sodium in your daily diet is to watch your intake of highly processed foods. Read the Nutrition Facts label and look for the Daily Value of sodium in the foods you eat. And consider these satisfying options to keep sodium under control: fruits and vegetables, unsalted nuts, legumes and whole grains (including brown rice, oats and barley).

Additional ways to lower sodium intake:

• Get more natural sources of potassium in your diet by including additional servings of fruits and vegetables.
• Watch portion sizes, especially when it comes to already prepared foods.
• Limit cured foods, including cold cuts and sausages.
• Rinse canned foods or look for no-salt-added varieties.
• Choose lower sodium packaged foods.
• Remove the salt shaker from the table.
• Increase your intake of whole grains such as brown rice, quinoa, oats, bulgur, whole-wheat pasta and bread, wild rice and popcorn.
• Include beans, peas and more plant-based sources of protein.
• Substitute crackers and chips with a small number of unsalted nuts.

 

Top 10 Quick Ways to Earn Money Online

 

Top 10 Quick Ways to Earn Money Online

Having an Internet connection makes nearly everything accessible, regardless of location or device. So, if you’re looking for ways to make easy money online in a relatively short period, consider our top picks:

1. Review websites. Give feedback on people’s websites to improve their usability.
2. Do voice-over work. Lend your talents to commercials, trailers, and audiobooks.
3. Complete online surveys. Make extra cash by sharing your opinions.
4. Be a mystery shopper. Get paid to review businesses and share your experience as a customer.
5. Test games and software. Provide developers with insights into their software’s user experience.
6. Sell stock photos and footage. Ideal for photographers and videographers looking for a way to make passive income.
7. Sell second-hand items. Declutter your home and sell anything from clothes, appliances, and vehicles.
8. Sell school notes. Popular among students who want to maintain good grades while making money on the side.
9. Carry out small jobs. Excellent for people with limited technical skills and who don’t have much free time.
10. Monetize art and designs. Sell products bearing your designs or do art commissions.

Let’s take a closer look at these money-making ideas and discuss some tips to make your online business successful.

1. Test Websites and Give Feedback

If you have a keen eye for website design and development, consider becoming a website tester. It’s a great freelance job to make fast cash and a good starting point for newbies looking to enter the web development industry.

As a website tester, it’s necessary to have critical and logical thinking skills, excellent communication skills, and knowledge of website functionality and design. These factors can help improve job prospects and test-reporting quality.

Payments are project-based, and rates differ based on testing methods and the marketplace’s policy. For example, UserTesting offers between $4–$120/test, where the higher earnings threshold is for people doing live conversation tests with clients.

Here are a few other marketplaces where people can sign up for website testing projects:

• Ubertesters. A crowdsourced testing service focusing on a mobile app and game testing.
• UserBrain. An online tool offering UX testing for websites and digital product prototypes.
• Testbirds. User experience testing for digital products, including eCommerce stores, mobile apps, and fitness trackers.
• Userlytics. In addition to testing websites and apps, it offers projects focusing on reviewing video commercials.
• TryMyUI. It provides impression testing for websites and mobile apps via recorded testing videos or survey-based feedback.

2. Do Voice-Over Work

Performing voice-over work is an excellent way to quickly make money online. Most voice-over jobs are project-based, so long-term commitment isn’t required.

Best of all, companies are always looking for new voice-over talent. Here are just a few examples of how to use your voice to make good money:

• Audiobooks. Help bring a story to life by lending your voice to children’s storybooks, novels, and everything in between.
• Advertisements and commercials. Ads with voice-overs are still a popular way for companies to market their products and services.
• Trailers. Movies, shows, and even events create trailers to build anticipation.
• Demonstration videos. Some companies create how-to videos and hire a voice-over talent to help demo their products.
• Guides. Audio guides are used by museums, galleries, travel agencies, and tourist destinations to help enhance the visitor experience.

The amount you earn from doing voice-over projects depends on your experience, the project type, and the script length. For example, the average salary of a voice-over artist doing small to medium projects in the United States is around $40.11/recording hour.

On the other hand, audiobook voice talents can earn up to $125/recording hour and $500/finished hour – the latter referring to a book’s reading time.

One of the easiest ways to get started is by creating a profile on Upwork and responding directly to job ads looking for voice-over talent. Signing up on freelance websites is an excellent way to test the waters and compare voice-over jobs currently available.

Alternatively, sign up on sites like Voices or ACX which connect voice-over talents with clients and audiobook narrators with authors.

Despite sounding like an easy job, good voice-over talent is flexible, dynamic, and can bring a script to life no matter the topic. With audiobooks, for example, a consistent narrative voice, excellent articulation skills, the ability to voice different characters, and good pacing abilities are crucial to master.

To prepare for voice-over work, try out some sample scripts and see which niche fits your voice and style the best. Knowing your strengths will help market your services to the right clients.

We also recommend investing in a good microphone and recording software since clarity and high-quality audio are crucial factors when recording. Also, try to minimize background noise when creating audio samples.

3. Complete Online Surveys

It might sound too good to be true, but you can earn extra cash by completing surveys online.

Today, many companies pay people to participate in their surveys, which are typically used for general market research and consumer behaviour analysis. They also help companies make business decisions, like what types of products to launch or where to publish advertisements.

However, note that not everyone can do online surveys. Take a look at some of the reasons listed below:

• Limited demographic. Some surveys aren’t open to everybody and instead target specific people. This can be based on variables like gender, age, or occupation.
• Low pay. Many online survey websites use a point system. Accumulate points after completing surveys and cash out after reaching a certain earnings threshold. For example, you can earn anywhere between $0.50-$3/survey. However, you won’t see this money unless you reach the earnings threshold, which could be between $10-$25.
• Time-consuming. Due to the payout systems of most survey websites, you’ll have to dedicate a lot of time to see real returns. Some surveys can even take up to one hour to complete.
• Not for the long-term. Unlike some of the other entries in this article, you won’t be able to transition this into a full-time job for the reasons stated above.

If the drawbacks don’t phase you, here are some popular survey sites:

• Swagbucks. Earn points and redeem them for cash or gift cards by watching videos, playing games, and completing surveys.
• Survey Junkie. Help brands deliver better products and services by participating in their market surveys.
• Harris Poll Online. Enter a rewards program by answering polls run by this survey platform.

4. Become a Mystery Shopper

If you’re an avid shopper, becoming a mystery shopper is an excellent way to make some extra money.

Retailers and market research companies hire mystery shoppers to shop at specific locations and report on the overall consumer experience. It’s a way to monitor customer service, store conditions, and product quality without employees knowing they’re being examined.

Although this option isn’t fully online, there is also remote mystery shopper work. These jobs, for example, require testing service quality at call centres or evaluating an online shopping experience.

Here are a few of the most popular companies where people can sign up to become mystery shoppers:

• Market Force. Get hired by grocery stores, restaurants, pharmacies, and even gas station convenience shops to try out their products and services.
• BestMark. Become a field representative or evaluator to help companies improve their business operations.
• Secret Shopper. Go out for lunch or visit a resort and get reimbursed for your assessment.

Payments for mystery shoppers vary depending on the company. For each job completed, you either get reimbursed for the items purchased, receive vouchers and gift cards, or earn between $10–$25 on average.

To avoid scams, remember that you should never pay to become a mystery shopper. Note that as an independent contractor, companies can’t force you to take on a certain number of jobs even after signing up.

5. Test Games and Apps

In 2021, the online gaming industry was worth $178.73 billion, with an increase of 14.4% from 2020.

It also holds the largest share in the global digital media market. As a result, many opportunities have appeared for users to make money online by testing games and gaming apps.

Some games or apps, like Mistplay, require players to perform specific tasks and collect rewards in gaming currencies that can be redeemed as dollars later. The Global Beta Test Network by Keywords Studios pays people to play games before release. Other platforms like Givling and Golden Hearts Games offer online games with real cash prizes.

While these games and apps provide an easy way to make money online, make sure to check reviews before installing or signing up for them. Some use these platforms as a front for scams, stealing personal information and bank details.

6. Sell Stock Photos and Footage

If you’re an avid photographer or videographer, consider selling stock photos and footage to generate a passive income. It’s a great way to practice your passion while earning extra money on the side.

Many companies and business owners use stock content in their marketing campaigns, ads, and websites. In addition to the standard stock photo format, buyers constantly looking for fresh ideas and unique perspectives to make their company stand out.

You can make a photography website and sell photos there. At the same time, it’s a good idea to sign up on a few online marketplaces and list your digital downloads. That way, you’ll get a head start at cultivating your personal brand while promoting it to potential buyers.

Some of the biggest stock photography and videography websites include:

• Shutterstock. Offers multiple earning levels based on the number of downloads.
• Getty Images. Pays at a royalty rate of 15%-45% depending on the license exclusivity agreement.
• VideoHive. This platform deals in stock videos and photos as part of the larger Envato ecosystem. The earnings depend on the number of items sold and whether you sell exclusively on the platform.
• Dissolve. Specializes in selling high-quality curated stock videos and photos, with a standard royalty rate of 30% of the net selling price for non-exclusive contributors. Exclusive contributors can get higher rates upon request.

7. Sell Second-Hand Items

Selling or renting second-hand items is another excellent way to make money immediately and a great motivation to start decluttering your space.

Once you inventory the items to sell, make sure to take high-quality images before listing them on online marketplaces. If you plan to do this in the longer term, also consider building a website to host your own online store.

One of the most popular categories to sell online is clothing. The market value of the second-hand clothing industry is predicted to reach $77 billion by 2026.

There are plenty of online marketplaces catering to the second-hand clothing and accessories market. Here are a few examples:

• Tradesy. Specializes in women’s clothing, bags, shoes, and accessories.
• Etsy. An excellent marketplace to sell unique, handmade, and vintage items.
• Rebelle. Sell clothes and accessories on this second-hand luxury online retailer.
• Depop. A popular platform for both vintage and designer goods.

Other than clothes and accessories, make money online by selling used items such as furniture, gadgets, sports equipment, and art tools. The used car market also saw a rise in demand in 2020.

Some of the best online marketplaces to sell used items of all categories on include:

• eBay. A popular choice for various types of products, including collectables and vehicles.
• Gadget Salvation. Focuses on used gadgets like laptops, phones, and tablets.
• Facebook Marketplace. An ideal option for targeting local buyers.
• Reverb. A great place to sell musical instruments and gear.
• Fat Llama. An excellent option for people wanting to list items for others to lease instead of selling them.

8. Sell School Notes

Selling copies of school notes is one of the easiest ways for students to make money fast.

When selling school notes, make sure you aren’t committing plagiarism or academic misconduct. For example, do not disclose homework assignments or tests. Similarly, never sell or distribute copyrighted material.

A safe bet is to sell notes containing general but insightful information about a subject, such as modules, flashcards, and study guides. Also, be careful not to present your notes as facts but simply as supplementary study documents.

Aside from student or alumni message boards and community forums, here are some of the best places to sell school notes and earn spare cash on:

• Nexus Notes. They offer a 50% commission per set of notes sold.
• NoteXchange. Sell notes for $5-$40 and earn a 100% commission if you become an affiliate.
• Notesgen. With over 5.5 million users, this India-based platform accepts handwritten notes and presentation slides. Note prices range between ₹100-₹1000.
• OneClass. Earn up to 20% of recurring revenue when someone subscribes to your content.

9. Carry Out Micro Jobs

A micro job is a short-term, temporary job that pays per task completed. Earnings vary, averaging from a few cents to $50/task.

Micro jobs are a good way to make money fast. They generally take minutes to a couple of hours to complete, giving people the freedom to do multiple tasks in their spare time.

This is a great option for freelancers, new graduates, and college students since these jobs also help you gain experience and build a portfolio. The most common online micro jobs include blogging, short translations, data entry, and administrative tasks.

In addition to checking out local classifieds, try finding micro jobs on these websites:

• Fiverr. One of the most popular platforms for a variety of small jobs, from logo designing to translations.
• Amazon Mechanical Turk. An excellent platform for people with video, image, and data processing skills.
• Appen. A great option for doing small jobs like transcribing or categorizing data.

10. Sell Art and Designs

Selling digital products is one of the best ways for artists to earn extra money.

List your creations on art marketplaces like DeviantArt and ArtStation. This is a great way to gain exposure in the online community of creatives and reach potential clients.

Alternatively, sell artwork and designs independently via social media. For example, Facebook had over 2 billion monthly active users as of October 2021, while Instagram had over 1 billion. Such numbers make these platforms great for increasing exposure.

Selling on social media is a good way to make money fast, especially if you promote your art among specific networks.

For example, sell through a sales channel like Facebook Marketplace and promote products by joining groups and interacting with potential buyers. Alternatively, sell via Instagram by activating the Instagram Shopping feature on a profile specifically dedicated to your artwork.

Improve the chances of selling by posting your artwork often, creating engaging captions, utilizing hashtags, interacting with bigger channels, and following users with similar interests.

If you opt for a marketplace like ArtStation, earning up to 95% from sales is possible. On the other hand, selling on your own social media profiles means you can keep up to 100% of the profit.

 

The Secrets of Sugar

For many of us, sugar provides an instant feeling of warmth and comfort. We identify it as an essential component of great-tasting foods, and of blissful culinary gratification. Its presence is unavoidable, even in foods that promise higher levels of nutritional value. In many corners of the globe, the human desire for sugar seems unquenchable. In fact, one would be hard-pressed to find an addiction more commonplace than the one we experience for sugar. But it's an addiction that could be killing us in record numbers.

The documentary titled The Secrets of Sugar examines this addiction and its perilous impact on the well-being of our global society. Extensive research has pinpointed sugar's culpability in a number of our most common and life-threatening ailments, including high blood pressure, obesity, heart disease, cancer, diabetes and even Alzheimer's disease.

The weight-loss craze which began taking shape in the 1980s originated as an attack against fat. Yet, even in a climate where the public enjoys unprecedented access to low or no-fat foods, the rates of the damaging disease remain alarmingly high. "Which is worse: the sugar or the fat? The sugar, a thousand times over," asserts Dr Robert Lustig, a pediatric endocrinologist who serves as one of the film's key interview subjects. In his view, sugar is a poison and serves as a recipe for destruction for people of all ages. As a leading crusader against the dangers of sugar, Dr Lustig faces an uphill battle in altering existing practices within the food industry and educating an unsuspecting public who falls prey to their tactics.

According to the observations presented in The Secrets of Sugar, these tactics include ambiguous or misleading nutrition labels, fuzzy science, and mounting an advertising campaign unmatched in scale even by the tobacco industry.

Without a change in the public consciousness, the prevalence of sugar in our daily diets threatens to heighten disease epidemics to an even greater degree, and may eventually lead to the bankruptcy of the entire healthcare system within the United States and Canada. By exploring an issue that too often remains obscured, The Secrets of Sugar seeks to ignite a movement among its viewers to rectify this disturbing trend before it's too late.

15 Best Free Interior Design Software and Tools in 2022

Interior Design Software

An interior designer’s job isn’t easy but there are software tools that can help designers increase their productivity. If you are on the lookout for interior design software that perfectly meets your design requirements, you’ve landed in the right place.

What is Interior Design Software?

Interior design software is a design tool that helps designers create floor plans, visualize rooms in 3D, and design various aspects of the space – for both aesthetic and functional purposes. All of it is done digitally to create a realistic vision of a particular space. Simply said, interior design tools let you visualize and design a space virtually before it can be built. 

Some of these software offers really quick execution, a wide range of customization options, and simple user interfaces. The design journey on interior design software usually starts with well-thought-out floor plans. It includes 360-degree renderings of the 3D design, transforming the look of any room with virtual furniture and accessories, and changing colours, textures and lighting plans of the room.

These tools are among the must-have assets for a modern-day interior designer.

With quite a few options available choosing the best interior design software for your design goals can be difficult. It is always easier to make a list of your choices and see what features fit your requirements best.

We created a list of the 15 best Interior design software so that you can choose the best option for your interior design business. You might have heard of some of these names already, and this listicle will help you compare their benefits and features. You can choose your design software as per your level of expertise, space planning, preferences for 2D to 3D, floor plan, pricing requirement, and other parameters. Let’s take a look:

Software	Price	Average Score	Free Trial Available
Foyr Neo®	$49/month		Yes
SketchUp®	$119/year		Yes
Maya®	$215/month		Yes
AutoCAD®	$220/month		Yes
Revit®	$320/month		Yes
3Ds Max®	$215/month		Yes
Homestyler®	$29.9/month		Yes
Blender®	$11.18/month		Yes
HomeByMe®	$19.47/month		Yes
Planner 5D®	$9.99/month		Yes
RoomStyler 3D Home Planner®	Free Version Available		Yes
SmartDraw®	$9.95/month		Yes
Roomsketcher®	$49/month		Yes
Ikea Home Planner®	Free Version Available		Yes
Houzz Pro®	$65/month		Yes

15 Best Free Interior Design Software for Designers:

1. Foyr Neo®
2. Sketchup®
3. Maya®
4. AutoCAD®
5. Revit®
6. 3Ds Max®
7. Homestyler®
8. Blender®
9. HomeByMe®
10. Planner 5D®
11. RoomStyler 3D Home Planner®
12. SmartDraw®
13. Roomsketcher®
14. Ikea Home Planner®
15. Houzz Pro®

1. Foyr Neo®

Foyr Neo is probably the simplest interior design software available at the moment. Its features have been developed considering the real-life pain points and requirements of interior designers like you. Thanks to the platform’s simple user interface, you won’t require any prior training and can actually start designing from day one.

Neo is also 100% cloud-based, meaning, all projects are saved on the cloud and can be accessed from anywhere. You don’t have to download or install any software. One of its most attractive features is its superfast 3D rendering. It can take your projects from a floor plan to a finished 4K render in less than a couple of hours. This is faster than the industry standards!

Users also get access to a library of over 60,000 3D models that can be used in projects with a simple drag-and-drop. The easy user interface and customization options allow designers to get down to minute details like textures, colours, lighting, etc. All of these make it suitable for designers at all levels – from experts to novices.

In a way, this tool from Foyr does the job of a bunch of other interior design tools and apps combined. It is also supported by a strong community of over 20,000 interior design professionals. Once on the platform, designers can also access excellent learning content and courses for free. Overall, it’s an all-in-one package for interior design entrepreneurs.

Now, that’s quite a handful and pretty hard to believe too. See for yourself. Foyr offers a 100% Free Trial for 14 days, you can try all the features along with the model catalogue.

Price: 

One of the best things about this state-of-the-art software is it gives you a 100% free 14-day trial period. Use this trial period to familiarize yourself with the concepts and the features. You can choose to continue your designing process by selecting from subscription plans starting at only $49/month.

Ease of Use: 

Most users do not have any prior CAD or CAM experience. Foyr Neo is perfect for them as it requires no prior knowledge of using design software. Therefore, if you are a student or a new interior designer, or an investor looking to flip for profits, then Foyr Neo is the best interior design software for you. The software tools are incredibly easy to learn and use, even for beginners and first-time designers.

Value for Money: 

1. Easy to use and very powerful with cloud-computing technology. We recommend Foyr Neo for students, beginners, real estate investors, and professional interior designers alike. The powerful features are available at a very low cost. Not to mention, it saves a lot of time in 3D rendering. Foyr Neo has an in-built library with 50,000 models that are ready with 3D rendering. It saves a lot of time during 3D modeling, making it an ideal choice for your business.

2. Additionally, Foyr Neo supports cloud-based 3D rendering. That means all your work is done online and saved online. Therefore you do not need to worry about hardware specifications. It does not take up a lot of space like most interior design software. It saves a lot of money in licensing and expensive hardware extensions due to its cloud computing technology. The software tools are so powerful that they are capable of performing the job of 4 software at the price of only one. You never have to choose between powerful design software and one that is easy to use. Foyr Neo is both and provides so many astounding design tools.

3. Imagine what it would be like if you could bring your own interior design ideas to life. This software is so easy to use that it gives you the confidence to try bolder home design ideas. If you are hoping to change your career but unsure of taking the step, you could begin designing with Foyr Neo.

Top 3 Design Features:

1. Fully cloud-based with lightning-fast 3D rendering.
2. An in-built library with 60,000+ ready models.
3. User-friendly interface along with 2D and 3D modes.

Total Average Score: 

Overall, Foyr Neo – The Lightning Fast Interior Design Software is ideal for professionals and students who want to simplify their designing workflow and spend time creating and working with clients, instead of learning and paying for complex software.

Is a subscription required? There’s a 14-day free trial, after which you must pay for a subscription.

2. SketchUp®

Another popular Interior design software is Sketchup. The Sketchup 3D design software is professional and handy. The interface is fairly complex and takes some time to get used to even for professionals.  Professionals prefer to use Sketchup for a powerful 3D modelling experience.

You can create a home design and use 3D visualization to get an accurate idea of space planning. There is a free version available, but to use all the professional functionalities, you have to get a subscription.

Price: 

The price for the subscription is $10/ month for beginners which is accessible only on the web with limited design tools. However, for subscriptions to professional Sketchup Studio, which are compatible with both web as well as desktop, it can cost up to $699/year.

Ease of Use: 

This software may be difficult to handle for beginners, homeowners and real estate investors with zero experience in 3D modelling. Professional interior designers may find it useful though. They can create various design ideas within Sketchup. However, you might need to use a separate tool or plugin like Revit for getting renders. For advanced learners and professionals, this design software has been quite preferred.

Value for Money: 

1. It is popular but very expensive. The studio plan includes new features like interactive, real-time visualizations, and fully rendered 360° panoramas.

2. This tool is a little extensive, which is why we don’t recommend it all that much. Plus it can be quite discouraging for students with loans to pay.

Top 3 Design Features:

1. Inferencing for accuracy and speed.
2. Report generation to include all stakeholders.
3. Interoperability—integration with other design tools you love.

Total Average Score: 

Overall, SketchUp is ideal for designers who are already knowledgeable about 3D modelling and need comprehensive software that enables their creativity.

Is a subscription required? There is a free version available, but you can pay for a subscription for more features.

3. Maya®

If you are more inclined towards creating a visual tour for your clients, then Maya, by Autodesk, is a nice designer software to use. This design software is often used to create video games and animation films because of its seamless transition into films.

You can create nice presentations for your clients with a 3D visualization model and a virtual tour. You can use 3D rendering, simulations, and a lot more specialized design tools for a high-quality, photorealistic space planning model. You can choose different forms of real-time home styler patterns as well.

Price: 

The design software offers you a free version available for a month, after which you must choose a subscription plan for $215/month. It is quite expensive as compared to Foyr Neo which provides the same features faster and more efficiently. But for professional interior designers, it may be worth it to create a 3D view of all their designs.

Ease of Use: 

Although the software is easy to use for professional interior designers, beginners find it a little difficult to adapt. Homeowners and investors found it downright confusing so we do not recommend it for anyone who does not have prior CAD and CAM experience.

Value for Money: 

Good for video games but not easy to use for Interior designers.

Top 3 Design Features:

1. 3D animation
2. 3D rendering and shading
3. Motion graphics

Total Average Score: 

Overall, Maya is ideal for professionals who are highly knowledgeable about 3D modelling, designing, and animating, and who need an advanced tool in order to complete their work.

Is a subscription required? You can get Maya for free for one month, after which you will have to purchase a license.

4. AutoCAD®

If you are interested in Interior design and various design software, you must have heard about AutoDesk. This technology company is famous for creating a number of design tools that you use to execute design ideas for your own home as well as your clients.

AutoCAD is interior design software that supports 2D and 3D rendering. It is popular among interior designers and architects. It has shone most brightly in the field of graphic design and video games though. This design software is particularly good for designing video games. More so than for interior design actually.

Price:  

Given its popularity with video game designers, this design software is quite expensive.  AutoCAD does offer a free trial period for 30 days after which you must pay for the subscription starting from $220/month.

Ease of Use: 

Amateur designers, aspirers in the field of interior design, and homeowners or real estate investors did not find it too user-friendly and therefore may not prefer this interior design software. If you’re a student of interior design or just an enthusiast, or a small boutique owner, this design software with its advanced design tools may be a bit much. But if you are a professional with experience in using design tools for your space planning, then this is a good interior design software for you.

Value for Money: 

1. Not very user-friendly and quite expensive.

2. Students, homeowners, and beginners in the field of interior design have reported this to be a bit too expensive compared to Foyr Neo. But if you have an established business that is already making a ton of money, then maybe the cost won’t seem like a whole lot. We like the effects it adds to the high-quality works of a professional interior designer, but we would not recommend it for beginners. It requires additional plugins to run the interior design software which would take up a lot more space and effort.

Top 3 Design Features:

1. 3D Modeling and Visualization.
2. 3D Navigation
3. 2D and 3D drafting.

Total Average Score: 

Overall, this software is ideal for those who already have a great deal of experience within the design world, and who need a more complex, in-depth tool to fulfil their design needs.

Is a subscription required? You can get a 30-day free trial of AutoCAD, after which you must buy a subscription.

5. Revit®

Speaking of interior design software by AutoDesk, you can also choose Revit for your interior design trends and ideas. If you are a practising interior designer with experience in using design tools and software with CAD and CAM experience, then you can easily use this to impress your clients. Much like other Autodesk design software, Revit is also quite expensive but it provides added benefits. 

Price: 

The subscriptions starting at $320/month, allow you to create a high-quality 3D image and 3D visualization. The subscriptions can range up to $6870/year, which also lets you collaborate with your teammates and input design ideas collectively.

Ease of Use: 

If your team members are not familiar with overly-complicated design software, then we would not recommend using it for collaborations. It could discourage your team from doing their best work.

Value for Money: 

1. Popular but not user-friendly. Also quite expensive.

2. This design software is ideal for Windows users however you can avail of the additional application for your Macbook as well. We would not recommend this advanced interior design software for beginners or students as it might be overwhelming. But for a professional with extensive prior experience, it is quite manageable.

Top 3 Design Features:

1. Building information modelling software
2. Conceptual design tools
3. 3D design visualization

Total Average Score: 

Overall, Revit is ideal for architects and engineers who are already familiar with BIM (Building Information Modeling) concepts and workflows. Interior designers who are not as familiar with this – or who do not need to incorporate elements like structural engineering into their design work should try different software.

Is a subscription required? You can try Revit for free for 30 days, after which you’ll need to purchase a subscription.

6. 3Ds Max®

Autodesk sure created a lot of expensive interior design software to assist aspiring interior designers. Most of their design software is costlier than those of their competitors, making them a hard choice for aspirers and beginners of interior design, and very unlikely for homeowners and real estate investors.

But these design software are popular choices for professional interior designers with a ton of experience under the belt. The exceptional 3D visualization, combined with the ability for creating simulations, 3D rendering, space planning, etc. can take your breath away.

Price: 

After an initial free 30-day period, you can get subscriptions for $215/month.

Ease of Use: 

Much like any other design software by Autodesk, 3Ds Max can also be quite challenging for beginners or if you’re just interested in designing your own home. You may not want to spend a lot of time learning complicated software when you could be using the time to implement your design ideas.

Value for Money: 

1. Powerful features but not easy to learn and use and overly expensive.

2. It is difficult to get accustomed to it and work with it. The over-priced subscriptions are also too much for students and homeowners.

Top 3 Design Features:

1. Modelling and texturing
2. Rendering
3. Workflow and pipeline

Total Average Score: 

Overall, 3Ds Max is ideal for designers who are already proficient in 3D modelling and rendering, and who want to create customized models for their projects.

Is a subscription required? There is a 30-day free trial for 3Ds Max, but then you’ll need to buy a subscription.

7. Homestyler®

This is a neat interior design software. Not only does it provide awesome design tools, but it also features furniture that you can install to get a more realistic home design.

Designing something to create a flow between modernism and classic, can be challenging if you have to imagine all of it. You can use Home Styler to design 3d floor plans, 3D visualization of your room layout, etc.

Price: 

Monthly subscription plans start at $19 and go up to $39.

Ease of Use: 

It is easy to use as the features are quite simple.

Value for Money: 

1. Free but limited features. Not ideal for professional Interior Designers.

2. It is available online, so it doesn’t take up a lot of space in your system. This design app is also available for download on your iPad or smartphone so you can design on the go. However, it does not provide an end-to-end service. It is easy to install and use. You can see your personal design ideas come to life before you install those fixtures you love and the furniture you absolutely adore.

3. The only drawback of this design software is that it does not provide all the design tools needed to create complete interior designs.

Top 3 Design Features:

1. Build your floor plan in 2D.
2. Import furniture from brands around the world.
3. Get access to the Homestyler learning portal for design tutorials.

Total Average Score: 

Overall, Homestyler is ideal for new designers or homeowners looking to renovate their space. It is user-friendly and a great resource.

Is a subscription required? This software is completely free!

8. Blender®

Blender is convenient to use and features 3D rendering, photorealistic animations, creating a simulation, etc. for a real-time effect. Don’t you think it would be nice to have a high-quality 3D view of your design ideas? You can view your room layout, space planning, and all your design ideas with a bit of effect.

Price: 

This interior design software is free to use, however, if you wish to apply additional features, you will have to subscribe for a very nominal rate of $11.18/month. The additional set of features allows you to add a bit more professional effects to your design ideas.

Ease of Use: 

It is fairly easy to use as the features help in adding effects to images.

Value for Money: 

1. Good for adding effects to images but not for Interior design.

2. Although this software is popular because people use it to add effects to social media pictures, you can certainly create a dramatic 3D image of your design ideas. This design software is helpful for those who want to create simplistic designs with a little bit of effect afterwards. For example, if you want to design a simple living room that can double into a party-central, with smoke machines and multi-coloured lights. You can add these design ideas for a 3D view of your room.

It is noteworthy that most of the features in this design software are intended to add more flair to the complete picture, not designing the room itself. If you are looking for professional interior design software, then this is not for you.

Top 3 Design Features:

1. Entirely free and open-sourced.
2. Grease pencil options for storyboards and mood boarding new designs or concepts.
3. Rendering, modeling, and sculpting

Total Average Score: 

Overall, Blender is ideal for designers on a lower budget whose design needs are not overly complex or technical. This certainly includes beginner designers, which makes this tool a great starting point.

Is a subscription required? A blender is a free tool, although there are also paid versions available that include more features.

9. HomeByMe®

This is home design software for beginners. HomeByMe allows you to implement your design ideas and create an accurate 3D rendering of your room design. The design software is easy to use and helps first-timers get a photorealistic 3D view of their space planning. If you are designing your own home, you can use these interior design tools to your advantage. This home design software works on a project basis.

Price: 

You can choose to create up to 5 projects and 3 realistic renderings for free. You can also choose a one-time paid plan of creating 5 projects, 15 realistic images, and three 360° images for $19.47/month. There is also an unlimited plan provided by HomeByMe for $35.39/month.

Plus, if you don’t have time to convert the floor plan into a HomeByMe project, the team provides the option to do it for you.

Ease of Use: 

This home design software is good for beginners. You can create nice projects and use a 3D view to get an accurate idea of it. However, keep a tab on the limited number of projects in each plan.

Value for Money: 

1. Easy to use but expensive and inconvenient.

2. The problem is that the number of projects available can easily perish if you save trial design ideas or any that might not be up to the client’s penchant. It gets expensive to renew the plans repeatedly. The unlimited plan also has its drawbacks in terms of features available to execute your modern design ideas.

Top 3 Design Features:

1. Branded furniture options.
2. Team assistance.
3. Simple photo rendering.

Total Average Score: 

Overall, this software is a wonderful choice for new designers and homeowners. It is an easy tool to use, and if you’re only working on a few small projects, you can use it for free.

Is a subscription required? They have a free starter pack, and you can purchase subscriptions for additional features.

10. Planner 5D®

Now, this design software is quite a beauty. If you are an avid designer or love beautiful home designs, then this is a good interior design software for you. It has the ability to create floor plans, get a 3D rendering of the designs, and the various design tools at our disposal.

There’s an item catalogue of 5000+ pieces, and you can customize each piece with colours, textures, and patterns to create something exceptional.

Price: 

The design software is free to use for simple virtual floorplans and interior designs, but if you wish to create photorealistic 3D rendering, it’ll cost you. The first 10 are available for only $9.99 but the more renders you need, the costlier it gets. If you want simplistic design options, you can definitely opt for this interior design software for free. However, you’ll have to subscribe to their plans for the advanced features.

Ease of Use: 

It is fairly easy to use.

Value for Money: 

1. Popular and ideal for architects but not for Interior designers.

2. This software is available as a design app for Android and iOS so you can continue to implement your design ideas on your tablets and iPads. Planner 5D allows you to create room layouts and floor plans. It has a handy set of interior design tools for professional interior designers as well. It gives them a real-time 3D view of their design ideas.

Top 3 Design Features:

1. AR-driven 3D interior projecting feature.
2. AI plan recognition.
3. Complete item editing.

Total Average Score: 

Overall, Planner 5D is a great option for those looking to make interior designs! It is easy to use, and it can be accessed from both a computer and a tablet.

Is a subscription required? Planner 5D has a free version, but it is limited, so you will need to pay if you’re looking for more advanced features.

11. RoomStyler 3D Home Planner®

This design software is good for beginners. They host contests for design ideas and feature the winning designs to boost confidence among amateur interior designers. Roomstyler allows you to upload different floor plans and implement your design ideas for real-time space planning. You can create mood boards as well.

Price: 

Roomstyler 3D home planner is very easy to use for anyone and it is absolutely free!

Ease of Use: 

It is pretty easy to use.

Value for Money: 

1. Easy but the 3D rendering is very slow and inefficient.

2. The only drawback it has is its feature of 3D modelling. It is relatively incompetent, as compared to other interior design software, but you can always create 2D images and get an idea of how to work with design tools. It is not ideal for professionals or even students of interior design as the process for 3D rendering can be quite frustrating and delay the workflow of your project. It is great if you want to implement design ideas as a test run or win contests to boost your confidence. But if you are looking for design software to help you create actual interior design ideas, then you may want to look elsewhere.

Top 3 Design Features:

1. Nifty garden feature
2. Drag and drop interface
3. Room shape templates

Total Average Score: 

Overall, this tool is a good choice for designers, as it is easy to use and offers many helpful features. Although its 3D capabilities are not as great, it is a free tool and a great choice for those looking to create mood boards or design floor plans.

Is a subscription required? No subscription is required – this design software is free.

12. SmartDraw®

This is a nice little online design tool for 2D rendering. You can create different diagrams and floor plans. It is ideal for creating visual projects on a 2D platform on your phone, tablet, or your iPad as it is an online, high-quality home design software.

Price: 

You can try the design tools for free for the first 7 days, but if you want to continue using them, you are required to subscribe to the plans available. The design software features a plan for single users for only $9.95/month. It also provides a multi-user platform for a team of 5 members for $5.95/month. The plans for this interior design software are quite cheap. So if you are working with a small team, on 2D design options, this app is good for you.

Ease of Use: 

It enables 2D rendering and is quite easy to use.

Value for Money: 

1. Easy but does not support 3D rendering and modelling.

2. The lack of 3D rendering makes it an off-putting choice in creating modern designs. These days, clients want to see exactly what their house is going to look like. Even if you are designing your own home, wouldn’t you like to know what the real-time design would be? That is why most aspirers and interior designers do not choose this design software. 3D rendering is a must in today’s technologically advanced world of interior design.

Top 3 Design Features:

1. Can support other core business functions.
2. Integrates with other tools like Google docs.
3. Operate entirely from the cloud.

Total Average Score: 

Overall, SmartDraw is a great tool for 2D floor planning and diagramming. It is relatively inexpensive, yet easy to use, making it the perfect design app for those whose projects it suits.

Is a subscription required? SmartDraw offers a free 7-day trial, but you need to purchase a subscription in order to continue after that.

13. Roomsketcher®

As the name suggests, it is a design tool for creating floor plans and visualizing rooms in 3D. It is available both online and as an app and is used to design commercial and residential spaces. RoomSketcher mainly caters to the real estate sector and interior design service providers. The platform allows designers to create 2D and 3D floor plans along with 3D photos and 360° views of rooms. Users can either create their own floor plans or avail them as a service by uploading blueprints and sketches.

Price: 

It’s a subscription-based design app starting at $49/year for personal use and $99/year for professionals. The professional subscription is also its highest-priced plan. It includes additional features like discounts on services, branded floor plans, customizations, etc. RoomSketcher does have a free version but with limited or no access to key features.

Ease of Use: 

This interior design platform might not be very user-friendly for designers who are new to e-design. If you are a beginner interior designer, you will require a fair amount of training and watching tutorials before using the design app properly. There are other issues like a limited number of models, textures, features, etc. While it also has an app version for Android and Apple tabs, users should stick to the PC versions for Mac and Windows to avoid glitches. It is also easier to use most of the features on the PC versions.

Value for Money: 

1. The annual subscriptions are not so expensive but the software itself might not be very easy to use.

2. While on the personal use plan, you can promote individual projects to premium levels by paying more. However, it is ideal to get the Pro plan if you want to work on multiple projects.

Top 3 Design Features:

1. Live 3D floor plans.
2. Replace materials on fixtures and furniture.
3. Branded floor plans for client presentations.

Total Average Score: 

Roomsketcher is a decent design tool for both residential and commercial spaces. It is recommended to use the Pro version to execute design projects seamlessly while using most of the features on the platform.

Is a subscription required? While it does have a free version, you will require a paid subscription to access most of the key features of the software.

14. Ikea Home Planner®

This handy little interior design software is definitely one of our favourites. You can not only choose the room layout and resize it, but you can also add furniture from the Ikea catalogue? It is such an effective design tool for a real-time, user-friendly experience. Not just that, it also displays the price of each piece of furniture that you have added so you can get an estimate of the cost of your remodel or interior design.

Price: 

Free

Ease of Use: 

This design software is extremely easy to understand and use. The interface is user-friendly and appropriate for any interior designer, amateur, or professional. The design software is free and you can choose furniture to your penchant, from the Ikea catalogue.

Value for Money: 

1. Free and easy to use but restricted to Ikea furniture only. Inefficient for real-time design.

2. The design software limits your choices to Ikea products only. You are only allowed to choose from their catalogue, therefore, if you want to furnish your home with non-Ikea, designer furniture, we would not recommend this design software for you.

3. This is the case for most interior designers today. People want to incorporate designer sofa sets and beautiful paintings into their homes. The Ikea furniture products are not going to cut it if you want to create a beautiful flow in your home. Even if you wanted to use a few furniture pieces from Ikea, you might want to combine those with other furniture. You might need to use other design software to execute elite design ideas.

Top 3 Design Features:

1. Time & expense tracking.
2. Product sourcing.
3. Mobile app.

Total Average Score: 

Overall, despite Ikea Home Planner’s lack of diversity in its catalogue, it is an effective and easy tool to layout products in your space. It is recommended if you’re looking to renovate your own home, as most interior design clients prefer to have a range of furniture brands and options.

Is a subscription required? This is a completely free tool.

15. Houzz Pro®

Houzz certainly has nice interior design software programs. The Houzz Pro software tools are a helpful addition to your trade as it provides business management options. It offers design tools along with options for tracking your design contracts and their progress. It also provides an online payment option in order to collect payments from your clients, instantly.

Price: 

Houzz Pro functions on a paid-subscription model. Given the set of amenities it provides, we don’t think that’s a bad thing. The subscriptions range from $65/month to $399/year.

Ease of Use: 

It is also easy to use if you can understand all its features and how they work.

Value for Money: 

1. Easy and powerful but expensive to get all the features necessary.

2. The cost of a subscription may be a bit high for fresh interior designers, students or one-time designers creating designs for your own home. But if you run a business for interior design, you may find their features helpful.

Top 3 Design Features:

1. Complete set of marketing tools.
2. Complete set of business management tools.
3. Insights and analytics.

Total Average Score: 

Overall, this tool is a good choice for professionals. However, like some of the other software on this list, it is built for those with a full-fledged business, so if you’re working on a one-time project or just starting your interior design career, this might not be the tool for you.

Is a subscription required? You can create a free profile and directory listing in Houzz. However, in order to access the full business management and design features, you have to purchase a subscription.

Conclusion

We hope you find this list helpful to choose the best interior design software for yourself or your business. Now you can design like a pro and wow the world with your creations. If you want to know our personal recommendations, we are a bit partial towards Foyr Neo, Sketchup, Homestyler, and Houzz Pro for their incredible features.

Most interior design software has the added disadvantage of high costs that students, homeowners, and real estate investors find quite impractical. Additionally, the licensing costs for different design software for various 2D and 3D rendering can cause quite a nuisance. Small businesses need hassle-free design software.

This is why we particularly favour Foyr Neo for its cutting-edge design options. It is a one-stop shop for all your design needs. The multifaceted design software has so many features to choose from, that it makes it easier to visualize your design ideas more effectively. Additionally, these software tools are incredibly easy to learn and use.

Furthermore, it doesn’t take up a whole lot of space due to its incredible cloud computing feature. It saves time and money on licensing. Anyone can create absolutely remarkable home designs with these design tools. In our opinion, it is the best interior design software for professionals as well as beginners.