Hi, I’ve been using sketchup while it still was google sketchup and was FREE. I’m now just a designer in a one person firm and just can’t justify the cost of $400/year. Even though Trimble says $33.25/month, its billed anually! So how is someone like me supposed to use sketchup? Any help?
What kind of design work do you do?
What have you used for your work in the last 16 years? The first release of SketchUp 8 was the last version which permitted commercial use of the free version. Google removed that option with the mid-year update release of SketchUp 8.
If you are a business in the US, it should be a tax deduction.
Well, if it’s anything like credit/debit card fees, or a ‘living wage surcharge’ that you see on dinner receipts - those are now being passed on to the customers on top of the cost of the items purchased. Your clients may not like it but you could include a note at the bottom of each contract indicating the addition of a small ‘design tools fee’ (actual fee would depend on the no. of clients you can spread it around to - more clients = less cost to each).
Or you could also set up a GoFundMe or other crowd funding site for friends and family who support your design career and want to see you succeed.
I’m half kidding as neither of these are great options but the point is ‘free’ isn’t an option when it comes to the cost of doing business these days and Trimble will have to continue to weigh the value of their annual subscription price increases with the number of users they lose from being priced out. Either way, we all here on the forum feel your pain and wish you find a solution that works best for you.
Work the $400 yearly subscription into your business model. Software is just a cost of business much like computer equipment, internet fees and so on.
Yeah, software is by far my biggest cost as a one-man operation.
I guess it comes down to how much are you charging for your services? At $400 SU is by far the most budget-friendly CAD & visualization system.
If you don’t have a regular project flow yet, I highly recommend requiring a 50% deposit on all projects at the time of the agreement. Anyone who sees value in your services won’t hesitate to do this and then some of that money can go to the license, which is a write off that will help offset your taxable revenue if you’re in the US.
For new clients I STILL require a 25% deposit. I’ve had more people than I care to count/admit stiff me on work, it is unbelievable how unprofessional people can be. Once we do a project and I’m confident they like my deliverables and recognize my value, I will change the language in my estimate to be “optional”, and inform them if they do invest at the beginning of their project they will get priority on any changes they request.
I can understand that. I wasn’t trying make “light” of your situation. Part of the reason I never went out on my own. I just don’t want the headaches.
Thanks for your responses, but many of you seem to miss the point. I have to produce or show something to a client to win their contract. So this is overhead expense. But why does sketchup make it sound like I can purchase it one month at a time and then charge $400/annual?
I only do one or two projects a year due to health issues, so the $400/annual is out of my budget and pocket.
Well, thanks again for responses and sorry to have bothered you.
Andy
I understand. There are free alternatives that can even be used for commercial work out there. They’re not SketchUp but are usable and might be enough for your needs.
+1 on SketchUp Go (Web version). If you’re only doing two projects a year and neither of those two have big enough budgets to cover the cost of a SU Pro Subscription - then two months (pay month-by month - one month per project?) at $20 each ($40 total) seems like the best option.
Side note - my daughter made $85 one time selling cookies and lemonade on our neighborhood street corner - so there’s gotta be a way, if one is willing, to cover those costs and and redirect that energy back into the work. 
No ateliernab, you are wrong. There are many programs out there that I can purchase monthly and not billed anually. From my antivirus program to other cad programs. Now it I purchase for a year, i do get a price break.
Last year I needed Revit just to make a fix on a revit model. I was able to purchase for 1 month, make my fix, and done.
andy
The “web” version which I have is very stripped down. Most of the features I need are unavaililbe in web version.
You can purchase just one month at a time - it’s just the cost per month (compared to annual) is higher. Ultimately, there really isn’t much more to say on this subject. Your budget is your budget and if the Web version is too stripped down and the Pro version is too expensive and you can’t pass the cost along to your clients then you’re kind of stuck.
The only other option is to find a freelancer on Upwork or sim. that has a legitimate Pro license, and see if they’ll work for a smaller fee to do the task for you (note in other countries such as eastern Europe or India, their billing rates can be quite competitive depending on your need).
What kind of work do you need to do? There are open source softwares like Blender, FreeCad, Qcad and a lot more. I’d use Blender for 3D and Qcad for 2D if I hadn’t the budget to buy a license. Blender is completely free, QCad has a free version but I recommend you to get the pro version it’s a one time payment of 40 dollars and it includes more features than the free version like vector pdf importing.