And every time they optimize any of the code we get less and less!
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Well, screens are getting bigger and bigger.
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The pricing seems like a result of the company going from an organization with the mission of providing “3D modeling for all” to being owned by a company that has a mission of providing tools to professionals. It’s an incredible platform that seems to have fewer and fewer users and I think the problem is one of identity.
Originally, SketchUp had the potential to be like Lego - strong identity and graphics, simple for almost anyone to use, affordable at the entry level and fun. Lego obviously spun off into larger and more technical building sets for groups that want more building capability or a specific result (and the users that want to build those sets pay a lot more to get what they want). But the core mission of Lego is to provide building sets for users at all levels and they haven’t excluded entry level users or changed those simple basic bricks that inspire creativity. By making sure those bricks are iconic and easily accessible to all users, there are Lego sets to fit almost any interest.
In my opinion, SketchUp has been taken in a more exclusive & technical direction, which requires the most committed users to pay more. Everyone justifies it because other professional software is so much more expensive but that’s precisely BECAUSE so few people use it!!
Just like building with Legos, working and building a business around SketchUp required some creativity and figuring out how to work within the constraints of the system, but the affordability and ability to build whatever I needed to and access a talented and devoted community were totally worth it.
Unfortunately, the more SketchUp loses the identity, simplicity, accessibility and affordability that were it’s major strengths over other software in the first place and brought in newer users, the more it’s going to need to cost.
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last nov in Vegas it was mentioned that Sketchup crossed the threshold of a million paid subscribers. Talking with some of the staff, they gave me an estimated 35-40 million total accounts active per year (classic licences, old make, free, schools, craked, trial, LAB licences…)
pretty sure it has never had that many users.
You can dismiss this part of my post because I’m not quoting data and numbers, but it doesn’t change my overall point. I don’t think the pricing is a numbers problem as much as an identity / brand / conceptual problem.
It also doesn’t change the fact that when I interview students or ask other designers about software, I’m hearing less and less SketchUp and more Rhino, Blender or Revit. I also didn’t meet as many novice or hobby users at the last BaseCamp as in past years.
(classic licences, old make, free, schools, craked, trial, LAB licences…)
Not sure I understand but even if these are technically active licenses, they don’t make SketchUp any money and just because the software is sitting on a computer somewhere, doesn’t mean it’s generating any interest. The web-based subscription model makes it difficult to currently use in schools and the marketing I see seems targeted more toward professionals, but I don’t have data to back up my observations or prove anything.
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We Finns have a saying: Gets smaller like the grouse before apocalypse.
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Now I feel compelled to be more creative, possibly poetic, in my descriptions in order to get into the book. Have you received any crash haikus?
FTR I am one of those that often leaves the description blank because, not being a computer engineer, assumed your team was more interested in the crash report and/or taking the info in aggregate to isolate bugs and determine fixes. Thanks for highlighting the need for detailed descriptions.
I also used version 1 having been introduced to it by a colleague. I think it was Mac only back then?! Alas, I missed out on the SketchUp socks.
I remember being blown away by how easy it was to use because at the time, you practically needed a PhD to work with 3D software of that era. I remember the offerings being intimidating, incredibly complex, time consuming and super expensive. And then along comes SketchUp - it was intuitive and so easy to use.
Thanks for posting this! I think Trimble needs to do a limited edition run on SU socks on the next update.
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If they are to small for your eyes, simply press “windows key” + “+” to open your magnify glass 
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Thanks for posting this! I think Trimble needs to do a limited edition run on SU socks on the next update
Yes! that’s a great point. SU was super easy and fun to use compared to the other 3D software available at the time. Definitely the socks get my vote 
maybe the updated 2025
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It would be good to communicate the percentage of costs related to Research & Development, so that the user has an idea.
Brand identity is just as much a factor in pricing as any other metric people are using - it’s just not one where the value can be easily measured. However, it’s extremely valuable and costly when it’s not considered.
I’m speaking from my own experience and expressing what seems like a missed opportunity unique to the way SketchUp started. If they had built and maintained their brand more toward a Lego model, where everyone getting into computer modeling started by playing with SketchUp so everyone in the industry is familiar with it and uses it. Then there could be different levels (or kits) for users with different interests and those could be priced differently on top of the base understanding of how it works. However, I understand that (for many reasons) this is not the reality or the direction the company has taken and I’m sure Lego has issues too.
This conversation has proven my other point about the community. In the past the forum was an exchange of ideas and a place to find support with software issues. But now, somehow you equated my desire to express an opinion about pricing related to brand identity and my personal experience talking with other designers about SketchUp to me getting my information from North Korea? All of my personal experiences with SketchUp have changed (which relates to branding) and higher costs coupled with bad experiences makes people less loyal.
If you are the one responsible for setting pricing or brand identity and I offended you - I apologize. Otherwise, consider me fully corrected and chastised and way less likely to get involved in future discussions - so you win.
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There seem to be unwritten rules currently in the forum:
Do not point out apparent defects;
Do not make suggestions;
Above all DO NOT CRITICISE Sketchup!
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You couldn’t be more wrong..
We’re all just users here, trying to help each other out.
Off course there are fan boys and why wouldn’t there be, but there’s hardly any pointless discussions here.
well no, it’s all about being smart.
when you have a request about circles and curves, it’s met with lengthy explanations of how it works. you may disagree, or wish it was different, but your comments got met by explanations.
when you have questions about bezier surfaces, you get answers within hours.
you can’t expect every things you ask or propose to be met with a parade, doves and trumpets. people will comment, argue, explain, correct. doesn’t mean you’re wrong, doesn’t mean they are.
you seem to like to argue, fine. you’re not being censored, people take time to explain why or why not.
this is an user forum. sometimes you meet people like that. just because someone says something stupid doesn’t mean the community is
fun fact, if you click on someone’s profile, you can set them to “ignore”. you will no longer see their messages (unless you click on it).
the key to mental health online is the ignore list 
please don’t leave because of that comment, I may not agree with everything you write, but it has more substance than the traditional “gneuh trimble bad google better” argument we see on these threads.
people think the pair of binoculars on my desk are for birdwatching. they’re actually for checking the score of whatever game my neighbour is watching, and the small icons on my screen 
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Interesting comment. I have met all kinds of resistance to any suggestions of having SketchUp include the ability to work with organic shapes. Then, I discover a fascinating plug-in be ThomThom called Bezier Surface. While this plug-in is a work in progress, it dramatically demonstrates the capabilities of SketchUp. I have created totally organic, 3D models, which are solids. Many might think that in order to do such an amazing thing, one would have to pony-up for AutoCAD. The more I learn about SketchUp, the more I wonder what the limits are.
I’ll have to apologize for being freed from a status quo mentality at a young age. I’m always looking for improvements. Just can’t help myself.
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oh boy, here we go again. native organic shapes.
the philosophy behind sketchup is that it’s basically a simple toolbox you can buy at a hardware store. from there, you add plugins that will fit your needs, the way you just go and add tools in your toolbox.
now, say you go to home depot tomorrow. you pick the standard toolbox, then you find a salesperson and you ask “hey, why is there no power drill in there !? I know it exists, why isn’t it in there?”
they will simply lead you to the power drill aisle. you’re free to get one and add it yourself to your toolbox.
I don’t need a Bézier surface tool, nor an organic tool. never have. do I think sketchup should use ressources to add such tools natively ? nah. especially since plugins exist that covers that way better than SU would. SU teams have other cats to skin.
should sketchup work the way powercad or autocad work ? off course not. if you need a tool that work like autocad, use autocad. if you need parametric organic design, then maybe rhino + grasshopper is the best combo. it’s just software, you’re allowed to use several for various tasks.
I’m sorry, I’ll have to be a bit more abrupt, I went back and checked some of the threads where you met resistance and… at times you’re not very open to contradiction yourself.
You say you’re always looking for improvement, yet when you ask for it, and we answer with explanations, solutions, techniques or plugins, you double down on your original idea…
It’s fine to look for improvement. but you can’t improve a tool you don’t understand.
edit : I mean, I just noticed that when su25 was released, you made a whole list of all the things that should, in your opinion, work like autocad and / or powercad / other softwares. basically a full on 2Dcad mode, no more layout, a zoom that works like 2d cad softwares…
and already back then, my answer was this
at some point, if you keep asking that sketchup becomes more like another software, you’ll get the resistance you’re currently getting.
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OK, let’s get this straight.
To start with, I have no use for organic shapes in the work that I do. I use SketchUp for building projects. It is perfectly suited for that. What I said I don’t like is the lack of native tools to make my work more efficient. I’ve mentioned AutoCAD many times, because I was quite proficient at AutoCAD years ago. I’d like to see you take issue with my suggestion that OSNAP options in SketchUp need significant improvement. That’s just one area where working on simple models could be made much easier. So the example of the well developed OSNAP option in AutoCAD is quite appropriate, since it’s been in existence for such a long time.
I’m not asking that SketchUp become something it’s not, rather I’m trying to think beyond myself. While I have no need for organic shapes, I know there are many others who do. So if there’s something that can easily satisfy a larger number of needs, the more competitive SketchUp becomes. A while back I gave the experience of Ashton Tate as an example of what slow response to the needs of users can do. The software industry is very competitive, and things can happen very quickly. I personally am very attached to SketchUp, and do not relish the thought of having to jump ship and learn a new language.
All I’ve suggested in the past is that SketchUp improve its native tools that can make modelling much faster and easier. Do you really think that’s a bad thing?