Explore the latest updates with SketchUp 2025. Unlock powerful new visualization and interoperability
capabilities to help you effortlessly bring your vision to life.
SketchUp model showing the exterior of a modern community center with large windowed walls and figures of people
outside the building.
Another year brings us a new and improved version of the design tool trusted by over one million
creatives worldwide. The latest release introduces photorealistic materials, seamless interoperability, and
curated, configurable content, all so you can do more in SketchUp with less effort and rework.
Advanced visualization tools at your fingertips
Prepare to explore your creativity like never before with a new generation of visualization in SketchUp 2025. Photorealistic materials and Environments offer powerful yet accessible ways to make your designs
pop. Better yet, users can access these visualization game changers across SketchUp for iPad, Web and
Desktop, plus LayOut and 3D Warehouse.
You can see and feel true-to-life materiality to make more informed material decisions and create assets
that deepen clients’ understanding of your vision. The new photoreal materials and environments join
Ambient Occlusion from the 2024 launch to complete a trifecta of powerhouse visualization tools.
“Having photoreal materials and environments natively within SketchUp is a really exciting development!
Accessing high-quality, realistic materials directly within the platform has made it much easier to quickly present
designs that resonate with clients.”- Kate Hatherell, Director, The Interior Designers Hub 2025.
Photoreal Materials
Tell a richer design story with access to a new library of Photoreal Materials. Photoreal Materials add
dynamism to models by more accurately conveying texture and representing how real-world materials
absorb and reflect light. Instead of a flat image, Photoreal Materials include layers of textures or maps that
produce realistic effects like shine, roughness or metalness. [Top tip: 3D cube material thumbnail =
Photoreal Materials]
From one-click, drag-and-drop material ‘painting’ to advanced settings and the ability to create your own
Photoreal Materials, SketchUp 2025 can be your one-stop toolkit for stylized visuals, photorealistic
conceptual design or a gateway to advanced visualization workflows. Get started with the default
Photoreal Material libraries and access hundreds more materials in 3D Warehouse.
In addition to accessing all-new Photoreal Materials, take your material game further by creating yours
with Generate Textures. In one click, use this new generative AI capability to sample an image or classic
material and generate new Photoreal Materials. Generate Textures can also be used to create seamless,
tileable SketchUp materials with less effort. SketchUp models have never looked better.
Interior lounge space modeled in SketchUp showing new realistic materiality on a couch, blanket, and stone side table
with a dining table and wet bar in the background.
Environments
Set up the ambiance with realistic environmental lighting that dynamically interacts with photoreal
materials. Environments are 360-degree (HDR or EXR) image files that can provide both a background
image (skydome) and a light source that Photoreal Materials react to.
Environments can be used as the model light source and are key to accurately representing Photoreal
Materials. Explore and apply environments in the new Environments panel, where you can toggle the
Skydome off or on and customize the image angle, exposure, and reflection settings. Check out the 3D
Warehouse for a library of environments.
SketchUp still of an imported Revit model showing the exterior of a commercial building under construction with a large
yellow crane and other construction tools in the foreground.
Seamless data management with interoperability updates
Move in and out of SketchUp confidently, knowing your data will be preserved thanks to our latest IFC
support improvements for Pro subscribers. With more consistency in data round-trips and predictable file
import and export, you can keep your building information intact and minimize the risk of manual rework.
Highlights include improvements to IFC class recognition, version preservation, geometry optimization,
and new dictionaries for components. Check out the release notes for more details.
If you’re a Studio subscriber, Revit Importer UI updates offer more control — within SketchUp — over
what Revit model elements you bring in. Leverage evolving interoperability with Revit and IFC files for
streamlined design workflows, improved collaboration, and greater accuracy in project execution.
“The IFC import feature in the new SketchUp version is incredible; it has greatly improved the coordination of
different project models with the architectural design. Plus, the new material editor and HDRI styles in SketchUp
2025 open up countless possibilities for the visual representation of projects. We are truly excited about these
updates!” – Lucas Grolla, Architect & Owner, Grolla Arquitetura
An IFC file showing a building framing exterior imported into SketchUp with a screen callout showing IFC classes as
SketchUp tage with an upload button.
Curated subscriber content
It’s easier than ever to access the high-quality content you need — introducing the SketchUp Content
Library in 3D Warehouse. Kick-start your project with all-new collections of configurable models, Photoreal
Materials, and Environments developed and curated to support our most popular workflows. Check-in for
regular content releases, updates, and upgrades.
Reintroducing Live Components
Add rich context and iterate on detailed designs faster than ever before. Pre-built configurable objects,
known as Live Components, are not new but are officially graduating from SketchUp Labs. Subscribers can
configure parameters like size, type, and material to create customized objects in a snap — access 200+
new and refreshed components via 3D Warehouse as a full production feature in 2025.
A SketchUp model showing a tan and green basketball court with an upper-level running track surrounding it with a
callout window showing a possible configuration of a Live Component roof truss.
Improvements in LayOut
LayOut will be more intuitive than ever in 2025. Core LayOut tools now better match the tool behavior in
SketchUp, so the transition from 3D in SketchUp to 2D in LayOut is much smoother. LayOut viewports will
also display Environments and Photoreal Materials in addition to Ambient Occlusion, offering further
visual consistency and compatibility throughout the SketchUp ecosystem.
Screen capture of a LayOut sheet showing five images of the community center model with a toolbar highlight calling out Move, Scale, and Rotate tool icons.
Your vision realized with SketchUp 2025
This new SketchUp release takes another step forward in helping creative professionals effortlessly bring
their visions to life. It offers enhanced visualization tools and seamless workflows that help you and your
team create in SketchUp.
Create, iterate, and confidently share complex projects with these quicker, smoother, and more powerful
tools. Check out our release notes for the full list of 2025 updates.
Update to the latest version of SketchUp to explore all the new features and improvements. When
updating to SketchUp 2025, be sure to check out the new Extension Migrator [LABS] to seamlessly move
all your extensions from a previous SketchUp installation to the latest release.
If you’re not using SketchUp yet, explore subscription offerings to access these workflow-enhancing
updates.