Arkio

Arkio is a design collaboration tool for architects and other spatial designers working with 3D scenes. Its real-time solid modeling includes boolean operations and parametric volumes, and meeting participants can view and edit the same scene together. For design reviews, users can save views, add voice-transcribed notes, create AI renders, and collaborate on 2D frames. Each AI render uses one credit, and included credits renew monthly. Plugins support importing or exporting models and related data with Archicad, Navisworks, Revit, Rhino, and SketchUp. The free Starter plan includes all modeling tools, one-on-one meetings, and import and export for OBJ, GLB, and images. Pro supports up to six meeting participants and includes 500 AI credits per month. Its price is $35/user/mo with annual billing, or $45/user/mo with monthly billing; tax is not included. Enterprise supports up to 24 participants, includes 1,000 AI credits per license, and costs $85 per floating license per month with annual billing. Arkio runs on Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows. A Pro license can be installed on up to two devices but used on only one at a time. Schools and educational institutions can apply for free educational licenses.

Arkio combines scene modeling and collaborative design review, with a free Starter plan and paid tiers that expand meeting capacity and AI credits. Check the billing term and device limit when considering Pro.

Arkio suits architects and other spatial designers who need to model scenes and review them collaboratively. It may also suit schools and educational institutions that can apply for free educational licenses.

Arkio is a collaborative modeling and design-review workspace for architects and other spatial designers. It suits teams that need to shape and discuss a shared scene across phones, computers, and XR devices. The main attraction is live co-editing; meeting size, rendering allowances, and device concurrency determine which plan is practical.

Overview

Arkio combines real-time solid modeling with meetings in which participants can view or edit the same scene. Boolean operations and parametric volumes support early form development, while saved views, voice-transcribed notes, AI renders, and shared 2D frames carry the work into review. That combination is useful when design decisions happen through conversation around a model, rather than in separate modeling and presentation tools.

Key features

Modeling and collaboration

Solid modeling with boolean operations and parametric volumes gives designers substantive tools for developing geometry. Shared meetings let everyone work against the same scene in real time, which is well suited to design critiques and distributed project discussions. The free Starter plan restricts meetings to one-on-one, so it is better for individual development or paired reviews than for a studio-wide session.

Review and visualization

Saved views provide useful checkpoints, and voice-transcribed notes make spoken feedback easier to retain. Collaborative 2D frames add a flatter review surface alongside the 3D scene. AI rendering is valuable for quickly communicating a concept, but every render consumes one credit; the monthly allowance therefore matters to teams that visualize frequently rather than occasionally.

Interoperability

Plugins connect Arkio with Archicad, Navisworks, Revit, Rhino, and SketchUp for model and related-data import or export. Pro includes Revit, Rhino, and SketchUp import/export plus Archicad and Navisworks import. Enterprise retains those paid-plan connections while adding larger meetings and floating licensing, making it the more natural fit for organizations sharing access across staff.

Pricing

Starter

Starter costs nothing and includes all modeling tools, one-on-one meetings, and OBJ/GLB and image import/export. It is a credible way to learn the modeling workflow or collaborate with one other person, but the two-person meeting ceiling limits team reviews and it does not include the paid-plan integration set or a stated AI-credit allowance.

Pro

Pro is $35 a month when billed annually ($35 per user per month), or $45 billed per month; tax is not included. It supports up to six meeting participants and includes 500 AI credits per month, plus the Revit, Rhino, SketchUp, Archicad, and Navisworks connections described above. A free 14-day Pro trial includes 20 AI credits, giving prospective teams a short period to assess group meetings and rendering demand. A Pro license may be installed on two devices but used on only one at a time, so it is not a simultaneous multi-device entitlement.

Enterprise

Enterprise costs $85 a month per floating license, billed annually only, before tax. Up to 24 participants can join a meeting, each license receives 1,000 AI credits monthly, and floating licenses let an organization share seats rather than assigning each permanently. Priority support is included; Enterprise also comes with personal onboarding and custom training plans. This is the sensible tier for larger reviews or teams that need managed rollout, while smaller groups pay for capacity they may not use.

Platforms

Arkio runs on Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows, with mobile viewing and VR/AR support. The hybrid device coverage suits teams moving between desk-based modeling, mobile review, and immersive sessions, although Pro's one-device-at-a-time rule constrains concurrent use of an individual license.

Who it's for

Architectural practices, consultants, and spatial-design teams that need to develop ideas and review them together are the clearest audience. Starter fits a designer working with one collaborator; Pro fits small groups needing integrations, meetings of up to six, and a predictable monthly rendering pool. Enterprise is aimed at larger organizations requiring 24-person sessions, floating access, and priority assistance. Schools and educational institutions can apply for free educational licenses. Arkio is less compelling for users who only need a static viewer, conventional drafting, or meetings larger than their selected tier without paying for added capacity.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Shared scene editing: participants can view and modify the same model during a meeting, keeping discussion tied to the current design.
• Broad workflow coverage: modeling, saved views, transcribed notes, 2D frames, and AI renders support development through review.
• Established design-tool connections: plugins cover Archicad, Navisworks, Revit, Rhino, and SketchUp, reducing isolation from existing project data.
• Flexible access options: Enterprise floating licenses and educational licensing address different organizational and academic needs.

Cons

• Starter is strictly one-on-one: free collaboration cannot serve a larger critique or project meeting.
• AI use is quota-bound: each render costs a credit, so frequent visualization can exhaust the monthly allowance.
• Pro device concurrency is limited: installation on two devices does not permit simultaneous use.
• Enterprise requires annual billing: the larger-capacity tier offers less payment flexibility than monthly Pro billing.

Alternatives

If you want a home-design app with a free version across Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows, Live Home 3D is the more direct alternative; its free app is supplemented by Standard and Pro subscriptions and lifetime licenses.

usBIM.platform is a better choice when browser access, online applications, and 10 GB of free cloud storage matter more than Arkio's shared spatial meetings.

Choose Archicad instead when you need a dedicated architectural BIM application and qualify for its one-year free EDU license.

Graphisoft BIMx suits readers seeking a free app and browser viewer for Graphisoft projects rather than a full collaborative modeling workspace.

Pick AutoCAD for conventional CAD access across desktop, web, and mobile with a free trial, instead of Arkio's meeting-centered workflow.

GstarCAD, Allplan, and ARCHLine.XP are paid alternatives for readers seeking conventional CAD, BIM, or perpetual-license options.

For broader category browsing, see Architecture Software and 3D Visualization Software.

Verdict

Choose Arkio if your work depends on developing and reviewing spatial designs together in a live scene, especially when mobile or XR access and the listed design-tool integrations matter. Look elsewhere if you need unrestricted meeting sizes, simultaneous use of one license on multiple devices, or rendering volume beyond the plan's monthly credits.