BalutFX

Yes, as mentioned above, unless you continue to pay the rental fee for the software, you will no longer be able to access any of the plans that you create in HD 2026 once the rental period ends. The currently quoted 1 year rental cost is $495, with no guarantees that Chief Architect won't raise it by the time you have to make that decision. And if you design and save anything in HD 2026, you will no longer be able to open it in an older version, since they do not allow backward compatibility. But if it works out better for you, then great. Also, your signature says you have HD Pro 2025, so make sure you take advantage of their current rental upgrade cost through Jan 5th.

I sent both a DM and email requesting access to this offer, but have not yet received further instructions beyond the initial acknowledgment. Update: Crickets. I'm wondering if Rene's close relationship with the developers at Chief Architect and my criticism of their Home Designer line are the reason. I hope not.

Yeah, I think that’s what bugged me the most about the switch to subscription for the Home Designer line. No ability to grandfather in to the perpetual license (at least for the 2026 version) and no substantial discount, other than the limited Black Friday upgrade (which I did decide, for now, to use).

Did something change for Premier SSA subscribers? I thought CA was allowing SSA upgrades and perpetual licenses as long as the SSA was kept current.

Yep, got the "Upgrade" email yesterday, but won't be renting their software no matter what the discount. I'd caution anyone else from taking the "bait" in their bait-and-switch subscription tactic. Update: Well, I decided to take the "bait" after-all. Discounted upgrade was about what I was planning to spend on an upgrade to the 2026 version anyway, although now I only have a year to access any plans I create in 2026. I'll re-evaluate then, but may suck-up a monthly rental for the few times I want to make any changes.

I recently reformatted and reinstalled apps on my MacBook. I always download all the manufacturer and my purchased catalogs so I can use them if I don't have an internet connection. However, I noticed a banner on the purchased catalog webpage that I hadn't noticed before, about purchased catalogs not being available indefinitely. Maybe it was there for awhile, or maybe it's new. Regardless, if you have purchased catalogs from Chief, I recommend you download them, or risk losing access to purchased items if they decide to not host them anymore. I'm not sure why they would do that, but then again, I'm not sure why they switched Home Designer to a subscription vs perpetual license either.

Yep sorry that didn't work out for you. That is one of the bummer features in all the Chief Architect products - lack of backward compatibility. I hope you didn't put too much work into the 2026 versions.

Yes, 2025 and earlier versions of Home Designer are perpetual licenses and will continue to work, but likely won’t receive any further updates. What I was referring to is the lack of backwards capability in any of the Chief Architect products. If you open any of your HD 2025 (or earlier) plans in HD 2026 and save it (or create a plan in HD 2026) you will not be able to open it anymore in HD 2025. So you will only have the ability to access or modify plans saved in HD 2026 if you continue to pay the rental cost.

I agree 100%. The lack of backward compatibility essentially locks you into paying for Home Designer 2026 if you ever want to access your files again, once the subscription runs out. I also feel like referring to the discount pricing for current Home Designer users as an "upgrade" is not the right word anymore. A purchase of Home Designer 2026 and beyond is now only a RENTAL, plain and simple. I wouldn't rent Home Designer 2026 and beyond even if the discount was significantly less. Absolutely not worth it for me.

I selected Generated Sky as you suggested, and don't really see much improvement over the previous image I got with Home Designer 2026. I'm sure there are tweaks that can be done to improve the generated image in the subscription only Home Designer 2026, but I still would not pay the high upgrade cost for the RTRT feature that was added. Especially when there are free AI tools that can be used with legacy perpetual license Home Designer versions with much better results.

With the release of Home Designer 2026 (subscription only) and the inclusion of real time Ray Trace, I wanted to see how much of an upgrade that feature was. HD 2026 does provide a slight improvement to PBR in HDP 2025, but with tools such as ChatGPT and Stable Diffusion (which have a free tier), I don’t think the RTRT in Home Designer 2026 is worth the high upgrade price. For those of us with the legacy perpetual licenses, I’d recommend checking out the AI tools available. Here are some comparison images:

Yep. I downloaded the trial to see what was new, and also noticed that the additional features PDF was disappointingly very limited. Still can't import SKP objects as anything other than interior fixtures, so you will need a tedious workaround to place doorknobs and cabinet hardware for each instance. To me, this is a dumb and unnecessary restriction of the Home Designer line. Also, the "free" catalog items exclude cabinets. Another dumb restriction in my opinion. Why not just allow Home Designer users to purchase the catalogs that they want to use? The "upgrade" to Home Designer 2026 SUBSCRIPTION ONLY is definitely not worth the money, especially since the software dies as soon as you stop paying.

Yep. I downloaded the trial to see what was new, and also noticed that the additional features PDF was disappointingly very limited. Still can't import SKP objects as anything other than interior fixtures, so you will need a tedious workaround to place doorknobs and cabinet hardware for each instance. To me, this is a dumb and unnecessary restriction of the Home Designer line. Also, the "free" catalog items exclude cabinets. Another dumb restriction in my opinion. Why not just allow Home Designer users to purchase the catalogs that they want to use? The "upgrade" to Home Designer 2026 SUBSCRIPTION ONLY is definitely not worth the money, especially since the software dies as soon as you stop paying.

I saw that. Ray Trace and all catalog items included = $$$$. Cha-Ching, Cha-Ching

Chief Architect Premier X17 was released 25 June. What is the hold-up for Home Designer 2026?