List of the Top 11 Free Lighting Design Software in 2025

Founded in 2018 and based in New York, Coohom is a prominent global platform for cloud-based 3D design, offering a comprehensive suite of software and services that enable designers and businesses to create professional projects rapidly and generate stunningly realistic 3D visualizations within moments. With operations across the United States, China, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia, Coohom has earned the confidence of over 10 million users in 200 countries thanks to its innovative solutions. Focused on enhancing the digital transformation for clients in the interior design, furniture and home décor, and kitchen and bath sectors, Coohom delivers a full range of tools that include design, rendering, marketing, production, and construction, streamlining workflows for greater success. Coohom's offerings have received recognition in prestigious publications such as Forbes and TechNode, along with specialized industry magazines like Panels & Furniture Asia, FurnitureToday, HomeAccents, and Kitchen & Bath Business. Moreover, as a dedicated partner of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), Coohom reinforces its commitment to supporting the design community and fostering innovation in the industry. This collaboration reflects Coohom's ongoing mission to lead in the development of cutting-edge design solutions.

ReluxDesktop is an advanced application designed for the simulation of artificial and natural light, boasting high efficiency and user-friendly operation. This tool streamlines support for projects of all sizes, eliminating unnecessary complexities while enabling real-time lighting and sensor simulations. It facilitates the calculation of absolute values and adheres to both national and international standards, seamlessly integrating with various CAD and BIM systems. Additionally, it offers numerous features that enhance its functionality. Thanks to collaborations with industry partners, users can access ReluxDesktop at no cost, making it an invaluable resource for daily tasks. You will be surprised at the amount of time it saves you! Furthermore, it includes an add-on for Autodesk Revit, enhancing its capabilities with up-to-date tunnel calculations based on current standards. This comprehensive tool is designed to meet the evolving needs of the lighting design industry.

GreenScapes is a user-friendly application tailored for landscape, hardscape, and lighting design, featuring an extensive array of functionalities. Within minutes, you can create breathtaking landscape designs that include photo-realistic images showcasing all aspects of your project. The program provides useful instructional videos specific to each command and offers a step-by-step tutorial that leads users through the design process, making manuals unnecessary. For those eager to enhance their expertise, advanced techniques are also included. GreenScapes allows you to captivate potential clients by providing them with a vivid visualization of their home as if the project were already finished, greatly improving your chances of securing contracts. We encourage you to try it out for yourself. While primarily built for Windows, it also works on Mac through virtual environments like Parallels/Windows, allowing seamless switching between macOS and Windows for a flexible user experience. With GreenScapes, you can create stunning, photo-realistic designs that feature a wide range of landscape elements, ensuring your projects stand out. Embrace the combination of ease and innovation that this powerful design tool provides, and let your creativity flourish.

The SweetLight DMX controller system features powerful lighting control software and a range of DMX interfaces designed to cater to your specific requirements. Elevate your lighting configuration with this intuitive DMX control system, which enables the software to seamlessly produce a variety of shows over prolonged periods. You can effortlessly select various par cans and adjust channel levels, fade modes, and durations for each segment in the sequence. For dynamic lighting, just choose the necessary channels, either load or sketch a curve, and establish timing delays among all fixtures. A wide array of effects, including rainbow patterns, scrolling text, and animated images, can be applied to your selected fixtures for added flair. Furthermore, customize your interface by tailoring pages, buttons, and sliders according to your preferences. By integrating a MIDI control surface, you can manage everything, including color control, through MIDI buttons. To design your show, simply drag and drop light, audio, and video files at exactly the right moments for maximum impact. Enhance your stage design using our library of 3D objects, arrange your fixtures creatively, and take advantage of our 3D rendering feature to preview your light show, which enriches the overall production experience. This all-encompassing system simplifies the process of crafting mesmerizing performances that captivate and impress audiences, ensuring they remember the experience long after it's over. The possibilities for creativity and customization are virtually limitless, allowing you to truly express your artistic vision.

Discover the groundbreaking features of ChalmLite 6.0, which offers breathtaking 3D realistic visuals, multi-language support, and improved management of CAD layers. This latest version is designed with an intuitive, user-friendly interface inspired by Windows, facilitating the creation of both basic and complex lighting designs like never before. Engage with your lighting ideas through vivid 3D visualizations, and utilize a comprehensive set of quick estimators customized for your projects, allowing for easy downloading of results in single-page reports. Furthermore, the enhanced luminaire selection tools are specifically designed for use in hazardous environments, ensuring safety and efficiency. The updated reports also include direct links to online product resources, providing seamless access to further information. Embrace the opportunity to significantly enhance your lighting design skills with the innovative features of ChalmLite 6.0 and unlock new possibilities for your projects!

OptiWin 3D Pro is a specialized lighting calculation software that we offer free of charge to our clients and partners. This tool allows users to conduct thorough lighting evaluations for complex and large-scale projects. Precise lighting calculations are essential in both the maritime and oil and gas sectors to adhere to various standards and lux level criteria. Furthermore, these calculations aid in pinpointing and applying corrective measures during the project's early stages. Users benefit from in-depth reports that outline the findings of OptiWin 3D Pro's calculations. The software also supports rapid and uncomplicated lighting evaluations using CAD drawings, which significantly boost project efficiency. By simplifying the calculation process, it not only guarantees compliance with regulatory requirements but also aligns with the best practices in the industry. This innovative tool ultimately empowers users to enhance their project outcomes through effective lighting design strategies.

Revolutionize your approach to lighting design with the augmented reality application from Cooper Lighting Solutions, which enables you to effortlessly visualize light fixtures in any chosen setting or scenario. This cutting-edge AR tool not only allows you to investigate our best-selling products but also aids in identifying the perfect luminaires tailored to your project's needs. You have the ability to customize your experience by altering features such as orientation, color, and shape to align with your creative vision. Enjoy a full 360-degree perspective of the fixtures from any angle, and easily capture a screenshot that includes comprehensive product details for future reference. In the current educational landscape, it is crucial to cultivate environments that promote healthy learning, enhance student productivity, and increase overall satisfaction. By utilizing effective lighting and control systems, these objectives can be achieved while also ensuring significant energy savings and cost efficiency, establishing them as an intelligent investment for contemporary educational institutions. Moreover, integrating such technology not only boosts aesthetics but also supports sustainable practices in campus development.

Radiance is specifically crafted to aid lighting designers and architects in predicting the light levels and visual attributes of a space prior to its construction. This comprehensive software suite includes tools for the modeling and conversion of scene geometry, luminaire details, and material characteristics, which are all critical to the simulation process. By employing advanced ray tracing methods, the lighting simulation computes radiance values that illustrate the amount of light traveling through a particular point in a specific direction, usually displaying these results in a high-quality photographic image format. Users have the ability to review, manipulate, and analyze the generated images directly within the software, in addition to exporting them into various popular image file formats for printed outputs. A key feature of the Radiance package is its lighting simulation engine, which plays a crucial role in not only measuring light levels but also creating intricate images, thereby improving visualization and evaluation of lighting designs. This functionality is especially beneficial as it provides valuable insights that can guide design modifications prior to the commencement of construction, ultimately enhancing the overall design process. Such foresight enables designers to make informed decisions, ensuring that the final outcome aligns with their creative vision.

DIALux is recognized as the leading software for lighting design, serving as a crucial marketing resource for luminaire manufacturers. This powerful tool is offered at no charge and is accessible in 25 different languages. With a user base exceeding 750,000 professionals worldwide, including engineers, electricians, and lighting designers, DIALux empowers users to meticulously plan, calculate, and visualize lighting solutions for various environments, both indoors and outdoors, using actual products from over 190 renowned luminaire brands. Whether the project involves entire buildings, individual rooms, parking areas, or street and emergency lighting, DIALux facilitates the creation of unique atmospheres through the use of real products from its extensive network. By joining as a DIALux member, businesses can markedly boost their brand presence, expand their reach, and draw in high-quality leads while engaging potential clients during the digital planning phase. Members also enjoy exclusive advantages that enhance their experience with the software. Take the opportunity now to transform your lighting projects and elevate your design skills to new heights. By leveraging DIALux, you can ensure that your lighting designs are not only functional but also aesthetically pleasing and tailored to your specific vision.

Integrate vibrant lighting, multimedia elements, and dynamic movements into your visual showcases for an engaging experience. You'll be thoroughly impressed by the remarkable accuracy of colors and the outstanding capabilities of our rendering engine! With a vast selection of lighting gear, trusses, LED screens, and projectors at your fingertips, you can easily bring your ideas to life. Once your design is complete, you can render it into high-resolution images and videos for polished presentations. Furthermore, Capture allows you to craft distinctive, interactive presentations that fully engage with your design elements. Our rendering engine is powered by DirectX and Metalnative technologies and includes a robust ACEScg color pipeline, ensuring that the rendering process delivers the highest possible color accuracy. Elevate your experience with your lighting console, featuring functionalities like DMX talkback for fixture focusing, fixture selection for programming, and patch exchanges for streamlined setups. This all-encompassing strategy guarantees that your visualizations are not only visually striking but also integrate smoothly into practical applications, enhancing both aesthetics and functionality. Ultimately, this blend of technology and artistry sets the stage for exceptional visual storytelling.

This application is tailored for planning street lighting and illumination in public areas, providing a mobile solution for designers and lighting experts alike. It supports lighting equipment buyers in choosing suitable fixtures by enabling users to enter the specifications for the areas or roadways they wish to illuminate. Users can select various fixtures and installation techniques that meet their specific requirements. Once the calculations are finalized, the application generates a detailed 3D visualization of the area, illustrating the light distribution clearly. Moreover, users can save the results of their lighting calculations and scene settings in a detailed report for future reference. The inclusion of example projects developed by skilled lighting professionals allows users to not only examine the software's features but also to craft their unique lighting designs inspired by these models. This combination of practical functionality and creative inspiration significantly enhances the value of the tool for both beginners and experienced lighting designers, making it an essential resource in the field. Ultimately, the application not only simplifies the design process but also fosters creativity in lighting design.