Like many computer programs, SketchUp requires certain hardware and software specifications to install and run. However, these are basic requirements, so you may want to use our recommended suggestions to improve performance.

Please note: To authorize your SketchUp subscription, you need internet access. 

Windows 11, Windows 10

• Software requirements

  • An internet connection to install and authorize your subscription. Some features within SketchUp also require an internet connection.
  • SketchUp requires .NET Framework version 4.5.2. 

• Recommended hardware requirements

  • A 2+ GHz processor.
  • A graphics card that is separate from the CPU, also known as a discrete graphics card. Most current generation AMD or NVIDIA cards on the market are considered discrete.
  • Minimum 8 GB RAM.
  • Minimum 2 GB available hard drive space.
  • A modern GPU with at least 1 GB of memory. SketchUp's classic renderer requires OpenGL 3.1 support. SketchUp performance depends on your graphics card driver and its ability to support OpenGL 3.1 or higher.
  • A mouse with 3 buttons and a scroll wheel.

• Minimum hardware requirements

  • A 1 GHz processor.
  • 4GB of RAM.
  • 1.5 GB available hard drive space.
  • A modern GPU with at least 512 MB of memory and support for hardware acceleration. Video card drivers must support OpenGL 3.1 and be up to date. For help updating your drivers, see Update graphics drivers.

Mac OS 14(Sonoma), 13(Ventura), 12(Monterey) and 11(Big Sur).

• Software requirements

• An internet connection to install and authorize your subscription. Some features within SketchUp also require an internet connection.
• QuickTime 5.0 and web browser for multimedia tutorials.
• Safari.

• Recommended hardware requirements

• 2.1+ GHz processor or current generation Apple M1 processor
• 8 GB of RAM
• 2 GB available hard drive space
• A modern GPU with at least 1 GB of memory. SketchUp's classic renderer requires OpenGL 3.1 support.
• A mouse with 3 buttons and a scroll wheel

• Minimum hardware requirements

• 2,1+ GHz Intel™-processor
• 4GB of RAM
• 1.5 GB available hard drive space.
• A modern GPU with at least 512 MB of memory. SketchUp's classic renderer requires OpenGL 3.1 support.

SketchUp's new graphics engine

Sketchup 2024 introduces a powerful new graphics engine that has some additional requirements. If your machine does not meet these requirements, you can switch back to the old engine, but not use some of the new features in SketchUp.

• For MacOS, you must use version 12.3.1 or later. We recommend a minimum of 13 and above for optimal performance.
• The following MacOS GPUs are not supported:
  • Intel HD Graphics 5000
  • Intel HD Graphics 6000
  • Intel Iris graphics card
  • Intel Iris Graphics 6100
  • Intel Iris Pro graphics card
• The following Windows GPUs are not supported:
  • Intel HD Graphics 4x00-serie
• For MacOS, the new renderer requires Metal 2 support. For more information about MacOS versions that meet this requirement, see Apple's Metal support page.
• For Windows, the new renderer requires support for DirectX12, feature level 11.0. For more information, see the Direct X-diagnoseprogramma for more information. 
• To switch to the old graphics engine, go to Preferences > Graphics > Graphics Engine and choose 'classic graphics engine'

Unsupported environments

ARM processors - Although SketchUp 2022+ runs on the new Apple M1 computers running MacOS (Big Sur), SketchUp for Windows has not been tested or developed for ARM-based processors and is not supported.

32-bit operating systems  - SketchUp is now optimized for 64-bit only and is no longer available for Windows or MacOS in a 32-bit capacity.

Windows 7, Windows 8  - We no longer actively test features or bugs in these older versions of Windows. While the software may still work correctly, there may be some issues with features that have not been tested.

Windows Vista and earlier  - These versions of Windows are no longer supported.

Linux  - There is currently no Linux version of SketchUp available.

Parallels/VMWare  - Neither VMWare nor Parallels are supported environments.

Remote Desktop Connections  - Due to hardware limitations in shared environments, we cannot reliably predict how SketchUp will perform. At this time, SketchUp is not supported on any platform via a Remote Desktop Connection (RDC).

External graphics cards (eGPU)  - SketchUp has not been tested and is not supported on systems with eGPUs attached. While it may work for some users, we do not support SketchUp on a system with this configuration.

Virtual Environments  - For subscribers activating versions of SketchUp 2022 and newer, the use of SketchUp in virtual environments is permitted as a product-specific exception to Trimble's General Product Terms. Learn more about using SketchUp in virtual environments.

Other hardware/software

3D Mice - You can use Logitech 3D Motion Controllers from 3Dconnexion to create models in SketchUp. On the 3Dconnexion website, you will find more information about these controllers and with which version of SketchUp they are compatible. For support, please contact 3DConnexion.

High DPI support  - SketchUp is DPI aware and can resize icons and drawing elements so they are appropriately sized for high DPI screens. Icons are resized when SketchUp starts. If you adjust your DPI or scaling (Microsoft Windows – but only up to 150%), you will need to restart SketchUp to see properly sized icons and drawing elements.