Gendo

Gendo is a web-based AI workspace for architectural imagery, aimed especially at design-led studios that want to iterate together without a specialist visualization pipeline. Its combination of image tools and shared canvas makes it a strong fit for concept development, but it is not a connected CAD/BIM workflow.

Overview

Teams can bring text prompts, hand sketches, CAD screenshots, exported model views, renders, photographs, and reference images into a shared canvas, then generate and refine architectural visuals together. That range of starting points suits early visual exploration and team reviews. The practical limitation is that scenes or views must be exported into Gendo: CAD/BIM import is not supported, and direct Revit, SketchUp, and Blender plugins are only on the roadmap.

The canvas supports simultaneous generations, comments, notes, and shared images, while its natural-language assistant can access workspace tools. Together, these features make Gendo more compelling as a place to align on visual directions than as a replacement for the modeling software teams already use.

Gendo says it stores data in EU data centres and offers configurable retention and isolation policies. Stored data is encrypted with AES-256 and data in transit with TLS. Studio and Enterprise prompts and outputs are contractually protected from AI training and marketing use; Free-plan prompts and outputs are not confidential. Teams working with sensitive designs should account for that difference before choosing a plan.

Key features

• Architectural image tools: Render sketches, edit materials, populate scenes, transfer styles, enhance images, and upscale renders to 4× resolution. The breadth supports multiple kinds of visual iteration in one workspace, though users still need to export model views into it.
• Shared canvas and assistant: Concurrent generations, comments, notes, shared images, and team iteration keep review activity together. The assistant can use canvas tools through natural-language requests, giving users another way to work with the canvas.
• Material Bank: The Free plan includes material specification with Material Bank, adding a practical reference tool even before a team subscribes.
• Fair use: Unlimited generations are subject to Fair Usage guidelines, and abnormal usage may be temporarily restricted. “Unlimited” therefore does not mean unrestricted capacity.

Pricing

Gendo has a free entry tier, a student plan, paid studio subscriptions, and video packs. Prices below are in GBP and exclude tax where stated.

• Free — free: Includes one active canvas, up to 50 assets, unlimited generations, one collaborator, and history limited to 10 Image Sets. Outputs are watermarked. It is a useful solo evaluation option, but the single-collaborator cap and non-confidential prompts and outputs make it a poor fit for shared commercial work.
• Students Educational Plan — free: Offers multiple canvases, no watermarks, full AI tooling, and 15 free video seconds, but prohibits commercial use. It is the more capable free choice for eligible educational work, not client projects.
• Studio — £66 a year: Billed at £66/mo billed annually (£790/year; excl. tax). It includes unlimited projects, assets, and image generations; five seats, including four free seats; 15 one-off video seconds; no watermark; a commercial license; and 2× and 4× upscaling. It removes Free’s collaboration and watermark constraints and adds commercial rights, making it the clearest fit for a small professional team. Its prompts and outputs also receive contractual protection from AI training and marketing use.
• Studio Scale — £299 a month: Billed monthly, excluding tax, with five seats, unlimited video generation, organisation-level analytics, VIP onboarding, and priority support. It is aimed at teams that need video generation and organizational oversight; it is marked Beta.
• Enterprise — custom pricing: Requires a minimum of 20 seats and offers evaluation periods, SSO and user provisioning, a dedicated account and SLA, custom models, plus governance controls including audit logs, custom data processing agreements, and configurable isolation and retention. It suits larger organizations with administration and contractual requirements, but is a substantial step up from the small-team plans.

Video packs are one-time purchases but require an active subscription: 100 seconds costs £40, paid once (£0.40/sec), 250 seconds costs £75, paid once (£0.30/sec), and 500 seconds costs £125, paid once. These are add-ons rather than a substitute for an active plan. Studio includes 15 one-off video seconds; Studio Scale includes unlimited video generation.

Platforms

Gendo runs on the web, so teams can work in a browser-based canvas. It accepts exports from SketchUp, Revit, Rhino, ArchiCAD, Vectorworks, Blender, and 3ds Max, but those inputs do not constitute direct CAD/BIM import or live integration.

Who it's for

Gendo is best suited to architects and designers in small, design-led teams who need to develop visual options and discuss them in a shared workspace. Studio is the more appropriate tier for commercial team work because it includes commercial rights, more seats, unwatermarked output, and confidentiality protections. Solo users can start on Free, while students can use the educational plan for non-commercial projects. Teams dependent on direct model connections, or organizations needing at least 20 managed seats, should weigh its export workflow and plan structure carefully.

Pros and cons

• Pro — Broad architectural image workflow: Sketch rendering, material edits, scene population, style transfer, enhancement, and upscaling cover several visual tasks in one canvas.
• Pro — Team review is built in: Simultaneous generations, comments, notes, and shared images support collaborative iteration rather than isolated image creation.
• Pro — A useful free starting point: Free includes unlimited generations and Material Bank, though one canvas, one collaborator, 50 assets, watermarks, and limited history constrain its use.
• Con — Export-based workflow: There is no CAD/BIM import or current direct plugin connection, so model views must be exported before work in Gendo.
• Con — Free is not confidential: Free prompts and outputs are not treated as confidential, unlike Studio and Enterprise work covered by contractual protections.
• Con — Video has plan dependencies: Purchased video packs require an active subscription, and unlimited generations across plans remain subject to fair-use restrictions.

Alternatives

For a broader shortlist, browse AI Sketch-to-Image Generators or AI Architectural Rendering Software.

• Vizcom is another freemium option, with free Starter access and apps for macOS, web, and Windows; consider it if desktop platform choice matters.
• Fermat offers a free one-credit Starter plan and a monthly Pro plan at 30.00 USD; consider it if a credit-based paid option better suits your usage.
• FLORA Fashion Studio is a freemium alternative with fashion-oriented positioning; consider it for fashion work rather than architectural visualization.
• LookX AI is a web-based freemium option with a free 100-image Basic plan; consider it if a defined free image allowance is preferable to Gendo’s canvas and collaboration focus.
• Raspberry AI Prints & Patterns offers a free 50-credit plan and a paid Individual tier; consider it for prints-and-patterns work.
• Spacely AI is a freemium web and extension option whose free plan includes 40 trial credits; consider it if that credit-based starting point suits your needs.
• Tool67 Sketch to Image has a free plan with 15 subscription credits each month; consider it for a sketch-to-image alternative.
• Fashion Diffusion is a fashion-focused alternative with mobile, desktop, web, and API platforms; consider it for fashion workflows or broader platform coverage.

Verdict

Choose Gendo if your small architecture or design team wants a shared space to turn sketches, exports, and references into iterated visuals, and is comfortable moving images into the canvas by export. Studio is the strongest fit for commercial collaboration, with five seats, unwatermarked output, and contractual confidentiality protections. Look elsewhere if direct CAD/BIM integration is essential, or if Free’s confidentiality terms are unsuitable for the work.