Top Revit Plug-ins and Add-ons

Best Revit Plug-ins and Add-ons

Enhance Your Revit Experience with the Best Plug-ins and Add-ons

While Revit offers a range of powerful features, it may not fulfill all your specific requirements. Every architect or designer has unique needs and preferences when it comes to using Revit for their projects. Fortunately, the Revit community has recognized these limitations and has taken it upon themselves to develop an extensive collection of third-party plug-ins and add-ons.

These plug-ins and add-ons serve various purposes, such as enhancing functionality for example when creating house renderings, improving productivity, and introducing new features that are not included in the standard Revit software. By integrating these additional tools into your Revit workflow, you can overcome any shortcomings and customize your experience to suit your specific needs.

If you haven't already, we highly recommend taking the time to explore our Revit Tutorial Website list and familiarize yourself with our comprehensive Architect's Guide to Revit. These resources will provide you with invaluable insights, tips, and tutorials to optimize your Revit skills and workflow.

Without further ado, we present below a carefully curated selection of the most popular plug-ins and add-ons available on the World Wide Web. These tools have gained recognition and popularity among Revit users worldwide for their ability to augment and enhance the Revit experience:

1. Vray for Revit - Free Trial

Revit is one of the most powerful BIM products on the market; however, until recently, its ability to create beautiful renders was somewhat limited. With the support of Chaos Group, architects can now transform their functional architectural models into visually stunning representations.

Vray for Revit offers a comprehensive set of features, including physically-based lighting, real-world cameras, physically-based materials, and environmental effects. It also seamlessly integrates with Revit's workflow and even supports Revit section compatibility.

We had the opportunity to test this plugin during one of our rendering projects in Miami and were impressed with its capabilities.

2. pyRevit

For those who incorporate programming languages into their BIM process, pyRevit is a highly regarded plug-in within the community. pyRevit enables rapid application prototyping (RAD) in Revit, allowing users to design automation and add-on features within the Revit environment using their preferred programming language, such as Python (IronPython or CPython), C#, or VB.net. This flexibility empowers users to quickly sketch out ideas and streamline their workflows. Additionally, pyRevit facilitates the distribution of custom tools across different BIM teams through a unified interface, enhancing workflow uniformity and efficiency. Moreover, for those interested in sharing their custom tools with the community, pyRevit allows for easy collaboration and knowledge exchange.

Operating system: Windows

3. Enscape

Enscape is a plug-in that offers real-time rendering capabilities. It allows users to import models as 2D or 3D and quickly generate immersive 360-degree panoramas. With Enscape, you can easily navigate through your model, making it ideal for creating virtual reality (VR) experiences and showcasing designs for marketing or demonstration purposes. Notably, Enscape enables direct export of models to popular VR headsets like HTC Vive and Oculus Rift.

While Enscape's price may be a consideration—ranging from $47/month to $469/year depending on your needs—the software offers a 14-day free trial, allowing you to evaluate its features before making a commitment. Additionally, an educational license is available for students, lecturers, and universities, offering free non-commercial use.

Operating system: Windows

4. RushForth Tools

RushForth Tools is a popular resource for Revit users, providing a range of features and functionalities. The toolset includes Project Setup, Model Manager/Parameter Transformer, Parameter Schedulers, Parameter Linkers, Excel importation, and 3D view creation, among others. RushForth Tools can be obtained as a single-user license for $99.9 or as an enterprise site license for $4000. For those who prefer to test the tools before making a purchase, a 30-day trial version is available.

Operating system: Windows

5. Ideate BIM Link

While Revit's spreadsheet functionality is appreciated, Excel offers more extensive features that can significantly enhance work efficiency. Ideate BIM Link simplifies scheduling and data processing by enabling the export of Revit schedules to Microsoft Excel. Although Ideate BIMLink may not be the most affordable Excel exporter plugin, it is highly regarded in the industry for its ability to handle large volumes of BIM-related information. To help users make an informed decision, a 14-day free trial version is available, allowing you to explore the software's capabilities. After the trial period, users can still use the software in demo mode, but imports are not supported.

Operating system: Windows

6. Dynamo BIM

Dynamo BIM is an open-source tool that empowers users to perform BIM tasks using a graphical algorithm editor. It is commonly used for modeling automation and pricing, enabling designers to explore multiple design options efficiently. Traditionally, each option would have to be manually modeled, but with automated modeling through Dynamo, significant time and effort savings can be achieved. Being an open-source tool, Dynamo is available for free and benefits from a thriving community that actively shares tips and tricks to maximize its potential.

Operating system: Windows

7. Revit Lookup

Revit Lookup is a free and open-source add-in that provides an interactive tool for reviewing and viewing the raw database within Revit. This tool allows users to access data that is typically not visible to end users, making it invaluable for in-depth analysis. Revit Lookup can help identify read-only parameters, parameter types, and their values whenever they are available. Many users consider it an essential add-in when working with other write add-ins such as pyRevit and Dynamo.

Revit Lookup does not have an executable installer. Its source code is hosted on GitHub, and users need to compile it using Visual Studio to install the add-in. For those unfamiliar with the compilation process, pre-compiled builds can be downloaded from a dedicated website. To install the add-in, simply copy the add-in and DLL files to the Revit add-in folder and follow the provided instructions.

Operating system: Windows

8. Archsmarter

Archsmarter offers a range of add-ins and services for Revit users, aiming to help architects and designers work smarter, not harder. Their offerings include the Toolbox, a free library of time-saving Revit macros and Excel templates, the Power-Pack for Revit, an all-in-one productivity add-in containing the seven most popular Revit macros from the Archsmarter Toolbox (priced based on user preference), and Custom Tools, a paid service where Archsmarter designs custom Revit tools for clients.

Operating system: Windows

9. RTVTools

RTVTools offers productivity-enhancing Revit and BIM add-ins designed to simplify your workload. Their tools include RTV Xporter, Drawing Manager, Reporter, Shared Parameter Manager, and Paint. Users can choose and install specific add-ins according to their needs, ensuring they only pay for the software they require, avoiding unnecessary costs.

RTVTools add-ins are available through subscription renewals. Users can choose between enterprise, site, or single licenses for certain RTV Tools, while others may only offer single or network licenses. This flexibility caters to a wide range of users, including hobbyists, freelancers, and large enterprises.

Operating system: Windows

10. Coins Auto-Section Box

Coins Auto-Section Box is one of the most popular plug-ins for managing views during model analysis. While Revit provides its own in-house Section Box feature, many users prefer Coins Auto-Section Box for its extensive features. The best part is that Coins Auto-Section Box is available for free, making it an excellent choice for any user!

Operating system: Windows (requires a custom installer as it does not use the standard Autodesk App Store installer)