Pay once. Your van build is a project, not a subscription.
VanCAD is a capable web planner — and it charges $11.99/month or $69.99/year, with saving locked behind the paywall. VanPlot costs $39 once, and the free plan saves your work.
| VanPlot | VanCAD | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $39 once, yours forever | $11.99/mo · $3.99/wk · $69.99/yr |
| Cost over a typical 18-month build | $39 | $105–140 (annual/monthly mix) |
| Free plan | Full editor, 1 project, cloud-saved | Time-limited sessions, no saving |
| Weight planning | Payload, front/rear axle split, centre of mass | Weight totals |
| Power planning | Battery + solar sizing, days of autonomy | Wiring run lengths (no sizing) |
| Design checks | Automatic — clearances, doors, sanity checks | Not included |
| Cut list | Framing exploded to stud-by-stud cuts | Bill of materials |
| Layout templates | Weekender, Family camper, Mobile office | Not included |
| Van models | 159 variants across 27 vehicles | 130+ traced bodies |
| Wiring & plumbing routing | Typed runs, auto lengths into the Build Sheet | Yes, with run lengths |
| Openings (windows, fans) | User-placeable windows | User-placeable |
| Scene states (bed up/down) | Named states, one-click apply | Groups & states |
Prices from vancad.com pricing page, checked August 2026 (£/€/$ localisations exist; USD shown). VanCAD is a trademark of HJT Engineering Ltd.
The honest verdict
VanCAD is a genuinely well-built browser planner with impressive velocity. The disagreement is the business model: a camper conversion takes 6–18 months and then it's done — paying $69.99 every year (or $11.99 every month) for a one-off project is the wrong shape, and the free tier won't even save your layout.
VanPlot charges $39 once — less than a single year of VanCAD — and the free plan saves your work to the cloud. On the planning maths that keeps a build safe and on budget, VanPlot goes further today: real axle-load split and centre of mass rather than a weight total, battery and solar sizing rather than cable lengths, automatic design checks, layout templates, and a cut list that explodes framing into individual stud cuts.
Where VanCAD is ahead
Boolean-cut custom parts: VanCAD lets you subtract shapes when modelling custom furniture; VanPlot's component designer is additive (boolean cuts are on the roadmap). Their van bodies are traced outlines while ours are derived from manufacturer exterior specs — if your exact van matters, check it in both.
If boolean modelling is what you need most, VanCAD is the better pick today — genuinely. If you want the build maths, the bigger catalogue, and to pay once, that's us.
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