Modsy and Spacejoy are technology-forward interior design services that create realistic 3D visualizations of your room, allowing you to see your new layout and furniture before you buy. In contrast, Havenly focuses more on the collaborative, one-on-one relationship with an interior designer to develop a style concept, prioritizing personal guidance over high-tech renderings.
Let's compare these popular online interior design services to help you find the best one for bringing your vision to life.
Modsy: The Realistic 3D Rendering Pro
Modsy is known for its powerful 3D rendering technology that transforms photos of your room into a realistic, shoppable digital model. This "try before you buy" approach is their core strength, giving customers confidence by letting them see precisely how new furniture and layouts will look in their actual space. It’s a great fit for busy people who want professional design guidance backed by powerful visualization tools.
- Service mix: Online interior design packages that include 3D renderings, personalized layout options, and a curated shopping list. They bridge the gap between DIY and hiring a traditional interior designer.
- Style/vibe: Adept at modern, contemporary, and transitional aesthetics. Their partnered brand selection favors clean lines and functional pieces, making them a strong match for customers updating their homes with a fresh, current look.
- Price point: Mid-range. A design package for a single room starts at around $159, with premium options available for more complex projects or increased interaction with a designer.
- Visualizations: The star of the show. Modsy provides high-realism, 360-degree 3D models of your room, which is a major differentiator that helps prevent costly purchasing mistakes.
- Partner Brands: Includes a wide roster of popular home furnishing brands like West Elm, Crate & Barrel, and Article.
- Design Process: You submit photos and measurements of your room, take a style quiz, and get matched with a designer who creates your initial designs. Revisions and communication are handled through their online platform.
Modsy is an excellent service for anyone who is a visual person and wants to eliminate the guesswork of how furniture will scale and feel in their room.
Explore Modsy: modsy.com
Havenly: The Affordable Collaborative Choice
Havenly has made a name for itself by making online interior design highly accessible, affordable, and collaborative. Instead of focusing on tech-heavy renderings, Havenly emphasizes the personal connection between you and your designer. It's a platform built for communication and exploration, ideal for those who want creative partnership and guidance without a premium price tag.
- Service mix: Tiered design packages from a quick "Mini" refresh to a "Full" room makeover. The process is centered on designer chat, concept boards, and personalized feedback.
- Style/vibe: Very versatile, covering modern, cozy, bohemian, eclectic, and classic styles. Because it's designer-driven, the final style is heavily tailored to your individual quiz results and feedback.
- Price point: Affordable and accessible. The Havenly Mini package for accessory updates and design advice starts at just $79, while the Full package for a complete room design is typically $149-$299.
- Visualizations: Relies more on 2D mood boards and concept mockups than photorealistic 3D models. The focus is on curating products and defining a general aesthetic theme for the room.
- Partner Brands: Features a curated list of well-known retailers, including CB2, Pottery Barn, West Elm, and Serena & Lily.
- Design Process: Begins with a style quiz and a consultation request. You're matched with a designer who presents initial ideas, you provide feedback, they create a final concept, and then you get a curated shopping list to execute the vision.
Havenly's strength lies in its affordability and its human-centric approach, making it perfect for first-time service users or anyone wanting light-touch design guidance.
Explore Havenly: havenly.com
Spacejoy: The Modern & Trendy Budget Option
Spacejoy offers a compelling middle ground, combining the high-quality 3D visualizations of Modsy with the affordability of Havenly. As a newer service, it focuses on delivering a modern, trendy aesthetic with a fast and intuitive process. Spacejoy aims to make immersive, realistic 3D design accessible to everyone, especially younger shoppers and those on a tighter budget.
- Service mix: Digital interior design packages that offer realistic 3D renderings paired with designer advice and a shoppable product list.
- Style/vibe: Leans contemporary, modern, and mid-century modern. Their designs feel current and often appeal to those furnishing apartments or first homes with a stylish, functional, and on-trend look.
- Price point: Very budget-friendly. Packages start as low as $69, making it one of the most cost-effective options for getting a realistic 3D room design.
- Visualizations: High-quality 3D renderings are a core feature. Their technology provides an immersive visual experience that is impressive for the price point, helping you clearly see your new space.
- Partner Brands: Includes popular and trend-focused brands like Article, Joybird, and Wayfair.
- Design Process: The user experience is designed to be quick and simple. You upload room photos, define your requirements, and a designer quickly builds an interactive 3D model with product recommendations for you to review.
Spacejoy is the ideal pick for anyone who wants modern style and the clarity of 3D modeling without paying a mid-range price.
Explore Spacejoy: spacejoy.com
Modsy vs. Havenly vs. Spacejoy Comparison
Price & Value
Spacejoy is the most budget-friendly of the three, with initial design packages starting around $69. This makes it an incredibly low-risk entry point into online interior design. Havenly follows with its accessible Mini package at $79 and full-room designs around $149-$299, offering great value for one-on-one designer collaboration.
Modsy is positioned as the mid-range service, with packages starting closer to $159. The higher price is justified by its advanced and highly realistic 3D rendering engine, which provides a premium level of visualization that the others work to match. For those who prioritize seeing *exactly* how the room will look, Modsy offers significant value.
Visualizations & Technology
This is the biggest point of comparison. Modsy and Spacejoy are technology leaders, both offering interactive, photorealistic 3D models of your actual room. These visualizations allow you to swap furniture, move items, and view the space from any angle, providing an unmatched sense of clarity and scale. Modsy’s technology is often considered the most polished and mature in this field.
Havenly intentionally opts for a different approach. Its service is built around 2D style boards and conceptual mockups, focusing less on precise visualization and more on capturing the overall mood, color palette, and product mix. This is a better fit for users who don't need a high-tech model and prefer a more traditional, design-board style of collaboration.
Design Process & Collaboration
Havenly's entire process is built on collaboration. It’s highly interactive, with constant communication and feedback between you and your designer. If you enjoy brainstorming and want a human partner to guide your decisions, Havenly’s model is an excellent choice. The platform’s messaging tools make this process seamless.
Modsy and Spacejoy also involve professional designers, but the technology does a lot of the heavy lifting. The interaction is often more focused on refining the products and layout within the pre-built 3D model. The process can feel more transactional and solution-oriented, which is ideal if you want clear, direct visuals rather than a lengthy exploratory conversation.
Style & Aesthetic
While all three platforms can accommodate various styles, they each have their strengths. Havenly is arguably the most versatile due to its designer-led process. You can achieve a broader range of aesthetics, from modern farmhouse to eclectic grandmillennial, depending on the designer you work with.
Modsy and Spacejoy both have a portfolio that leans more modern, contemporary, and mid-century. Their partner brand selection reflects this, featuring furniture with clean lines and current silhouettes. Spacejoy, in particular, excels at capturing on-trend looks that appeal to younger, style-conscious consumers.
Shopping Experience
All three services provide a streamlined, direct-to-consumer shopping experience. Designers link directly to the products in their proposals, and you can add items to a cart and check out in one place. They handle the logistics of purchasing from multiple retailers, simplifying what could otherwise be a complicated process. They also often provide access to designer discounts which can help offset the cost of the design package itself.
Which One Should You Choose?
Each service truly excels depending on what you value most in the design process.
Choose Modsy if:
- You are a highly visual person and need to see exactly how furniture will look in your space.
- You are eliminating guesswork and want to avoid making expensive purchase mistakes.
- You're furnishing from scratch and need a comprehensive plan for layout and scale.
- You prefer contemporary or transitional styles from brands like Crate & Barrel and West Elm.
Choose Havenly if:
- You value a close, collaborative relationship with a personal interior designer.
- You want creative brainstorming and style guidance more than a tech-driven rendering.
- Your budget is smaller, or you just need help with finishing touches and decor.
- Your style is unique, and you want a designer who can translate a specific vision into a shoppable plan.
Choose Spacejoy if:
- You want the best of both worlds: realistic 3D visualizations at a highly affordable price.
- You have a modern, trendy aesthetic and want a design that feels fresh and current.
- You are looking for a fast, straightforward process with a quick turnaround.
- You are on a tight budget but still want the clarity that a 3D model provides.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the cheapest online interior design service: Modsy, Havenly, or Spacejoy?
Spacejoy generally offers the lowest entry-level pricing, with packages starting around $69. Havenly is also very affordable, with its "Mini" consultation package starting at $79. Modsy's packages start at a higher price point, typically around $159, positioning it as a mid-range service.
Which service has the most realistic 3D renderings?
Modsy is widely recognized for having one of the most advanced and photorealistic 3D rendering technologies in the industry. Spacejoy offers high-quality 3D visualizations as well that are very good for its entry-level price. Havenly does not focus on realistic 3D renderings, opting instead for 2D style boards.
Is my personal furniture used in the designs?
Yes, all three services allow you to incorporate your existing furniture into the design. For Modsy and Spacejoy, they will often create 3D models of your current pieces to place alongside new recommendations so you can see how everything works together.
How long does the design process take?
Turnaround times vary. Spacejoy is often praised for its speed, with initial designs sometimes delivered in a few days. The process at Modsy and Havenly can take one to three weeks, depending on the scope of the project and the back-and-forth revision cycles with your designer.
Do I have to buy the furniture recommended?
No, there is no obligation to purchase anything. All three services provide you with a shoppable list as a primary deliverable, but you are free to buy the items at your own pace, find similar pieces elsewhere, or simply use the layout and style ideas as inspiration.
Which service is best for just getting design ideas?
Havenly's Mini package is excellent for this. It's an affordable way to get a professional designer's input, mood board, and suggestions for a quick room refresh without committing to a full redesign.
Can they help with unusual room shapes or an open floor plan?
Yes, this is an area where services with strong visualizations like Modsy and Spacejoy excel. Their 3D tools are perfect for mapping out complex spaces, defining zones in an open concept layout, and solving tricky furniture placement problems before you commit to buying anything.
What if I don't like the design concepts?
All three platforms have revision processes built in. You can provide feedback to your designer and request changes to the layout, product selections, or overall style until you're happy with the final concept.
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