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Buy Cheap Chief Architect Premier X12-X17 - $45-$75
Choose from five Chief Architect Premier releases below. Each price is a one-time purchase for the selected desktop version, with ProSoftStore activation rather than an ongoing manufacturer subscription renewal. A different major release is a separate purchase.
| Version | Price |
|---|---|
| Chief Architect Premier X17 Build 27.3.2.5 | |
| Chief Architect Premier X16 Build 26.3.0.10 | |
| Chief Architect Premier X15 Build 25.1.0.45 | |
| Chief Architect Premier X13 Build 23.2.0.55 | |
| Chief Architect Premier X12 Build 22.3.0.55 |
What Is Chief Architect Premier Used For?
Chief Architect Premier uses smart wall, roof, opening and cabinet objects to build a residential model as you draft a floor plan. Wall heights and roof rules determine the 3D building geometry; cabinet dimensions and object components appear in elevations and schedules. Saved views can then be placed on linked layout sheets for construction documentation.
- Room and cabinet objects: define room dimensions and cabinet components that can be shown in plan, elevation and perspective.
- Framing and roofs: configure building assemblies, then inspect generated framing in drawings.
- Materials and schedules: attach object components to quantities and schedules rather than counting unconnected 2D symbols by hand.
These are architectural planning tools, not substitutes for structural certification or engineered MEP design.
Chief Architect Premier for Remodels and Construction Documents
The main choice is how much of the design must remain editable. A remodel often begins with measured existing walls, an as-built layer and alternative cabinet layouts; new construction emphasizes foundation, framing, roofs and linked drawing sheets. Chief Architect's .plan stores the building model, while .layout holds the composed drawing sheets. Keeping those files and their referenced assets together helps avoid broken drawing links when a job is moved between computers.
Architectural drawings can be imported or exchanged through CAD formats, but a DWG is not a substitute for Chief Architect's native editable wall, cabinet and roof objects. For a distinction between this object-driven residential workflow and general DWG drafting, see our AutoCAD vs Chief Architect comparison.
| Industry/Domain | Typical Applications |
|---|---|
| Kitchen & Bath Remodeling | Cabinet, vanity and appliance layouts; compare countertop materials in 3D and produce wall elevations and cabinet schedules for a remodel. |
| Residential New Construction | Translate walls, roofs and floor platforms into floor plans, elevations, section views and framing drawings for residential construction documents. |
| Interior Design | Test furniture clearance and room flow in 2D, then present changes to finishes, cabinets and lighting in perspective views. |
| Remodeling and Additions | Record existing rooms, set up demolition or as-built layers, and compare the proposed addition using reference displays and quantities. |
| Professional Remodeling Firms | Coordinate plan, elevation, schedule and layout sheets; use linked plan views to revise documentation without redrawing every page. |
| Light Commercial Design | Produce floor plans and presentation views for small office or retail interiors; specialist engineering and code review are separate tasks. |
| Landscape and Site Design | Shape terrain, position walkways and driveways, and check how the site and outdoor living spaces relate to the house design. |
Chief Architect Premier X17, X16, X15, X13 and X12: Release Differences
The table identifies capabilities introduced with each offered release. An addition first documented in X17 should not be assumed to exist in X12, even though both offers are Premier editions.
| Offered release | Meaningful local changes |
|---|---|
| Chief Architect Premier X17 | Project Management, 3D Text, stationary walkthroughs and an Interactive Material Builder. |
| Chief Architect Premier X16 | Action History, 3D Dimensions, expanded deck controls, HDR backdrops and area lights. |
| Chief Architect Premier X15 | Live Materials List, Automatic Trusses and denoising for physically based rendering. |
| Chief Architect Premier X13 | GPU real-time ray tracing on Windows and expanded 3D solid editing. |
| Chief Architect Premier X12 | Expanded Saved Plan View controls, multiple Layout files open at once, and linked saved plan views in layout workflows. |
Can Chief Architect Premier X17 Open an X12 Project?
In general, a newer Chief Architect version can open a plan or layout saved by an earlier version. The reverse is not true: after a file is saved with X17, X16 or another newer release, an older version cannot normally reopen that updated file. An incompatibility can also occur between builds of the same major release, so patch levels matter when exchanging live project files.
Before choosing an older release to collaborate with another designer, ask which exact Chief Architect version and build they use. Keep a separate copy of the original .plan and .layout before converting legacy work. Some very old file extensions such as .pl# and .la# require an intermediate conversion workflow rather than direct opening in X17.
Windows Support for Chief Architect Premier X12 Through X17
Operating-system support is separate from graphics capability. X12 uses an older OpenGL-based rendering baseline, while the Windows GPU ray tracing introduced in X13 requires a compatible NVIDIA RTX or AMD Radeon RX-class card. Being able to install on a listed Windows version does not itself provide those GPU features.
| Windows version | Eligible offered releases |
|---|---|
| Windows 11 | Chief Architect Premier X17 Chief Architect Premier X16 Chief Architect Premier X15 Chief Architect Premier X13 |
| Windows 10 | Chief Architect Premier X17 Chief Architect Premier X16 Chief Architect Premier X15 Chief Architect Premier X13 Chief Architect Premier X12 |
| Windows 8 | Chief Architect Premier X12 |
| Windows 7 | Chief Architect Premier X12 |
How Much Does Chief Architect Premier Cost?
The prices in the order table apply to the exact builds shown there, from X12 through X17. X17 is the newest version available on this page; neither X14 nor X18 appears in this set of offers. These are Premier editions, not a reduced Home Designer or student edition.
Updates and service packs within a purchased release year follow our FAQ; a different major release has its own order row.
Chief Architect Premier Software Download After Purchase
After ordering, use the download and installation instructions supplied with the selected version. This is the desktop Chief Architect Premier program, not a purchase of the manufacturer's subscription services, separately distributed content catalogs or cloud accounts. Keep the order details and installer information alongside your project backups.
Need help selecting a release for an existing .plan or .layout project? Send the source version and your Windows edition through contact support before ordering.
Select the appropriate release in the version and price table and use its Buy button to order Chief Architect Premier.