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DomeSketch compared with other dome tools

The method is the run. We put the same dome — 20 ft · 3V · 5/8 sphere — through every tool below by hand on the date shown, wrote down what it returned next to what DomeSketch returns, and kept the screenshot. Anyone can repeat it. What each tool does better is written before what we do.

One entry below is our own product. It is labelled, it is last, and it lists what it doesn't do.

The reference: DomeSketch's numbers for 20 ft · 3V · 5/8 sphere

A 3.486 ft × 30 · B 4.035 ft × 55 · C 4.124 ft × 80 — 165 struts, 61 hubs, 105 panels, 656 ft of strut, height 11.77 ft. Computed from the geometry when this page is built; the same numbers are on the reference table.

ToolKindPricingSame dome, result
Domerama 3V calculator
Strut calculatorFree to use in the browser; no account.Matches DomeSketch to the thousandth of a foot
A 3.486 × 30, B 4.036 × 55, C 4.124 × 80 — 165 struts, 656 ft of pipe
Desert Domes calculator
Strut calculatorFree; the site asks for donations and carries advertising.Matches DomeSketch to the thousandth of a foot
A 3.486, B 4.035, C 4.124; 5/8 counts 30 / 55 / 80; connectors 15 four-way, 6 five-way, 40 six-way
Geo-Dome 3V tool
Strut calculatorFree tool; the site sells dome plans, kits and a book.Matches DomeSketch, shown to fewer decimals
A 3.49 × 30, B 4.04 × 40, C 4.12 × 50 (3/8 cut); hubs 6 five-way, 25 six-way, 15 four-way; floor area 309, surface 628.3
Acidome
3D constructorFree in the browser, donations invited; an offline version is offered.Counts match; lengths reported differently
Edges 3 kinds (165): A 80, B 55, C 30; faces 2 kinds (105); vertices 3 kinds (61); max triangle side 1230–1257 mm; height from base 3.62 m
Sonostar Hub calculators
Kit calculatorCalculators and configurator are free; the company sells hub kits.A different geometry variant — not like for like
A 35.56 in × 30, B 41.87 in × 35, C 46.58 in × 80, D 48.93 in × 20 (4 in already deducted per strut); hubs 15 / 6 / 40; height 11.88 ft; floor 294.3 sq ft
Simply Differently — Geodesic Dome Notes
Notes with calculatorsFree; donations invited.Matches DomeSketch to the thousandth of a foot
A 3.4862 × 30, B 4.0355 × 55, C 4.1241 × 80; h 11.8759; chord factors 0.34862 / 0.40355 / 0.41241; 83 laths to cut
DomeSketch
our own entry
Design studioFree; no account. The "Get the full plan" button is not for sale yet.
A 3.486 × 30, B 4.035 × 55, C 4.124 × 80 — 165 struts, 656 ft; 61 hubs (15 four-way base, 6 five-way, 40 six-way); 105 panels; height 11.77 ft; base flatness ±1.9 in

Head to head

DomeSketch vs Domerama 3V calculator

A long-running set of per-frequency calculators (1V–6V) that take any one measure — radius, diameter, height, floor area, a strut length — and fill in the rest, with material weights, cover area, seating and rough costs.

Where it leads: Enter any value — a strut length you already have, a floor area, a height — and every other value is solved; DomeSketch only takes a diameter.

Also listed in the builders directory (unpaid, unranked). That listing and this page are separate: the directory never mentions this ranking, and this page judges the tool alone.

DomeSketch vs Desert Domes calculator

An Oakland, California calculator dated 2002 and still up: pick a frequency (1V–6V), enter a radius, and read strut lengths with counts for the 3/8, 5/8 and full-sphere cuts and the connector counts, plus a reverse calculator from a strut length.

Where it leads: One screen shows the 3/8, 5/8 and full-sphere counts side by side; DomeSketch shows one cut at a time.

Also listed in the builders directory (unpaid, unranked). That listing and this page are separate: the directory never mentions this ranking, and this page judges the tool alone.

DomeSketch vs Geo-Dome 3V tool

A UK dome builder's site: enter a radius and get strut lengths, areas, hub counts, panel counts and a colour-coded plan with the mitre angles to cut each beam, for a 2V and a 3V (3/8) dome.

Where it leads: Cut angles for timber beams, rounded to the half degree, on the same page as the lengths — DomeSketch does not give bevel or dihedral angles yet.

Also listed in the builders directory (unpaid, unranked). That listing and this page are separate: the directory never mentions this ranking, and this page judges the tool alone.

DomeSketch vs Acidome

A browser 3D constructor (acidome.com, acidome.ru) with icosahedral and octahedral bases, frequencies to 18, Class I and III subdivisions, four subdivision methods, several connection types, timber cut lengths and angles, cover and tent patterns, and an .obj export.

Where it leads: Far more geometry than DomeSketch: octahedral domes, Class III, Kruschke and Mexican subdivisions, fullerene trims, frequencies to 18.

DomeSketch vs Sonostar Hub calculators

Four calculators (standard and mega hubs, dome and sphere) that give pipe cut lengths for Sonostar's PVC hub connectors — the hub width already deducted — for 2V to 6V, plus a 3D dome-cover configurator that leads to their checkout.

Where it leads: Cut lengths for their hubs are ready to saw: the hub width is already taken off, which no general calculator does.

Also listed in the builders directory (unpaid, unranked). That listing and this page are separate: the directory never mentions this ranking, and this page judges the tool alone.

DomeSketch vs Simply Differently — Geodesic Dome Notes

Rene K. Mueller's 2005–2019 notes: every icosahedral, octahedral and cubic variant with chord factors to five places, bending angles, face angles, construction maps, and an inline calculator per variant that also optimises lath cuts.

Where it leads: Bending angle per strut and the three angles of every face, which DomeSketch does not show.

DomeSketch — our own entry, last

This site: a Class I icosahedral geodesic calculator with a live 3D model, a door, windows and a riser cut into the frame, a pad and rainwater plan, a rough materials estimate, five build methods, a settlement planner, and an open design format that fits in a link.

What it does not do

Not ranked: what we haven't run

We name a tool only after running it. These are categories, with what to look for and how to check one yourself.

CAD plugins and scripts (SketchUp, Rhino/Grasshopper, Fusion 360, Blender)
  • Whether it makes a true Class I geodesic (chord factors you can check against the reference tables) or just a subdivided sphere.
  • Whether struts are solids with real cross-sections and end cuts, or only lines.
  • Whether the base ring is trimmed to a cut you can build on.

Check it: Build a 3V 5/8 dome of radius 1 and read the three edge lengths: they should be 0.34862, 0.40355 and 0.41241. If they are not, the plugin is not making a Class I icosahedral dome.

Kit makers' own configurators
  • Whether the numbers are for their connector only (usually yes, and that is the point).
  • Whether the configurator ends in a quote or a checkout — it is a sales tool, which is fine if you are buying from them.
  • Whether you can get the strut list out without ordering.

Check it: Ask for the strut count and hub count for a 3V 5/8 dome: 165 and 61. A different total means a different geometry, not a mistake.

Mobile dome calculator apps
  • Which frequencies and cuts they cover.
  • Whether the chord factors match the reference tables.
  • What they charge and whether the numbers are behind the payment.

Check it: Same test as the plugins: radius 1, 3V 5/8, compare the three lengths to the reference tables.

Runs made 2026-09-20 · prices verified 2026-09-20 · candidates reviewed 2026-09-20 · a person did every check; nothing here was scraped. Entries older than 90 days say so rather than disappearing.

Every page here says when it was last checked; a stale entry keeps its date rather than being quietly changed. A corrections address will go here once there is one.

Also: dome design tools we'd pick, by job, 2026.