Every few months, a client walks into our workshop waving their phone and saying, “I’ve scanned the whole room, here are the measurements.” And every time, I hold my breath. Sometimes those scans are remarkably accurate. Sometimes they’re off by 40mm—which in custom furniture is the difference between a perfect fit and an expensive mistake.

I’ve spent the last few months testing the major room scanning apps to see which ones you can trust for custom furniture planning.

How We Tested

All of these apps use the LiDAR sensor on recent iPhones (12 Pro and later) and iPads (Pro models from 2020 onward). LiDAR bounces infrared light off surfaces and measures return time to calculate distances—the same principle used in surveying equipment, just miniaturised.

I scanned five rooms using each app, then compared against manual measurements taken with a laser distance measurer (accurate to 1.5mm). Key dimensions checked: wall-to-wall distances, floor-to-ceiling height, window openings, alcove depths, and power point positions.

Polycam: The Best All-Rounder

Price: Free basic, $12.99/month for exports

The scanning process is the most refined of any app I tested. Walk slowly around the room, the app builds a 3D model in real time.

Accuracy: Within 10-15mm on wall measurements up to 4 metres. Good enough for preliminary planning, not for final measurements. Ceiling height accurate to about 8mm.

Where it struggles: Corners and recesses. A 620mm deep alcove measured as 608mm. That 12mm matters when you’re building something flush-fitting.

Best for: Quick room models to share with your furniture maker as a starting point.

Apple’s RoomPlan: Surprisingly Good for Built-Ins

Price: Free (built into iOS)

Apple’s RoomPlan scans in under a minute and automatically identifies doors, windows, and furniture.

Accuracy: For rectangular rooms, this was the most accurate app I tested: within 5-10mm on wall measurements. Excellent at detecting door and window positions—important for swing clearances.

Where it struggles: Non-standard rooms. Angled walls, curves, and bay windows get simplified. It’ll straighten curves and average out angles. Standard bedroom? Brilliant. Heritage home with quirky proportions? Not reliable.

Magicplan: Best for Floor Plans, Not Furniture

Price: Free basic, from $11.99/month

Takes a different approach—produces clean 2D floor plans instead of 3D models. You mark corners and doorways, the app measures between them.

Accuracy: Within 15-25mm. Adequate for space planning, not tight enough for custom furniture. Vertical measurements (ceiling heights, sill heights) are particularly weak—a real problem if you’re building floor-to-ceiling pieces.

Best for: Communicating room layouts more clearly than photos and scribbled notes.

Canvas (by Occipital): The Professional Option

Price: $9.99 per scan

Scans take 3-5 minutes per room but produce more detailed models. Also offers professional CAD conversion ($25-$50 per room, 24-48 hour turnaround).

Accuracy: Comparable to Polycam at 10-15mm. The CAD service gets tighter, but adds cost and wait time.

Best for: Renovation projects where you need proper documentation for both builder and furniture maker.

The Honest Verdict: You Still Need a Tape Measure

Here’s what no app developer wants to hear: for custom furniture, these tools are excellent for planning but not reliable enough for final measurements.

When I’m building a fitted wardrobe between two walls, I need accuracy within 2-3mm. The best scanning app managed 5-10mm in ideal conditions. That gap is the difference between furniture that fits and furniture that doesn’t.

My recommendation for clients ordering custom pieces:

1. Scan the room with Polycam or RoomPlan and share it with your furniture maker. It gives us spatial context—room shape, obstacles, light sources.
2. Take manual measurements of critical dimensions. Wall-to-wall where the unit sits, floor-to-ceiling, alcove depth. Use a laser measurer if you have one.
3. Let your furniture maker do the final measure. Any decent custom workshop will insist on this. We’ll bring our own tools and verify everything before cutting timber.

These apps save time and reduce miscommunication. But a $30 laser measurer and five minutes of careful work will always beat a phone’s best guess for the measurements that actually matter. I’d rather a client arrive with a Polycam scan and rough notes than with nothing at all—just don’t bet your $8,000 custom bookcase on the scan alone.