Finch
Finch is an AI building design platform for AEC teams. It generates buildable floor plans from your practice's own standards, checks local codes and accessibility rules, and exports a complete BIM model to Revit, Rhino, Archicad or Forma.
What is Finch?
Finch is an AI-native building design platform for the AEC industry, published by Archfinch AB, a Swedish company founded by Martin Kretz, Pamela Nunez Wallgren and Jesper Wallgren, all three architects. The site sums the ambition up as AI for how the world builds and positions the product as the next-generation authoring tool for AEC.
The governing idea is that generation should start from your practice rather than a generic model. A firm encodes its own standards, accessibility rules and local codes into a central, adaptive Plan Library built on its past projects, and every generation draws on that library. The offer is organised around four promises, encode your design systems, explore more, refine with precision and deliver faster, and around four typologies: masterplan, residential, tower and office. On a masterplan, Finch distributes units and density across a site with area and feasibility metrics that update as you work. For offices, it generates test fits from a brief and validates them against compliance codes. For towers, it lays out floors on large projects while keeping them vertically aligned.
Inside the product, Archie is the AI agent that absorbs repetitive precision work and delegates to specialised sub-agents for doors and facade windows. It answers questions about the building, such as gross floor area, net internal area and unit or floor counts, finds and counts elements, inspects adjacent spaces and exports schedules.
What comes out is detailed floor plans, area calculations and BIM geometry in hours rather than weeks, exported to conventional BIM tools without manual redrawing or data loss. Interoperability covers Rhino, Revit, Grasshopper, Forma and Archicad. Access is through a web app at app.finch3d.com plus plug-ins installed inside those design packages.
Finch reports more than 130,000 projects created in the platform, over 100,000 people on the Enterprise waiting list and use in more than 70 countries, and names KPF, SOM, ShoP, Sweco Denmark, Sheppard Robson, Dark Arkitekter and Nordic Office of Architecture among its users. Scope has real limits: the generative tools are fully active only on multi-family residential, and curved typologies and pitched roofs fall outside what the plan algorithm handles.
What it does
- Generate buildable floor plans that follow local building codes and accessibility rules
- Encode the practice's design system and standards into a central Plan Library
- Generate the unit mix, circulation, corridors and stair cores automatically
- Test thousands of design options with area and performance metrics updating in real time
- Export a complete BIM model to Revit, Rhino, Archicad or Forma
- Hand repetitive precision work, such as door placement, checks and linked updates, to the Archie AI agent
- Export structured schedules to CSV or XLSX and drawings to PDF
When to use Finch / When not to
A quick filter to help you decide if Finch is the right fit.
When to use Finch
- Architecture practices with a back catalogue of plans and standards worth encoding into a central Plan Library
- Multi-family residential teams, the one programme where the generative tools run at full strength
- Feasibility and masterplanning designers testing unit distribution and site density with live area metrics
- Office fit-out teams generating test fits from a brief and validating them against compliance codes
- Tower projects on rectilinear or void-based typologies, where both massing and AI plan output perform best
When not to use Finch
- Practices working curved forms, which the AI plan algorithm does not support
- Projects with pitched roofs, unsupported in massing and in AI plan generation alike
- Teams outside multi-family residential: massing works, but the generative tools stay closed
- MicroStation and SketchUp users, since neither package is supported
- Anyone expecting a public API or a mobile app, as Finch ships neither
How to use Finch
A typical end-to-end flow, from setup to results.
- Create an account on app.finch3d.com
- Download the plug-in for your design software: Revit, Rhino, Archicad in beta, or the Forma extension
- For Revit 23 to 27, unblock the downloaded zip in its file properties, run the installer as administrator, then open Finch from the Add-ins tab of the ribbon
- For Rhino, open the Package Manager, search for Finch, install, restart Rhino, type Finch in the command line and sign in; Rhino 6 SR35+ goes through the Plugin Manager and a Finch.rhp file
- For Archicad 28-29, drop the files into the Add-Ons folder on Windows or macOS and launch Finch from the main menu with a plan view active
- For Forma, add the extension from the Autodesk App Store in the Extensions menu, and re-add it on every new project
- Take the Finch 101 course: create and export a project, connect Revit, Rhino and Forma, generate a unit mix and floor plans
- Upload a conceptual mass from Rhino, Revit or Forma and work it in the Massing Studio
- Generate floors, corridors and the unit mix, then refine the result in the unit editor
- Export to your BIM tool, and manage seats, plan changes and billing from the organisation settings and the Paddle customer portal
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Output is anchored on the practice's own standards rather than on a generic model
- Code and accessibility checking runs during generation instead of afterwards
- A genuine round trip with mainstream BIM tools (Revit, Rhino, Grasshopper, Archicad, Forma) with no redrawing
- A permanent free tier with all editing tools and real-time building performance metrics, plus a 14-day free trial on the first paid tier
- An AI agent able to delegate bulk work to specialised sub-agents for doors and windows
- Detailed public documentation, with structured courses and per-software tutorials
- Adoption claimed by large international practices (KPF, SOM, ShoP, Sweco, Sheppard Robson), and a European publisher under Swedish law with a 14-day right of withdrawal for EU users
Cons
- A very wide gap between Basic at EUR 79 per month and Enterprise from EUR 14,500 per year for three seats
- The most advanced generation features sit on Enterprise, and AI unit plan generation is reserved for what Finch calls its strategic AI customers
- Curved typologies and pitched roofs are unsupported, and the generative tools are limited to multi-family residential
- The privacy policy and terms are dated 1 April 2021 and read as generic templates
- No hosting country or region is published, and nothing is stated about whether customer data is used to train models
- No data processing agreement, sub-processor list, security certification or postal address is published
- No public API, no mobile app, and the Archicad plug-in is still in beta
Pricing & Plans
Finch offers a permanent free plan for a single user. The lowest paid entry point is the Basic tier at EUR 79.00 billed monthly for one user, which includes a 14-day free trial. Above it, the Enterprise tier starts at EUR 14,500 billed annually for three seats and requires a minimum of three users; no pricing is published beyond that floor, and no annual discount is advertised on Basic. Billing, payment methods and cancellation are handled through the Paddle customer portal. Refunds are issued only where the law requires it: users living in the European Union may cancel and obtain a refund within 14 days of signing up, upgrading or renewing, by contacting support.
- no cost
- single user
- all editing tools and real-time building performance metrics. Create and edit designs and get immediate feedback on building performance.
- EUR 79 per month
- single user
- everything in Free plus optimised generation of the unit mix and circulation
- with a 14-day free trial. Upfront generation for feasibility and for defining the key project metrics.
- from EUR 14
- 500 per year for three seats
- minimum three users. Practice-wide plan library
- AI floor-plan generation
- code and compliance checking
- custom BIM export and integrations
- AI agent for automated design workflows
- SSO and enterprise security. Full building generation from concept to detailed schematic design at LOD 300 precision
Data, GDPR & hosting
A consolidated view of how Finch handles your data.
GDPR overview
The privacy policy carries a dedicated section, Data Protection Rights Under GDPR, for residents of the European Economic Area. It lists access, rectification, erasure, objection, restriction, portability, withdrawal of consent and the right to complain to a data protection authority, and repeats the same rights in general form elsewhere, including obtaining a copy of the data processed. Legal bases are named: consent, performance of a contract, legal obligation, public interest and legitimate interest. Transfers outside the EU are possible, and users may ask for the legal basis and the safeguards applied; identity is verified before a rights request is answered. Every right is exercised through one address, support@finch3d.com. No data protection officer is named, no Article 27 representative is appointed (the publisher is EU-based), no certification is claimed, and the document is dated 1 April 2021.
Who owns the data?
Finch's terms state plainly that the services and software are licensed, not sold, and that intellectual property in the service stays with Finch. No clause transfers ownership of the massing models, drawings or generated plans a user uploads or creates, and the Enterprise tier is advertised with SSO and data ownership among its capabilities. The privacy policy lets users delete certain personal data and request account deletion by contacting the publisher. On termination, Finch says it permanently deletes the password and any content it is not otherwise legally obliged to retain, although an unrevised copy may survive for obligations towards affiliates and partners.
Reuse rights
The privacy policy lists the purposes Finch claims: creating and managing accounts, sending administrative information, gathering user feedback, improving the experience, enforcing the terms, guarding against abuse, answering legal requests and operating the site and services. Automatic collection is described as minimal, used only to detect misuse and compile usage statistics. Data is shared with trusted service providers, affiliates and subsidiaries needed to run the service, which are barred from using it for their own marketing purposes; Finch states it does not share personal information with unaffiliated third parties, and that it does not track visitors across other sites over time. Registration data is limited to first name, last name and email address, and the site can be browsed without identifying yourself. Nothing in the terms or the privacy policy addresses whether customer content is used to train AI models: the question is never answered either way.
Data retention & training
Hosting summary
Finch never names a hosting country or region. Its privacy policy states that information is secured on computer servers in a controlled, secure environment, protected against unauthorised access, with reasonable administrative, technical and physical safeguards, while acknowledging that the security and confidentiality of exchanges over the internet cannot be guaranteed. On transfers, it says that depending on your location, data transfers may involve transferring and storing your information in a country other than your own; users may ask for the legal basis of transfers outside the European Union and for the safeguards applied. In the event of a breach, the publisher says it will investigate, report to and cooperate with the authorities, and notify users by email where a reasonable risk of harm exists. The publisher is Swedish and therefore established in the European Union, but that says nothing about where application data actually sits. In short, the jurisdiction of the company is known and the jurisdiction of the data is not, so any buyer with a residency requirement will need to obtain it in writing.
Where Finch works
Country-level availability.
Not available in
Things to keep in mind
Risks and trade-offs to weigh before adopting Finch.
- The privacy policy and terms are dated 1 April 2021 and written as generic templates, well behind a product that has changed a great deal since; read them as a floor, not as a description of current practice
- Nothing states whether customer designs are used to train AI models, in either direction. On client projects, that silence deserves a written question before anything is uploaded
- No hosting country or region is published; the privacy policy notes only that transfers may store data in a country other than your own, including outside the European Union
- No data processing agreement, sub-processor list or security certification is published, and the site gives no postal address beyond the company name Archfinch AB in the terms, which complicates any procurement review
- The terms allow the services to be modified or discontinued in whole or in part without liability, and supply them "as is" and "as available" with no warranty of availability or accuracy, so every generated plan still needs professional verification
- Enterprise pricing is published only as a floor, the seat structure beyond three users is not disclosed, and the distance between the homepage showcase and what Basic actually unlocks is considerable
- Automated plan generation invites over-trust: the compliance checks are the tool's own, professional responsibility for the design stays with the architect, and design judgement erodes quickly if output is accepted without review
Setup & Integrations
Technical difficulty
Moderate. The web app needs nothing more than an account, but real use means installing a plug-in. Rhino is easy through the Package Manager, although Rhino 6 SR35+ requires a manual .rhp file. Revit is heavier: administrator rights, unblocking the downloaded zip, and manual removal of version 0.1.44 and earlier. Archicad means dropping files into the Add-Ons folder and is still in beta. The Forma extension must be re-added on every new project. A Finch 101 course and per-software tutorials help, and Enterprise adds dedicated onboarding, support and training. The real prerequisite is organisational: having plans and standards worth encoding.
Deployment
Integrations
Behind Finch
Fundraising
Social
Resources
All the official URLs gathered for verification and reference.
Frequently asked questions
Which design software does Finch work with?
Is there a free plan?
How much does the first paid tier cost?
Can I export to Revit, Rhino or Archicad?
What is Archie?
Who can use AI unit plan generation?
Which building typologies work best?
Is there a mobile app or a public API?
Where is the data hosted?
How do refunds work?
Should you pick Finch?
Finch is a highly specialised tool rather than a general-purpose assistant: it addresses early-stage building design for AEC practices, and its value depends almost entirely on whether that is your work. Its strongest argument is architectural rather than technical. Generation is grounded in your practice's own plans and standards through the Plan Library, so the output resembles your work instead of a generic model's guess at it. Code and accessibility checking during generation, and a real round trip with Revit, Rhino, Grasshopper, Archicad and Forma, make that output usable rather than merely illustrative. Finch reports more than 130,000 projects created and names large international practices among its users.
The entry threshold is deliberately low, with a permanent free tier and then EUR 79 per month, but the real capability sits on Enterprise, from EUR 14,500 a year for three seats, and AI unit plan generation is restricted further still to what Finch calls its strategic AI customers. Scope is also narrower than the homepage suggests: the generative tools are fully active only on multi-family residential, and curved typologies and pitched roofs are out.
The clearest weakness is not the product but the paperwork around it. The privacy policy and terms are dated 1 April 2021 and read as generic templates. No data processing agreement, sub-processor list or security certification is published, nothing states where data is hosted, and whether customer data trains AI models is never addressed. For a tool sold to practices handling client projects, that gap deserves direct questions before signing.
The verdict therefore splits by profile. A multi-family residential practice already working in Revit or Rhino, with a back catalogue worth encoding, will find little else this specific. A studio working complex geometry should test the limits carefully first.
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