For almost two decades, RevitCity has been the go-to community site for downloading free Revit families. Ask any veteran BIM user where they found their first door family or parking layout, and there’s a good chance the answer is RevitCity. Its forums are still active, and its archive of community-uploaded content is enormous.
But the BIM world has moved on, and RevitCity largely hasn’t. Much of its library was built for Revit versions that are now a decade old, there’s no way to preview a family before downloading it, and the interface feels frozen in time. If you’ve ever downloaded five files from RevitCity just to find one that opens cleanly in a current version of Revit, you already know why so many users are searching for alternatives.
This guide compares the best RevitCity alternatives available in 2026 — honestly, including their weaknesses. Whether you need community-made families, manufacturer-verified BIM objects, or construction details, one of these sites will fit your workflow. And if RevitCity is down or not working (it happens), every site on this list covers the same ground.
Why Look for a RevitCity Alternative?
RevitCity still deserves respect as one of the oldest free BIM repositories on the web. But there are real reasons users move on:
- Outdated content. A large share of the library targets Revit versions from the early 2010s. Families often need upgrading, repairs, or full rebuilds before they’re usable in a live project.
- No previews. You download first and find out what you got afterward. There are no reliable 3D views or renders of the family before you commit.
- A dated interface. Navigation, search, and filtering haven’t meaningfully changed in years, which makes finding specific content slow.
- Slow moderation. New uploads can sit in the queue for a long time, so fresh content trickles in rather than flows.
- Occasional downtime. The site has had outages over the years. If RevitCity is not working when you’re on a deadline, you need a backup source.
None of this erases the value of its community — the forums remain a genuinely useful place to ask Revit questions. It just means that for the core task of downloading usable families, better options now exist.
RevitCity Alternatives Compared
| Site | Free content | Registration | Content type | Previews | Contributor program |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Library Revit | Yes | Free account | Community families & projects | Yes | Yes — upload to earn Premium |
| BIMobject | Yes | Free account | Manufacturer objects | Yes | Manufacturer-driven |
| BIMsmith | Yes | Free account | Manufacturer products (US focus) | Yes | No |
| Modlar | Yes | Free account | Brand/product models | Yes | No |
| NBS National BIM Library | Yes | Free account | Generic + manufacturer (UK) | Yes | No |
| Bimstore | Yes | Free account | Manufacturer objects (UK) | Yes | No |
| ARCAT | Yes | No account needed | Details, specs, BIM | Partial | No |
| Polantis | Yes | Free account | Brand furniture & products | Yes | No |
| CADdetails | Yes | Free account | Manufacturer details & BIM | Partial | No |
| RevitCity | Yes | Free account | Community families (legacy) | No | Yes (slow moderation) |
1. Library Revit
Library Revit is the closest thing to what RevitCity would look like if it were built today: a community-driven library of Revit families and full projects, organized into a clean category tree with dozens of main categories and over a hundred subcategories — from furniture and cars to MEP, structural, and site elements.
The differences from RevitCity are exactly the pain points listed above. Every package shows previews before you download, so you know what the family looks like without opening it in Revit. Content is compatible with recent Revit versions rather than 2012-era files. And the modern search page at /explore/ lets you actually find things instead of paging through endless lists.
Downloading requires a free account, which also gives you a download history and access to the contributor program: upload your own Revit projects and earn Premium access in return — a concrete incentive that keeps new content flowing in, instead of sitting in a moderation queue.
Pros: updated community content, previews on every package, clean category structure, modern search, active contributor program.
Cons: community-made content, not manufacturer-verified — always review families before using them in certified documentation.
Best for: everyday Revit users who want current, browsable, free families — the direct RevitCity replacement.
2. BIMobject
BIMobject is the largest manufacturer-backed BIM platform, hosting verified product families uploaded by the manufacturers themselves. If you need a real, specifiable product — an actual window model from an actual brand, with accurate dimensions and compliance data — this is where you go.
Pros: manufacturer-accurate geometry and data, huge catalog, strong filtering by format and brand.
Cons: manufacturer families tend to carry heavy geometry and dense metadata that can bloat your model; generic placeholder content is limited.
Best for: documentation and specification stages, when the design has moved from “a chair” to “this chair.”
3. BIMsmith
BIMsmith focuses on the US market and building products, with a useful angle: its Forge tool lets you compare and assemble wall, floor, and ceiling systems from real products and download them as Revit families.
Pros: free, product-comparison workflow is genuinely unique, US manufacturer data.
Cons: narrower catalog than BIMobject; limited value outside North America.
Best for: US-based architects speccing assemblies and building systems.
4. Modlar
Modlar hosts brand-name models — furniture, fixtures, appliances — in multiple formats including Revit. It sits somewhere between a design community and a manufacturer library, with strong coverage of recognizable design brands.
Pros: good for high-design furniture and fixtures, clean presentation, multi-format downloads.
Cons: catalog depth varies a lot by category; less useful for generic or technical families.
Best for: interior and furniture-heavy projects that need recognizable products. For residential interiors, community libraries make a free complement — for example, Library Revit’s bedroom families cover beds, wardrobes, and nightstands without brand restrictions.
5. NBS National BIM Library
The NBS National BIM Library is the UK’s reference repository, offering both generic and manufacturer objects authored to consistent, internationally recognized standards. Quality control here is the whole point: objects behave predictably and carry structured data.
Pros: rigorous authoring standards, excellent generic objects, trusted in UK practice.
Cons: UK-centric classifications and conventions; catalog is smaller than global platforms.
Best for: UK projects, or anyone who values standards-compliant objects over sheer quantity.
6. Bimstore
Bimstore is another UK-based manufacturer platform, distributing verified BIM content for real building products with consistent authoring.
Pros: verified manufacturer content, consistent quality.
Cons: UK market focus, smaller catalog, no community content.
Best for: UK specification work as a complement to NBS.
7. ARCAT
ARCAT takes a different approach: it’s a massive directory of building-product manufacturers with CAD details, specifications, and BIM content — and famously, no registration required for most downloads.
Pros: no account needed, huge library of construction details and specs alongside BIM files.
Cons: the site is a directory first and a BIM library second — browsing for families is less streamlined; Revit coverage varies by manufacturer.
Best for: construction details, specs, and quick no-signup downloads.
8. Polantis
Polantis specializes in brand furniture and product models in many formats (Revit, SketchUp, ArchiCAD, 3ds Max), with 3D previews for everything.
Pros: multi-format, good European brand coverage, previews.
Cons: limited to product/furniture content; no generic or technical families.
Best for: furnishing scenes and European product content.
9. CADdetails
CADdetails distributes manufacturer design files for North America — CAD drawings, specs, and a growing set of BIM objects — sourced directly from product manufacturers.
Pros: free, manufacturer-sourced, strong on details and site/landscape products.
Cons: BIM/Revit coverage is thinner than its CAD coverage.
Best for: North American detail libraries and landscape/site content. For the vegetation itself, community-made Revit tree families are usually lighter and better-looking than Revit’s default planting.
10. RevitCity (Yes, Still)
It would be dishonest to write this list without acknowledging that RevitCity still has a place. Its forums remain one of the better places on the internet to ask a Revit question and get an answer from someone who has used the software since version 8. And its legacy archive, for all its age, occasionally holds that one obscure family nobody else has.
Pros: active forums, enormous legacy archive, long-standing community.
Cons: outdated families, no previews, dated interface, slow moderation.
Best for: community discussion and last-resort searches for obscure legacy content.
Which RevitCity Alternative Should You Choose?
It depends on what stage of the project you’re in:
- For everyday free families with current compatibility and previews, start with Library Revit — it covers the same community-driven ground as RevitCity with a modern experience.
- For manufacturer-verified products during documentation and specification, go to BIMobject, NBS (UK), or BIMsmith (US).
- For construction details and specs with zero friction, ARCAT is unmatched.
- For brand furniture and interiors, Modlar and Polantis fill the gap.
Most working BIM professionals end up using two or three of these in combination: a community library for speed and flexibility, plus a manufacturer platform for accuracy. Whatever you choose, apply the same rule to every download: check host behavior, parameters, and geometry before loading a family into a live project template.
FAQ
Is RevitCity still active? Yes. The site and its forums remain online and the community still posts, but the content library is largely legacy material built for older Revit versions, and new uploads are moderated slowly.
Is RevitCity free? Yes. RevitCity is free to use with a free account, like most of the alternatives on this list.
What is the best free site to download Revit families? For updated community-made families with previews and modern search, Library Revit is the strongest free option — browse high-demand categories like Revit doors and windows to see the difference. For manufacturer-verified product families, BIMobject leads.
Do I need an account to download Revit families? On most platforms — including RevitCity, Library Revit, and BIMobject — yes, a free account is required. ARCAT is the main exception, offering most downloads without registration.
What should I check before using a downloaded Revit family? Confirm it opens in your Revit version, check that host behavior and parameters work as expected, review geometry detail (overly heavy families slow down models), and verify licensing terms before using content in client-facing or certified documentation.
