Havenly or Spacejoy for budget apartment interior design
For budget apartment interior design, Havenly is usually the better value if your main goal is affordable professional help for one room, while Spacejoy is stronger if realistic 3D visuals and a more collaborative design process matter most. Havenly’s online design starts at $159 per room, while Spacejoy’s entry package starts at $299. Furniture costs are separate with both services.
The right choice depends less on which company looks better overall and more on how much you want to spend, how much design help you need, and how important 3D visualization is for your apartment.
Havenly vs. Spacejoy at a Glance
Both services let you work with an online interior designer instead of hiring a traditional designer for an in-home project. That makes them useful for renters and apartment owners who need help with furniture placement, colors, decor, and shopping without paying traditional interior design rates.
| Factor | Havenly | Spacejoy |
|---|---|---|
| Starting design price | $159 per room | $299 per room |
| Real designer | Yes | Yes |
| Online service | Yes | Yes |
| 3D room visualization | Yes | Yes |
| Shopping list | Yes | Yes |
| Revisions | Unlimited with current Havenly Full package | Depends on package |
| Multiple design concepts | Primarily one design direction | Two concepts with Bliss and Euphoria |
| Best budget option | Havenly | Spacejoy Delight |
| Strongest feature | Lower entry price and full-room planning | Detailed 3D visualization |
| Apartment-friendly | Yes | Yes |
| Furniture included | No | No |
| Best for | Budget-conscious room makeovers | People who want more visual design collaboration |
Pricing and package details can change, so treat these figures as a current comparison rather than a permanent price guarantee.
Which Is Better for a Budget Apartment?
Havenly is the better starting point for most budget-conscious apartment decorators. Its current online Full package is $159 for one room up to 400 square feet, and the service includes designer help, a design concept, a floor plan, a 3D rendering, a shopping list, and revisions. Spacejoy starts at $299 for its Delight package, which includes one room and one concept.
That difference matters when your apartment budget is tight. If you have $1,500 available for a room, spending $159 on design leaves substantially more for the actual sofa, rug, lighting, storage, and decor.
Spacejoy becomes more appealing when you’re willing to spend more on the design service itself because you want deeper visual guidance or additional concepts.
How Havenly Fits a Small Apartment Budget
Havenly is particularly useful when the biggest problem is figuring out what to buy and where to put it.
Its online service combines a professional designer with a shopping plan. The current Full package covers one room up to 400 square feet, and Havenly’s process includes design concepts, a floor plan, a 3D rendering, a shoppable product list, and multiple revisions.
That can be valuable in apartments because furniture that looks great online can easily overwhelm a small room.
A designer can help you think through:
- Sofa size and placement
- Rug dimensions
- Coffee-table spacing
- TV placement
- Storage needs
- Lighting
- Color combinations
- Existing furniture you want to keep
- Products that fit your stated budget
The major advantage is the lower design fee.
Havenly’s current pricing
Havenly’s published pricing can show promotions at different times, but its standard current online Full pricing is listed at $159 per room. Its in-person option is considerably more expensive and is generally unnecessary if you’re simply trying to furnish a small apartment remotely.
The important point is that the design fee isn’t your total apartment budget.
If you spend $159 on design and another $1,500 on furniture and decor, your project is roughly a $1,659 commitment before any additional costs such as delivery or assembly.
How Spacejoy Fits a Small Apartment Budget
Spacejoy takes a more visualization-heavy approach.
Its entry-level Delight package is currently listed at $299 for one room and one concept. The package includes two design revisions, paint and window-treatment recommendations, a curated shopping list, and ultra-realistic 3D images.
Spacejoy also offers higher packages:
- Delight — $299: One room and one concept
- Bliss — $399: One room, two concepts, a 30-minute video consultation, and additional product support
- Euphoria — $599: Two concepts, more revisions, a longer video consultation, and additional design support
Spacejoy says its completed concepts generally arrive within about 7–10 business days, depending on the package and project.
For someone who struggles to visualize how a room will look after buying furniture, that can be worth paying for.
The Biggest Difference: Price vs. Visualization
The simplest way to think about the comparison is:
Havenly prioritizes affordable full-room design help, while Spacejoy puts more emphasis on visual presentation and higher-touch package options.
That doesn’t mean Havenly lacks 3D visualization. It does include 3D rendering in its current online design service.
The difference is more about how much you want to invest in the design experience.
If you’re furnishing a basic rental bedroom and already know roughly what you like, paying $299 or $399 for a design package may not make sense.
If you’re furnishing an unusually shaped living room and can’t picture how different furniture arrangements will work, Spacejoy’s visual approach may justify the extra cost.
Which Is Better for a $1,000 Apartment Room?
If your entire room budget is around $1,000, I’d lean toward Havenly—or even consider DIY design first.
Here’s why.
Suppose you have $1,000 for a small bedroom. A $159 design fee leaves about $841 for the physical room. A $299 Spacejoy package leaves about $701.
That $140 difference could pay for a basic nightstand, lighting, storage, or part of your bedding budget.
The same principle applies to a living room. If you’re working with a strict furnishing budget, don’t focus only on the design-service price. Look at your total project cost.
A simple budget example
Imagine a renter has $2,000 to furnish a small living room.
With Havenly:
- Design: $159
- Furniture and decor budget: about $1,841
With Spacejoy Delight:
- Design: $299
- Furniture and decor budget: about $1,701
The difference is not huge, but it becomes more noticeable when you’re also buying a sofa, rug, lighting, curtains, and storage.
Which One Is Better for Renters?
Both can work well for renters because online design doesn’t require a designer to visit the apartment.
For a rental, however, you should tell the designer exactly what you cannot change.
That might include:
- Wall color restrictions
- Flooring
- Kitchen cabinets
- Light fixtures
- Window treatments
- Drilling restrictions
- Existing appliances
- Landlord rules
This matters because a beautiful design isn’t useful if half of it requires permanent changes your lease doesn’t allow.
Example: A small rental living room
Imagine a renter has a 10-by-12-foot living room, a landlord-provided ceiling light, beige walls, and a small existing TV.
Instead of replacing everything, the designer could work around those limitations with a compact sofa, appropriately sized rug, floor lamp, curtains, storage furniture, and removable artwork.
That’s where online design can be more useful than simply browsing Pinterest or furniture websites. You’re getting a plan for the actual room, not a generic inspiration photo.
Which Service Is Better for Small Spaces?
Small spaces create a special design problem: every inch matters.
A large sofa that looks comfortable in a showroom can make an apartment living room feel cramped. A rug that’s too small can make the furniture arrangement look disconnected. A bulky media console can consume valuable walking space.
For this reason, both Havenly and Spacejoy can be useful when you don’t trust your own measurements or furniture-placement decisions.
Havenly has an advantage if your priority is keeping the professional-design fee low.
Spacejoy has an advantage if seeing the proposed room in detailed 3D is particularly important to you.
Havenly vs. Spacejoy for Different Apartment Budgets
| Apartment design situation | Better choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Under $1,000 for the whole room | Havenly or DIY | Keep more money for furniture |
| Around $1,500 | Havenly | Lower design fee leaves more furnishing money |
| Around $2,000 | Havenly | Strong balance of professional help and cost |
| $3,000+ | Either | More room for design-service costs |
| Very small room | Either | Both provide space-specific planning |
| Difficult layout | Spacejoy | Strong visual presentation can help |
| Need the lowest design fee | Havenly | Lower starting price |
| Want multiple concepts | Spacejoy | Higher packages provide multiple concepts |
| Want more video collaboration | Spacejoy | Bliss and Euphoria include video consultations |
| Simple rental refresh | Havenly | You may not need a higher-tier package |
What About the Furniture Budget?
This is the part many shoppers overlook.
Neither service’s design fee represents the complete cost of furnishing your apartment. You’ll still need to purchase the products recommended in your design.
A designer can help you stay within a target budget, but your final spending depends on what you choose to buy.
For example, a budget-friendly apartment living room might need:
- Sofa
- Area rug
- Coffee table
- Floor or table lamp
- Curtains
- TV stand
- Accent pillows
- Artwork
- Storage
The sofa alone can consume a large part of the budget.
So before choosing a service, decide whether you’re trying to spend $1,000, $2,000, $3,000, or more on the entire room.
Then subtract the design fee.
That gives you a much more realistic furniture budget.
When Havenly Is the Better Choice
Choose Havenly if several of these describe your situation:
- You want to keep the design fee low.
- You’re furnishing only one or two rooms.
- You need help selecting furniture.
- You want a floor plan and shopping list.
- You don’t need several completely different design concepts.
- You’re comfortable buying and assembling the furniture yourself.
- You have a limited apartment furnishing budget.
- You want professional guidance without hiring a traditional interior designer.
Havenly is especially compelling for a renter who wants a finished design direction without spending a large portion of the furnishing budget on design services.
When Spacejoy Is Worth the Extra Cost
Spacejoy makes more sense when:
- You rely heavily on visual examples.
- You want detailed 3D room views.
- You want multiple design concepts.
- You value video consultation.
- Your room has a challenging layout.
- You’re furnishing a larger or more important room.
- You want more help comparing alternate products.
- Your furniture budget can absorb a higher design fee.
The Bliss and Euphoria packages add more collaboration and concepts than the entry-level Delight package, which can make Spacejoy more attractive when you aren’t sure which direction to take.
Don’t Pay for Design Before Measuring Your Apartment
Whichever service you choose, spend time measuring first.
For a small apartment, accurate measurements are often more important than having a large decorating budget.
Measure:
- Wall lengths
- Ceiling height
- Door openings
- Window locations
- Radiators or vents
- Existing furniture
- TV and outlet locations
- Walking paths
- Elevator or stair dimensions if you’re buying large furniture
That last point is easy to overlook.
A sofa can fit perfectly inside a living room and still fail to make it through the apartment building’s elevator or hallway.
How to Make Either Service More Budget-Friendly
You don’t have to replace everything in your apartment.
Tell the designer which pieces you want to keep.
For example, you might already own a good:
- Sofa
- Bed
- Dining table
- TV
- Dresser
- Bookshelf
- Desk
The designer can build the room around those pieces and focus your spending on the items that make the biggest difference.
You should also give a specific furniture budget, not just say “budget-friendly.”
There’s a major difference between a $1,000 room budget and a $4,000 room budget.
The more precise you are, the easier it is for the designer to make realistic recommendations.
Havenly or Spacejoy: Which One Should You Pick?
For most people searching specifically for budget apartment interior design, Havenly gets the edge.
Its lower starting design fee makes more sense when your money needs to cover both professional help and actual furniture. The current online package also includes the core tools a small apartment project needs: designer collaboration, room planning, a shopping list, revisions, and 3D visualization.
Choose Spacejoy instead if you’re willing to spend more for a visualization-focused experience, multiple concepts, and higher-tier collaboration.
The key is not to ask, “Which company is better?”
Ask, “Which service leaves me enough money to actually furnish the room?”
For a tight apartment budget, that question usually points toward Havenly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Havenly cheaper than Spacejoy for apartment design?
Yes, based on their currently published entry-level prices. Havenly’s online Full package is $159 per room, while Spacejoy’s Delight package starts at $299 per room. Furniture is separate from both design fees.
Is Spacejoy worth it for a small apartment?
It can be if you need detailed 3D visualization or want more than one design direction. For a very tight furnishing budget, however, the higher starting design fee may be better spent on furniture, lighting, or storage.
Can Havenly and Spacejoy work with existing apartment furniture?
Yes. Both services are designed around your actual space and can account for existing furniture and preferences. Be specific about what you want to keep so the designer doesn’t build a plan around pieces you intend to replace.
The Bottom Line
If you’re furnishing an apartment on a tight budget, start with Havenly unless you have a specific reason to prefer Spacejoy’s higher-touch packages. The lower design fee gives you more money to spend on the room itself while still providing professional planning.
Before booking either service, measure your room, set your total furnishing budget, list the furniture you already own, and decide what you absolutely need to replace. That preparation can make a bigger difference to your final apartment than choosing between two similar online design platforms.
