Decato vs Programa, or rather Decato into Programa
Most comparison pages argue that one tool should replace the other. This one does not. Programa runs the FF&E schedule, the procurement and the studio around it. Decato produces the specification that goes into a schedule. If you run projects at any scale, you probably want both.
Decato
These rows did not come from a clipper. They came from the plan, checked against its walls.
A studio platform for interior designers, built around the FF&E schedule: a product library filled by web clipper or by hand, markups and client discounts, sharing by link, QR code or dashboard, and procurement covering order, ship, delivery and install with automated purchase orders.
A tool that produces specification rows rather than storing them. It reads a floor plan, matches real in-stock products to the space and the budget, refuses anything that will not physically fit, and exports each item with its dimensions, supplier, price and link.
If you need a schedule, purchase orders, markups or delivery tracking, you need Programa or something like it — Decato has none of that and is not going to. If the slow part is deciding what goes in the schedule in the first place, that is the part Programa leaves to you.
What each one does
Produces the specification for you
Reads a floor plan
Checks a piece physically fits
A full FF&E schedule
Decato exports rows; it does not run a schedule
Purchase orders
Delivery and install tracking
Markups and client discounts
Client sharing and approvals
A clickable PDF, not a live dashboard
Built for teams
Free tier
Programa offers a 7-day trial
Neither tool wins everywhere
Programa does things Decato cannot do at all. Knowing exactly where the line falls is more useful than being told one tool is better.
- Produces the rows rather than providing an empty place to put them
- Every item is measured against the plan before it becomes a line
- Dimensions come off the product, so a schedule inherits real numbers rather than guesses
- Free to start, against a per-seat platform price
- An actual FF&E schedule with the procurement columns Decato does not have at all
- Purchase orders, deliveries and installation tracking — none of which Decato attempts
- Markups, client discounts and design fees, so the commercial side lives in one place
- Client and trade sharing by link, QR code or dashboard, with approvals against it
- Unlimited projects and a studio built around teams, where Decato works one room at a time
What each one costs
- Free$0Planning on your own ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini key
- Pro$20/moSourcing and 25 renders a month
- Max 5x$100/moSame features, 125 renders
- Max 20x$200/moSame features, 500 renders
- Pro$71/moOne seat, every feature, unlimited projects
- Extra seat+$31/moPer additional seat
- Trial$0Seven days, no card required
These are not substitutes, so the prices add rather than compete. A solo designer running both pays Programa for the schedule and Decato for the sourcing. Programa charges per seat and gets expensive with a team; Decato charges for render volume and does not scale by head. Neither replaces the other, so the comparison that matters is against the hours, not against each other.
Both price lists checked August 2026If you move across
This is a hand-off rather than a switch. Nothing in Programa needs replacing — the question is only where the rows come from before they land there.
- The specification itself: item, room, quantity, dimensions, supplier, price and a link
- The floor plan, which Decato reads and Programa has no field for
- Your budget, which both track — Decato while sourcing, Programa across the project
- Purchase orders, deliveries or installation: Decato has none of it, and Programa keeps it
- Markups, client discounts and design fees — retail price is all Decato carries
- Your product library, team or client dashboards, none of which Decato has an equivalent for
Compare Decato against the next closest workflow.
If this page is close but not exact, use the routes below to compare Decato against staging-first, retail-first and render-first alternatives with the same decision lens.
Decato vs REimagineHome
Both source real furniture. REimagineHome fits it to a photo; Decato fits it to a dimensioned plan.
Staging-firstDecato vs Virtual Staging AI
Staging sells the photo. Decato specifies the room — real products, measured fit, a priced spec.
Service-outputDecato vs BoxBrownie
BoxBrownie sells edited images per job. Decato sources a room into a priced specification.
Retail-workflowDecato vs Wayfair
Wayfair plans your room and fills its own cart. Decato checks the fit and hands over a spec.
Most comparison tools judge the screenshot. Designers still have to deliver the room.
Decato is optimized for the step after concept approval: matching real products, checking fit, keeping the room inside budget and turning the output into a defendable package instead of a render to reverse-engineer.
Common questions
Is Decato a Programa alternative?
Honestly, no. Programa runs FF&E schedules, purchase orders, deliveries, markups and client approvals, and Decato does none of those things. What Decato does is produce the specification that fills a schedule — the step Programa expects you to have finished before you arrive.
Can I use both together?
That is the intended shape. Decato takes the floor plan and returns items with dimensions, supplier, price and a link; those rows go into Programa, which handles the schedule, the procurement and the client side. There is no direct integration today, so the hand-off is an export and a paste.
What does Programa cost?
Pro is $71 a month for one seat, with additional seats at $31 a month each, after a seven-day trial that does not ask for a card (Checked August 2026). Every feature is on that single tier, with unlimited projects.
Does Programa source products for me?
It gives you excellent places to put products — a Web Clipper for pulling specs and pricing off supplier sites, and a custom Product Library — but the choosing is yours (Checked August 2026). Nothing in it reads a floor plan or decides which sofa fits the room.
If I only buy one, which should it be?
It depends on which half hurts. If you already know what you are specifying and drown in orders, deliveries and approvals, buy Programa. If the schedule is manageable but deciding what goes in it eats your evenings, Decato addresses that and Programa does not.