Self-service test fits or an enterprise workplace platform? A fair comparison of laiout and Saltmine.
Updated October 2026. This comparison reflects publicly available information as of 7 October 2026.
laiout is self-service AI test fit software that generates commercial office layouts in seconds, adjusts them live, exports them straight to Revit, CAD and PDF, and turns any design into AI static and video renders within minutes. Saltmine is, per its own materials, a platform for corporate real estate teams covering programming, test fitting, visualisation and delivery. In our view, laiout is the stronger choice for leasing decisions and fast test fits, and Saltmine for large, ongoing corporate real estate programmes.
- Saltmine and laiout both automate test fits, but they sit at different points in the real estate process. laiout is built for the person making a leasing decision who needs a layout now, while Saltmine describes itself as a platform for corporate real estate teams running programmes from programming through delivery.
- In our view, laiout is the stronger choice when the job is a test fit that keeps a leasing conversation moving, since it is self-service, live from the first session and able to turn the design into AI renders and videos within minutes. Saltmine is the better fit when an enterprise wants one platform for programming, portfolio optimisation and capital projects, and can plan for an implementation that it says typically takes 4 to 8 weeks.
- The overlap is test fitting, which is why the two are compared, but they are not direct substitutes, and some organisations will use both.
Traditionally, a simple office test fit takes days to weeks from brief to finished plan, even though the drafting itself is only a few hours of architect time for a single floor plate. Fees run from a few hundred to several thousand dollars, and test fit agreements commonly range from $0.12 to $0.15 per square foot. Saltmine and laiout both automate part of that work, but at different scales. Test fitting also sits alongside early feasibility work, a difference explained in feasibility studies versus test fits.
- Both automate test fits, at different scopes: Saltmine lists automated 3D test fit generation within a platform that also covers programming, scenario planning, capital projects and portfolio optimisation, whereas laiout focuses on one job: generating and adjusting commercial office layouts.
- Setup differs: Saltmine states that implementation typically takes 4 to 8 weeks, depending on the complexity and quality of your data, with dedicated customer success managers, whereas laiout is self-service from the first session.
- Users differ: Saltmine's materials name corporate real estate teams, workplace strategists and facilities or project managers, whereas laiout serves landlords, tenants, brokers, designers and flex operators.
- Built for: laiout serves landlords, tenants, brokers, designers and flex operators. Saltmine serves corporate real estate teams, per its own materials.
- Getting started: laiout is self-service, with onboarding typically completed in a single session. Saltmine states that implementation typically takes 4 to 8 weeks and comes with training and dedicated customer success managers.
- Speed: laiout generates layouts in seconds and adjusts them live. Saltmine states that its test fits are generated instantly and that teams move from question to answer in hours, not weeks, and it reports 70 to 90% faster space programmes, per its own materials.
- Scope: laiout provides test fits with live capacity, cost and carbon metrics that update on every adjustment to the plan or design. Saltmine lists programming, test fitting, visualisation, scenario planning, capital projects and portfolio optimisation, per its own materials.
- Output: laiout provides AI static and video renders within minutes (a premium add-on), 3D walkthroughs and exports to DWG, DXF, RVT, IFC, OBJ, PDF and CSV, with a Revit plugin that brings the chosen layout back as native, editable Revit elements. Saltmine lists 2D and 3D visualisation, AR and VR walkthroughs and real-time costing, per its own materials.
- Sharing: laiout creates shared links to a design that stakeholders can open and review without a CAD licence. Saltmine lists real-time views, edits and approvals shared within its platform, per its own materials.
- A leasing decision is live: Generate a test fit and adjust it with the client in the room, the same logic behind why speed wins in competitive leasing markets.
- You need to start today: laiout is self-service, with onboarding typically completed in a single session, so there is no implementation project before the first layout.
- The user is not a workplace strategist: Landlords, tenants, brokers, designers and flex operators work from the same platform without a programme team around them.
- A finished visual is needed for the client: laiout generates AI static and video renders from the same design within minutes (a premium add-on), so a tenant or broker can share something polished straight after the test fit. Saltmine lists AR and VR walkthroughs within its capital project tools, a different format for a different stage.
- Capacity, cost and carbon sit beside every layout: laiout shows these metrics live and updates them on every adjustment to the plan or design, so trade-offs are visible during the conversation. Saltmine also lists real-time costing, so the difference here is scope and setup, not whether costs are shown.
- Stakeholders need a quick look: Share a link to the design and a landlord, tenant or project team can open and review it without a CAD licence, and without an implementation project behind it.
- You run a large, ongoing corporate real estate programme: Saltmine describes one platform for programming, test fitting, visualisation and delivery, per its own materials.
- You want portfolio and capital project tools in the same place: Per its own materials, Saltmine also covers portfolio optimisation, occupancy planning and capital project delivery. laiout Hub also stores a portfolio's floor plans and statistics centrally, but Saltmine's portfolio tools extend into occupancy and capital project planning.
- You want guided setup and ongoing support: Saltmine states that it provides full training and dedicated customer success managers.
- What is the job? A leasing decision on an office points to laiout. A corporate programme spanning programming, portfolio and capital projects points to Saltmine.
- How soon do you need to start? Today, self-service, points to laiout. A planned implementation over several weeks, with customer success support, points to Saltmine.
- Who will use it? Landlords, tenants, brokers, designers and flex operators point to laiout. Workplace strategists, real estate teams and project managers inside one enterprise point to Saltmine.
Q: Is Saltmine or laiout better for office space planning?
In our view, laiout is the stronger choice for leasing decisions and fast test fits, because it is self-service, live and usable by the whole deal team from the first session. Saltmine suits enterprises that want one platform for programming, portfolio optimisation and capital projects. Our guide to choosing AI test fit software sets out five criteria for weighing platforms.
Q: Does Saltmine generate test fits like laiout?
Yes. Saltmine lists automated 3D test fit generation among its capabilities, so the platforms overlap. The difference is scope and setup: Saltmine is an enterprise platform with an implementation it says typically takes 4 to 8 weeks, while laiout is self-service and live from the first session.
Q: What are alternatives to Saltmine for space planning?
The right alternative depends on the job. laiout is built for instant, self-service test fits that landlords, tenants, brokers, designers and flex operators generate, adjust and export themselves. Other platforms focus on different jobs, such as architecture-led generative design, bundled leasing workflows or converting existing floor plans into structured data, so it helps to start with the stage of the project you need to support.
Q: How long does it take to get started with Saltmine?
Saltmine states that implementation typically takes 4 to 8 weeks, depending on the complexity and quality of your data. laiout is self-service, with onboarding typically completed in a single session.
Q: Is Saltmine or laiout better for tenants and brokers?
Tenants and brokers who need a layout during a search or negotiation lean towards laiout, which is how brokers close deals faster with AI test fits. The layout can then be followed by AI static and video renders within minutes to share with a client. Corporate occupiers running an ongoing portfolio programme may prefer Saltmine. Some will use both.
Q: Does laiout offer visualisation like Saltmine?
Yes, in a different form. laiout generates AI static and video renders from any design within minutes (a premium add-on), alongside 3D walkthroughs. Saltmine lists 2D and 3D visualisation and AR and VR walkthroughs as part of its capital project tools, so teams running a full design and delivery programme may value that scope.
Q: Can laiout designs be shared with stakeholders who do not have CAD software?
Yes. laiout creates shared links to a design that stakeholders can open and review without a CAD licence. Saltmine also lists real-time views, edits and approvals shared inside its platform, so the difference is again scope and setup.
Q: Can a team use both laiout and Saltmine?
Yes. A corporate real estate team can use Saltmine for programme and portfolio planning, and use laiout for the quick, self-directed test fit that a leasing conversation needs.
In our view, laiout is the stronger choice for leasing decisions and fast test fits. It is self-service, live and usable by the whole deal team, and puts capacity, cost and carbon data and Revit-ready exports in your hands straight away, with AI static and video renders following within minutes. Saltmine earns its place where a corporate real estate team wants one platform for programming, portfolio optimisation and capital projects, and some organisations will sensibly use both.
If the next step is a live conversation, book a demo with laiout today and see a test fit generated, adjusted and exported in front of you.
- laiout is built for the person making a leasing decision, while Saltmine describes itself as a platform for corporate real estate teams.
- A traditional architect-led test fit can take days to weeks to turn around and can cost from a few hundred to several thousand dollars.
- Saltmine states that implementation typically takes 4 to 8 weeks, while laiout is self-service from the first session.
- laiout adds live capacity, cost and carbon data, AI static and video renders, 3D walkthroughs and exports to DWG, DXF, RVT, IFC, OBJ, PDF and CSV.
- laiout shows capacity, cost and carbon live on every adjustment, and designs can be shared by link with stakeholders who have no CAD licence.
- The two overlap on test fitting but are not direct substitutes, and an organisation can use both.
- In our view, laiout is the stronger choice for leasing decisions, and Saltmine for large, ongoing corporate real estate programmes.
- What Is a Test Fit in Commercial Real Estate? How Developers Use Them, Build, March 2026.
- Why Tenants Should Use A Test Fit, Park Real Estate Advisors.
Author: Theodore Harding, laiout
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