The significance of design courses in architectural education are of the utmost significance. However, there are some persistent obstacles associated with design, which arise from variables such as unfulfilled expectations and erroneous visualization, resulting in difficulties in learning. Contemporary culture is greatly influenced by modern digital technologies, including Extended Reality (XR) technologies, with the goal to accelerate, enhance, and improve students’ design education. Nevertheless, despite their various adoption in design education, there is a significant absence of a thorough examination of the similarity and distinctions among different forms of XR including AR and VR. The aim of this review is to thoroughly analyze the similarity and difference based on existing literature as instruction tools in architectural design education. The review first conducts a comprehensive literature analysis, examining relevant variables entailing software, hardware, integration technique, relevant subject, anticipated course, the impact, and technical ameliorative applications. Findings suggest that AR is proper during embodiment phase due to real-world integration, while VR suits conceptual design phase needing isolation. The distinguishing features between AR and VR lie in their functionalities utilized. For AR, these include live energy simulation, site insights in real-time, user interaction, and geo-located visualization. In contrast, VR advocates special features such as VR sketching, feedback tools, LCVR, virtual handmade model creation, crowd simulation, media architecture, handicapped experience, acoustics experience, design rule implementation, and digitalized site visits.