Inaccurate construction estimates cost 3% of your project’s profit while reducing future project win rates by 30%.
Old-school cost-estimating methods can be inaccurate due to unreliable data, human errors, and lack of accountability.
Construction estimating software eliminates the guesswork. It’s trained in modern tech, helping estimate accurate costs, streamline processes, and cut costly budget errors.
Estimating software for construction uses machine learning, visualization elements, and real-time data to help estimate accurate costs for your construction projects.
However, there’s no one-size-fits-all.
In this article, we’ll check out the top construction estimating tools, diving into their key features, limitations, pricing, and product reviews. 🔎
10 Best Construction Estimating Software in 2024
Summarize this article for me pleaseWhat Should You Look for In Construction Estimating Software?
Consider these factors when selecting an estimating software for construction projects:
- Affordable pricing: Look for software that aligns with your budget. Since it’s a significant investment, determine how much you want to invest in the software and pick an affordable tool
- Accuracy and efficiency: Choose a software that’s reliable and offers highly accurate construction cost and project estimates, including labor, materials, and other expenses
- User-friendly interface: Ensure the construction estimation software is easy to navigate and understand. An easy-to-use tool will reduce training time and eliminate the need for external tech support
- Integration: Look for estimating software that integrates seamlessly with your existing apps and systems, including project management tools and accounting software
- Scalability: Choose a tool that can scale alongside your business, efficiently handling more extensive projects and a growing clientele
While multiple ERP construction estimating software can prove beneficial, finding the right software could be daunting.
Here’s a list of top construction estimating software to fast-forward the process. 👇
Summarize this article for me pleaseThe 10 Best Construction Estimating Software to Use in 2024
Here are the features, user reviews, limitations, and pricing of the best-estimating software available.
1. Contractor Foreman
Contractor Foreman is full-fledged construction management software. It offers tools and 35+ features to help you manage bids, estimates, and people—under one roof.
This is an affordable and user-friendly software for generating construction estimates. Its construction estimation software is renowned for serving contractors in over 75 countries.
Use the estimating software on the web or with the iOS and Android apps—no device limits.
Contractor Foreman best features
- Gain end-to-end visibility into your project progress via Kanban and list views
- Customize cover sheets by adding references, details, and custom data
- Use ready-made estimate templates to create proposals quickly and efficiently
- Access real-time cost database with the latest material and labor prices
- Get real-time notifications when estimates are delivered, opened, and clicked
- Integrate with popular tools like Quickbooks, MS Projects, Stripe, Zapier, and more
Contractor Foreman limitations
- Limited ways to organize estimates and projects
- The mobile app functions are not as intuitive as the website
- Lacks revision records for estimates
Contractor Foreman pricing
- Free: 30 days
- Basic: $79/month
- Standard: $125/month
- Plus: $166/month
- Pro: $249/month
- Unlimited: $49/month
Contractor Foreman ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.5/5 (200+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (630+ reviews)
2. Buildertrend
Buildertrend uses error-free agile estimation techniques for accurate cost estimation via pre-built calculations and formulas. It’s best for building residential construction roadmaps and estimating construction costs, making it a popular choice among home builders, specialty contractors, and remodelers.
Buildertrend provides accurate job costing with real-time cost tracking. Automated proposals eliminate double entries, helping you create detailed proposals for your clients quickly and easily.
Buildertrend best features
- Choose from read-made estimation templates to speed up the bidding process
- Measure and quantify materials with easy-to-use takeoff functions
- Store material and labor costs in a personalized cost database
- Build professional bidding proposals
- Use detailed cost breakdowns, real-time expense monitoring, and the capability to adjust resources efficiently
Buildertrend limitations
- The UI isn’t impressive, features and resources are hard to navigate
- No auto-save options and editing in Word and Excel sometimes erase all data
Buildertrend pricing
- Free: Unlimited
- Basic: $19/month
- Growth: $39/month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
Buildertrend ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.2/5 (150+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (1,600+ reviews)
3. Stack
Stack is cloud-based construction project management software. From estimations to closeout, the tool provides all the construction solutions you need to streamline the estimating process.
Moreover, Stack simplifies estimating costs for complex projects via intuitive measurement, estimation, and proposal tools. It also offers handy automation tools for automating repetitive tasks like updating databases, counting, and doing the math for you.
Compared to other inflexible construction estimating tools, Stack offers many customization options to configure the software to your business needs.
Additional points to Stack’s centralized project hub for managing, tracking, and communicating with all internal and external stakeholders.
Stack best features
- Get accurate measurements with dedicated tools for measuring area, linear, arc, pitched, counts, and volume
- Create on-brand proposals with brand logo, terms, scope, and other details
- Use pre-built or custom libraries to create bills for items, materials, and assemblies easily
- Generate reports with customizable data points like plan, cost type, or other labels
- Access an extensive construction-related template library to get going quickly
Stack limitations
- Items and assemblies, once created, cannot be moved to a new location
- The software may become slow when working with huge data sets
Stack pricing
- Start: $2,999 /year
- Grow: $1,899 /year
- Build: Custom pricing
Stack ratings and reviews
- G2: Not enough reviews
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (1,300+ reviews)
4. Clear Estimates
Clear Estimates is an easy-to-use construction estimating software. It has 130+ ready-made estimate templates for common areas like kitchens, bathrooms, garages, and more.
You can personalize templates by adding or removing specific parts. Clear Estimates provides thousands of pre-loaded blocks with regionally accurate material and labor costs.
Simply drag them into your template to create estimates specific to your client’s location. You get pricing data for over 400 different areas across the US, updated quarterly.
Clear Estimates best features
- Enjoy fast and reliable support during construction estimation
- Get access to 160+ estimation templates for categorized for different areas
- Access to 10,000+ line item pricing database (Updated quarterly)
- Save time curating content with professional proposal templates
Clear Estimates limitations
- Mostly catered to the US locale
- It is difficult to add sales tax to an estimation
Clear Estimates pricing
- Free: 30 days
- Standard: $79/month
- Pro: $119/month
- Franchise: $249/month
Clear Estimates rating
- G2: Not enough ratings
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (100+ reviews)
Check out these construction time tracking tools!
5. Procore
Procore provides a comprehensive toolkit to streamline preconstruction workflows, like managing designs, estimates, tenders, and budgets.
Like Stack, Procore offers the right estimation tools and customization options to perform quantity takeoffs, estimates, and professional proposals.
Procore has helped in 1,000,000+ projects across 150 countries by top companies like Honeywell, Brookfield Properties, and more.
Procore best features
- A centralized dashboard to manage all your preconstruction activities
- Collaborate with project stakeholders using 2D and 3D models in real-time
- Integrate with 500+ apps to work the way you want
- Generate takeoff-ready symbol recognitions with AI Auto Count within seconds
- A mobile-first interface with dedicated iOS and Android apps
- Automatic cost calculation for material and labor
Procore limitations
- There is a steep learning curve to the software
- The pricing is unsuitable for private contractors or small to medium-sized construction agencies
Procore pricing
- Custom pricing
Procore ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.6/5 (2,500+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (2,600+ reviews)
6. Buildsoft
Buildsoft’s Cubit Estimating platform lets you integrate estimating and takeoffs into one seamless process.
The flexible centralized platform lets you generate estimates quickly and accurately. You can find intelligent tools like 3D or BIM model inspections, job analysis, dynamic price lists, and more to simplify estimating.
You can also save pricing data as template lists, controlling job pricing for accuracy and profitability. Create template jobs with common trades and items to streamline future estimates.
Buildsoft best features
- A single view to manage all your construction estimations and projects
- Cross-check estimations using interactive 3D or BIM models
- Create new estimates using price list templates
- Enable real-time sync between template price lists, jobs, and existing estimates
- Use Job Revision Workflow for handling changes in jobs, estimates, or projects efficiently
Buildsoft limitations
- Lacks adequate learning resources for new users
- Users face difficulty in altering costs and prices
Buildsoft pricing
- Standard: $180/month
- Professional: $240/month
- Enterprise: $270/month
Buildsoft ratings and reviews
- G2: Not enough reviews
- Capterra: Not enough reviews
7. PlanSwift
PlanSwift, a cloud-based construction estimating software makes your construction estimating process fast, convenient, and paperless. It is easily customizable to your specific business needs.
PlanSwift can be used in virtually any trade with an intuitive drag-and-drop interface and single-click functions. Whether commercial or residential—the platform offers purpose-specific tools to generate accurate cost estimates.
PlanSwift best features
- Use area and linear tools to calculate square footage or surface areas, simple point-and-click measurements
- Features Single Click Takeoff for measuring irregular or curved surface measurements
- Access dynamic cost projections that update with changes in labor or material costs
- Drop pre-built custom assemblies onto your takeoff for automatic counting, calculations, and estimating
PlanSwift limitations
- No built-in cloud syncing or file sharing
- Slow and laggy at times with a high rendering time
PlanSwift pricing
- Free: 14 day
- Professional: $1749/year
PlanSwift ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.3/5 (25+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.3/5 (350+ reviews)
8. HeavyBid
Holding the trust of 50,000+ estimators, HeavyBid is among the fastest and most accurate estimating software for civil construction. It lets you import items from DOT websites to reduce the time spent on estimating.
HeavyBid uses external takeoff programs and inputs the data to create project estimates.
HeavyBid also makes it easy to double-check estimations with checklists and review tools that put every cost and price under the microscope. This justifies why it is a go-to for 44 of the top 50 ENR heavy civil contractors.
HeavyBid best features
- Connect with 30+ accounting systems, including Vista, Quickbooks, Sage 300, etc.
- Enable auto-sync to avoid double-entry in the estimating workflow
- Create customizable proposals
- Supports data import and export from Primavera or Microsoft Project
- Allows for multiple estimators to collaborate on projects in real-time
HeavyBid limitations
- Expensive to buy and maintain
- Limited reporting capabilities
HeavyBid pricing
- Custom pricing
HeavyBid ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.5/5 (90+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.6/5 (500+ reviews)
Check out these construction bid templates!
9. Estimator360
Estimator360, a robust construction estimating and management software has built-in construction calculations and rule sets, making estimating easy.
With Estimator360, you can also create detailed material lists, including labor, materials, and other essential construction costs. These lists can be shared with suppliers and subcontractors while maintaining a single source of truth.
Estimator360 best features
- Offers limitless Assemblies with advanced construction calculations and rule sets
- Customize and scale assemblies using proprietary technologies like Build Options and Intelligent Ratios
- Has automated workflows for converting estimates to proposals in a click
- Choose from 70+ project templates or custom-create new templates
- A mobile-first platform with dedicated apps for iOS and Android users
Estimator360 limitations
- Difficult to integrate with third-party software
- The application sometimes has glitches and requires re-installing
Estimator360 pricing
- One Simple Plan: $369/month
Estimator360 ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.5/5 (90+ reviews)
- Capterra: Not enough ratings
10. Sage Estimating
Sage Estimating helps you win more bids with accuracy and reduces the takeoff time by pulling 2D and 3D details with a single click. You can transport this information into the software quickly and accurately.
It’s integrated with Sage 100 Contractor, Sage 300 Construction, and Real Estate to simplify exporting budgets, purchase orders, and subcontracts. Employing the Sage Estimating software also resolves the problem of data duplication.
Sage Estimating best features
- Simplify the estimating process with tools for 2D and 3D takeoffs
- Maximize speed and efficiency with automatic takeoff data transfer
- Make collaboration simpler with easy integrations with other applications
Sage Estimating limitations
- It is not very user-friendly and has a learning curve
- Fails to create specification-driven takeoff systems
Sage Estimating pricing
- Free: 30 day
Sage Estimating ratings and reviews
- G2: Not enough ratings
- Capterra: 4.1/5 (70+ reviews)
Summarize this article for me pleaseOther Construction Tools
While these construction tools can help you source accurate estimates for construction projects, ClickUp can be your sidekick for managing these projects neatly.
ClickUp’s Construction Project Management helps estimators, contractors, and SMB owners manage and collaborate on construction projects, track dependencies, manage proposals, and more.
Choose from 10+ views and ClickUp Construction Management Templates to manage projects swiftly.
ClickUp also offers unlimited users and tasks, all for free. Want to stay on top of everything? Incorporate real-time tracking into your functioning to never miss an update.
ClickUp best features
- Estimate costs: Calculate estimates on orders, quantities, material, and labor costs with calculations and custom formulas
- Manage projects: Use ClickUp’s enterprise project management, including features such as automation and resource management
- Time prediction: Predict the amount of time taken for each task with time estimates
- Task prioritization: Use Task Dependencies to prioritize and complete tasks in order
- Real-time collaboration: Create knowledge bases and collaborate with teams in real-time
ClickUp limitations
- It does not provide a table view on the mobile app (for now)
ClickUp pricing
- Free: Forever
- Unlimited Plan: $7/month
- Business Plan: $12/month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
ClickUp ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.7/5 (9,000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (4,000+ reviews)
Summarize this article for me pleaseUse ClickUp to Make Better Construction Estimates
Estimating software for construction is integral to winning more projects, minimizing estimation time, and making estimations more accurate.
Avoid losing deals due to slow, error-prone manual calculations—the right software will give you speed and precision.
With ClickUp by your side, managing construction will become smoother than ever.
Sign up for ClickUp today to benefit from its construction management templates, unlimited usage, and seamless collaboration.
Everything you need to stay organized and get work done.
