Buildertrend
Buildertrend is a construction management software that coordinates your entire building process by combining project scheduling, financial tracking, customer communication, and document management into one centralized digital platform.
PlanSwift
PlanSwift is a professional construction takeoff and estimating software that allows you to calculate costs, manage materials, and perform digital measurements directly from your electronic blueprints and project files.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | Buildertrend | PlanSwift |
|---|---|---|
| Website | buildertrend.com | planswift.com |
| Pricing Model | Subscription | One_time |
| Starting Price | $499/month | $99/month |
| FREE Trial | ✘ No free trial | ✓ 14 days free trial |
| Free Plan | ✘ No free plan | ✘ No free plan |
| Product Demo | ✓ Request demo here | ✓ Request demo here |
| Deployment | ||
| Integrations | ||
| Target Users | ||
| Target Industries | ||
| Customer Count | 0 | 0 |
| Founded Year | 2006 | 2007 |
| Headquarters | Omaha, USA | Bountiful, USA |
Overview
Buildertrend
Buildertrend is a comprehensive construction management platform designed to help you run your building business more efficiently from the initial bid to the final warranty. You can move away from scattered spreadsheets and paper trails by centralizing your schedules, daily logs, and change orders in one place. It bridges the gap between the field and the office, ensuring your entire team stays synchronized on project timelines and budget updates in real-time.
You can manage your financial health with built-in tools for estimating, invoicing, and online payments while keeping your clients happy through a dedicated portal. The software is specifically built for home builders, remodelers, and specialty contractors who need to scale their operations without losing control of project details. By using the mobile app, you can capture photos and update logs directly from the job site, keeping everyone informed instantly.
PlanSwift
PlanSwift helps you eliminate manual scaling and paper blueprints by moving your entire takeoff process to your computer. You can calculate everything from square footage and linear dimensions to individual item counts with just a few clicks. It is designed to help you create more accurate bids in less time, whether you are a general contractor or a specialized subcontractor in trades like framing, concrete, or electrical work.
The software integrates your takeoff data directly into estimating spreadsheets, allowing you to manage material lists and labor costs without manual data entry. You can easily adjust for waste, markups, and taxes to ensure your quotes remain profitable. It serves thousands of users across the construction industry who need to speed up their bidding process while maintaining high precision in their project estimates.
Overview
Buildertrend Features
- Daily Logs Record progress and share weather updates or site photos from the field so your team stays informed every day.
- Project Scheduling Map out your entire project timeline with Gantt charts and notify subcontractors automatically when schedules shift or change.
- Customer Portal Give your clients a private login to view progress photos, sign documents, and make selections without constant phone calls.
- Financial Tracking Manage your budget by tracking expenses, creating purchase orders, and processing online payments to keep your cash flow steady.
- Bid Management Send out bid requests to your subcontractors and compare quotes side-by-side to ensure you get the best project pricing.
- Change Orders Create and send change orders for digital signature so you can get approvals and payments before the extra work begins.
PlanSwift Features
- Point-and-Click Takeoff. Measure areas, linear items, and counts by simply clicking on your digital blueprints to generate instant, accurate quantities.
- Drag-and-Drop Assemblies. Drag pre-configured material and labor assemblies onto your sections to calculate all necessary parts for a specific job automatically.
- Digital Scaling. Calibrate your digital drawings instantly so every measurement you take is perfectly scaled to the original architectural or engineering plans.
- Custom Formulas. Create your own mathematical formulas to calculate complex requirements like volume, waste percentages, or specific material weights.
- Excel Integration. Link your takeoff data directly to Excel spreadsheets so your estimates update in real-time as you measure the plans.
- Overlay Tool. Compare different versions of blueprints by overlaying them to identify design changes and potential cost impacts immediately.
Pricing Comparison
Buildertrend Pricing
- Project scheduling
- Daily logs and photos
- Customer portal
- Document storage
- Messages and comments
- Standard integrations
- Everything in Essential, plus:
- Estimating tools
- Change orders
- Purchase orders
- Bid management
- QuickBooks & Xero integration
PlanSwift Pricing
- Full takeoff capabilities
- Advanced estimating tools
- Customizable assemblies
- 1-year of updates
- 1-year of technical support
- Standard training session
- Everything in Professional, plus:
- Annual software updates
- Unlimited technical support
- Automatic plan backups
- Access to latest plugins
- Priority customer service
Pros & Cons
Buildertrend
Pros
- Centralizes all communication and documents in one place
- Excellent mobile app for real-time field updates
- Professional customer portal improves the client experience
- Strong scheduling tools with automated subcontractor notifications
Cons
- Significant learning curve for non-technical team members
- Higher price point compared to basic generic tools
- Initial setup requires a heavy time investment
PlanSwift
Pros
- Significant reduction in time spent on manual takeoffs
- Highly customizable assemblies for specific trade needs
- Excellent integration with Microsoft Excel spreadsheets
- Intuitive point-and-click interface for new users
- Reliable accuracy for complex area measurements
Cons
- Initial setup of custom assemblies takes time
- Software is limited to Windows operating systems
- Large file sizes can slow down performance
- Annual support fees are required for updates