PRICING

GUIDE
CONSTRUCTION ESTIMATING
SOFTWARE
HERE'S WHAT WE'LL COVER:

PRICING MODELS

PRICING RANGES

UNEXPECTED COSTS

PRICING OF POPULAR SYSTEMS

THREE COMMON PRICING MODELS

An upfront sum for the license to own the software and use it
PERPETUAL LICENSE in perpetuity. This is the more traditional model and is most
common with on-premise applications.

A monthly fee to use the software for a specific amount of

SUBSCRIPTION time. Subscription pricing became popular with the advent of
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS).

Licenses are usually free of charge, which reduces upfront

OPEN SOURCE costs. Implementation, integration, and ongoing maintenance,
however, can be major expenses.
COMPARING COSTS BY PRICING MODEL

UPFRONT RECURRING OTHER

COSTS COSTS COSTS

PERPETUAL LICENSE

SUBSCRIPTION

OPEN SOURCE

HIGHER LOWER AVERAGE

UPFRONT AND RECCURING COSTS
UPFRONT COSTS
Perpetual License Costs Subscription Costs Free & Open Source Costs

Perpetual License Cost

•
Customization
• • •
Installation and Setup
• • •
Integration with Existing Systems
• • •
RECURRING COSTS
Perpetual License Costs Subscription Costs Free & Open Source Costs

Maintenance (updates, patches, & upgrades)

• •
Premium Support Services
• •
Subscription Fee
•
In-House or Outsourced IT Consultants
•
TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP
The bars show the cost per year for a license or subscription deployment. Those costs accumulate each year as illustrated by the lines,
which tend to converge after 7-10 years.
A perpetual license for software typically costs more in the first year, with occasional costs for major upgrades within 5-10 years.
A subscription model further spreads out the total cost and may include additional costs for upgrades beyond the first year.

Visit our TOTAL COST OF

OWNERSHIP CALCULATOR
for a more detailed estimate.
SUBSCRIPTION PRICE RANGES

ADVANCED
$59 - $1,529+

PREMIUM
MONTHLY FEE

$59 - $1,390

BASIC
$18 - $695

FUNCTIONAL BREADTH AND DEPTH

Note: Basic = (1- 5 estimators), Premium = (6 - 10 estimators), and Advanced = (11+ estimators).
Basic package covers the basic features of the product, whereas premium package generally covers basic plus some premium features, and advanced package usually offers basic plus premium
plus additional features (usually customization features along with features to support large teams or enterprises).
PERPETUAL PRICE RANGES

ADVANCED
$4,995 - $15,950+

PREMIUM
MONTHLY FEE

$4,995 - $15,950

BASIC
$1,595 - $7,975

FUNCTIONAL BREADTH AND DEPTH

Note: Basic = (1- 5 estimators), Premium = (6 - 10 estimators), and Advanced = (11+ estimators).
Basic package covers the basic features of the product, whereas premium package generally covers basic plus some premium features, and advanced package usually offers basic plus premium
plus additional features (usually customization features along with features to support large teams or enterprises).
OFTEN OVERLOOKED COSTS

DATA MIGRATION TRAINING

While this can be done in-house, Web-based training is often
most will want to pay the vendor included, but vendors will
to transfer data. charge for in-person training.

HARDWARE & IT MAINTENANCE & UPGRADES

This can be a major expense Be sure to ask the vendor if they
for on-premise software buyers charge for updates, patches, upgrades,
that need their own servers. and other maintenance events.
SAMPLE PRICING OPTIONS
PRICING FREE FREE
PRODUCT BASIC PREMIUM ADVANCED
MODEL VERSION TRIAL

Buildertrend Subscription /mo No Yes $99* $299 NA

Clear Estimates Subscription /mo No Yes $59* $59 $59

ClockShark Subscription /mo No Yes $18 - $30* $61 - $85 $133+

CoConstruct Subscription /mo No No $299 $399 $499

Esticom Subscription /mo No Yes $139 - $695 $834 - $1,390 $1,529+

Planhub Subscription /mo Yes Yes $100** $100 $100

Quickbooks Online Subscription /mo No Yes $25 - $80 $80 - $180 $180

Stack Subscription /mo Yes Yes $417**+ NA NA

*Annual pricing discount is available.

**Pricing is billed annually.
SAMPLE PRICING OPTIONS
CONTINUED

FREE FREE
PRODUCT PRICING MODEL BASIC PREMIUM ADVANCED
VERSION TRIAL

Fastduct Perpetual License Fee No No $4,995 $4,995 $4,995

FastPIPE Perpetual License Fee No No $4,995 $4,995 $4,995

PlanSwift Perpetual License Fee No Yes $1,595 - $7,975 $9,570 - $15,950 $15,950+
SOURCES OF PRICING DATA
Buildertrend Quickbooks Online

Clear Estimates Stack

ClockShark Fastduct

CoConstruct FastPIPE

Esticom PlanSwift

Planhub

The products in this guide qualified for the most recent FrontRunners for Construction Estimating and were highly rated by users (https://www.softwareadvice.com/construction/cost-estimating-
software-comparison/#frontrunners). Only products with publicly available pricing information were included. We summarized publicly available pricing sources including vendor websites as of
November 2021 beginning with the lowest monthly pricing (not including annual discounts) for packages that include the core functionality for a software category. We list pricing for more
advanced packages (per user, when available) that also include the core software feature(s). As always, your company’s specific needs may differ and final pricing will vary.
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