The Best Construction Project Management Software List
Here are the 10 tools I’ve evaluated as the best for managing construction projects:
- 3. CMiC — Construction software suite with PM features like file management, job site management, and useful communication features
- 4. VPO — Described as the easiest construction project management software—quick to deploy and accessible on any device
- 5. ConstructionOnline — Top-rated construction PM software with scheduling, RFI tracking, task tracking software, job costing & more
- 7. PASKR — Project management app focused on growing your construction business through standardization and automation
- 8. GenieBelt — Builder software with a great user interface in use at some of the largest construction companies in the world
- 9. Joist — Contractor app that helps contractors estimate, invoice, collect payments, and manage projects.
- 10. Candy CSS — Estimating and project control solution for the construction industry offering critical path planning, cashflow modeling, dynamic forecasting, and more
There's a growing number of PM software for managing construction projects on the market today, so in this article, I summarized my assessment of each tool, explaining what it does best and the type of company or use case it's best for.
What Is Construction Project Management Software?
Construction PM software is an application or platform that provides tools for project managers, project owners, and contractors to plan, manage, control, and analyze their construction projects.
Overviews Of The Best Construction PM Software
Wrike
Best for its real-time data and analytics
Wrike is a powerful project management software that caters to the unique needs of construction projects. With its comprehensive features and tools, this software allows users to keep track of every aspect of their project, from budgeting to scheduling, resource allocation, and team collaboration. They can easily create custom workflows and task lists, delegate responsibilities, and monitor progress, making it an ideal solution for busy construction managers who must simultaneously stay on top of multiple projects.
This cloud-based platform provides real-time data and analytics, allowing teams to make better, data-driven decisions that can improve project outcomes and increase profitability. Its resource management feature lets supervisors manage and track project resources, such as equipment and materials, in real time. This feature also allows managers to check availability, allocate resources to specific tasks, and identify underutilized resources within the project.
Wrike's collaboration tools enable all team members to work together seamlessly by providing real-time messaging, commenting, and video conferencing tools. Its timesheets provide granular insights into the labor costs associated with each project stage, which is helpful in the construction industry, where projects can span months or even years. This feature gives users complete visibility into their workforce's activity, enabling them to make more informed decisions and adjustments to ensure the project stays on time and within budget.
The software’s intuitive interface provides users with drag-and-drop functions to manage the timeline, budgets, and resource allocation. They can also specify project milestones to track progress while ensuring all team members stay on the same page. Wrike’s Gantt charts clearly show the project timeline, highlighting the dependencies between tasks. This allows stakeholders to better understand how each task relates to the overall project and helps identify potential roadblocks early.
Pricing starts at $9.80/user/month, and a free plan is available.
Contractor Foreman
Best project, resource, and document management for construction teams
Contractor Foreman is a cloud-based software that helps manage construction projects, resources, documents, and finances. Features span to include employee time tracking, project scheduling, billing and invoicing, and document sharing. Users can manage multiple projects simultaneously and dispatch teams based on availability and proximity because of the software's GPS tracker.
Project plans, daily logs, to-do lists, and client portals can all be used to streamline the project lifecycle and keep everyone in the loop on progress. Users can create personalized forms, templates, inspection checklists, and reports to fit project-specific requirements, helping you collect all the essential data to plan and execute your construction projects. The software also includes a custom estimation module with quick selections and customizable items allowing contractors to quickly create professional estimates.
Photos, measurements, and other important project documents can be easily captured on the go with the mobile app. The document management module enables users to manage all construction project-related documents in one place. This could include plans, drawings, blueprints, photos, and contracts. Contact management is also included, to help you manage your client, vendor, and subcontractor data.
Integrations with other apps like QuickBooks, WePay, Outlook 365, Google Calendar, CompanyCam, Gusto, and Angi Leads are available. You can also use a paid Zapier account to unlock additional software integrations. A free 30-day trial is available, and paid plans start at $49 per month, billed annually.
CMiC
Construction software suite with PM features like file management, job site management, and useful communication features
CMiC delivers enterprise and field operations solutions purpose-built for construction and capital projects companies by using a single database platform for all planning. You can manage invoices, purchases, subcontractor compliance, change orders, punch lists together with your customer relationship management in one place.
CMiC is a robust, scalable tool that uses expert infrastructure to organize collaboration, data storage and retrieval, and intelligent reporting technology. Their tools help create a database of information that is easily searchable and clean.
CMiC has built-in seamless integrations with Kofax, DocuSign, Plan Grid, BlueBeam, AutoDesk, Oracle/Textura, and other third-party applications.
A one-time payment might be a relief to companies who don’t want to dabble in endless billing cycles and hard-to-cancel contracts – however, the substantial price tag makes CMiC an inaccessible choice to many, losing them some point in our evaluation for Value for Cost.
CMiC starts at $90,000 as a one-time payment and has a free demo.
VPO
Described as the easiest construction project management software—quick to deploy and accessible on any device
VPO markets itself as the easiest construction project management software because it’s customizable, easy to use, accessible on any device. It’s also based off of the Office 365 system so for project managers who are used to Excel or Microsoft Project the learning curve is shorter.
VPO’s feature set includes features for bidding, financials, meeting management, capturing work in progress, RFIs, submittals, change orders, project emails, service management, and scheduling. It also has a program management feature to keep your eye on the bottom line and aid program level decision-making.
The dashboards are above average in this software, with useful executive dashboard reports and visual displays of your projects by location.
VPO offers pricing upon request and has a Free Demo.
ConstructionOnline
Top-rated construction PM software with scheduling, RFI tracking, task tracking software, job costing & more
ConstructionOnline is a highly-rated construction project management software with features like cloud file management, plan and drawing markup tools, estimating and job costing, and critical-path project scheduling to manage projects from pre-construction to the complete project lifecycle.
Communication and collaboration tools are well-utilized here, particularly the sleek email-esc messaging feature dedicated to each individual project. Notes and comments are kept segmented, clean, and logged.
Integrations include Quickbooks, Microsoft Project, AWS, Zero, Sage 300, Dropbox, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, UDA ConstructionSuite, OnSite Mobile Apps, Houzz, and more.
The integration between ConstructionOnline and ConstructionSuite is quite rough around the edges. Considering they are based on the same platform and built by the same developer, this clear oversight lost them some point in the Integration evaluation category.
ConstructionOnline starts at $200/month and has a free 10-day free trial.
Builterra
Best construction software for contract administration
Builterra is a contract administration tool with real-time cost estimates, a Bid Preparation portal, RFI and submittals, incident reporting, standardized item catalogs, geo-located photo updates, a progress dashboard, accurate monthly payment certificates, and more.
Photo geolocation is easily accessible, as is photo captioning options. Uploading from desktop or mobile is intuitive and handled well by the app. Documentation and record keeping are some of the most useful features.
Integrates with CAD data and Excel. No other possible integration data was provided by the vendor.
The UX looks a bit dated and the iOS compatibility isn’t gesture supported. Because of this, they lost some marks in the UX segment of the evaluation criteria list. Additionally, they lost some marks for not having transparent pricing options outlined on the website.
Builterra offers pricing upon request and has a free demo.
PASKR
Project management app focused on growing your construction business through standardization and automation
PASKR is a construction-oriented project management solution with features to help with pre-construction, project management, field management, and accounting. Notable features include unlimited storage, contact management, version control, bid response tracking, proposal packages, and lots of features for billing, expenses, and purchase orders.
PASKR is incredibly streamlined. They’ve selected project management features are most useful to automate parts of the job, and they’ve trimmed the fat. They focus on portability, easy onboarding, remote access, collaboration, and task management.
Integrations include Sage 100/300 and Quickbooks. No other integration data was available on their site.
PASKR would do well with more options for accounting integration options, which lost them some evaluation criteria points in the Integrations section. Additionally, more frequent software updates would be welcome.
GenieBelt
Builder software with a great user interface in use at some of the largest construction companies in the world
LetsBuild, formerly GenieBelt and Aproplan, is a digital tool for construction professionals that assists with ensuring teams are in sync, schedules are up-to-date, stakeholders and involved in the communication, and construction processes are digitized so all team members have access to project information.
The different dashboard features are well utilized and having everything hosted in cloud-based storage better enables remote contractors and subcontractors. Analysis, reporting, and picture uploading are some extremely helpful features to help visualize the entire project on a big picture level.
Integrations Revit, Piecync, Bricsys, Excel spreadsheets, Tableau, Sharepoint, SAP, Landax, Dropbox, Trello, Primavera P6, and over 1000 more through Zapier.
LetsBuild lost a few marks in Usability simply because the mobile app and the web app function differently and cause some confusion. The web-based platform has more details, a different interface, and more options, but you won’t know until you waste time hunting for something.
LetsBuild starts at $277/month and has a freemium version available.
Joist
Contractor app that helps contractors estimate, invoice, collect payments, and manage projects.
Used by over 850,000 contractors, Joist is a professional invoicing and estimating app with a feature list that includes digital signatures for invoices in-person or online, cost markups, financial management, deposit requests, payment schedules, job photos, and more.
Joist is hugely affordable and perfect for teams without regular access to desktop computers and/or an office space. All it takes is a compatible mobile device to get started. Because of the low barrier cost, it’s perfect for smaller teams who only need the basics.
Joist does not currently integrate with other applications.
Per the above note, Joist lost a significant number of evaluation points in the Integrations category – as they don’t offer any. It’s not unusual for mobile-only apps to not integrate well, however, project management often requires many connections to cover all of your bases.
Joist starts at $10/month and has a freemium version available.
Candy CSS
Estimating and project control solution for the construction industry offering critical path planning, cashflow modeling, dynamic forecasting, and more
Candy CCS is a specialized software solution for the construction and engineering industries that is developed by contractors to address industry-specific needs. They address estimating and cost control, project control, enterprise management, and more.
Candy CCS is user-friendly and the UX is transparent and useful, if a bit drab. It can take some time and practice to get into programming on CCS but it overall scored quite well in our evaluation consideration for Usability and UX.
Integrations include Pastel’s Accounting Software and BuildSmart. No other information was available on their site.
On occasion, reporting doesn’t work as intended and will offer an error or a corrupt PDF. Navigation and management of Quantity take-offs (QTO) estimates and tracking could be more comprehensive.
Candy CCS offers pricing upon request and has both a free trial and a free demo available.
The Best Construction PM Software Summary
Tool | Free Option | Price | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Wrike Best for its real-time data and analytics | Free plan available | From $9.80/user/month | Visit Website |
2 | Contractor Foreman Best project, resource, and document management for construction teams | A 30-day free trial is available upon sign-up. | Contractor Foreman’s plans start at $49 per month, billed annually. | Visit Website |
3 | CMiC Construction software suite with PM features like file management, job site management, and useful communication features | Free demo | From $90,000 as a one-time payment | Visit Website |
4 | VPO Described as the easiest construction project management software—quick to deploy and accessible on any device | Free demo | Pricing upon request | Visit Website |
5 | ConstructionOnline Top-rated construction PM software with scheduling, RFI tracking, task tracking software, job costing & more | 10-day free trial | From 200/month | Visit Website |
6 | Builterra Best construction software for contract administration | Free demo | Pricing upon request | Visit Website |
7 | PASKR Project management app focused on growing your construction business through standardization and automation | Not available | Visit Website | |
8 | GenieBelt Builder software with a great user interface in use at some of the largest construction companies in the world | Freemium version available | From $277/month | Visit Website |
9 | Joist Contractor app that helps contractors estimate, invoice, collect payments, and manage projects. | Freemium version available | From $10/month | Visit Website |
10 | Candy CSS Estimating and project control solution for the construction industry offering critical path planning, cashflow modeling, dynamic forecasting, and more | Free demo and Free trial | Pricing upon request | Visit Website |
Other Construction Management Tools
These construction management tools didn’t make my top 10 list, but they’re still worth checking out:
- Onware
Cloud-based solution with data flow between documents, PDF access without additional plug-ins, item age tracking, flexible reporting & more
- BrickControl
Well-rounded construction management software to study, manage, execute, and supervise projects
- Projectworks
Best for its robust reporting features
Selection Criteria For Construction PM Software
Here's what I looked for when I evaluated each product:
Usability
Construction software users range from general contractors to building owners, independent construction managers, subcontractors, and others. The software has to accommodate different types of users with good tech support, user support, and training.
Key Features
- Project scheduling - Construction scheduling software helps finalize schedules, assign workers and resources, and equipment to projects, and set dependencies between project phases and tasks.
- Job tracking - Especially useful for contractor management, job tracking software help firm track tasks and monitor project progress. It gives construction project managers an idea of when a project is about to go over budget with automatic notifications, and provides useful tools like time tracking reports and dashboards.
- File and document management - The best construction management programs provide a centralized repository where construction firms can store, search for, and share project files and assets. These include RFIs, change orders, project photos, contracts, blueprints, and diagrams.
- Job costing - A key benefit of construction programs, job costing helps firms track project costs, compare them to estimates, and manage invoices, payments, and timesheets—all in one platform.
Integrations
I prioritized PM software programs that had built-in integrations with other common work management systems in use at general contractors, especially accounting systems and the main email providers like Outlook and Gmail.
People Also Ask
Here are some answers to common questions about construction project management software to help you understand more about this type of tool and what to consider when signing up for one.
What Is Construction Management?
Why Use Construction Project Management Software?
How Much Does Construction Project Management Software Cost?
What Is The Most Used Construction Project Management Software?
What Do You Think About These Tools?
Have you tried out any construction management applications listed above? Are there any project management construction tools missing from the list? Let me know in the comments below, and I'll look into adding it to the list.