Clear Estimates vs PlanHub

Procore

Buildertrend

PlanSwift

BuildingConnected

ProEst

SmartBid

Compare Clear Estimates and PlanHub based on features, pricing, verified reviews, integrations & more on GetApp. Find out which software is best for your business in 2026.

Contractor Foreman

Contractor Foreman is an all-in-one construction management software designed for small to medium-sized contractors. It offers a range of features, including project management, financial tracking, team collaboration, and document management, all in an easy-to-use and affordable platform.

STACK

STACK is the best, cloud-based takeoff and estimating software for construction contractors. STACK software is easy-to-use, Mac & PC compatible, and has powerful, time-saving AI features.

Houzz Pro

Houzz Pro is a cloud and mobile-based solution for construction and design industry, offering AI tools to win projects, manage clients and teams, and run business efficiently.

Windows-based estimating software that generates bids and proposals while managing a part/customer database.

Accounting Integration

Audit Trail

Bid Management

Billing & Invoicing

Change Order Management

Contractor Management

Cost Database

Cost Estimating

Customizable Branding

Customizable Fields

Customizable Templates

Data Import/Export

For AEC Industry

For Residential

Historical Database

Job Costing

Mobile Access

Projections

Project Management

Proposal Generation

Quotes/Estimates

Reporting/Analytics

Reporting & Statistics

Third-Party Integrations

What-if Analysis

Clear Estimates

Web-based

Windows

iPad

iPhone

Standard

Franchise

Remodeling Contractor

So you can set up your pricing and just plug in the quantities for the tasks you do most often. And for the tasks you don't often do, the program provides pricing.

Owner

the pre made parts are very close to the real cost, the templates are fairly extensive in both the number of types but also contents of each

Price is expensive if you are not a large company that doesn't use all the bells and whistles.

This has been reported but not corrected.

owner

I still needed to scale blueprints or use another program.

Customer service is responsive and easy to reach.

Material costs are inaccurate and have not been updated.

estimator

Ease of use, able to change line item information, updated pricing.

Project Manager

This software is locked into one cost code system. And the time I would have taken me to readjust all the job cost lines to match a Masterformat Division cost code system (which is what all my other software is set up as), was way to costly from the aspect of time to even think about Clear Estimates being an option.

grant@leviathanremodels.com

Once you modify the provided tasks to fit the projects you do and the way you bid your work, Clear Estimates allows you to bid out the standard components of a project by the piece or by area. If you track the actual time and materials required to complete a particular component over many jobs and get an accurate figure for the per piece or per square foot cost, this method of bidding can save you a huge amount of time by allowing you to extrapolate from the number of pieces/area of the installation to an accurate estimate of the time and materials required. Once the library of pieces has been built out or adapted, you can create a finished estimate in a few minutes.

Project Manager 

The way you can see if your pricing is competitive as it gives your local market info pertaining to labor and correct amount of time required, etc.

I used Contractor Foreman previously and Clear Estimates may not include as many project management-related features, but it is far and away the better choice for putting together estimates, quotes, and project proposals.

Owner 

No internal calculations to figure out square figure of walls and flooring based on user inputting room dimensions.  

Good price point, updates to pricing list based on area you're working, template usage

Sr. Property Specialist

It also comes with handyman repairs that are especially helpful for estimating repairs.

Ability to write more accurate estimates instead of "guessing" and ballparking.

Engineering Manager

Standard Sections as reusable components on top of those parts makes it easy to create any estimate from scratch.

Owner /operator

Any questions I had either my teenager would figure it out for me or an email to Support and they are back with you that day sometimes within the hour.

Before using Clear Estimates, I would routinely underestimate the cost of materials and time necessary to complete a project.   

When I set up a proposal it was difficult trying to remove a portion of it, but I chalked it up to not really going thru the training.

I would also like a way to see more than 4 items on my list at a time.

President

real time data and being able to use it to make better estimates

Contractor 

Some of the pricing is inaccurate or not updated to current market pricing.

This program makes estimating jobs much much easier and saves a bunch of time.

President and CEO

Estimate/bid forms are difficult to format.

trying to simplify estimating, so far the learning curve has been tough for me but I'm still holding out hope.

Account Manager 

Right now it’s gets all jumbled at the top of e proposals.

I love the fact that it prices the materials & labor for me.

president

Here are some of the filter options I need.

Thank you for the free.trial thank you for writing a program I can learn on the fly .

I save a lot of time, now that I have learned how to navigate the software.  

Clear Estimates has saved me countless hours over the past few months.

It has more than paid for itself in the past couple of months I have been using it.  

ease of use and software ease, the ease of putting together solid bids

Very friendly and they speak on my level.

Estimates

Pricing

Reports

Customer Support

Labor Rates

Proposals

Features

Bids

Training and Learning Curve

Project Saving

Small Business

Mid-size Business

Large Enterprises

Freelancers

Most users consider Clear Estimates to offer strong value for money, highlighting its affordable pricing, frequent updates to pricing data, and the inclusion of useful features like templates, a customer database, and integration with QuickBooks. They appreciate the ability to customize pricing and the flexibility to adjust line items. Reviewers indicate that the software’s cost is justified by time savings and increased efficiency. Some users report concerns about occasional inaccuracies or outdated pricing data and note that the cost may be high for very small businesses. A few reviewers mention limitations in the cost code system.

RIB Candy

Estimating, Planning & Project Management Software consisting of integrated modules for QTO, Estimating, Planning, Subcontract Management, Forecasting, Cash flow, Valuations and EVM. Putting you in control of your project from first estimate through to tender award and ultimately, final account.

PlanHub is a preconstruction software that helps construction professionals find projects, manage bids, network, and more. The platform offers a range of tools, including project finder, takeoff and estimation, prequalification, and bid management, all designed to simplify the preconstruction process and enable construction professionals to work more efficiently.

Activity Tracking

Collaboration Tools

Commercial

Contract/License Management

Contractor Database

Document Management

Document Storage

Estimating

File Sharing

Job Management

Lead Management

Multiple Projects

Project Estimating

Project Tracking

Proposal Management

Qualification Tracking

RFP Management

Scheduling

Subcontractor Management

Subcontractor Monitoring

Takeoff

Task Management

Team Collaboration

Reviewers indicate that PlanHub is generally affordable compared to similar platforms, and some users appreciate its low cost for teams in multiple locations. However, some users report dissatisfaction with pricing, especially small businesses, and some reviewers find it overpriced relative to benefits.

Value for money

By industry, PlanHub reviewers are most commonly professionals in construction (76%). The most frequent use case for PlanHub cited by reviewers is construction estimating (44% of reviewers).

PlanHub

Android

Linux

Chromebook

General Contractors

Subcontractors

Suppliers

Takeoff 

Estimation 

It truly serves as a one‑stop hub for estimating, bringing together project notifications, takeoff tools, and bid submission in a single streamlined platform.

Another strong advantage is the ability to connect with new general contractors and expand our network, something that has helped us increase our bidding volume and visibility in the market.

It’s user-friendly, reliable, and has allowed us to increase our efficiency when searching for new opportunities and preparing estimates. Although the built-in takeoff tool could be faster, the advantages of having plans, contacts, and project details centralized in one place far outweigh that limitation.

Estimator and Marketing

Centralized Documents: Having all necessary plans and specifications in one place streamlines our pre-construction workflow, leading to faster and more accurate takeoffs.

Estimator

We started with a trial, submitted a bid, and ended up winning our first project within a few weeks. Since then, we’ve secured multiple additional jobs through the platform and even built relationships with contractors who later offered us work outside of PlanHub.

The interface is intuitive, making it easy to track opportunities and stay organized. While there are moments when searching past projects can feel challenging, the overall workflow saves time, reduces stress, and helps me focus on winning bids and growing my business.

I stumbled on this app and I couldn't be more thankful that I did set your range check your email for any job bid you might have missed utilize the dashboard with everything from payment accounts to plans and designs there is actually great value in any of the upgrades so it's definitely worth any money you do spend on it which doesn't have to be much!

The renewal process is awful, they bury their rules in fine print, their emails auto populate to spam and they refuse to issue any refunds.

We love the fact that lots of General Contractors and projects are loaded directly into a system specifically searching for our trade which saves us time searching for projects.

We also appreciate having drawings and documents available directly on the platform, which speeds up our takeoff and estimating process.

It is a necessary tool that helps us connect with General Contractors who value our commitment to durability, quality, and an uncompromising safety culture.

Mr. Mr.

The primary drawback for me has been the price point. While the features are solid, the cost of the subscription feels a bit high compared to other options available on the market for small to mid-sized firms."

The ability to find contractors from out of the area that that are bidding on local projects is the biggest advantage for me.

The platform successfully helps us protect schedule and scope by streamlining the initial bidding process.

Territory Manager - US

Job selection is a bit tedious - I like to delete projects that I'm not interested in and since there is no checkbox function (to select multiple listings), it's a tedious, manual process to delete them one by one.

Account Manager

As a provider, not a contractor, Planhub has a lot of desired functions that make finding the companies that need our product to place their bids.  

Owner President

I would like for new files to be found in a separate location to make them easier to locate.   Or, if the files could be sorted by date.

The platform is intuitive, well-organized, and makes it simple to filter projects by location, trades, and scope.

Sales Rep

Easy to manage bids and stay organized... it is very user friendly when looking at plans for a job and deciding if your services are a fit for a job...Having contractor contact information makes it easy to contact them with questions

Project Manager, Estimator

Being able to find jobs close to me, and being able to submit bids that become viewable to any new GC's that get added to the project.

Project Admin.

Built-in messaging and document sharing improve collaboration between general contractors and subs.

co- owner

I love how they called and check and make sure that I was understanding the platform and when I told him I didn’t understand how to navigate the platform and gay gay me all the tools I needed to figure out how to navigate to platform

I wish the download would open to a save dialog window so that I can choose a folder location rather than automatically saving it to my download folder.

Director of Sales

The notification dates for pre-bid meetings on projects are sometimes past the meeting date for the project

Mostly positive and it definitely gave me work when I was starting out and needing to find jobs, especially with contractors that aren't local but are bidding local jobs.

Overall, PlanHub has been a valuable resource for streamlining our bidding process and increasing visibility in the market.

Project Engineer

The ability to see drawings or plans for the project.  

The ability to place a bid so it goes to contractors is a time saver

This saves our estimating team significant time compared to manually sifting through broad lead lists.

Senior Project Manager

most of the jobs have sufficient detail for us to decide if we want to bid or not.

Shop Manager

Only thing for me was once I clicked back off the project details, it would send me back to the main project page.

Company Owner

The platform is user-friendly and offers helpful tools for managing leads. While there are a few areas for improvement, it’s a solid source for growing a contractor business.

Sales

I also like the way the bid dates are organized to keep me up to date and aware of what is bidding and when.

Commercial Project Coordinator

I wish we were able to separate the documents by Division or make it easier to download specific portions of the documents vs. the whole

Clear Estimates vs PlanHub Comparison (2026)

Clear Estimates

PlanHub

Overview

Video & Screenshots

Pricing

User reviews

Key features

Integrations

Alternatives