Clear Estimates vs RSMeans Data Online

STACK

PlanHub

Contractor Foreman

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.

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.

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.

Remodeling Contractor

Customer service is responsive and easy to reach.

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.

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

Buildertrend

PlanSwift

RSMeans Data Online

Standard

Franchise

Permit Technician

It’s a straightforward and efficient estimating tool that helps streamline creating accurate construction bids using pre-built templates and cost data.

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.

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

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

This has been reported but not corrected.

owner

I still needed to scale blueprints or use another program.

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.

Sr. Property Specialist

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

Engineering Manager

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

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.

Owner 

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

Reviewers appreciate that Clear Estimates offers built-in and customizable pricing, regular updates to price lists, and useful templates, which they feel add significant value for the cost. Some users report that the software’s flexibility and integration with other tools justify its price, and they like that the monthly fee remains stable over time. However, some reviewers find the price high for small businesses or those not using all features, and they mention occasional inaccuracies or limitations in the pricing data, which they feel can impact the overall value for money.

Procore

Procore is a cloud-based construction management platform connecting field and office teams throughout the project lifecycle. It offers tools for project execution, cost, resource, and lifecycle management, including bid management, estimating, scheduling, quality tracking, budgeting, invoicing, and workforce management. With document management, analytics, and mobile access, it supports contractors, owners, specialty contractors, and public agencies across various construction projects.

Groundplan

Groundplan is a cloud-based takeoff software used by estimators to measure, design, store, markup, and collaborate on construction project plans

RSMeans™ Data Online on Gordian Cloud Platform provides reliable, location-specific construction cost data along with the tools to build, validate and manage estimates at any stage. Estimators use it to access current labor, material and equipment costs at the line-item or assembly level.

Cost Tracking

Electrical Estimating

HVAC Estimating

Multiple Projects

Plumbing Estimating

Takeoff

Some users report that RSMeans Data Online offers comprehensive pricing data, which they feel justifies the cost for frequent use. However, reviewers indicate the software is expensive, confusingly priced, and lacks value for small businesses or educational groups.

Value for money

By industry, RSMeans Data Online reviewers are most commonly professionals in construction (49%). The most frequent use case cited is construction estimating (94% of reviewers).

Proprietary

Core

Complete

Complete Plus

Rigid and frustrating search function

61% of reviewers feel negative about RS Means’ search functionality. Some users report that the search feature is too rigid, requiring exact keywords or industry terminology to find items, which leads to frequent ‘not found’ results. Reviewers indicate that the lack of filtering options and a comprehensive index makes locating specific work items challenging. Users think the search engine is slow, sometimes unresponsive, and difficult for beginners to use. Some reviewers feel frustrated when searches yield too many or too few results, and navigating back after viewing references is cumbersome.

Convenient remote accessibility

88% of reviewers feel positive about RS Means’ online access. Some users say they value being able to access estimates and data from any location with an internet connection, which helps them work efficiently on the go. Reviewers appreciate that the web-based platform allows quick lookups and ensures information is always current. Users think the ease of use and setup, combined with not needing to reinstall software, makes their workflow smoother. Some reviewers find that online access supports standardization across teams and sectors, making collaboration and remote work more manageable.

Sr. Project Manager

Working on a medical university setting I find that the the program is good for basic costing but it is difficult to compare the complications of the environment that I work in, for example, I can be involved in project on campus in active lab spaces, medical equipment/chemical usage and storage, and even nuclear materials, RS means can not help with the complications that we deal with in these scenarios.   

The ability to search the data base and have the latest up to date data information drove the transition from the books to the online data base.

Cost Estimator 

User interface and search for lines could be slicker and include filters. When scrolling lines it tends to load new lines every 20 or so and is slow

Intuitive features, lots of options, i do like to cost per sf estimator

We are do a lot of drywall finishing and Black Iron for ceiling  support, and there are not much details for pricing labor.

Personal Assistant

The least about this software I liked, was that the free trial was limited on fearures

Estimator

The quick estimates are predominantly building types and combinations not relevant to the types of buildings we build on the west coast.  

Senior Operations Manager

Provides 99% of cost data, to accurately project costs for a construction project.  

Principal

It provides what I need without having another piece of software to maintain, update and take up space on my laptop.

I need the ability to individually choose more options in order to make a ROM estimate meaningful and useful.

Owner/ Designer

While it is a very detailed software, it's not very intuitive, nor easily self-taught.

We are an open shop but even using the union scale datasets, it is sometimes as low as 50% of actual.  

Librarian

Depending on projects students need all data and the academic version RSMeans has does not work for our students.

Architect

With the move to the software I'm finding it doesn't really allow me to have a short cut into my purchased program.  

Manager, EE Dept.

It csts extra to be able to add my own line items/cost datat.

From a subcontractor POV, these rates are extremely inaccurate but it's currently data that contracts are being bound to.

Sr. V.E. Coordinator

I can few information and based on that it has capability to generate estimate.

I'd like a simple option to create a desktop link without going to RS Means on-line every time.  

I have not found it to be even close at all in cost to qualified bids on individual scopes of work on projects.  

We use it to reference data on all our bids.

Senior Estimator

Trying to get it intergrated wioth Sage estiamting so that the ionformation is "at my fingertips" so to speak.  

Project Consultant

However, there is no option to export this information on an excel file.

Access in academia works best with ip addresses and not by seats.

I have used RS Means for years in book form for quick reference and always found it accurate and easily accessible.

Senior Associate

Access to data is compartmentalized (commercial, residential, earthwork, etc.).

I cannot scroll through without it stopping to look for the data to insert.  

Vice President

I have used this for several projects and it has proven to be accurate when compared to bids received.

Favorites section of data to not have to manually dig each time

Easy and effective platform to provide cost estimates with reliable cost data.

Sales/estimator

This is understandable, especially when the client request is for a particular brand of equipment.

It sucks that there is no unit conversion with this software.

Development Manager

Many times the alternate was a less expensive simpler version of the item I was trying to price out.  

We are currently looking for alternative Estimating & Database solutions

As a result, I will be credited at a lower amount than the actual construction cost.

Having synonyms for lookup would be helpful.

I wish there is a unit conversion in the tool.

This could be my issue, but a short cut hasn't been available that I can find.

Environmental Engineer

Hard to navigate, unless your search is exact, nothing similar will come up

sometimes I couldn't find what I need in the maintenance section.

Wish it was easier to search for specific data.  

Associate Principal

I like that I am able to use it for the government work.

I wish I had the ablility to do both with the standard package.

The process of changing the city/state locations

I used the software for maintenance purposes.

Clear Estimates vs RSMeans Data Online Comparison (2026)

Clear Estimates

RSMeans Data Online

Overview

Video & Screenshots

Pricing

User reviews

Key features

Integrations

Alternatives