Adobe PhotoShop vs. Bluebeam

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Adobe PhotoShop
Score 9.1 out of 10
N/A
Adobe Photoshop is the best known graphics product on the market.
$20
per month
Bluebeam
Score 9.2 out of 10
N/A
Bluebeam Revu is a PDF management, control, and editing tool. It enables collaboration and markup within shared documents across projects’ life cycles and has takeoff and bid creation capabilities.
$240
per year per user
Pricing
Adobe PhotoShopBluebeam
Editions & Modules
Single App
$20.00
per month
Revu Standard
$349
per seat
Revu CAD
$449
per seat
Revu eXtreme
$599
per seat
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Adobe PhotoShopBluebeam
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Adobe PhotoShopBluebeam
Considered Both Products
Adobe PhotoShop

No answer on this topic

Bluebeam
Chose Bluebeam
Bluebeam is a good in-between of Adobe and Photoshop. If you're not looking to do photo editing, but need more capabilities than just line work, Bluebeam is perfect.
Chose Bluebeam
There is no comparison. The editing tools, batch tools drafting tools, personal environment profiles, settings, printing, calibrating, direct connecting apps that links Bluebeam to AutoCAD and Revit. This is an extremely powerful program that is amazingly helpful and I probably …
Chose Bluebeam
Revu is far better than Foxit and Adobe Pro. We use it every day and it far exceeds the capabilities of those programs.
Chose Bluebeam
Takes their best tools and makes it a part of what they offer and more. Much more user friendly and intuitive to enhance productivity.
Features
Adobe PhotoShopBluebeam
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Adobe PhotoShop
-
Ratings
Bluebeam
10.0
2 Ratings
26% above category average
Dashboards00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Standard reports00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Custom reports00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Data exportability00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Construction Project & Field Management
Comparison of Construction Project & Field Management features of Product A and Product B
Adobe PhotoShop
-
Ratings
Bluebeam
9.4
55 Ratings
21% above category average
Plan distribution & viewing00 Ratings9.353 Ratings
Plan markups & sharing00 Ratings9.555 Ratings
Issue tracking & punchlists00 Ratings9.034 Ratings
Photo documentation00 Ratings9.237 Ratings
Jobsite reports00 Ratings9.432 Ratings
Document sharing00 Ratings9.648 Ratings
RFI tools00 Ratings9.436 Ratings
Collaboration & approvals00 Ratings9.443 Ratings
As-built drawings00 Ratings9.346 Ratings
Mobile app00 Ratings10.028 Ratings
Submittal design and management00 Ratings9.322 Ratings
Checklists00 Ratings9.74 Ratings
Change orders00 Ratings9.54 Ratings
Estimating
Comparison of Estimating features of Product A and Product B
Adobe PhotoShop
-
Ratings
Bluebeam
9.4
30 Ratings
18% above category average
Takeoff tools00 Ratings8.928 Ratings
Job costing00 Ratings8.45 Ratings
Cost databases00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Cost calculator00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Bid creation00 Ratings9.79 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Adobe PhotoShopBluebeam
Small Businesses
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
Score 7.6 out of 10
FollowUp CRM
FollowUp CRM
Score 10.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
GIMP
GIMP
Score 8.4 out of 10
InEight
InEight
Score 9.5 out of 10
Enterprises
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
Score 7.6 out of 10
InEight
InEight
Score 9.5 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Adobe PhotoShopBluebeam
Likelihood to Recommend
8.9
(194 ratings)
9.6
(67 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.0
(31 ratings)
1.0
(2 ratings)
Usability
7.7
(19 ratings)
9.2
(4 ratings)
Availability
9.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
9.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
10.0
(54 ratings)
1.0
(11 ratings)
In-Person Training
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.0
(6 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
4.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Adobe PhotoShopBluebeam
Likelihood to Recommend
Adobe
Tradeshows. It has streamlined it for us immensely. Especially because we are a global team all over the world with the same task and mission. It allows us to work on one platform to bring our vision to life. The simplicity is what has been a game-changer for us.
Read full review
Bluebeam, Inc.
The program is great for editing construction drawings, stamping/approving official documents and overlaying revised documents to see design changes. You can use it as an estimating takeoff tool, estimating database, document control, cloud document storage, the list goes on! Bluebeam poses many applications for the user to utilize for the desired needs. There may be some other software that has one specific function that can perform the specific task better, but Bluebeam is a holistic program with many tools for use.
Read full review
Pros
Adobe
  • The fact is that you may quickly pick things up on your own by spending time without using any other resources.
  • It is the program that brings the phrase "to make PhotoShop" to almost all languages. It's not just a photo editing program.
  • Practical and beautiful results are filtered by filtering the desired work without drowning in details.
Read full review
Bluebeam, Inc.
  • Once you set Bluebeam Revu as your default PDF handler, it launches immediately when clicking a PDF to open. The speed with which it opens documents is impressive.
  • Creating PDF's out of other documents, such as Word, Excel, JPG's, etc. is simple.
  • Digitally signing documents is a simple, secure process. You can keep your signature password-protected, yet still access it quickly.
  • The Bluebeam Revu mobile application ( I use the iOS version on an iPad Pro), is awesome. Not only does it handle PDF's like you would expect it to, it allows for effortless digital signing of documents on the fly. Nice to be able to quickly sign a document and email right back out from the tablet no matter where I am.
Read full review
Cons
Adobe
  • The effect applying time could be faster.
  • There could be a smarter way to make mockups using smart objects, maybe by directly selecting an area, and generative AI can automate a few steps.
  • If Photoshop can suggest the right stock imagery in case the generative AI doesn't get the right answer.
Read full review
Bluebeam, Inc.
  • If you have several tabs open and you try to drag one out for a side by side view then you do not have all the modification options and you have to combine them back together.
  • There is a lag time when hitting the print option.
  • There is also a lag time when opening files, sometimes I think the window is frozen.
  • I wish the basic version also had basic file editing, as in editing a document as Adobe does.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Adobe
We get a lot of use out of this software. It's vital for work with production in our industry and has a lot of cross-functionality - creating social media images, retouching photos, editing photos, creating gradients, and more. It's pretty fuss-free in that we haven't had to reach out to support and the program hasn't crashed on us. We are trained on the software (so again, this isn't for beginners), but for detail-oriented designers and creatives like ourselves - it's a no-brainer.
Read full review
Bluebeam, Inc.
Bluebeam is a powerful PDF viewer and mark-up tool. We are more familiar with it than Adobe Acrobat Pro or other viewers, and it has more features geared towards construction document managers than Acrobat Pro does.
Read full review
Usability
Adobe
I've used it for a long time and would consider myself a Pro user at this point. I know where everything I need is, have custom actions set up to make common actions faster, and have my workflows automated so much that everything is easy. Occasionally, a new version of Photoshop will change a common usability feature which will slow things down for a short time before I'm able to adjust, but generally I really like my setup. However, if you're new to Photoshop, it is likely going to take you a while to figure out how you can best use the features.
Read full review
Bluebeam, Inc.
I'm constantly finding that Bluebeam Revu does more than I knew it could. And when I find something that it can't do, I've found that Bluebeam truly listens to its user base and will work to incorporate any good suggestion when feasible.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
Adobe
Adobe Photoshop is very reliable, but is never 100%. There have been times when Adobe Photoshop has had trouble opening, but nothing a little computer restart couldn't fix. I use Adobe Photoshop on a Mac for both work and at home on a daily basis, and I would be lost without it.
Read full review
Bluebeam, Inc.
No answers on this topic
Performance
Adobe
Speed can be an issue when you are dealing with large files for large format printing or billboards. When working on web images, speed is not an issue.
Read full review
Bluebeam, Inc.
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Adobe
While I never contacted Adobe directly, there is so much content out there in the form of YouTube videos, Lynda/LinkedIn learning that almost any issue, including bugs, can be worked around (and this method is generally faster as there's no turnaround time involved).
Read full review
Bluebeam, Inc.
Its hard for me to give a rating on this one as we rarely have to use the support feature for Bluebeam. However, when we have used it, they have been ultra supportive in helping us get exactly what we needed. I know another engineer was trying to figure out a feature and the rep gave a detailed tutorial on how to complete the task
Read full review
In-Person Training
Adobe
So, I received the training at the HQ and it was train the trainer training. A good time, I spent a week at their campus
Read full review
Bluebeam, Inc.
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Adobe
I took a course so it really helped. I didn’t take the course until much later after beginning to use it, so I wish work would have sent me right off the bat. It would have alleviated a lot of frustratinon
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Bluebeam, Inc.
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Adobe
[Adobe] Photoshop offers the best photo editing as well as content creation. The layer-by-layer approach of [Adobe] Photoshop helps to work between two apps or even two PCs of entirely different Creative Cloud apps seamlessly. The stability and the speed of the tools in photoshop make it even better to make a canvas of creativity.
Read full review
Bluebeam, Inc.
We feel there is not another program out there that would compare to Bluebeam at this current time. Some of the other programs out there do not include studio or the overlaying process which is one of our main uses. The ease of hyperlinking makes this product stand out the most.
Read full review
Scalability
Adobe
It seems expensive compared to the free/cheap programs now available
Read full review
Bluebeam, Inc.
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Adobe
  • Adobe PhotoShop in general is a great time saver.
  • It does take a long time for the program to start up, however
  • The most difficult task is onboarding new employees into Adobe PhotoShop who don't have experience with it. It's an investment for their future so we see value in it.
Read full review
Bluebeam, Inc.
  • A major positive aspect is being able to take your computer home without taking the entire set of paper drawings. They have made it so easy to navigate a set of drawings that I can work at home using only the digital drawings.
  • Collaboration with owners and architects has been a great feature. Setting up a Bluebeam studio and having everyone get in and mark things up, then having the architect be able to go in and see what markups have been added, has made the constructability review process much much better.
  • Even when not working on drawings, Bluebeam is a very good tool for working with standard PDF documents. The markup tools are very easy to use.
  • The negative aspect is the takeoff function because some people would like estimators to use the Bluebeam takeoff because it would make their job easier down the road; however, the actual act of doing a full scale takeoff in Bluebeam would require much more time.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Bluebeam Screenshots

Screenshot of Bluebeam Cloud with Markup ListScreenshot of Bluebeam Cloud with Tool ChestScreenshot of Bluebeam Revu MarkupScreenshot of Bluebeam Revu Studio Session