TrustRadius: an HG Insights company

Save this comparison

Save this comparison

Add Product

Recommended Comparisons

    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Bluebeam

    Score8.9 out of 10
    N/ABluebeam 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.

    $260

    per year per user

    GeneralCOST Estimator for Excel

    Score5.4 out of 10
    N/AGeneralCOST Estimator for Excel is a construction and estimation software offering from CPR, Inc.N/A
    Pricing
    BluebeamGeneralCOST Estimator for Excel
    Editions & Modules
    Basics
    $260
    per year per user
    Core
    $330
    per year per user
    Complete
    $440
    per year per user
    Max
    $590
    per year per user
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    BluebeamGeneralCOST Estimator for Excel
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    BluebeamGeneralCOST Estimator for Excel
    Considered Both Products
    Bluebeam
    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.
    Incentivized
    CPR, Inc.
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    94%
    Would buy again
    17 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    93%
    Delivers good value for the price
    14 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    94%
    Happy with the feature set
    17 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    92%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    11 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    92%
    Implementation went as expected
    11 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    BluebeamGeneralCOST Estimator for Excel
    Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Bluebeam and GeneralCOST Estimator for Excel
    Feature
    Bluebeam
    10.0
    1 Ratings
    26% above category average
    GeneralCOST Estimator for Excel
    -
    Ratings
    Dashboards10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Standard reports10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Custom reports10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Data exportability10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Construction Project & Field Management
    Comparison of Construction Project & Field Management features of Bluebeam and GeneralCOST Estimator for Excel
    Feature
    Bluebeam
    9.8
    54 Ratings
    25% above category average
    GeneralCOST Estimator for Excel
    5.0
    1 Ratings
    42% below category average
    Plan distribution & viewing9.752 Ratings00 Ratings
    Plan markups & sharing9.854 Ratings5.01 Ratings
    Issue tracking & punchlists9.733 Ratings00 Ratings
    Photo documentation9.736 Ratings00 Ratings
    Jobsite reports9.831 Ratings00 Ratings
    Document sharing9.847 Ratings00 Ratings
    RFI tools9.835 Ratings5.01 Ratings
    Collaboration & approvals9.842 Ratings00 Ratings
    As-built drawings9.845 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile app10.027 Ratings00 Ratings
    Submittal design and management9.821 Ratings00 Ratings
    Checklists9.93 Ratings00 Ratings
    Change orders9.93 Ratings00 Ratings
    Estimating
    Comparison of Estimating features of Bluebeam and GeneralCOST Estimator for Excel
    Feature
    Bluebeam
    9.6
    29 Ratings
    24% above category average
    GeneralCOST Estimator for Excel
    -
    Ratings
    Takeoff tools9.728 Ratings00 Ratings
    Job costing8.45 Ratings00 Ratings
    Cost databases10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Cost calculator10.02 Ratings00 Ratings
    Bid creation9.98 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    BluebeamGeneralCOST Estimator for Excel
    Small Businesses
    CMiC Construction Platform
    Score7.5 out of 10
    CMiC Construction Platform
    Score7.5 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Autodesk Build
    Score8.6 out of 10
    Autodesk Build
    Score8.6 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Revit
    Score8.9 out of 10
    Revit
    Score8.9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    BluebeamGeneralCOST Estimator for Excel
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.9
    (66 ratings)
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    1.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    9.8
    (4 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    1.0
    (11 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    BluebeamGeneralCOST Estimator for Excel
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Bluebeam
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    CPR, Inc.
    Specific scenarios where GeneralCOST Estimator for Excel is well suited include:
    • Small to medium sized contractor who typically works on small to medium sized projects with limited complexity
    • Contractors who value low prices over full functionality (this software application is very affordably priced)
    • A new contractor or new contracting accounting / finance professional who would appreciate the specific limitations imposed by the software
    Specific scenarios where GeneralCOST Estimator for Excel is not well suited include:
    • Larger contractors who think about and price projects in line with typical commercial design and construction
    • Residential projects (the software is much better suited for commercial lease buildouts, for instance)
    • A contractor whose finance department already uses full-suite accounting software
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Bluebeam
    • 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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    CPR, Inc.
    • Convenient estimating
    • Streamlines the price quotation process
    • Standard cost application
    • Overhead calculation and pplication
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Bluebeam
    • 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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    CPR, Inc.
    • Only CSI construction cost database data
    • Only works with Microsoft Office (Excel)
    • The online help system has limited functionality
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Bluebeam
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    CPR, Inc.
    No answers on this topic
    Usability
    Bluebeam
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    CPR, Inc.
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Bluebeam
    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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    CPR, Inc.
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    Bluebeam
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    CPR, Inc.
    GeneralCOST Estimator for Excel is cheaper, easier to use, more streamlined and is easily installed and up and running. The flip side to the ease of use is the limited functionality, somewhat outdated cost bucketing profile and general lack of sophistication. The add-in also does not talk with full suite accounting software which requires additional reconciliations if used within a large organization.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Bluebeam
    • 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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    CPR, Inc.
    • Allows us to quickly bid on small projects
    • Allows us to pay less for accounting / finance professionals
    • Allows us to standardize our cost structure
    Incentivized
    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