Bluebeam vs. Smallpdf

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
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
Smallpdf
Score 6.8 out of 10
N/A
Made in Switzerland, Smallpdf is a company that offers a suite of document management tools for everyone-for work, for home, for life. Founded in Switzerland in 2013, Smallpdf provides what they describe as a simple, secure, and reliable answer to the world's PDF challenges. Smallpdf boasts serving over a billion users in 24 different languages since 2013, and in every country in the world.
$0
Pricing
BluebeamSmallpdf
Editions & Modules
Revu Standard
$349
per seat
Revu CAD
$449
per seat
Revu eXtreme
$599
per seat
Smallpdf Basic
$0.00
Smallpdf Pro
$12.00
per month
Smallpdf Pro
$108.00
per year
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
BluebeamSmallpdf
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsDiscounts are available for bulk purchases
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
BluebeamSmallpdf
Features
BluebeamSmallpdf
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Bluebeam
10.0
2 Ratings
25% above category average
Smallpdf
-
Ratings
Dashboards10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Standard reports10.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Custom reports10.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Data exportability10.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Construction Project & Field Management
Comparison of Construction Project & Field Management features of Product A and Product B
Bluebeam
9.5
55 Ratings
25% above category average
Smallpdf
-
Ratings
Plan distribution & viewing9.453 Ratings00 Ratings
Plan markups & sharing9.555 Ratings00 Ratings
Issue tracking & punchlists9.134 Ratings00 Ratings
Photo documentation9.337 Ratings00 Ratings
Jobsite reports9.532 Ratings00 Ratings
Document sharing9.648 Ratings00 Ratings
RFI tools9.536 Ratings00 Ratings
Collaboration & approvals9.543 Ratings00 Ratings
As-built drawings9.446 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile app10.028 Ratings00 Ratings
Submittal design and management9.422 Ratings00 Ratings
Checklists9.84 Ratings00 Ratings
Change orders9.64 Ratings00 Ratings
Estimating
Comparison of Estimating features of Product A and Product B
Bluebeam
9.4
30 Ratings
19% above category average
Smallpdf
-
Ratings
Takeoff tools9.128 Ratings00 Ratings
Job costing8.45 Ratings00 Ratings
Cost databases10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Cost calculator10.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Bid creation9.79 Ratings00 Ratings
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BluebeamSmallpdf
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User Ratings
BluebeamSmallpdf
Likelihood to Recommend
9.7
(67 ratings)
8.7
(25 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
1.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.4
(4 ratings)
9.5
(6 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
9.4
(6 ratings)
Support Rating
1.0
(11 ratings)
9.9
(2 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
6.8
(6 ratings)
User Testimonials
BluebeamSmallpdf
Likelihood to Recommend
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.
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Smallpdf
As per my knowledge and experience, Small PDF is well suited when we want to convert the large and bulk processing on the images to convert them into a single file and share. I found it well suited for college students because daily they scan multiple images and merge them to send as a single assignment file. Smallpdf has the future in the education field. Sometimes it is less appropriate for the people who want to share official documents by converting them into pdf without a watermark. I personally really like the Small PDF, it really helped reduce the difficulty of sending files, and photos to others.
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Pros
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.
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Smallpdf
  • It's PDF editing tool suite is extremely comprehensive.
  • Drag & Drop functionality and intuitive user interface means non-technical users can easily use most of its features.
  • It's online-first design avoids typical problems of depending on one specific computer for specific tasks.
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Cons
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.
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Smallpdf
  • It has everything I'm not sure what I will say. E-sign, Share, convert. You can give an option in upload priorities features which I can see later.
  • Background remover thing also you can add in it. So I can remove the unnecessary thing from an image.
  • You can add a chatbot for help.
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Likelihood to Renew
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.
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Smallpdf
No answers on this topic
Usability
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.
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Smallpdf
I give this rating to Smallpdf because it comes with a large array of tools and gadgets. It allows not only pdf reading but also mixing, splitting, conversion to and from pdf, pdf compression or protecting. It is really complete and it works excellent compared to other much more expensive alternatives in the market.
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Performance
Bluebeam, Inc.
No answers on this topic
Smallpdf
1.- Because it is easy to use and each function is duly indicated so you can not go wrong. 2.- Its service is fast, it takes only a few seconds to transform the files and in less than a minute it is downloaded and you can occupy it without problem. 4.-This IS online so you do not install anything, which is very useful because you can also use it from a tablet or your mobile
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Support Rating
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
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Smallpdf
Everything is so simple and works so well, you shouldn't need support, but on the one occasion in several years that I needed it, support was quick and courteous.
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Alternatives Considered
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.
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Smallpdf
I think that Smallpdf stacks up against its competitors in terms of easiness of use. The tool is very user-friendly, every feature is communicated in an efficient way and very simple to user so the user doesn't have to be particularly good at using software. Its features are superficial when compared to Acrobat but easiest to use for sure.
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Return on Investment
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.
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Smallpdf
  • It has definitely increased efficiency. Lower paid employees can complete a simple task with Smallpdf rather than having a higher paid employee use their time to do it differently.
  • Smallpdf decreases the customer-response time. Being able to send over the proper sized file quickly makes us look great!
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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

Smallpdf Screenshots

Screenshot of Desktop AppScreenshot of Homepage