e-Builder vs. SketchUp

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
e-Builder
Score 7.3 out of 10
N/A
e-Builder is a cloud-based construction program management solution that manages capital program cost, schedule, and documents. It allows owners to measure and manage the capital project delivery process from planning, design, procurement, construction and operations.N/A
SketchUp
Score 8.2 out of 10
N/A
SketchUp is 3D modeling software with an emphasis on usability. SketchUp is a Trimble product.
$119
per year
Pricing
e-BuilderSketchUp
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Free
$0.00
per year
For Schools (free with G Suite or Microsoft education account)
$0
For Students
$55.00
per year
For Educators
$55.00
per year
Studio for Students / Educators (Desktop version)
$55
per year
Shop
$119.00
per year
Pro
$299.00
per year
Professional
$299.00
per year
Studio (Windows only)
$699
per year
Studio
$1199.00
per year
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
e-BuilderSketchUp
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
e-BuilderSketchUp
Features
e-BuilderSketchUp
Construction Project & Field Management
Comparison of Construction Project & Field Management features of Product A and Product B
e-Builder
7.4
11 Ratings
0% below category average
SketchUp
-
Ratings
Plan distribution & viewing7.710 Ratings00 Ratings
Plan markups & sharing8.810 Ratings00 Ratings
Issue tracking & punchlists8.011 Ratings00 Ratings
Photo documentation5.410 Ratings00 Ratings
Jobsite reports8.010 Ratings00 Ratings
Document sharing8.011 Ratings00 Ratings
RFI tools7.48 Ratings00 Ratings
Collaboration & approvals7.411 Ratings00 Ratings
As-built drawings7.99 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile app5.97 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
e-BuilderSketchUp
Small Businesses
FollowUp CRM
FollowUp CRM
Score 2.0 out of 10
Onshape
Onshape
Score 7.6 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
InEight
InEight
Score 8.4 out of 10
Onshape
Onshape
Score 7.6 out of 10
Enterprises
InEight
InEight
Score 8.4 out of 10
Rhino
Rhino
Score 8.4 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
e-BuilderSketchUp
Likelihood to Recommend
7.1
(11 ratings)
8.0
(47 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.0
(2 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Usability
7.0
(2 ratings)
7.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
5.0
(3 ratings)
8.5
(14 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
e-BuilderSketchUp
Likelihood to Recommend
Trimble
Well suited for the owner's side of managing multiple projects as it allows for all aspects of a project from development to closeout to be managed on one platform. Not as appropriate for a general contractor as there is better software out there. e-Builder's app is not as effective as others.
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Trimble
SketchUp is great for individually studying options for building design. It is an awesome conceptual tool to be able to quickly model and manipulate a building to study different designs. It is not good for complex geometries, especially curves. Surfaces have a hard time registering and cutting into one another. It also eventually needs to go into Revit to be more realistic as it is not good as a documentation tool
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Pros
Trimble
  • Provide a document structure that is easy to navigate. All documents, even within a process, are stored in the document structure and easily accessed by those with the correct permissions.
  • Scheduling, especially with the new module is easy. It is helpful with a large organization where many hands touch projects to be able to forecast workloads (we have an in house engineering team who reviews all projects during their design phase)
  • Allows for easy interface with contractors and makes the submittal process more straightforward.
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Trimble
  • Quickly exploring solutions in 3D: We get a lot of "what if" and "what would that look like" questions. While hand-sketching and hand-drafting can be fairly quick, SketchUp allows me to quickly create 3D and 2D views of a detail or solution, change dimensions and materials in a flash, and show a client or installer the plan in minutes.
  • Creating professional design documents in LayOut: Projects of any scale need good documentation. Using a combination of SketchUp and LayOut, I can create a Design Intent Set, plans for permitting, a set for mechanical trades to mark-up, etc. Having clear, appropriately-scaled drawings with dimensions or notations is a must, and we don't always have the time or budget to get an architect involved!
  • Using live files to guide discussions: Not all clients are "visual" people, so opening their model and orbiting around their space in real time has been extremely helpful. Clients and trades enjoy the perspective views so much that we often include them in the full-sized drawing sets to give a good "overall" view of the project intent. For complex or tight spaces, sometimes un-rendered plans and elevations just aren't enough!
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Cons
Trimble
  • The restrictions in formatting, and sorting of information rendered, in a way, affects the reporting output.
  • At certain times of day, e-Builder traffic causes the loading of filtered searches to take a while. This is probably common regardless of the site or software used.
  • More complicated reporting has some limitation, though the program is highly efficient in assisting with simple format reports.
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Trimble
  • Ability to import Revit files and libraries.
  • Ability to export true curved vector linework. There are some workarounds, needs to be refined.
  • Create an OPEN MAPS connection. Since the split from Google, the source for high-quality aerials is limited.
  • Ability to dock all menus to the master window on a Mac
  • Ability to develop dockable menu trays on a Mac
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Likelihood to Renew
Trimble
Because again, one of our biggest clients entrusts E-builder to work with their systems. And its functions work for us as well.
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Trimble
We typically wait a few years in between renewing, as even older versions are powerful tools for modeling, and we make sure the amount of feature changes are worth the re-investment.
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Usability
Trimble
Simple, because have a used it for the past two years, so i'm very familiar with the particular aspects of its program that I need to accomplish my tasks.
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Trimble
It is very user friendly and easy to learn. It's simplicity allows for a low learning curve so more people can learn it faster. The downside is that most schools are no longer teaching it, so many younger professionals come out of school not knowing it and knowing more complex software and they have a hard time "dumbing down" their skillsets
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Support Rating
Trimble
Again, because our technical support is great. He doesn't always answer the phone but he definitely responds to emails fairly quickly. In addition, I like that he actually resolves an issue and I have yet to encounter the same issue twice. Actually, I haven't encountered many issues at all in the two years I have used the software.
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Trimble
Sketchup is so intuitive; I can't recall ever looking for official support. However, there are many user forums online that can answer more questions. The usefulness of the online forums is, however, tempered by the fact that there have been many versions of the software under different ownership and support regimes, and thus finding the right information for the right version of the software can be a challenge.
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Implementation Rating
Trimble
1. Set up the time to get training on the sytem before you go all in.
2. Listen, ask questions and actually practice using the tools and features while in class. It helps tremendously with becoming comfortable and remembering how things work.
3. Don't be afraid to mess up. They are helpful and will help resolve your issue in a timely manner
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Trimble
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Trimble
We have not compared other plans since the boss prefers this program from personal experience. But from using this program for 2 years I can see why we don't need to compare. Why fix something that isn't broken? It gets the job done, yes we might run into some issues but I feel like with all companies that can happen
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Trimble
We have not evaluated any other competing software to this one. I heard about this software from a friend who teaches how to use it. She showed me in just a few minutes and I was HOOKED. I saw immediately the possible help it would be to my business. Thank you.
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Return on Investment
Trimble
  • Has added extra steps to processes that were previously easier. And I work for a university that complicates everything
  • Has more than cut in half the time it takes to generate reports about project status
  • Has made project management more efficient
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Trimble
  • It's good in the sense that you can quickly make a drawing and speeds up the design process. Not sure how to quantify that from a ROI perspective.
  • Also, good for editing an image after the fact. We can easily add a dimension that was forgotten in the original image.
  • Allows team members to understand a design easier than on other software platforms.
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ScreenShots