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Bluebeam

Bluebeam

Overview

What is Bluebeam?

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.

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Recent Reviews

TrustRadius Insights

Bluebeam Revu is a widely accessible tool for the construction industry, enabling users to transform paper-based workflows to electronic …
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Making Markups Easy

8 out of 10
January 14, 2020
Incentivized
It is utilized to put together presentation pdfs for clients, meetings, etc. We also use it to aid in space planning and laying out …
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Great for the price

9 out of 10
December 13, 2019
Incentivized
Bluebeam Revu is a PDF reader and editor tool. It also does measurements and other markups. Right now only a handful of staff has this …
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Awards

Products that are considered exceptional by their customers based on a variety of criteria win TrustRadius awards. Learn more about the types of TrustRadius awards to make the best purchase decision. More about TrustRadius Awards

Popular Features

View all 21 features
  • Plan markups & sharing (50)
    9.1
    91%
  • Plan distribution & viewing (48)
    9.0
    90%
  • Document sharing (44)
    9.0
    90%
  • As-built drawings (42)
    9.0
    90%

Reviewer Pros & Cons

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Pricing

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Revu Standard

$349

On Premise
per seat

Revu CAD

$449

On Premise
per seat

Revu eXtreme

$599

On Premise
per seat

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee
For the latest information on pricing, visithttps://www.bluebeam.com/pricing

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services

Starting price (does not include set up fee)

  • $240 per year per user
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Product Demos

Veebinar "Bluebeam Revu 20 versiooni uued võimalused " 29. märts 2021

YouTube

Bluebeam Revu

YouTube

Bluebeam Revu Make it easy - Takeoff

YouTube

COMMERCIAL PAINTING Takeoffs demo - fast version

YouTube

ALL CAD Northwest - Bluebeam Revu 12 Feature Demo

YouTube

Bluebeam Revu AEC Demo

YouTube
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Features

Reporting & Analytics

Users can report on and analyze usage, performance, ROI, and/or other metrics of success.

8.7
Avg 8.1

Construction Project & Field Management

Features related to collaboration between construction management and project execution (e.g. the office and the job site, general contractors and subcontractors)

8.8
Avg 7.4

Estimating

A set of tools and applications that allow contractors to forecast, track, monitor, and adjust the cost of building a structure. Cost estimates are used by project owners to determine the scope and feasibility of a project, and also for budget allocation. Contractors also use cost estimates when deciding whether or not to bid on a project and for bid creation.

8.9
Avg 8.2
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Product Details

What is Bluebeam?

Bluebeam develops technology solutions that according to the vendor support project efficiency and collaboration for over two million design and construction professionals worldwide. Bluebeam Revu and Bluebeam Cloud aim to give teams the flexibility to work together anywhere through design, build and handover. And with Bluebeam's desktop and cloud collaboration solutions built on open standards, documents and data can be accessed on any web or iOS device, onsite or off.


Bluebeam Revu®

Revu offers customizable document management, markup and automation tools with a built-in collaboration space, Studio.

• Log in to any desktop with Revu installed and access projects and tool sets

• Mark up and measure together with teammates in real time using Studio

• Share the latest drawings and documents with teams in the field using Bluebeam Cloud

• Increase security and simplify user login with single sign-on (SSO)

Bluebeam Cloud (Web & Mobile)

Connect office and field and complete workflows on the go with Bluebeam Cloud, a suite of web and mobile solutions that connects with documents and tool sets in Revu.

• Work from anywhere via web or iOS device — no set-up or installation required

• Access tool sets and Studio Project files from Revu

• Invite team members to markup and collaborate in real time with the Markup Editor

• Manage punch, RFIs and submittals on the go with Field Tools

Services

Get more out of Revu and Bluebeam Cloud with Bluebeam services designed to help finish the job faster.

• Unlimited centralized cloud storage

• Access to technology partner integrations to support custom workflows

• Access to Bluebeam University training courses at no additional cost

• Technical support via email and phone

• Geolocational insights to help visualize, connect and organize data

Bluebeam Features

Construction Project & Field Management Features

  • Supported: Plan distribution & viewing
  • Supported: Plan markups & sharing
  • Supported: Document sharing
  • Supported: Issue tracking & punchlists
  • Supported: Photo documentation
  • Supported: Jobsite reports
  • Supported: RFI tools
  • Supported: Collaboration & approvals
  • Supported: As-built drawings
  • Supported: Mobile app
  • Supported: Submittal design and management
  • Supported: Checklists
  • Supported: Change orders

Estimating Features

  • Supported: Takeoff tools
  • Supported: Bid creation

Reporting & Analytics Features

  • Supported: Dashboards
  • Supported: Standard reports
  • Supported: Custom reports
  • Supported: Data exportability

Additional Features

  • Supported: Digital stamps and signatures

Bluebeam Screenshots

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

Bluebeam Videos

What Does Bluebeam Do?
Comparing Bluebeam Revu to Procore and e-builder by Trimble

Bluebeam Technical Details

Deployment TypesOn-premise, Software as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based
Operating SystemsWindows
Mobile ApplicationApple iOS, Mobile Web
Supported CountriesUSA, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, Australia
Supported LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Japanese, Korean

Frequently Asked Questions

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.

Bluebeam starts at $240.

Autodesk BIM Collaborate Pro, Autodesk Build, and Procore are common alternatives for Bluebeam.

Reviewers rate Plan markups & sharing and Collaboration & approvals highest, with a score of 9.1.

The most common users of Bluebeam are from Mid-sized Companies (51-1,000 employees).
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Comparisons

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Reviews and Ratings

(359)

Community Insights

TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!

Bluebeam Revu is a widely accessible tool for the construction industry, enabling users to transform paper-based workflows to electronic formats. It has been widely adopted by project managers, estimators, safety managers, and accounting staff for various purposes such as takeoffs, markups, form building, electronic signatures, and stamp approvals. Users have found Bluebeam Revu to be a user-friendly tool for tasks like takeoff quantities, PDF manipulation, detail markups, phasing plans, invoice billing, change orders, and creating illustrations for presentations. The software's markup tools are highly valued for expediting the design process and building punch lists from site visits. Additionally, Bluebeam's Studio feature facilitates real-time collaboration and markups on the same document by multiple users, preventing duplication of work. Overall, Bluebeam Revu addresses the business problem of communicating issues using visual aids and provides a centralized location for updating and maintaining construction documents.

Efficiency in Batch Processes: Several users have praised Bluebeam Revu for its efficiency in batch processes, saving significant time compared to manual alternatives. This has been highlighted by reviewers who found the software to be a powerful tool for streamlining tasks and improving productivity.

Seamless Collaboration with Bluebeam Studio: Many reviewers have commended Bluebeam Revu's cloud-based collaboration feature, Bluebeam Studio, for its ease of use and effectiveness in facilitating collaboration among team members. Users appreciate the seamless collaboration capabilities provided by Bluebeam Revu, which enhance teamwork even when working from different locations or offices.

User-Friendly Markup Tools: The intuitive markup tools in Bluebeam Revu have received positive feedback from multiple users. They find it easy to annotate and mark up PDF documents using the software's user-friendly interface. This feature allows for efficient document editing and enhances the overall user experience.

Difficulties with Typewriter and Textbox Tools: Some users have found the typewriter and textbox tools in Bluebeam to be functional but not user-friendly, stating that they could be easier to use and more precise. Aligning text with specific areas on a form using the typewriter tool can be frustrating for some users.

Laborious Flattening Process: Users have expressed frustration with the process of flattening documents before sharing them in Bluebeam. They believe it could benefit from a default setting that automates this process, as manually flattening documents is time-consuming.

Complexity of Stamp Creation: The creation of stamps in Bluebeam involves several steps and can be confusing for some users. They feel that the process could be streamlined or macro automated to save time, creating a bottleneck for stamp creation.

Users recommend reaching out to other users and utilizing the support team for tricks and tips. They also suggest customizing the interface and exploring tutorials to fully utilize Bluebeam Revu's capabilities. Users highly recommend taking training to learn how to use the software effectively. Additionally, users recommend trying the free trial before purchasing to determine if Bluebeam Revu meets their needs.

Overall, these recommendations highlight the importance of seeking assistance from other users and the support team, as well as investing time in learning how to customize and optimize Bluebeam Revu through tutorials and training. The free trial option is also suggested as a way to evaluate the software before making a purchase decision.

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-1 of 1)
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Michael Savala | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Bluebeam is being used by parts of my organization. Certain users prefer to use Adobe Acrobat, but I think Bluebeam is much easier at manipulating sheets. It enables me to mark-up drawings from the architect, stamp invoices with my approval, and prepare documents for submitting. It's a fast way of drawing on top of PDFs, editing PDFs when necessary, and including relevant information before submitting to other parties (in our case, that is usually subcontractors).
  • Draw on PDFs. No other software I've ever used is better at this, and I've used Photoshop, Illustrator, and Adobe Acrobat. Revu molds together the best features in CAD (powerful drawing capabilities, point snap abilities, extreme accuracy) with a great PDF viewer. Very much worth it.
  • Mark up / annotate PDFs. Typing on Revu is very easy via the text box tool or the typewriter tool. You can choose from a variety of fonts, opaque or transparent backgrounds, any color--the possibilities are endless.
  • Combining and rearranging PDFs. You can easily move pages around, combine separate files, and flatten files.
  • A feature I would add -- a command line. The shortcuts are good, and in the latest version of Revu you can create your own which makes things easier. But I have used CAD and I find the command line much faster than dropdown menus.
  • Something that could be better -- PDF compression. Revu files, when marked-up, can be massive, and there's not a clear enough way to shrink the file down by reducing clarity, etc. I understand this is a vector program--not rasterized--and vectors can be far more complex, especially with patterns and such. But compression would be nice.
  • Features I'd like--enhanced vector abilities. Feathering lines, precise arc drawing, etc. Similar to Illustrator.
Revu is very good for marking up already created PDFs, such as annotating architectural drawings, marking-up invoices, etc. for approval or denial, creating documents from a variety of file times, such as tables, photos, and text into one comprehensive file. Something it is less appropriate for is content creation; while it can combine architectural drawings, photos, tables, and text very well, it's not great for creating content on its own. I.e., its drawing capabilities aren't as robust as AutoCAD or Rhino, jpegs are not native to Revu, it can't produce spreadsheets or tables at all, and word processing abilities are lacking compared to Microsoft Word or the like.
Construction Project & Field Management (5)
90%
9.0
Plan distribution & viewing
100%
10.0
Plan markups & sharing
100%
10.0
Document sharing
70%
7.0
As-built drawings
100%
10.0
Mobile app
80%
8.0
Estimating (1)
90%
9.0
Takeoff tools
90%
9.0
Human Resource Management
N/A
N/A
Payroll Management
N/A
N/A
Asset Management
N/A
N/A
Reporting & Analytics
N/A
N/A
  • I can precisely convey any questions I have for/from architects, designers, subcontractors, etc. with ease. It explains my problems well.
  • Invoice approval (via stamping) is consistent and easy.
  • It's not meant to create "finished" products on its own, but it can combine media together in one cohesive way.
The only software I've ever used that even comes close to Revu is Adobe Acrobat Pro, which I find is most confusing and has a less attractive interface. Since Revu 2015 (the oldest version I've used), there's always been a dark mode Adobe does not have. PlanGrid and Procore, cloud-based construction management software, have many other robust features that Revu simply doesn't have. That said, I use PlanGrid and Procore in conjunction with Revu, as each of the CM software have very subpar PDF mark-up tools. The Adobe suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign) all serve niche purposes, whereas Revu is a jack of all trades--it can accomplish many things, and in use with the right software can be a very valuable asset.
5
The Revu users are in construction drawing management. Often Bluebeam is used to mark up drawings that have been submitted by the architect, typically notes from the designer or client. It's a great tool to make sure all changes spoken about in a meeting or e-mail get conveyed to the rest of the team.
1
Our company is not that large, so we only have 1 person who manages the Bluebeam licenses. I believe that the Revu program is pretty straightforward, and most of it can be learned through online forums, etc.
  • PDF Viewing
  • Construction Drawing Mark-Up
  • Submittal Labeling and Organizing
  • Internal Labeling (i.e., invoices, proposals, etc.)
  • Our accounts payable documents can be clearly and consistently labeled with company logo, etc.
  • Used with Rhino 3D, some light graphic design work can be done on Revu
  • Documents can be sent directly to e-mail, without having to "attach" the file itself. Through this, you can select to send only certain pages in a PDF.
  • Combining elements of separate drawings to create one up-to-date document
  • Use of forms to send out for vendors, subcontractors, and clients to use
  • More in-depth branding and labeling through the use of stamps
  • Drawing take-offs for material quantity (our current projects do not require this feature)
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.
Yes
Adobe Acrobat. We replaced it with Bluebeam because it has more features geared towards construction management.
  • Product Features
  • Product Usability
  • Prior Experience with the Product
The feature set is very important to what I do in construction management. Measuring by length, area, etc. is a very powerful tool and saves a lot of manual calculations. As someone who works largely in construction documentation, this is very important.
For us, it wasn't so much a selection process as it was filling a need we definitely needed. No other product does what Revu does, and with our prior experience with the software, it was an easy decision to switch. It can do what we need it to, and it can be customized to fit exactly your uses or branding.
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