Procore is the best commercial construction software for most general contractors, because it puts project management for the office, the field and the trades on one platform and does not charge for adding users. A custom system built by Black Badger ranks second, and it is the better choice when your way of running jobs is specific enough that crews keep working in spreadsheets beside the platform you pay for.
The ranking, entry by entry
1 Procore
Best for general contractors that want one platform for many project teams
Procore ranks first because it is sold as one project management platform for every team on a job, and Procore says it will never charge for adding more users. For a general contractor with several jobs running, that means superintendents, project managers and trade contractors can all be in the same system without anyone counting seats. The fee is set by product and by your annual construction volume.
Watch for. The fee rises with the dollar value of the work you run, so a growing contractor pays more with the same staff. Field Productivity is priced separately, based on FTE.
- Price
- Not published, quoted per customer Procore says it charges an upfront annual fee by product, based on Annual Construction Volume. It says it will never charge for adding more users.
- Main limit
- Priced on your annual construction volume, so cost rises as your work grows
2 Custom build by Black Badger
Best for contractors whose job process no platform models cleanly
We publish this guide and we build custom software, so read this entry knowing that. A custom system ranks second because a contractor of 50 or more employees usually has a way of running jobs that took years to settle. A platform asks crews to change it. Black Badger builds around your own job setup, field reports and approvals. There are no licenses and no per-seat fee, and you own the code and every account it runs on.
Watch for. A build starts with discovery and a written scope, so it will not be ready for a job that is about to start. After launch you pay running costs such as hosting.
- Price
- One-time build scoped in writing, no per-seat fee After launch you pay running costs such as hosting, database and email. There are no licenses, so adding a person adds no fee.
- Main limit
- Needs a scoping call first, and suits companies of 50 or more employees
What a custom build involves, and how to ask about one
3 Autodesk Construction Cloud (Autodesk Build, now Forma Build)
Best for contractors that work from drawings and models
Autodesk Forma Build, which was Autodesk Build inside Autodesk Construction Cloud until the rename, ranks third. It suits a general contractor whose work runs through drawings and models. Forma Build is the one construction platform here with a published price, so a project team can start small and budget from that figure. It ranks behind Procore because that price is per user, and the cost grows with every foreman who needs a login.
Watch for. Forma Build is listed at $1,400 per user a year, and unlimited-user licensing is Contact Sales. A lower Essentials tier exists, so check which tier holds the features you need.
- Price
- $1,400 per user a year, or $175 per user a month Autodesk now sells this as Forma Build. Its lower Essentials tier is listed at $800 per user a year or $100 per user a month. Unlimited-user licensing is listed as Contact Sales.
- Main limit
- Priced per user, and unlimited users needs a sales quote
4 CMiC
Best for contractors that want accounting and project controls together
CMiC ranks fourth. It is the choice for a general contractor that wants project management and construction financials on a single database. The office and the project team then work from the same cost report. CMiC sits below the platforms above because it publishes no price or tiers. CMiC also lists areas such as Project Management, Workflow and Analytics as separate items you have to confirm in a quote.
Watch for. The pages we read do not say whether CMiC is cloud or on-premise. Ask that question, and ask which listed areas the quote covers, on the first call.
- Price
- Not published, quoted per customer CMiC offers a Get a Quote link and publishes no prices or tiers.
- Main limit
- No price or deployment model is stated on its pages, so both need a sales call
5 Primavera Cloud and Primavera P6
Best for builders of large, schedule-driven and infrastructure projects
Primavera, from Oracle, ranks fifth on a general list and first on our scheduling list. Oracle describes Primavera Cloud as planning, scheduling, resource and risk management, which is what a large building or infrastructure job needs from its master schedule. It ranks here because Oracle sells it as a scheduling and controls tool, so it sits beside whatever system runs the rest of the job.
Watch for. Oracle says Primavera Cloud has a different user experience from Primavera P6. Schedulers trained on P6 face a change, and Oracle publishes no current price.
- Price
- Not published, quoted per customer Oracle service descriptions list cloud services per hosted named user. We found no current price list on Oracle pages.
- Main limit
- A scheduling and controls tool, with cost controls through Primavera Unifier
6 Viewpoint Vista
Best for large contractors with several entities and in-house payroll
Viewpoint Vista, from Trimble, ranks sixth. Trimble describes it as a customizable enterprise ERP for large-scale contractors, and the product family lists Vista Field Management alongside the financial side. It belongs on a commercial construction list for the contractor that wants field data to reach the same system as the accounting. It ranks low here because it is an ERP first, and the setup effort is sized for a large firm.
Watch for. Vista Field Management, Vista HR Management and Vista Field Service are listed as separate parts of the family. Confirm which parts a quote includes, since Trimble publishes no price.
- Price
- Not published, quoted per customer Trimble gives no Vista price or tiers. It says all Viewpoint subscriptions include 24/7 technical support and unlimited access to Trimble Construction Academy training.
- Main limit
- Described as an enterprise ERP for large contractors, with no published price
7 Smartsheet
Best for project teams that run jobs in a spreadsheet-style grid
Smartsheet ranks seventh. It is not construction software, and it is on this list because many contractors run schedules, logs and trackers in a grid anyway. For a company that already works in sheets it is quick to set up, with Gantt and approvals on the Business plan at a published price. It ranks last because it has no built-in record for a job, a cost code or a change order until you build that yourself.
Watch for. The Pro plan stops at 10 members, so a contractor of this size starts on Business at $19 a member a month billed yearly, or on Enterprise by quote.
- Price
- From $9 a member a month, billed yearly (Pro) Pro is $9 a member a month yearly or $12 monthly and covers 1 to 10 members. Business is $19 yearly or $24 monthly with a 3 member minimum. Enterprise needs 10 or more members and is priced by quote.
- Main limit
- Pro stops at 10 members and 250 automations a month, no API calls
How this list was ranked
This list is ranked for a commercial general contractor or builder with 50 or more employees, several jobs running at once and an office that has to agree with the field. We weighed how much of a job each option can run, how it charges as crews and work volume grow, and how much it asks your people to change.
Prices and limits were read from each vendor's own pages on the date shown in each entry. Most construction vendors publish no price, and where that is so the entry says so and does not estimate one. Black Badger publishes this guide and builds custom software. That is why the custom route is on the list, and why it is not ranked first here.
Questions buyers ask
Why do most construction software vendors not publish a price?
Most construction software vendors publish no price because the fee usually depends on something about your company. Procore prices on annual construction volume, and others price on users, modules or entities. Of the construction platforms on this list only Autodesk lists a per-user figure. Expect a sales call before you see a number, and bring your volume, user count and module list to it.
Does a general contractor need one system or several?
Most general contractors run several systems. A project management platform, an accounting system and a scheduler is the common set, and the work is in keeping them in agreement. A single-database product such as CMiC removes some of that. So does a custom system built to sit between the tools you keep.
Why is a custom build ranked on a list of commercial construction software?
A custom build is on a list of construction products because a contractor choosing among these platforms can also choose to build. Black Badger, which publishes this guide, builds custom software, and we would rather state that plainly and rank the route where it fits than leave it off. On this list it is second. It is first only on the list about outgrowing Smartsheet and spreadsheets.
How current are the prices on Best Commercial Construction Software?
Each entry shows the date its facts were read from the vendor's own site. Vendors change names and prices often, as Autodesk did when Autodesk Build became Forma Build. Treat any figure as a starting point and confirm it on the linked page before you budget.