There’s no doubt that the internet has made our lives much easier. You can find any information you want, make purchases, pay bills, and even connect with people around the world on a whim. Nowadays, if you run a business and don’t have an online presence, it’s almost as if you don’t exist.
In the same way that the internet has changed how we live and do our jobs, apps have changed how we use the internet. With apps, businesses can connect with their customers to provide them with services in ways never thought possible before. This is great for consumers, but what about for professionals? Can apps help those who remodel homes? Absolutely! Apps for remodeling contractors make working on projects more efficient and allow clients to feel like they’re more involved in their home improvement plans.
Table of Contents
Best Apps For Remodeling Contractors
One of the biggest problems facing the construction industry is technology development and integration. However, using a construction app can help solve that problem.
With features including scheduling, tracking subcontractor data, field reports, and more, construction apps assist architects, general and specialty contractors, and engineers manage their projects. They can also use these apps to review drawings, create punch lists, and manage their teams on-the-go, from the office, or out in the field.
There are dozens of construction apps to choose from ranging from free, one-feature apps to paid complex apps for teams and large companies. To help you make the best decision for your company, we reviewed 20 apps before choosing the top six.
These six best construction apps were evaluated based on the features they offer, tools included, price, and the company’s rating and reviews. Read on to see which construction app is best for your company.
Best Construction Apps of 2022
Best Overall: Fieldwire
Runner-Up, Best Overall: PlanGrid
Best for Independent Contractors: Joist
Best for Large Projects: Procore
Best for Reporting: GoCanvas
Best for Pre-Construction: SmartBid
Best Construction Apps
Fieldwire
PlanGrid
Joist
Procore
GoCanvas
SmartBid
What Are Construction Apps?
How Do Construction Apps Work?
How Much Do Construction Apps Cost?
Are Free Construction Apps Worth It?
Methodology
BEST OVERALL
Fieldwire
Fieldwire
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Established in 2013 in San Francisco, Fieldwire focuses on precision and productivity and is a full-service field management solution for construction teams and projects of any size. It powers more than 750,000 projects across the world including residential, commercial, and industrial projects including the SEA-TAC International Airport in Seattle.
Fieldwire is used by general contractors, business owners, specialty contractors, architects, and designers to manage job sites worldwide. The app helps to improve job site communication, coordination, and productivity, and uses real-time updates to assign tasks, monitor progress, and complete reports. Some of its additional features include plan viewing, task management, scheduling, punch lists, and report creation.
Fieldwire offers a free help center to help you get started. They can also help choose which plan is right for you or customize a plan tailored to your needs. Pricing for Fieldwire is per month and the price reflects the discount for paying upfront annually.
Tiered pricing is as follows:
Basic: Free plan with a 5 user limit for small teams who want to try out the app
Pro: $29 per user per month billed annually for growing teams who want to scale
Business: $49 per user per month billed annually for advanced teams unifying processes
Premier: $89 per user per month billed annually for teams who want to connect Fieldwire to their core technology
Fieldwire has positive third-party customer reviews with users reporting that the app is excellent, has replaced paper plans, and includes useful tools that save time.
It’s our top choice for best overall construction apps because of its robust features, and company reputation.
RUNNER-UP, BEST OVERALL
PlanGrid
PlanGrid
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Owned by Autodesk and founded in 2012 in San Francisco, PlanGrid is a construction productivity software company that offers real-time updates and file synchronization. It’s used by general contractors, subcontractors, owners, and designers in commercial, industrial, healthcare, and heavy civil industries, and has been employed on over 1.5 million projects worldwide including the Las Vegas Arena.
You can manage teams and projects in one place while organizing users, managing projects, and purchasing licenses. It offers secure data uploads, is scalable for small and large projects, and can be integrated with software including DocuSign, Dropbox, Excel, and more. Other features include tasks, punch lists, workflows, submittals, instant sync, smart drawings, and more.
You can get started in only a few minutes by creating an account, uploading sheets, and inviting team members all from the app. The company offers group discounts, add-ons, and a free 21-day trial as well as tiered pricing with a discount for paying annually.
Tiered pricing reflects discounts for paying annually and is as follows:
Nailgun: $39/user/month for 550 sheets with unlimited projects, photos, and documents
Dozer: $69/user/month for 5,000 sheets with unlimited projects, photos, and documents
Crane: $129/user/month for unlimited sheets, unlimited projects, photos, and documents
PlanGrid receives mixed third-party reviews. Although some customers complain about the unsubscribe button not working, other users like that its functions are efficient and productive. It’s our runner-up choice for the best construction app because of its vast features and tools and easy integration with apps you already use.
BEST FOR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS
Joist
Joist
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A contractor estimator, invoice, and payment app, Joist is used by over one million contractors and has invoiced over $46 billion in transactions. It’s used by contractors and specialty contractors but not large teams.
Joist offers templates and custom contracts and other features including cost markups, deposit requests, payment schedules, job photo storage, and more. Customers can also digitally sign documents via the app and you can create easy-to-read, detailed estimates in minutes.
Joist offers tiered pricing and discounts for paying annually:
Starter: Free for estimates, invoices and deposits, and payment schedules
Pro: $12/user/month and includes everything that Starter includes plus logo branding, notifications, work orders, QuickBooks Online Syncing, and custom contracts
Pro Elite: $29/user/month includes everything from Pro plus change orders, web and social links, license, and insurance, reports and groups items into sections
Customers provide mostly positive third-party reviews and say they like how easy it is to categorize items as well as the on-the-go notes and estimates tools.
Joist is our choice for the best construction app for independent contractors because it’s an app that was made by contractors for contractors. It understands the industry and the features that will be helpful like creating on-the-spot estimates.
BEST FOR LARGE PROJECTS
Procore
Procore
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Procore is a U.S.-based construction project management software company that aims to help construction firms increase project efficiency and accountability, streamline project documentation and communication, and help you finish a project safely, on time, and on budget. It’s used by large-scale companies like Lennar and Brookfield Properties.
Procore is used for capital improvements, industrial projects, and ground-up construction in multiple countries by general contractors, subcontractors, and business owners. Users can communicate, monitor progress, and complete task forms, and share documents and plans. Other features include pre-construction bid management, design coordination, field productivity, and invoice management tools.
Pricing is based on the construction volume that you run on the platform and both bundles come with unlimited document storage, unlimited business directory, task management, and reporting. You can contact the company to find out what features each tier includes and for custom bundle pricing.
It has positive third-party reviews and users say that it’s easy to use, keeps you organized, is easy to integrate with other software, and it offers full project management tools.
Procore is our top choice for construction apps that are best for large projects due to its proven record of helping efficiently and effectively manage large scale construction projects. It also has a full offering of features and tools including project management, quality and safety, and training tools.
BEST FOR REPORTING
GoCanvas
GoCanvas
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Based in Reston, Virginia, and Sydney, Australia, GoCanvas was founded as Canvas in 2008 and changed its name to GoCanvas in 2017. It was founded to help business owners improve processes and reduce the clutter of paperwork. The app is used by organizations of varying sizes in multiple industries including construction, food and beverage, transit, manufacturing, and more.
The app helps you save time and money by eliminating the need for paperwork and speeding up data collection. You can customize or use a template and then collect information, distribute the data, sync to the app, or to their cloud, and you can even add team members as collaborators. Some additional functions include building forms and distributing them to field workers, auto-email forms, reassigning work from one employee to another, and providing job details.
Once you’ve selected your plan, you can download the app, fill out your profile, and start creating templates right away.
Tiered pricing for GoCanvas is as follows:
Individual: Free for one user, one mobile device at a time with the app, and .pdf builder and unlimited cloud storage
Business: $45/user/month billed annually and includes Individual features plus branding, dispatch, and integrations
Professional: $55/user/month billed annually and includes Business features plus scheduled dispatch and calendar, automated workflow, assignments, and folders
Contact the company for large team pricing and to get more details on the features included in each tiered plan.
Overall, GoCanvas has positive third-party reviews, and users like how easy it is to digitize paperwork and stay organized.
We chose GoCanvas as the best construction app for reporting because of its robust reporting features. Although it doesn’t offer as many other features as some of the other apps, it focuses on reducing paperwork and digital reporting, helping you stay efficient and organized regardless of project size.
BEST FOR PRE-CONSTRUCTION
SmartBid
SmartBid
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SmartBid, founded in 2006 and acquired by ConstructConnect in 2018, is a contractor bid management software for the construction industry. It’s used by subcontractors, independent contractors, general contractors, and business owners across the U.S. and Canada.
The app helps to simplify the pre-construction process and streamline communication between general contractors and subcontractors. Some of its features include sharing project documents, sending invitations to bid, streamlining prequalification, managing subcontractors’ data, and tracking compliance, reports, and project metrics. It can be integrated with other construction apps including Procore and Stack.
Downloading the app is free, and subcontractors who are invited to bid or prequalify a job in the system can also use the app at no cost. However, there are some costs associated with a few of the features. You’ll need to contact the company for those specific features and prices.
SmartBid has mostly positive third-party customer reviews with users saying that it’s helpful when managing multiple-estimate projects and tracking current open bids.
We chose SmartBid as our best construction app for pre-construction because it effectively helps subcontractors and specialty and general contractors during the pre-construction phase to submit and compare bids as well as manage the pre-construction process.
What Are Construction Apps?
Construction apps are apps that construction workers and construction company owners can download on their smartphones or tablets to help them manage projects from anywhere at any time. They’re designed to automate tasks, store and share documents, upload plans, manage tasks, and more.1 You can do everything from creating punch lists to managing subcontractor data to centralizing workflow and managing cost updates.
Construction apps aren’t full accounting apps and typically won’t be able to get you ready for tax time. They also don’t take the place of managing your employees and subcontractors or complete payroll for you. These tasks generally require separate apps or software.
How Do Construction Apps Work?
Like any app, you download the construction app on your mobile device, set up a profile, and click through the features you want to use. You’ll fill in necessary details like the number of subcontractors, types of projects, budget, and deadlines.
The app can autofill items for you, use built-in calculators to calculate profits, create budgets, and stay on track with deadlines. Business owners can manage job progress and keep track of their worker’s time cards and who is working on what job site when and what still needs to get done.
Some apps even let you share data with clients so they can see what progress is being made on their project and make suggestions and communicate directly through the app.
How Much Do Construction Apps Cost?
The cost of construction apps varies. Some apps are free to download and use while others are free to download but cost money to use. Other apps charge a one-time fee to download or monthly subscription fees. Generally, you can expect an app to cost anywhere from $12 per user per month all the way up to $549 per month.
However, even though you might need to pay for the app, you might find it saves you money in other areas. For instance, you can save money on gas by driving to fewer job sites if you effectively use a construction app. You can also reduce wasted time by monitoring employees’ work tasks, and you can increase your efficiency by automating tasks you may have otherwise had to do manually.
Are Free Construction Apps Worth Using?
Free construction apps are definitely worth using. It only takes a few seconds to download an app, and most of them are easy to use and you can get the hang of the features in a few minutes. Using a construction app can free up more of your time for other money-making tasks, improve efficiency, and can even decrease the number of onsite visits you need to make.
Before you create your next punch list, site inspection report, or jot notes down, consider using an app to streamline the process for you.
How We Chose the Best Construction Apps
We thoroughly researched and reviewed 20 of the most popular construction apps before narrowing them down to our top six picks. Criteria we used to evaluate providers included cost, customer ratings and reviews, the number of built-in tools, and collaborative and multi-user functions. We also looked at the apps’ ability to integrate with other programs and software, whether it’s cloud-based or has the ability to sync with the cloud, and if it can help with on-site tasks like document signing or providing instant bids.
building construction apps
Contractors of all stripes rely on apps to keep them organized when they’re on a job site. Below we’ve compiled 10 of the best free construction apps for Android and iOS in 2022.
These apps that will help builders, painting contractors, handymen and more do their job efficiently and quickly and save them time and money.
Need a quick way to make invoices and estimates on the go? FreshBooks’ powerful mobile app is free to download and offers contractors an incredibly user-friendly way to get paid 2x faster.
In this article, we’ll cover:
All-In-One Calculator Free
Building Calculator
PlanGrid
Fieldwire
DEWALT Mobile Pro
Autodesk BIM 360
GasBuddy
Canvas
Punch List & Site Audit Report
Procore
- All-In-One Calculator Free
All-In-One Calculator Free is a free Android app that helps you do construction-related calculations. Perform unit and currency conversions and calculate percentages, volumes, areas and proportions. It includes over 75 calculators and unit converters in one. There are ads within the app, but they aren’t too intrusive.
For your iPhone, try Carpenter’s Helper Lite for all your unit calculation needs. Calculate stair lengths, roof pitch, rafter lengths and more. There’s a Quick-Job feature that lets you quickly calculate projects like fencing, drywall, painting and flooring.
- Building Calculator
Building Calculator is a free construction calculator app for Android that helps contractors calculate the amount of materials they’ll need for a project. You can even use it offline. Calculate projects using materials such as bricks, lumber, flooring and paint. Also calculate concrete volume, armatures weight, wall blocks needed and more.
iPhone users can use Construction Calculator, which lets you do stairs and rafters calculations and convert between dimensional formats. It’s free and there are no ads within the app.
- PlanGrid
PlanGrid is a popular free app for contractors that’s available on both iTunes and Google Play. It’s a collaborative tool that essentially makes paper blueprints obsolete. It syncs over data or Wi-Fi.
The app lets you view and share blueprints, notes and drawings and also share issues tracking, field markups and progress photos. It also has a version control function and you can create and send RFIs on the app.
- Fieldwire
Fieldwire is a free task management app for the construction industry that works for both iTunes and Android. Field workers can view up-to-date files, blueprints and tasks on their mobile devices while they’re on site.
Contractors can make tasks that are linked to locations and blueprints, set deadlines, assign priority levels and relate different tasks. Create a punch list, share drawings with all users, add attachments and photos, create reports and alert staff of new tasks via email or app notifications.
- DEWALT Mobile Pro
This full-featured construction calculation and reference tool does it all. Reference materials come with examples and illustrations and there are hundreds of add-on calculations specific to different trades.
You can also access your history to see past calculations. Save favorite calculations and even share calculations via email. It’s a neat and very handy app that you can tailor to your specific business.
DEWALT Mobile Pro is free with in-app purchases. It’s available on iTunes and Google Play.
- Autodesk BIM 360
This app for construction project management lets you manage all aspects of field work such as safety, commissioning, quality, documentation and building information management (BIM).
Autodesk BIM 360 is a cloud-based reporting and collaboration tool that has simple templates that teams can collaborate on to track a project’s quality. Dashboards and reports also lets users see trends and monitor quality. Finally, pushpin markers mark field locations, with details of any issues at each.
It’s available on both Google Play and iTunes.
- GasBuddy
Simple but effective, GasBuddy helps builders find the cheapest gas nearby. The GasBuddy community regularly adds information on stations, prices and distance so you and your team can find the least expensive station wherever you happen to be. This is incredibly useful, especially since you probably burn through gas more than you’d like.
There are also automatic updates on gas prices, reviews of gas stations and challenges that help you win free gas. It’s available for both Android and iPhone.
- Canvas
Canvas is a reporting app for contractors. Fill out audits, forms, inspections, estimates and work orders all through your cell phone or other mobile device. Canvas eliminates the need to carry around piles of paper. Create forms on the app without any coding knowledge, convert them to PDF and share them too.
Another plus: the customer service is excellent. Get it on Google Play or the App Store.
- Punch List & Site Audit Report
Create quick and simple punch lists on the fly with this app that will help you audit even more professionally. It’s perfect for audits, walkthroughs, safety inspections, insurance claims, site walks and checklists.
Easily list all the work that needs to be done, such as incorrect installations or damage to materials, finishes or structures. Create PDF reports, add photos and notes while in the field and annotate images too. In short, the app is the perfect tool to help you meet contract specifications so you can finish the job and get paid.
Punch List is free to download on iTunes and has in-app purchases. Fieldwire has a similar free app for Android.
- Procore
This cloud-based construction project management app lets you update project details on the go, even offline. Check and update drawings, daily logs, RFIs, specifications, inspections, deficiency lists, timecards and more from your mobile device. It also has a camera function so you can incorporate photos.
Even better, it’s simple and intuitive to use with a short learning curve. It has a responsive support team, too. Procore is sure to save contractors endless hours.
Get it for free on the App Store or Google Play.
People also ask:
Apps for Independent Contractors
Apps for General Contractors
Apps for Independent Contractors
Here are some essential apps for independent contractors:
FreshBooks: track your time and make and send professional invoices and estimates on the go, syncs with online accounting software
MindNode: store visual notes and do mind-mapping
ClickUp: to-do lists, project management, and a lot more
Workflowy: record detailed daily tasks while also looking ahead
Fantastical 2: this calendar app has plenty of features to help you block schedule your day
IRS2Go: make payments, check the status of your refund and get tax information.
MileIQ: track your mileage and import it to FreshBooks to make tax time easy
Apps for General Contractors
Here are some useful apps for general contractors:
SmartBidNet: track your bid process
GoBIM: navigate 3D BIM models
Truckast: make ready-mix concrete orders and track delivery time
FingerCAD: make technical drawings with your fingers on your mobile device
Roofing Calculator: calculate roofing shingles, bundles and squares needed
Conclusion
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