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.
- How it charges
- Annual fee by product, based on construction volume
- 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.
- How it charges
- One-time build scoped in writing, then running costs such as hosting
- 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 billed per user by the year, and unlimited-user licensing is Contact Sales. A lower Essentials tier exists, so check which tier holds the features you need.
- How it charges
- Per user, yearly or monthly, unlimited users quoted
- 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.
- How it charges
- Quoted by sales, no published price
- 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.
- How it charges
- Quoted, sold per hosted named user
- 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.
- How it charges
- Quoted by sales, no published price
- 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, billed per member, or on Enterprise by quote.
- How it charges
- Per member, billed yearly or monthly, Enterprise quoted
- 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.
How each product charges, its plan names and its 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 facts on Best Commercial Construction Software?
Each entry shows the date its facts were read from the vendor's own site. Vendors change names, plans and limits often, as Autodesk did when Autodesk Build became Forma Build. The vendor's own site is right where the two differ.