Best Construction Management Software of 2026

Here's what we'll cover:

What you need to know about construction management software

What is construction management software?

Essential features of construction management software

Benefits and competitive advantages of using construction management software

How to choose the best construction management software for your business

Software related to construction management software

More resources for your construction management journey

What you need to know about construction management software

Construction management software is a tool for scheduling and tracking worker to-dos, punch lists, and client billing. These systems provide firms with the appropriate oversight and document control required to monitor requests for information (RFIs), change orders, and purchase orders so they can adhere to project budgets and timelines.

To give you an idea of the market, our site has over 500 different construction management vendors, and we’ve published more than 6,000 reviews for construction management products in the past year alone.

Our analysis of the dataset reveals that 20% of construction management software reviewers are involved in residential remodeling, while 15% are general contractors.

Most systems on the market are priced on a “per month” subscription basis as construction software pricing models can vary. Costs for popular platforms can range from around $280 per month for a basic system all the way up to around $1,200 per month for a more advanced and customized construction management software suite. As cost increases, more functionality and more users are added. [1]

First-time buyers should begin evaluating with a budget, number of users, specific use cases, and necessary integrations in mind. Ensure you've consulted with stakeholders on a list of critical questions to help you evaluate systems based on your needs, such as: 

• What features are available for managing project budgets, timelines, and tasks?

• What types of documents does the platform support?

• How easy is it to adjust schedules based on changing project demands?

• Are there tools for prioritizing or categorizing projects?

• Does the software support offline access on mobile devices?

Because there are so many different vendors, choosing the right option can be a long, daunting process. In this guide, you'll learn about the essential components of construction management software, get step-by-step guidance on how to choose the right solution for your business operations, and into the expertise of our experienced construction management software advisors, such as Niko Bernardone, an advisor manager, and Matthew “Cliff” Clifford, who has led buyers to the right construction management software for 15 years. Schedule a call or start a chat with us.

What is construction management software?

Construction management software manages and coordinates construction projects for contractors and builders. It offers document management, project tracking, and scheduling tools. The software can also help monitor project status, start and finish dates, budgets, and expenditures.

Various construction professionals—including project managers, architects, engineers, and developers—use construction management software to streamline project workflows, improve communication and collaboration, and increase the overall efficiency of construction projects.

Essential features of construction management software

All construction management tools include document, project, and scheduling features, and most share a variety of common features such as budget tracking, change order management, and timesheet management.

Core construction management software features

Each year, we speak to hundreds of construction professionals looking for construction management software and analyze their conversations to better understand which features are critical to them. Based on those discussions and analysis of our review data, here are the features we believe are core to construction management software.

Common construction management software features

Based on our research and conversations with construction professionals, here are the features that are common, but not absolutely necessary.

Beyond these, Clifford adds that another feature that construction business owners talk about being critical for their business is the ability to generate fluid Gantt charts. A Gantt chart is a bar chart that illustrates a project schedule, and some construction management systems provide ones that automatically schedule, reschedule, and notify any affected team members. 

For example, let’s say construction materials are still being shipped and don’t get to the job site on time—you have to make a call to your drywall guys and tell them that they need to wait a day. And then you’ll have to call your painters the next day to push them back. However, construction management software notifies these stakeholders through real-time updates, notifications or emails and collaborative dashboards. This automation keeps everyone informed and minimizes delays.

Scheduling view shown in construction management platform Buildertrend

For more information on construction management software features and recommendations, feel free to schedule an appointment with Clifford or one of his colleagues. 

Benefits and competitive advantages of using construction management software

Clifford often hears from construction business owners that they’re “constantly buried in paperwork and emails, and that construction management software gives them the ability to scale their business while also minimizing the amount of time they have to spend working on administrative items.”

Construction project management (PM) software, as opposed to more general kinds of project management software, helps with construction-specific tasks, such as job costing from first contact to submittal, as well as the ability to give detailed reports that can help business owners understand trends in their work.

Adopting construction PM management software can benefit your firm in several ways, including:

• Improved accountability: Document control capabilities help minimize liability by creating a virtual paper trail for plans, RFIs, change orders, submittals etc. All documentation is stored in a centralized repository with tracking and version control, so all parties know when something is added or updated.

• Financial visibility: With a budgeting and cost control module in place, managers can track actual costs relative to estimates, and set up notifications to alert them if a project is in danger of exceeding the budget. If the system is integrated into accounting and job costing systems, the data will be even more accurate and offer increasingly valuable financial insights over time.

• Improved collaboration: Because most construction PM systems are online, team members can collaborate even when not at the job site. Parties can review and markup plans, submit RFIs and receive responses, and execute a change order—on the web and all in real-time.

Firms that implement and make use of these systems can gain the following competitive advantages:

• Scale your business: Most firms start out using manual methods—pen and paper or spreadsheets—to track projects, but eventually reach a breaking point. Either they take on more jobs, hire more people or they suffer a claim or a lawsuit from a mistake that could have been prevented. Construction PM software offers a more disciplined approach to managing projects and people.

• Operate more efficiently: If you had a way to standardize processes on job sites, reduce confusion around change orders and track purchase orders and job costs, why wouldn't you use it? Construction PM software can offer this and more, helping your firm adhere to regulations and streamline communications among workers and clients. With access to a centralized repository of pictures, blueprints, punch lists and other job documentation, you can make operations more efficient and cut down on costly mistakes.

• Increase the number of jobs completed on time and on budget: One of the greatest advantages these systems offer is increased visibility into estimated versus actual project costs. This transparency can help you adhere to budgets and schedules and alert managers and executives when projects are in danger of exceeding those benchmarks. Ultimately, these tools help firms complete more projects on time and on budget.

The primary issues that tend to surface with new construction management software result from poor selection and implementation processes. Many buyers see technology as a quick fix to their challenges. Only a combination of the right solution, a well-executed implementation, and an adoption process will fix their problems.

When selecting a new system, construction professionals need to reconsider their business process first, and then find the application provider that will most closely map to those processes or automate a new, more effective set of processes. They also need to get a wide set of users involved in the selection process so that each user feels invested in the new program and will adopt it when it goes live. Finally, you need to invest in proper training so that new users get up to speed on the system quickly and realize early benefits from the new system.

How to choose the best construction management software for your business

When you start the process of checking out potential construction management software solutions, you should detail all your requirements and categorize them based on their importance. Nice-to-have features, such as change order management, can come at the very end. Therefore, the solutions you’re considering should address all your crucial needs first.

Clifford had some advice for construction owners: “If you need a piece of software more geared for job costing, look for ones specializing in that. Whatever your main need is should be the focus of your software search.”

Step 1: Define your requirements

Before you start the construction management software selection process, begin outlining the requirements that are unique to your business. Not only will these guide you to the platform that meets your current demands—you will end up with software that supports your long-term goals as well.

Ideal deployment model

The two common types of system architecture are on-premise and cloud-based. On-premise deployment involves installing the solutions on servers that are housed in your building. While this solution gives you more security because your licensing isn’t reliant on cloud-based services, it can be tiresome and expensive to maintain and upgrade the hardware over time. 

On the other hand, the cloud gives users the flexibility of anytime, anywhere access, but the internet connection needs to be fast and steady all the time.

In general, most construction management software solutions are cloud-based, but on-premise solutions still exist if your business requires them.

Common construction management integrations

When construction management is implemented as part of a broader suite of applications, the system will often be integrated with service management, accounting, project scheduling, document management, cost estimating, fixed asset accounting, equipment tracking, inventory management, and time tracking. 

When asked what one of the most important integrations is, Advisor Manager Niko Bernardone immediately mentioned estimating software, but warned against having too many systems integrated into one.

“There are programs that do have everything, but the more applications you start to add, the more clunky the system becomes,” he says. “I recommend that business owners keep accounting, project management, and estimating software separate, but there are systems that can do all three if that’s the best solution for your business.”

When adopting a construction management system, it’s beneficial to focus on other tools that complement different areas of your business, such as construction estimating software, with integration capabilities. This allows for a seamless flow of data between the different tools used in construction projects. Changes in one tool are automatically reflected in others, maintaining accuracy and coherence throughout the project lifecycle.

Step 2: Make a shortlist of construction management software

With so many construction management options to choose from, it can be hard to narrow down your list, but it doesn’t have to be. Start by making a list of must-have and nice-to-have features. Your must-have features should be your primary focus, and every vendor on your shortlist must include those features. Nice-to-have features are not necessary to the success of your business but might make certain aspects easier; these might be features that aren’t included in every piece of software and might cost extra.

Once you have settled your list of features, start looking at vendors. Find ones that have the right features you like, and narrow your list of potential vendors to no more than five. 

For more help and information about how to select your software, check out these resources:

• Make Your Software Search More Seamless With a Software Advisor

• After Your Advisor Call: 4 Tips to Keep Your Software Purchase on Track

• The Ultimate Software Vendor Evaluation Guide

Get qualified help from an advisor

At Software Advice, our advisors have experience helping hundreds of construction professionals identify solutions that match their needs and budgets.

If you need guidance, you can chat online now with an advisor or schedule a phone call. In just a few minutes, your advisor will help you identify a shortlist of options that align with your practice’s requirements.

Step 3: Pick your best option

You’ve compiled a list of your top choices, so now you need to start scheduling vendor demos. During your demos, you can explore features, understand pricing better, and ultimately make the right choice for your business. However, don’t go into these vendor demos without a plan, or you will be wasting your time.

How to prepare for vendor demos

Once you’ve compiled your shortlist of construction management software systems, schedule demo sessions with each vendor in order to learn more about their product. Our advisors are often able to schedule these for you. This is your chance to ask questions about specific features they offer, pricing, technical support, training tools, and anything else that might be an important factor in choosing the right system.

Some questions you should consider asking vendors in each demo include:

• What kind of customer support do you offer during implementation?

• How easy is it to track equipment and inventory in your system?

• How can you migrate existing data to the tool?

• What accounting integrations do you offer?

• Does your product offer or include support for building information modeling (BIM) technology?

• Does your product include a mobile app?

• What is your typical response time for support requests?

• Is there a limit to the number of email notifications that can be sent or received? 

• Can forms be customized (e.g., branding, fields and logic, etc.)?

Software related to construction management software

"Construction software" refers to a class of applications that help firms manage the entire project lifecycle, from pre-sale through the actual build process and onto final billing. Increasingly, firms are looking to purchase an integrated software suite to help them manage this entire process.

However, if you choose to use a best-of-breed construction PM system, you'll need to know about the software related to this process to ensure each system can integrate and transfer data between applications.

• Takeoff software: Takeoff is a pre-sale process in which the estimator measures construction plans (blueprints and drawings) to determine the amount of materials and labor required for a job. Takeoff software is commonly sold as a standalone application or grouped together with estimating. It is less common to find takeoff within a construction PM tool.

• Construction estimating software: Another pre-sale process, construction estimating software calculates the costs for the material and labor takeoff and then produces detailed bid proposals from those estimates. Sold either as a standalone system or grouped with takeoff, it's less common for estimating to be included within a construction PM system unless, of course, each application is included as part of a comprehensive, integrated suite.

• Construction bidding software: Bid management, wherein a contractor solicits bids from subcontractors and suppliers before submitting a job quote to a building owner, is a process that, in part, bridges the gap between pre-sale and project management. As such, bidding can be found as an application within many construction PM systems or can be purchased as standalone software.

• Construction accounting software: Construction accounting software helps firms manage their job costing, core accounting, fixed asset accounting, and payroll. It's common to find some job costing and budgeting in construction PM software; however, if the PM systems you're evaluating don't offer core accounting, you should look for integrations with general accounting systems, such as QuickBooks or Xero.

More resources for your construction management journey

• Accelerate Your Construction Software Implementation by Learning From Buyers With Experience

• 5 Tips for Successful Construction Software Implementation

• After Your Advisor Call: 4 Tips To Keep Your Software Purchase on Track

About our contributors

Author

Laura Burgess is a content analyst at Software Advice with more than a decade of journalism experience and particular knowledge of human resources-related topics. 

Laura’s research and analysis is informed by more than 350,000 authentic user reviews on Software Advice and over 60,000 interactions between Software Advice software advisors and software buyers. Laura also regularly analyzes market sentiment by conducting surveys of business leaders in the HR, sales, and construction tech spaces so she can provide the most up-to-date and helpful information to small and midsize businesses purchasing software or services. 

She has written for various industries on technology trends. Laura's research has been featured in Australian publications such as ABC News, HR Leader, Inside Retail, Dynamic Business, Retail Biz, and Technology Decisions. She has also appeared in various news segments on Ticker News, Channel 9 News, and SBS Mandarin, quoting her research. 

When Laura isn't helping small to midsize businesses with insight on tech trends, she enjoys traveling and seeing her favorite music artists live.

Editor

Caroline Rousseau is a content editor at Software Advice.

A former content analyst, Caroline has, for the past five years, built, written and edited research reports about technological trends, opportunities, and challenges with a SMB audience in mind. Her content has been featured in French Tier 1 media including Le Monde, L’Express and Le Figaro, among other publications.

Her previous experience as a graphic designer, translator and LQA specialist in various industries converged into a skill set that allows her to create compelling content about today’s business matters. Caroline’s personal interests include literature and art and she has a passion for Albert Camus, graphic novels and drawing.

Advisors

Niko Bernardone is an advisor manager. He joined Software Advice in 2020 as a software advisor, and now he manages a team of eight software advisors. He is based in Fort Myers, FL. 

Niko and his team help small businesses find the right accounting, project management, manufacturing, and learning management software for their needs each year. They’re able to do this through one-to-one conversations designed to narrow down the list of potential tools to only those that are the best fit. 

His favorite part of being a Software Advice advisor team manager is the opportunity to help buyers navigate complex issues and help them find the solutions that drive the results they need.

Matthew Clifford is a software advisor. He joined Software Advice in 2023, and he is based in Fort Myers, FL.

Matthew works directly with small-business leaders to connect them with best fit software providers. He assesses the technology needs of small businesses seeking construction and field service software through one-to-one conversations and provides a short list of potential matches. 

For Matthew, the most enjoyable part of being a software advisor is getting to help buyers determine the best fit for them among the overwhelming amount of products on the market.

Sources 

1. Software Advice software pricing data: Products evaluated for the pricing calculation were taken from our construction software directory. The pricing ranges exclude freemium versions of the products. The features highlighted were identified based on their relevance and the percentage of products in our directory that offer them. 

2. Software Advice advisor call notes: Findings are based on data from telephonic conversations that Software Advice’s advisor team had with small-to-midsize businesses seeking general contractor tools. For this report, we analyzed phone interactions up until the date of production. Read the complete methodology.

3. Software Advice reviews data: Software Advice reviews are collected from verified users for individual software products. For this report, we analyzed reviews from October, 2023 to October, 2024.