A Guide to Construction Project Management Software Pricing Models

Are you a builder or contractor looking for construction management software but are not sure how much you should be paying for it? Well, the answer is not simple because multiple factors are at play. You need to analyze your requirements and business size and match them with the features offered by multiple construction management software solutions.

Since this analysis can be challenging, we’ve put together this comprehensive guide to help you compare construction project management software pricing models. This will help you determine which pricing plan meets your needs the best and explain how construction PM tools are priced.

How is construction project management software priced?

A construction project management tool offers multiple pricing plans. Each pricing plan has a different set of features that influence the price range. Typically, higher-priced plans are associated with a higher number of features, and they also support more users. Some construction PM software solutions also offer custom pricing wherein the users can contact the vendor to discuss their requirements and develop a plan that specifically targets their construction business needs. The vendor then creates a custom pricing plan for such customers.

Types of construction project management software pricing models

The most common pricing model of construction PM software is subscription-based. This model requires users to pay a recurring monthly or annual fee to the software vendor until they want to use it. These subscription-based pricing models are further divided into different pricing plans, such as:

• Freemium: Catering to small construction businesses, the freemium plan offers a software version usually with a limited set of features or for a small number of users for free of cost. 

• Basic: Suitable for a small team of up to five contractors, this plan lies in the $41 - $1,245 range and usually offers basic features such as unlimited projects, daily logs, lead management, and a time clock.

• Premium: Ranging between $74 - $2,490 and serving 10 contractors at most, the premium plan offers more advanced features, including reporting, surveys, construction accounting, and cost management.

• Advanced: Advanced pricing plan starts at $500 and goes up to $2,739. This plan supports 11+ contractors and offers all the features (basic and advanced), such as task management, customer portal, purchase orders, and custom customer support plans.

For reference, below is a snapshot of construction project management software costs.

What are the upfront and recurring costs associated with construction project management software?

Expenses that you’ll have to incur while purchasing or subscribing to the software are called upfront costs while expenses that you’ll incur to continue using the software are called recurring costs. License costs, installation costs, and training expenses are some types of upfront costs. On the other hand, software subscription fees and maintenance costs fall under the recurring cost category because you’ll have to incur them until you wish to use the software.

Let’s look at upfront and recurring costs under the different construction management software pricing models.

What are the additional fees associated with construction project management software?

Some additional costs that you may have to incur while implementing construction management software are:

• Data migration: Data migration is the process of migrating data from one software system to another. If you already have a construction PM tool and are considering switching to a new one, you’ll have to migrate data. For this data migration, you may have to hire a professional or suffer downtime, resulting in extra costs. Therefore, assess the cost of data migration before you make any decision.

• Training: To ensure that your staff can use the construction project management tool effectively, it’s important to assess whether the support resources provided by the software vendor, such as FAQs, video tutorials, and a knowledge base, are sufficient. If you require additional training, that will again add to your total cost of implementing the construction PM tool.

• Hardware and IT: You may have to upgrade your servers, computers, or mobile devices to meet the technical requirements of the construction PM software. There may also be a need to hire an IT professional to work on the maintenance of the solution. Analyze these aspects before purchasing any construction PM tool.

• Maintenance and upgrades: Maintenance and upgrades are necessary to ensure that the construction PM tool runs efficiently and there are no technical issues or downtime that may hamper the business operations. However, these services are sometimes not offered by vendors in their licenses or subscription plans, and you’ll have to pay extra to avail them. This will again add to your cost and increase your total spending on the tool.

How to find the right construction project management software price range

1. Analyze features in each pricing plan: As discussed above, different pricing plans offer a different set of features. Check your requirements and see which plan offers most or all of your desired features. If you have a small construction company, carefully selecting a pricing plan this way will also allow you to save some bucks.

2. Consider pricing commitment: Subscription-based pricing is a short-term deal and offers the flexibility to scale the software at any point in time. On the other hand, long-term commitments of at least two to three years lower the software cost per year. Long-term deals also come with maintenance plans and support options. Since both the commitment options have their own pros and cons, see which plan you can commit to for a long time.

3. Check the number of users: The number of users supported in each plan varies. Lower-priced plans usually support fewer users, which can be a great option for a small construction business. However, if you are a big project team, then check out higher-priced plans, which are meant for big construction firms.

Common questions to ask when choosing a construction project management software pricing plan

• Does the tool have an open-source version? Open-source construction management software allows you to customize the code of the software to build a tool per your specific business requirements free of cost. If you’re on a budget, you can ask your vendor if they have an open-source version of their software, as this is an affordable option.

• Are there any long-term contracts? Sometimes there can be long-term contracts associated with pricing plans that will bind you to the product for a certain period of time. Canceling or changing your plan in between that period might lead to penalties. To be safer, check with your vendor if they have any such contracts.

• Does the tool provide a free trial? Free trial offers the whole software for free but for a small period of time, typically for 14 or 30 days. As this trial period allows you to do a test run of the software to check whether it fulfills your requirements, ask your vendor if they offer a free trial.