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3. 2018 National Construction Estimator
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6. Free Construction Estimator Software Download 2017

ESTIMATE is an open-source and free construction management solution for estimating costs and budgets. It can calculate the project’s potential success and analyze, report and archive all data. Be the first to review ESTIMATE on G2 Crowd! Free option: ESTIMATE is free to use, but donations. Craftsman's National Estimator program is quick to learn and allows you to create construction estimates using any or all of Craftsman Book Company's national cost databases - framing & finish.

1. Jan 22, 2019  Construction estimating software can help your business to calculate material, equipment and labor costs so that you can efficiently provide an accurate bid to your clients. There are many free and free-trial options around, so look for the software.
2. 6+ Best Construction Estimating Software Download Reviews Engineers and construction managers will have to deal with a lot of precise details when they are doing a project. They will have to keep track of.

If you’re looking to start a construction business, it’s a good idea to use construction estimating software so you can get a clear understanding of how much your projects are going to cost so you can provide an accurate bid. Even if you’re doing some renovations to your home or your business, using takeoff software to understand your expenses is a beneficial strategy to keep your project within scope and budget.

Finding the Right Construction Estimating Software

The right construction estimating software can help your business to calculate material, equipment and labor costs. The software can also help you to create formal bid documents that you can send to clients. Most software will do complex calculations for you, helping your business run efficiently. There are many options for free construction estimating software. Do your research so you can find the right free takeoff software for your needs. This will help you to bid on more projects in less time.

Deciding on the Features You Want

One of the basic elements your software should provide is a database that enables you to compare costs of building materials so that you can provide a client with an accurate bid. Most construction estimating software can pull this data from the internet, as these companies have access to databases of wholesale prices for building materials.

You may also require your construction estimating software to have takeoffs for adjusting estimates. Generally, you’ll need to be able to determine how much you’ll need in terms of materials and then develop an estimate for their costs. Most construction estimating software programs automatically calculate a price for each material line item based on the available data.

Other Features to Consider

In some cases, you may want to be able to upload to the software the blueprints of your proposed projects. This enables you to keep all of the pertinent information for your project in one place, ensuring your business is well organized and efficient.

Some construction estimating software can also come in handy after your bid has been accepted by keeping track of materials and other ongoing project costs. You can use the software to keep your project on track by comparing your costs with the original estimates. This is a useful feature for showing your clients comparative reports when costs have been exceeded.

Understanding What’s Free and What’s Not

Free software doesn’t always mean you don’t have to pay for something. There are a number of details into which you need to look when deciding which free software you want to use based on what is offered for free.

Generally, free software products have no cost to download and use them, but you might have to work with an IT team to implement, maintain and host them for your business. Some free software is a lighter version of the paid software, so it may not contain all of the features you need for your business. In addition, some free software is only free for a limited time, and you’ll need to purchase it for ongoing use.

Some popular free construction estimating software options include:

• Easy-Pro Builders Estimator is always free. If you win a bid, they request a donation of 0.01 percent of the total value.
• PlanSwift is free for a 14-day trial period. After that, you need to purchase a plan.
  * PlanViewer is always free. If you need to use some of their advanced features, you need to upgrade to a paid version.
• STACK has a completely free version of their software. You can upgrade your plan if you need more features.
  
• Estimate is always free. They request donations if you win a bid.

In order to start using the free construction cost estimators, head to their website. Follow the instructions provided by the company to download and implement the software.

Upgrading Your Free Software

If you have a high-volume business or need to access more advanced features, it may be beneficial for your business to look into an upgraded version of a free software. When factoring in costs, don’t forget to include aspects such as IT support and hosting, which may be required for free versions as well as paid versions. Some paid versions of the software do come with tech support.

• Grassetto/iStock/Getty Images

Construction management software and related tools help companies manage construction projects and crews, both on- and off-site.

Construction management software often provide features such as time management, project estimating and accounting solutions. Small businesses, startups and freelancers might not have the budget to pay the upfront or recurring license fees for all of those features.

There are a variety of open-source and free construction management tools available. For your consideration, I have compiled seven open-source and free construction management tools — some are specifically marketed to the construction industry while others are general project management tools.

Free construction management tools and construction project management software have no contract or license fees but offer a limited amount of features and limited-or-no customer support. Open-source construction management tools are often customizable and have low or no license fees but have a moderate-to-high TCO and limited-or-no customer support.

In this blog we highlight four free construction management and estimating tools and three free construction project management tools. Without further ado, here are the best free construction management tools based on real-user reviews in 2018:

Best Free Construction Management and Estimating Software

1. Fieldwire
2. OrangeScrum
3. Wrike
4. Estimate
5. Zoho Projects
6. Taiga
7. MeisterTask

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These products alone have well over 600 validated user reviews on G2 Crowd as of Aug. 14, 2018 and only represent a small portion of the 300-plus video editing software offerings listed on our platform.

Fieldwire

Fieldwire is an integrated construction app for the field available on Android, iPhone and iPad. Free construction management tools are available for small teams, unlimited sheets are available if upgraded to a paid plan. Reviewers agree that Fieldwire is easy to use and readily integrates with other software. One reviewer found the ease of integration, specifically with Primavera, extremely helpful for importing schedules and tasks.

Free option:

• Free trial available for 5 users, 3 projects and 250 sheets
• Includes plan viewing, task management, issue tracking, file sharing, progress photos and checklists

Paid option:

• Choose from Pro, Business and Enterprise
• Pro and Business plans include pay per user per month, unlimited projects and unlimited sheets
• Enterprise available at custom pricing with unlimited projects and unlimited sheets

Features:

• Blueprint management solutions
• Automatic sheet hyperlinking
• Blueprint app
• Task management
• Scheduling
• Punch list
• Inspection
• And more!

What users like:

“The simplicity of the app makes it easy to learn, easy to teach others and quick to use when your in the middle of a job site and need to check an update or set up and assign a new fast.” — Fieldwire review by Jonathan S.

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What users dislike:

“What makes Fieldwire not at par with similar other project and document management tools in the market is that it lacks the submittal feature. I would like to see the submittal feature in future updates. Although I would recommend Fieldwire, the lack of submittal feature is definitely a drawback.” — Fieldwire review by Vivian I.

Benefits users realized:

“I use Fieldwire for project updates, task management and creating RFIs. The features for revision history and photo tools allows for more clarity between team members and subcontractors.” — Fieldwire review by Aaron G.

Orangescrum

Orangescrum is a project management tool geared toward construction management to help simplify, manage and share projects and tasks with other users. You can purchase customizable premium features such as Gantt Charts, dashboards and invoices. This tool is best suited for small- and medium-sized businesses.

Free option:

• A free open-source version is available for download
• Or, one free month trial is available for three users and three projects

Paid option:

2018 National Construction Estimator

• Cloud and self-hosted plans are available
• Cloud plans range from startup to corporate and pricing varies depending on monthly or annual subscription
• Self-hosted plans is available for 10 users

Features:

• Team collaboration and time tracking tools
• Alerts and chats
• File sharing
• Real-time task and project status updates
• Gantt charts
• Slack integration
• Kanban view
• And more!

What users like:

“The software is easy to install and implement. It has all the basic functionality. The product is easy to use and can be easily navigated. The free version also has all the basic functionality that is required to evaluate the product.” — Orangescrum review by Vishesh S.

What users dislike:

“The guide to setup the open source version of this software should be easier to follow.” — Orangescrum review by Cristian A.

Recommendations to others:

“Please review all the features before installing and evaluate if the paid version is even required.” — Orangescrum review by Vishesh S.

Wrike

Wrike is a free project management tool adaptable for construction management. It offers free task management, file sharing, mobile phone apps and cloud storage integration. You can purchase additional features for a monthly rate, including full project planning, executive reporting and tailor-made marketing solutions.

Free option:

• A simple, shared task list is free for five users

Paid option:

• Choose between professional, business, marketers and enterprise plans
• Each plan covers a varying number of users and project solutions

Features:

• Real-time reports and status updates
• Simplified planning
• Centralized communication
• Streamlined workflow
• Integrations across business tools such as Salesforce, Google, GitHub, Microsoft, Adobe, Box
• And more!

What users like:

“I appreciate the straightforward panel view of navigation, tasks and task details. Being able to replicate previous projects helps tremendously for product launches and trade shows that have a myriad of tasks. Being able to tag tasks in multiple folders is also a must have function.” — Wrike reviewby Betty J.

What users dislike:

“It will take time when you are starting learn. It could be more user-friendly. Mobile version does not work as well as the web version, it needs improvements.” — Wrike review by Lidia D.

Recommendations to others:

“I did a lot of research when comparing PM tools and Wrike gave me all of the functionality I needed at a better price than Mavenlink. Overall, we’ve been happy with the service, though having to purchase 5 seats at a time (rather than just purchasing what we need for the actual size of our team) is annoying. Even with the extra unused licenses, it’s still a better deal than Mavenlink.” — Wrike review by Kate H.

ESTIMATE

ESTIMATE is an open-source and free construction management solution for estimating costs and budgets. It can calculate the project’s potential success and analyze, report and archive all data. Be the first to review ESTIMATE on G2 Crowd!

Free option:

• ESTIMATE is free to use, but donations are accepted

Paid option:

• Although ESTIMATE is free and open source, programming and web hosting knowledge is necessary for implementation and customization

Features:

• Project and document archival
• Management of suppliers and clients database
• Estimation and control
• Generation of bill of quantity
• Document upload for quick reference
• Compatible with all popular browsers
• Up to 200 users permitted
• And more!

Be the first to write a review for ESTIMATE!

Zoho Projects

Zoho Projects offers a free online project management app that allows you to manage one project with up to 10 MB of storage. You can upgrade for an increase in project support. Zoho projects integrates with Zoho CRM, Slack, Zapier and Github.

Free option:

• Free plan available for 5 users, 1 project and 10 MB of storage

Paid option:

• Paid plans range from express to enterprise
• All plans offer unlimited users and range in project and storage amount

Features:

• Gantt charts
• Project coordination feeds and project forums
• Timesheet and collaboration software
• Reporting tools and issue tracker
• Document management
• Dropbox integration
• And more!

What users like:

“Zoho has a simple and elegant interface making it easy to find what you are looking for. It’s a great way to log time and view projects over a long period of time.” — Zoho review by Hannah H.

What users dislike:

“Some minor UI bugs on the web app and the mobile app (but can be fixed or patched), There is no possibility of copying repetitive projects with all the content and people managing the projects (could help to save time especially on complex long projects with a lot of milestones and tasks).” — Zoho review by Mehdi A.

Recommendations to others:

“Ask for training if you do not understand how to use it. It is very efficient, but can be confusing at times with everything going on.” — Zoho review by user in public relations and communications.

Taiga

Taiga is a free and open-source project management platform. For a small project, many reviewers recommend using the free account to support one project and up to four users. Taiga also provides a community forum for users to offers support and help on projects.

Free option:

• Taiga is free and open-source, but donations are appreciated

Features:

• Scrums
• Kanban board and cards
• Epic multiprojects
• Multiplatform importers, a wiki and tasks
• Gamification and social management
• Integrations
• And more!

What users like:

“I like the easy and intuitive way of creating, organizing and monitoring projects, also the way you can track each member’s activity and notifications.” — Taiga review by Maurizio A.

What users dislike:

“I did not like the setup and onboarding process. Unfortunately, I had to teach myself how to use Taiga — we didn’t have a person who was familiar with it explain the basics. I did not find Taiga very intuitive in the beginning; basic functionality within the website was difficult to figure out.” — Taiga reviewby Saloni H.

Recommendations to others:

“Be able to manage a lot of email notifications about projects. Either by filtering emails into a specific folder in your inbox or opting out of notifications and checking the tool regularly throughout the day. When there are a lot of projects going on and a lot of people using the platform, you’ll start to feel overwhelmed with emails, but it gets easier to manage once you get the hang of how the notifications are managed.” — Taiga review by Lindsey G.

MeisterTask

MeisterTask helps you create a project, add as many team member as you want, assign tasks and track progress. MeisterTask offers free apps for iPhone, iPad, macOS and Windows and seamlessly integrates with Dropbox, GitHub, Zendesk, Box, Bitbucket and Google Drive. Many reviewers like it for its ease of use, team collaboration support and reliable performance across all devices.

Free option:

• Basic free plan includes unlimited project management and members, customizable dashboards, app integration, up to 20 MB file attachment and mobile app

Paid option:

• Plans range from Pro to Enterprise

Features:

• Flexible project boards
• Customizable dashboard
• Integration with MindMeister
• An online brainstorming app
• Chat
• And more!

What users like:

“We collaborate with a contracted grant writer who regularly needs information, documents, etc. to manage more than 50 grants effectively. This tool has been great for us, easy to use and, of course, free!” — MeisterTask review by Juan F.

What users dislike:

“The free version limits you to 2 plugins per project. So you would be limited to Slack and GitHub but not be able to add Office 365 or another plug-in that the software offers. The lack of wallpapers for the dashboard is another problem — pro users can use their own backgrounds but free users are limited to solid colors or a mix of all backgrounds.” — MeisterTask review by Aaron B.

Benefits users realized:

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“It takes a bit of experimentation to find an organization system that suits your personal flow. Try it with and without the default project categories of “open”, “in progress”, and “done”. — MeisterTask review by Christy C.

Next steps for finding free construction management software

Those researching construction management software online can sift through hundreds of verified user reviews on G2 Crowd to find the best option. Check out our construction management software category where you can compare products, discover available features and read user reviews. And while you're there, please write a review — your experience with free construction management tools will help potential users gain the insight they need to make an informed decision.

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Now that you've read the reviews, are you ready to choose? Here are 5 smart tips to use for a profitable construction software selection.

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* Please note: Reviews may have been edited for spelling and grammar.