Buildertrend vs Contractor Foreman
We give Buildertrend a 2.0 GPA and Contractor Foreman a 2.6, out of 4.0. Buildertrend grades higher on ease of use. Contractor Foreman grades higher on value for money, the free plan and features. They get the same grade on platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Buildertrend
Construction project management for home builders and remodelers
Contractor Foreman
Construction management for contractors, priced by team size
How we grade them
| 2.0GPABuildertrendFair | 2.6GPAContractor ForemanGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo prices are published; Buildertrend quotes after a few questions and a call, so there's no figure for a crew of three. An archived copy of its pricing page said it suits builders with 5 or more projects a year. No published price is a C by our rule. | BStandard is $105 a month billed yearly ($139 monthly) for up to 3 users. It's built for construction, so we graded it against its listed rivals, and the two that publish prices, Houzz Pro and Service Fusion, cost a crew of three about twice as much or more. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan or free trial is on record, and buying starts with a call. Nothing to try on your own. | CA 30-day free trial, longer than most here. There's no free plan, and the 100-day money-back guarantee only covers yearly Plus and up, which isn't a free way in anyway. |
| Features | CSchedules, daily logs, takeoffs, estimates, bids, budgets, change orders, selections, client and subcontractor portals, warranty claims and a geofenced time clock. Complete for builders, but the listing names the gap here: no service calls, dispatching or recurring visits. | BEstimates with AI takeoffs, Gantt and crew schedules, daily logs, change orders, AIA-style progress invoices with retainage, time cards, a client portal, and service tickets for dispatching calls. The whole job for a builder, with service work covered too. |
| Ease of use | B4.5 from 5,116 App Store ratings. The phone app covers the time clock, photos and requests for information from the site. | C4.32 from 557 App Store ratings, a step below most apps here. And with this many modules there's a fair bit to set up, which is why the bigger plans throw in free implementation help. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with QuickBooks, Xero, Gusto and The Home Depot Pro Xtra. No desktop app. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with QuickBooks Online, Stripe, Gusto, Zapier, CompanyCam and Google and Outlook calendars. No desktop app. |
| Best for | home builders and remodelers with several projects | small contractors running construction projects |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Buildertrend and Contractor Foreman. How we grade
Where they differ
- Buildertrend also covers sales pipeline, email campaigns and time clock.
- Contractor Foreman also covers Gantt & timelines, time tracking and reports.
At a glance
| Buildertrend | Contractor Foreman | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free trial |
| Starts at | Not published | $49 per month for 1 user, billed annually |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 30-day free trial |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Buildertrend Solutions, Inc. | Contractor Foreman |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | contractorforeman.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Buildertrend
- Custom home builders and remodelers running several projects a year
- Builders who want clients to make selections and approve changes online
- Companies with many staff, since users are unlimited
Contractor Foreman
- General contractors who want project management priced by team size
- Subcontractors that bill on AIA progress invoices with retainage
- Construction firms that also run service and warranty calls
Worth knowing
Buildertrend
- No prices are published; Buildertrend quotes after a few questions and a call, and its site refused our reader on 2026-10-18.
- It is built for multi-phase construction projects rather than service calls, dispatching or recurring maintenance visits.
- A February 2026 copy of its pricing page said it suits builders with 5 or more projects a year, and that online payments are US only.
Contractor Foreman
- It is built around construction projects, so a service trade that only needs dispatch and invoicing gets many tools it will not use.
- Basic covers 1 user and is sold only on yearly billing; the next steps are 3, 8, 15 and unlimited users.
- Local material pricing from 1build is not included on Basic or Standard.
- The 100-day money-back guarantee applies to yearly Plus, Pro and Unlimited plans; monthly plans get 30 days.
Key features
Buildertrend
- Schedules, daily logs and to-dos
- Project schedules, to-dos and daily logs keep the crew and office on one record, with unlimited document and photo storage and photo and PDF markup.
- Takeoffs, estimates and bids
- Measure takeoffs, build estimates, collect subcontractor bids and send proposals that clients sign electronically.
- Budgets and change orders
- Track budgets, bills and purchase orders against each project, manage change orders, and run financial reports.
- Client and subcontractor portals
- Clients approve selections and change orders and follow progress in a portal; subcontractors get their own portal, and warranty claims are tracked.
- Invoicing and online payments
- Invoice clients and take online payments from clients and to subcontractors, with accounting integrations for the books.
- Time clock with geofencing
- The iOS and Android apps include a time clock that uses geofencing, along with requests for information and on-site photo capture.
Contractor Foreman
- Estimates, takeoffs and bids
- Estimates with bulk and line-item markups, takeoffs measured from uploaded plans with a built-in AI helper, and side-by-side comparison of subcontractor bids.
- Gantt and crew scheduling
- A Gantt chart scheduler for projects, a crew schedule the team can check on their phones, and calendars that sync with Google and Outlook.
- Progress billing and change orders
- AIA G702 and G703 style progress invoices with retainage tracking, change orders that update the contract, and card or ACH payments through Stripe.
- Field records
- Daily logs, punchlists, inspections, permits, safety meetings, incident reports and time cards, all tied to the project and its costs.
- Service tickets and work orders
- Service tickets handle dispatching, scheduling and time on service and warranty calls; work orders cover small jobs without a full project.
- Client portal and documents
- A client portal shows progress and shared files, a document writer fills contracts and lien waivers, and drawings and PDFs can be marked up.
Plans
Buildertrend
Pricing could not be confirmed. See buildertrend.com.
Contractor Foreman
Basic$49
per month for 1 user, billed annually
$588 a year; sold on yearly billing only. The material database is included without local pricing.
Standard$105
per month for up to 3 users, billed annually ($139 billed monthly)
$1,264 a year. The material database is included without local pricing.
Plus$166
per month for up to 8 users, billed annually ($199 billed monthly)
$1,997 a year, with a 100-day money-back guarantee on yearly billing or 30 days on monthly.
Pro$221
per month for up to 15 users, billed annually ($279 billed monthly)
$2,654 a year. Marked most popular; adds free setup and implementation help.
Unlimited$332
per month for unlimited users, billed annually ($399 billed monthly)
$3,984 a year for any number of users, with free setup and implementation help.
Ways to pay less
Buildertrend
No public discounts listed.
Contractor Foreman
- Annual discount
Save up to $804 a year with annual billing
Yearly billing lowers Standard from $139 to $105 a month, Plus from $199 to $166, Pro from $279 to $221 and Unlimited from $399 to $332.
