Buildshop vs Clear Estimates

Buildshop is project and business software for home builders, remodelers, commercial contractors, designers, and field service professionals. Its tools cover planning and managing projects with budgets, expense logs, checklists, quote comparisons, drawings, and to-do lists. Financial workflows include bids, estimates, selections, purchase orders, payments, and invoices; project management features include scheduling, daily logs, inspections, change orders, progress photos, and punch lists. The free Basic package includes estimates and quotes, invoices, a to-do list, contact management, messaging, a project portfolio, and a bid center. Paid packages include all features, unlimited projects, customers, and vendors, with different user limits: 2 users for $99 a month, 5 for $149 a month, 10 for $249 a month, or unlimited users for $375 a month; each is billed annually. Paid packages list QuickBooks, Xero, and Google Calendar integrations. Buildshop runs on Android, iOS, and web, and lists a 14-day trial. Data can be exported in Excel, Word, and PDF formats.

Clear Estimates is estimating software for residential remodelers, handymen, and general contractors. Its line-item database provides region-specific labor and material prices for more than 400 U.S. areas, with quarterly updates, and the pricing page lists more than 400 preloaded templates. Users can prepare itemized estimates and branded client proposals with scope of work and boilerplate language, then customize parts, templates, and boilerplate. Alternate prices can be added to a project as change orders. The software also creates payable invoices, with customers able to pay by credit card or ACH. QuickBooks Online and Desktop integrations are available to all customers; Pro adds estimate exports to BuilderTrend and connections to CRMs and other apps through Zapier. Standard includes one login, while Pro permits additional users for $9/month and can restrict sales users from changing prices or templates. The company offers setup walkthroughs, phone and email help, tutorials, videos, and monthly webinars. Standard starts at $59 a month when billed annually; a 30-day trial is listed.