A Buildertrend alternative for GCs who just want to price jobs
Buildertrend is a full construction management suite: scheduling, selections, client portals, daily logs, the works. For a production builder running many jobs with office staff, that breadth can make sense. Its pricing is tailored - you answer questions about your business and schedule a call with their team to get a number.
If what you actually need is to get from plans to a priced estimate, that is a lot of suite to buy and a sales call before you even see a price.
IQ Builders does one job and does it fast: takeoff to estimate.
What you get with IQ Builders
- AI takeoff. Upload plans and let the AI measure rooms, doors and areas for you. Review and adjust anything it marks - you stay in control of the numbers.
- Real estimating, not spreadsheets. Build the estimate from your takeoff, price it with your own labor and material rates, and send a clean proposal.
- Per-seat pricing on the website. Starter is free. Paid plans start at $69/user/mo (currently 20% off standard pricing). The AI Takeoff add-on is $39/user/mo with 30 takeoffs included.
- Free view-only seats. Your whole crew can be in the system. You only pay for the people who actually estimate - not for viewers.
Side by side
| IQ Builders | Buildertrend | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Small & mid-size GCs | Builders & remodelers of all sizes |
| Pricing | Public, per-seat, from free | Tailored - requires a sales call |
| AI takeoff | Yes - $39/user/mo add-on, 30 takeoffs/mo included | Not its focus |
| Scope | Takeoff, estimating, invoicing, progress billing | Full project-management suite |
| Free plan | Yes (Starter) | No |
Buildertrend details based on its public website as of September 2026; their pricing is provided after a consultation.
Who should stay with Buildertrend
If you want one system for client selections, scheduling, change orders and daily logs across a bigger operation, and you have the team to run it - Buildertrend is built for that. We'd rather you pick the tool that fits.
Who IQ Builders is for
The GC who writes estimates at night after the crew goes home. The 5-50 person shop that needs takeoff and pricing to be fast, not another platform to administer.
Start free - no card required. Upload your first plan set and see the AI takeoff on your own drawings.