Buildertrend vs. Microsoft Excel

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Buildertrend
Score 8.0 out of 10
N/A
BuilderTrend is a construction management system. It includes functionality for pre-sale, project management, financial management, and customer management processes. It also provides mobile accessibility.N/A
Microsoft Excel
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet application available as part of Microsoft 365 (Office 365), or standalone, in cloud-based and on-premise editions.
$6.99
per month
Pricing
BuildertrendMicrosoft Excel
Editions & Modules
Core Subscription
Contact for quote
per year
Premium
Contact for quote
per month
Premium
Contact for quote
Excel with Microsoft 365
$6.99
per month
Excel for 1 PC or Mac
$139.99
perpetual license
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
BuildertrendMicrosoft Excel
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
BuildertrendMicrosoft Excel
Features
BuildertrendMicrosoft Excel
Construction Project & Field Management
Comparison of Construction Project & Field Management features of Product A and Product B
Buildertrend
4.3
Ratings
55% below category average
Microsoft Excel
-
Ratings
Plan distribution & viewing1.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Plan markups & sharing2.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Issue tracking & punchlists2.20 Ratings00 Ratings
Photo documentation6.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Jobsite reports9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Document sharing2.30 Ratings00 Ratings
RFI tools8.20 Ratings00 Ratings
Collaboration & approvals4.00 Ratings00 Ratings
As-built drawings8.70 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile app1.30 Ratings00 Ratings
Submittal design and management3.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Estimating
Comparison of Estimating features of Product A and Product B
Buildertrend
1.2
Ratings
148% below category average
Microsoft Excel
-
Ratings
Takeoff tools1.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Job costing1.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Cost databases1.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Cost calculator1.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Bid creation2.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
BuildertrendMicrosoft Excel
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Score 9.0 out of 10
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InEight
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Score 8.3 out of 10
Google Sheets
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Score 8.8 out of 10
Enterprises
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Score 8.3 out of 10
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Score 8.8 out of 10
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User Ratings
BuildertrendMicrosoft Excel
Likelihood to Recommend
2.5
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Usability
10.0
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
10.0
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
BuildertrendMicrosoft Excel
Likelihood to Recommend
Perfect for General Contractor's and subcontractor's that want to be a leader in their industry. Sure, you can limp along without a management system but you won't be able to take your business to the next level in most cases. If you are small enough and only doing one maybe two jobs at a time and you are good at keeping every single detail in your head and don't have any issues with schedule or timeframes then you may not need this. However, I have not been in a situation where software like Buildertrend didn't/couldn't add significant value and a need in my company
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I find it easier to use than Google Sheets , though it's easier to collaborate with other teams using Google Sheets. I also feel like Microsoft Excel is more suited to deal with complex formulas. The best way to put it, if I have a project that I'm solely working on, I'm going to use Microsoft Excel. If it's going to be shared, then I'm using Google Sheets.
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Pros
  • The subcontractor PO management area makes managing the scope of work and payments for each subcontractor extremely easy and is well organized.
  • The material selections section also greatly simplifies and organizes a somewhat challenging aspect of remodeling.
  • The ability for customers to view the total project cost and make payments online is a major time saver and improves our cashflow.
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  • Excel is the most fully featured spreadsheet software you are likely to find.
  • The software is compatible with a large number of file formats so using data from nearly any source is possible.
  • It can handle large data sets.
  • It can save your files in a variety of file formats.
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Cons
  • In messaging an Out of Office type auto response would be great for when people go out on vacation
  • When using the Job Type field of Mutli-Family this should allow the interface to group that all in one job but be section out into the different unit in that building. So different selections can all be located within that same unit.
  • Building new jobs from templates can take up to 10 minutes some times. Please reduce the amount of time it take to make jobs off templates.
  • Owner accounts should not be directly tied to a job, they should be completely separate so the account can be linked to different jobs and not cause problems to that account or what that account has access to.
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  • Excel offers collaboration features that allow multiple users to work on the same spreadsheet, but managing changes made by different users can be challenging. Excel could improve its features by offering more granular control, better tracking of changes, and more robust conflict resolution tools.
  • Itcan be a barrier to productivity when importing and exporting data from other applications or file formats. To improve its features, it should offer better support for standard file formats and more robust error handling and reporting tools.
  • Excel can be challenging for finance students and working professionals, but it can be improved by offering more robust tutorials, better documentation, and more user communities and support forums.
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Likelihood to Renew
No answers on this topic
Excel remains the industry standard for spreadsheets and has maintained simple and straight-forward formula writing methods. Although there is a learning curve to do more complex calculations, there are countless help sites and videos on the Internet for almost any need.
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Usability
Its simple to use and intuitive. The level of support that we have from online videos, to access to customer support, and the ability to call anyone at anytime on the main line has been invaluable to utilize and not get stuck on something you don't know yet. We've never not had anyone that couldn't respond in time for us.
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Overall I think the usuability is great and offers everything it should. I have never not be able to use it for what I wanted it for. However, it is so detailed and offers so much it can be difficult to use. Better descriptions or explanation to all the information could be helpful
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Reliability and Availability
No answers on this topic
I have rarely, if ever, had issues with its availability.
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Performance
No answers on this topic
Excel load and performs calculations immediately. It integrate well with all Microsoft Office applications and does not slow them down.
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Support Rating
I highly recommend. The only suggestion I have would be to offer a free trial. They do offer a 30 day money back guarantee. The price point isn't daunting if you have had a 100 % no strings attached/no effort to cancel or try to remember to get your money back - no strings attached chance to try out the product. Especially for such a big purchase decision, I think Buildertrend would see an incredible increase in sales. They have the value and companies just need a chance to see it first hand.
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I have not had to use it often, but it is good.
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Alternatives Considered
(Hubspot) For Sales & Marketing, it is really a killer awesome program that I would encourage Buildertrend to look into. Hubspot is just on another level of intelligence and access that Buildertrend doesn't match up to. At the same time, perhaps HubSpot lacks what Buildertrend has on the Finance and Construction Management side - that I don't know. Our business is virtually complete by combining both of these platforms together across our teams.
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Excel is one of the tools I use for everyday work but fits alongside all the other programs I use. I keep Excel as a way of tracking projects from start to finish as well as document content strategy and audits. There are not many programs like Excel that I can think of other than Google Sheets and I find Excel is far better.
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Scalability
No answers on this topic
Each user can use it to whatever level of expertise they have. It remains the same so users can contribute to another's work regardless of whether they have more or less expertise
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Return on Investment
  • I started my business because of BuilderTrend.
  • My return on investment was 933% in year one.
  • BuilderTrend has not only helped me double my business year over year, but it's also created a new career for myself as a BuilderTrend consultant for new or existing users looking to maximize their ROI faster.
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  • It helps to me gather my thoughts, organize my research, and most importantly prioritize information in an easy to digest manner depending on what I am most interested to see at that time.
  • It helps me quite a bit to talk my clients through the financial implications of various office leasing transactions under consideration and coach them in a way that is very unbiased and fact-driven which I like.
  • It helps me to be more thoughtful as well when thinking about the various different situations in which I use Excel. And because it ultimately results in my clients getting comfortable ultimately pulling the trigger on a given deal, it directly leads to more commission in my pocket which I love!
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ScreenShots

Buildertrend Screenshots

Screenshot of the homeowner portalScreenshot of a summary pageScreenshot of the scheduling interface & Gantt chartScreenshot of photos