5 Best CoConstruct Alternatives After the Acquisition
⚠️ Update: CoConstruct is no longer sold to new customers. Existing customers can add projects through March 31, 2027. If you need to migrate, our CoConstruct shutdown migration guide walks you through every step.
If you’re reading this, you probably already know: CoConstruct as you knew it is gone.
Buildertrend acquired CoConstruct back in 2021, and CoConstruct is no longer sold to new customers. New customers are sent to Buildertrend, and existing customers can add projects only through March 31, 2027. For a lot of custom home builders and remodelers who loved CoConstruct, the transition has been anything but smooth. Prices went up. Features changed. The software that was purpose-built for your workflow started feeling like it was built for someone else’s.
You’re not alone. Contractors across Reddit, Facebook groups, and industry forums have been asking the same question: “What do I switch to now?”
We dug into the best CoConstruct alternatives on the market right now, compared them on the features that CoConstruct users actually care about, and ranked them so you can make a decision without spending weeks on demos.
What Happened with CoConstruct and Buildertrend?
Buildertrend announced its acquisition of CoConstruct on February 24, 2021. The press release called it a move to “create a market leader in construction management software.” The reality for CoConstruct users has been a lot messier.
CoConstruct was built specifically for custom home builders and remodelers. It had a client portal that homeowners actually used, a selections process that made sense for custom builds, and a pricing model that worked for smaller operations. Buildertrend, on the other hand, was built for production builders and larger operations. Different audience. Different priorities. (If you’re also weighing enterprise-level tools, our best Procore alternatives guide covers that end of the market, or see our Procore vs CoConstruct comparison for a direct matchup.)
After the acquisition, CoConstruct users started seeing changes they didn’t ask for. Pricing jumped. The roadmap shifted toward Buildertrend’s priorities. Long-time users reported feeling like their needs were no longer the focus.
One Reddit user put it bluntly: “Very unfortunate for our company as we love CC and have not heard good things about other software like Builder Trend. My office manager and I are dreading getting out subs to switch over.”
Another contractor on r/Construction said they left CoConstruct “because of ever rising fees.”
So if you’re looking for a replacement, here’s what you need to keep in mind. CoConstruct users typically care about these things most:
- Client portal that homeowners can actually manage
- Selections management for custom builds (finishes, fixtures, allowances)
- Change order tracking that ties back to the budget
- Job costing that shows real-time profitability
- Reasonable pricing that doesn’t punish you for adding team members (see our construction software pricing comparison for the full breakdown)
With that checklist in hand, let’s look at the five best alternatives.
1. Projul - Best Overall CoConstruct Alternative
Pricing: Starter at $2,388/year, Core at $4,788/year, Core+ at $7,188/year, Pro at $14,388/year. No per-user fees. No per-project fees. No revenue-based pricing. Unlimited users on Pro.
Best for: Custom home builders, remodelers, and GCs who want everything in one platform without getting nickel-and-dimed.
Free trial: Yes
If you left CoConstruct because the pricing kept climbing and the software stopped feeling like it was built for you, Projul is worth a hard look.
Projul was built by a contractor. Not a software company that decided to sell to contractors. A guy who ran crews, managed subs, and got tired of the tools on the market not working the way construction actually works. That background shows up in every part of the platform.
Why CoConstruct Users Like Projul
No per-user fees. This is the big one. (We dig into why flat-rate beats per-user pricing in detail.) Buildertrend moved to custom quotes based on your annual construction volume. Projul charges a flat, published rate. Your project manager, your estimator, your superintendent, your office admin, your subs who need limited access… they all get in without per-seat charges, up to your plan’s user limit (Core+ covers 20 users, Pro is unlimited).
Client-facing tools that work. On Core+ and Pro plans, your homeowners get a portal where they can view schedules, approve selections (Pro plan), sign change orders, and communicate with your team. It’s clean enough that the homeowner who barely uses email can figure it out. That was one of CoConstruct’s biggest strengths, and Projul delivers the same experience.
Job costing that’s actually real-time. You can see exactly where you stand on every job at any point. Not a week later after someone enters receipts. Not after your bookkeeper reconciles. Right now. Costs, commitments, and budget variances all in one view.
Estimating built for how contractors work. Build estimates from your own cost database, use assemblies to speed up takeoffs, and convert them to budgets and proposals without re-entering anything. The estimate becomes the job budget becomes the cost tracking. One flow.
CRM that captures leads. Most construction management tools bolt on a CRM as an afterthought. Projul’s lead management is built in from the start. Web forms, lead tracking, pipeline management, and follow-up reminders so jobs don’t slip through the cracks before they even start.
Scheduling your crew will actually use. Drag-and-drop scheduling with a calendar view that makes sense to the guy on the jobsite pulling it up on his phone. Push notifications when things change. Your subs see what they need to see without getting overwhelmed.
An AI assistant that does real work in your account (Pro). With Projul AI Connect, the assistant you already use (ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini) can draft a change order from your homeowner meeting notes or shift the schedule when a sub runs late. Change orders stay drafts until someone on your team sends them.
Where Projul Beats CoConstruct
Projul gives you CRM, estimating, scheduling, time tracking, invoicing, and job costing in one platform. CoConstruct was strong on the project management and client communication side but left gaps in CRM and estimating that you had to fill with other tools. With Projul, you stop paying for three or four different subscriptions and manage everything in one place.
The pricing model alone is worth the switch. For a 10-person team, Projul’s Core plan is $4,788/year. As of October 2026, Buildertrend, where CoConstruct users are being sent, doesn’t publish prices, but its last published entry plan (late 2024) was $449/month billed annually, or $5,388/year. For a direct side-by-side breakdown, check out our Projul vs CoConstruct comparison.
Learn more about Projul’s pricing and features →
2. JobTread - Best for Budget-Focused Estimating
Best for: Smaller contractors who prioritize estimating and budgeting.
Free trial: Yes
JobTread has carved out a solid niche, especially with contractors who care about estimating and job costing above everything else. The platform is built around a financial-first workflow: estimate, budget, track costs, and report on profitability.
What CoConstruct Users Will Like
JobTread’s estimating tools are genuinely strong. You can build detailed estimates, convert them to budgets, and track actual costs against those budgets throughout the project. The financial reporting is clear and actionable.
The interface is relatively modern and clean. If you’re coming from CoConstruct, the learning curve isn’t terrible.
What CoConstruct Users Will Miss
JobTread’s client portal and selections management aren’t as polished as what CoConstruct offered. If your business revolves around custom home building where the homeowner needs to make 200 selections and approve change orders through a clean interface, JobTread might feel like a step backward in that department.
The CRM is basic compared to a CRM-first platform.
3. Houzz Pro - Best for Design-Build Firms
Best for: Design-build firms and remodelers who get leads through Houzz and want their lead generation and project management in one ecosystem.
Free trial: Yes (no credit card required)
Houzz Pro makes the most sense if you’re already getting leads from the Houzz marketplace. The platform connects your Houzz profile (where homeowners find you) with project management tools, creating a pipeline from first contact to project closeout.
What CoConstruct Users Will Like
The client communication tools are solid. Homeowners who found you on Houzz can move right into project updates, selections, and approvals without switching platforms. The 3D floor plan and mood board tools are great for design-build firms that need to present visual concepts early in the sales process.
Houzz Pro includes a lead management system that integrates directly with the Houzz marketplace. If a big chunk of your business comes from Houzz, this is a real advantage.
What CoConstruct Users Will Miss
The project management and job costing tools aren’t as deep as what CoConstruct offered. Houzz Pro is really built for the front end of the business: finding clients, presenting designs, and managing communications. Once you get into the weeds of scheduling subs, tracking costs against budgets, and managing change orders across a complex custom build, it starts to feel thin.
If you don’t get leads from Houzz, much of the ecosystem goes unused. If you are currently on Houzz Pro and considering a move, our guide on switching from Houzz Pro to Projul walks through the full transition process.
It’s also less construction-focused and more design-focused. If you’re a GC running custom homes and you don’t have an interior design component to your business, Houzz Pro probably isn’t the right fit.
4. Buildertrend - The “Stay and Adapt” Option
Pricing: Custom quotes only, based on your annual construction volume, with unlimited users and no per-user fees. Its last published plans (late 2024) started at $449/mo billed annually, and third-party estimates (Connecteam) put a 20-person builder at $9,000 to $14,000 a year.
Best for: Production builders running high volumes who need deep feature sets and don’t mind the price tag.
Free trial: Contact for demo
This might seem like a strange inclusion on a list of CoConstruct alternatives. But the reality is that some CoConstruct users are being migrated to Buildertrend whether they like it or not. So it’s worth evaluating what you’re getting.
What CoConstruct Users Will Like
Thousands of contractors have made the switch. See what they have to say.
Buildertrend is a mature platform with a deep feature set. Scheduling, financial tools, client portal, daily logs, warranty tracking, and integrations with QuickBooks, Xero, and dozens of other tools. If you need a feature, Buildertrend probably has it somewhere.
The client portal is solid, and the owner communication tools have improved since the CoConstruct acquisition (they’ve pulled some of CoConstruct’s best ideas into the Buildertrend platform).
What CoConstruct Users Will Miss
The pricing is the elephant in the room. Buildertrend moved to custom quotes based on your annual construction volume, so you won’t know your price until after a sales call. Long-time users on TrustRadius have reported being priced out after years on the platform. Third-party estimates put a 20-person builder at $9,000 to $14,000 a year, a big line item for a smaller remodeling company.
The platform was built for production builders, not custom home builders. The workflows, templates, and default setups all assume you’re building the same house over and over with minor variations. If every project you do is unique (which is the whole point of custom building), you’ll spend a lot of time configuring things that CoConstruct handled out of the box.
And the transition itself has been rocky. Migrating your data, retraining your team, and getting your subs set up on a new platform is a real cost that doesn’t show up in the monthly fee.
5. JobNimbus - Best for Roofing and Exterior Contractors
Pricing: JobNimbus doesn’t publish prices. Its plans (Essentials, Pro, Premium, and Enterprise) are quote-based: an account price plus per-user fees by role. Third-party estimates (ITQlick, June 2026) put it at $225 or $550 a month plus $20 to $75 per user per month.
Best for: Roofing contractors and exterior specialists who need CRM-first project management.
Free trial: Yes
JobNimbus is an interesting option, but it’s important to understand what it is and what it isn’t. It’s built primarily for roofing contractors and exterior trades. The CRM and sales pipeline tools are its strongest features. Project management is secondary.
What CoConstruct Users Will Like
If lead management was your biggest gap with CoConstruct, JobNimbus fills it well. It’s one of the best CRMs for small construction businesses, with pipeline boards, automated follow-ups, and good reporting on your sales process. The interface is straightforward and your team can get up to speed quickly.
JobNimbus also has strong integrations with roofing-specific tools like EagleView and SumoQuote, plus general integrations with QuickBooks and other accounting platforms.
What CoConstruct Users Will Miss
If you’re a custom home builder, JobNimbus isn’t built for you. The platform is improved for shorter-cycle projects like roof replacements and exterior work. It doesn’t have the depth of selections management, multi-phase scheduling, or detailed job costing that custom builders need.
The project management tools are lighter than what CoConstruct offered. You won’t find the same level of budget-to-actual tracking, subcontractor coordination, or client portal functionality that custom home builders rely on.
And the pricing can grow with per-user fees as you add the people who need the features that made CoConstruct valuable.
Feature Comparison: What CoConstruct Users Care About
Here’s a head-to-head on the features that matter most if you’re coming from CoConstruct:
| Feature | Projul | JobTread | Houzz Pro | Buildertrend | JobNimbus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Client Portal | Yes | Basic | Yes | Yes | Basic |
| Selections Management | Yes | Limited | Yes (design focus) | Yes | No |
| Change Orders | Yes | Yes | Limited | Yes | Basic |
| Real-Time Job Costing | Yes | Yes | Basic | Yes | Limited |
| Built-in CRM | Yes | Basic | Yes (Houzz leads) | Limited | Yes (strong) |
| Estimating | Yes | Yes (strong) | Basic | Yes | Basic |
| Scheduling | Yes | Yes | Basic | Yes | Basic |
| QuickBooks Integration | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Time Tracking | Yes | Limited | No | Yes | Limited |
| Mobile App | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Best For | All contractors | Budget-focused | Design-build | Production builders | Roofers |
What to Look for When Switching from CoConstruct
Switching construction management software is a pain. There’s no getting around it. But if you’re going to do it, here’s what to prioritize:
Data migration support. Ask every vendor whether they’ll help you move your existing projects, contacts, and financial data. Some will. Some will hand you a CSV template and wish you luck.
Your team’s willingness to learn. The fanciest software in the world is worthless if your crew won’t use it. Look for platforms that are intuitive enough that your field team actually opens the app. If it takes a two-day training just to check a schedule, you’ve got a problem.
Total cost, not just monthly price. Ask every vendor what you’ll pay at your current team size and at the size you expect to be in two years, including onboarding and add-ons. Do the math for YOUR team size, not the hypothetical small team in the marketing brochure.
Client experience. If your homeowners loved CoConstruct’s client portal, don’t downgrade that experience. Your client communication is part of your brand. When Mrs. Johnson can log in and see her kitchen selections, her schedule, and her change orders in one clean interface, that’s not just convenience. That’s how you get referrals.
Try before you buy. Every platform on this list offers a free trial or demo. Use them. Put real project data in. Have your project manager and your field guys actually click around. Their feedback matters more than any feature comparison chart.
Why Custom Home Builders Switch from CoConstruct
The Buildertrend acquisition is the obvious trigger, but it is not the only reason builders leave. When you dig into what actually pushes contractors to start evaluating alternatives, three problems come up over and over again.
Pricing That Is Hard to Predict
CoConstruct is no longer sold to new customers, so builders who leave are really choosing between Buildertrend and something else. Buildertrend no longer publishes prices. It quotes based on your annual construction volume, a model that favors larger production builders, and you don’t see a number until after a sales call. One contractor on Reddit described the experience as “paying more every quarter for the same software that does the same things.”
Custom home builders feel this because your teams tend to be lean but diverse. You need your architect to check schedules, your interior designer to update selections, your bookkeeper to pull reports, and your superintendent to log daily updates. With a flat-rate platform like Projul, the price is published and there are no per-user fees, so adding those users doesn’t add per-seat charges. Your price changes only when you move to a plan with a higher user limit.
Selection Management Gaps
CoConstruct built its reputation partly on its selection management workflow. Homeowners could browse options, make choices, and see how those choices affected the budget. It was one of the features that made CoConstruct feel purpose-built for custom residential work.
After the acquisition, that workflow started changing. Buildertrend has its own approach to selections, and it was designed for production builders who offer a limited catalog of pre-priced options. Custom builders who need homeowners to choose from hundreds of unique finishes, fixtures, appliances, and materials found the new system more rigid and harder to customize.
If selections are central to how you run projects, look for platforms that treat selection management as a core feature rather than an afterthought. Projul’s construction selections software on the Pro plan lets homeowners browse, compare, and approve selections through the client portal while every choice flows directly into the project budget and change order system. No spreadsheets. No separate selection tracking tools.
Reporting That Does Not Keep Up
Custom home builders need financial visibility at the project level and the company level. CoConstruct’s reporting was adequate for most users, but it was never the platform’s strongest feature. After the acquisition, many builders found that the reporting tools either stayed the same or shifted to metrics that matter more for production builders running 50 identical houses than for custom builders running 5 unique ones.
The reports custom builders need are specific: cost-to-complete by project, margin analysis by trade category, budget variance by phase, and profitability trends across completed jobs. If your current platform cannot produce those reports without exporting data to a spreadsheet and spending an hour manipulating it, you are losing time that could be spent building.
Real-time job costing is not a luxury for custom builders. It is how you catch cost overruns before they eat your margin. When a tile supplier’s price increases mid-project or a homeowner adds a third fireplace, you need to see the budget impact immediately, not at the end of the month when your bookkeeper reconciles everything.
Feature Comparison for Builders Who Need More Than Client Portals
CoConstruct’s client portal was excellent, and many builders focus on finding an alternative that matches that specific experience. But if you are already switching platforms, it is worth evaluating whether you are solving a bigger problem at the same time.
Most custom home builders who used CoConstruct also used two or three additional tools alongside it. A separate CRM for lead tracking. A spreadsheet for estimating. Maybe a standalone scheduling tool or a time tracking app for crew hours. CoConstruct handled the middle of the project lifecycle well, but it left gaps on both ends.
Lead-to-Close Coverage
The biggest gap in CoConstruct’s feature set was lead management. When a homeowner called after seeing your work on Instagram, where did that lead go? For most CoConstruct users, the answer was a spreadsheet, a notebook, or a generic CRM like HubSpot that was not built for construction.
A platform with a built-in construction CRM eliminates that gap. Leads come in through web forms or phone calls, get tracked through your sales pipeline, and convert directly into projects when they sign. No re-entering contact info. No lost leads because someone forgot to update the spreadsheet.
Estimating to Budget Flow
CoConstruct’s estimating was functional but limited. Many builders used separate estimating tools and then manually entered budgets into CoConstruct. That double-entry creates errors and eats time.
Look for platforms where the estimate becomes the project budget automatically. You build the estimate using your cost database and assemblies, present it to the client as a proposal, and when they sign, that estimate converts directly into the job budget with cost codes and line items intact. Every purchase order, invoice, and change order tracks against that original budget in real time.
Scheduling That Connects to Everything
CoConstruct’s scheduling worked, but it operated somewhat in isolation. Your schedule did not automatically pull from your budget phases, and changes to the schedule did not always trigger the right notifications to subcontractors and suppliers.
The best alternatives tie scheduling directly into the project workflow. When you drag a phase on the schedule, the affected subs get notified. When a sub marks a task complete, the next trade in line gets an automatic heads-up. When weather delays push everything back two days, one drag updates the entire cascade. Your field team sees changes on their phone within minutes, not the next time they check email.
Time Tracking Built In
CoConstruct did not have native time tracking. If you needed to track crew hours for job costing or payroll, you needed a third-party tool. That is another subscription, another login, and another place where data lives separately from your project records.
Platforms with built-in time tracking let your crew clock in and out from the mobile app, with hours automatically tied to the correct project and cost code. Your job cost reports update in real time, and you can export hours directly for payroll processing without reconciling two separate systems.
Migrating from CoConstruct: What Transfers and What Does Not
Switching platforms is never painless, but knowing what to expect makes the process significantly smoother. Here is a realistic breakdown of what you can bring with you when you leave CoConstruct and what you will need to rebuild.
What Transfers Easily
Client and contact data. Names, emails, phone numbers, addresses, and basic contact records export cleanly from CoConstruct via CSV. Every platform on this list can import that data directly or with minimal formatting.
Project names and basic details. Project addresses, start dates, contract amounts, and status information all come out in standard export formats. You will have your project list up and running in the new platform within a day.
Financial summaries. High-level budget numbers, contract totals, and change order amounts can be exported and used to set up project budgets in your new platform. These are numbers, and numbers move easily between systems.
Documents and photos. Any files stored in CoConstruct (contracts, plans, photos, specifications) can be downloaded and re-uploaded. This is manual work, but it is straightforward. Prioritize active projects and archive the rest.
What Requires Rebuilding
Selection sheets. CoConstruct’s selection management system was proprietary. The specific selections, allowances, and homeowner choices do not export in a format that other platforms can import directly. You will need to recreate active selection sheets in your new platform. For completed projects, save PDFs of the selection reports for your records and move on.
Schedule templates. Your task templates and scheduling workflows were built inside CoConstruct’s system. You will need to rebuild your standard project templates in the new platform. The good news is that this forces you to clean up templates that have gotten bloated over the years. Most builders find they can consolidate three or four old templates into one or two clean ones.
Communication history. Messages between you, your clients, and your subs that lived inside CoConstruct’s messaging system are the hardest thing to preserve. Export what you can as PDFs for your records, but accept that ongoing message threads will start fresh in your new platform. Let your clients know you are switching and set expectations for the transition.
Custom reports. Any reports you built or customized in CoConstruct will need to be recreated. Take screenshots of your most-used report configurations before you cancel your CoConstruct account so you have a reference when setting up reporting in your new platform.
A Realistic Migration Timeline
Week 1: Export all data from CoConstruct. Set up your new platform. Import contacts and project data. Build your first project template.
Week 2: Start new projects in the new platform. Run active projects in both systems if needed. Train your office team on the new workflows.
Week 3: Move remaining active projects to the new platform. Train field crews on the mobile app. Get subcontractors set up with their access.
Week 4: Decommission CoConstruct. Final data exports and archiving. Full team operating on the new platform.
Some builders complete the switch in two weeks. Others take six. The timeline depends on how many active projects you are running and how many people need training. The key is to start new projects in the new platform immediately and migrate active projects in order of priority rather than trying to move everything at once.
For a detailed walkthrough of the CoConstruct migration process, including step-by-step data export instructions, see our CoConstruct shutdown migration guide. And if you want to see how Projul stacks up feature-by-feature, our Projul vs CoConstruct comparison covers every major category.
The Bottom Line
CoConstruct was a great tool that served custom home builders well for years. The Buildertrend acquisition changed the game, and a lot of contractors are now looking for something that feels like what CoConstruct used to be: purpose-built for their work, reasonably priced, and focused on their needs.
Projul checks those boxes. Flat-rate pricing that doesn’t punish you for growing your team. A platform built by a contractor who understood the problems firsthand. And a feature set that covers CRM through closeout without needing three other subscriptions to fill the gaps.
But don’t take our word for it. Start a free trial and see how it works for your operation.
Ready to stop guessing and start managing? Schedule a demo to see Projul in action. You can also check out our CoConstruct migration guide for a step-by-step switching plan.
📚 Related: See our CoConstruct pricing breakdown and CoConstruct vs Projul comparison.
FAQ
What happened to CoConstruct? Buildertrend announced its acquisition of CoConstruct on February 24, 2021. CoConstruct is no longer sold to new customers, who are sent to Buildertrend, and existing customers can add projects through March 31, 2027. CoConstruct as a standalone product is being phased out, which is why many former users are looking for alternatives.
Is CoConstruct still available? Not to new customers. CoConstruct now operates under the Buildertrend umbrella, and new customers are sent to Buildertrend. Existing CoConstruct customers can add projects through March 31, 2027, and have been encouraged to migrate to Buildertrend’s platform.
What is the best alternative to CoConstruct for custom home builders? Projul is the best CoConstruct alternative for custom home builders. It offers a client portal (Core+ and above), selections management (Pro plan), change order tracking (Core and above), real-time job costing, and built-in CRM, all with flat-rate pricing and no per-user fees. It covers the same core workflows that CoConstruct users valued without the cost surprises that came after the Buildertrend acquisition.
How much does CoConstruct cost now? CoConstruct has no current price because it’s no longer sold to new customers, who are sent to Buildertrend. Buildertrend doesn’t publish prices. It quotes based on your annual construction volume, with unlimited users and no per-user fees. Its last published plans (late 2024) started at $449/mo billed annually, and third-party estimates put a 20-person builder at $9,000 to $14,000 a year. For a deeper look at what happened with the acquisition and other options, check out our BuilderTrend alternatives guide.
Does Projul have a client portal like CoConstruct? Yes. Projul includes a client-facing portal (available on Core+ and Pro plans) where homeowners can view project schedules, approve selections (Pro plan), sign change orders, and communicate with your team. It’s designed to be simple enough for clients who aren’t tech-savvy, similar to the experience CoConstruct was known for.
Can I migrate my data from CoConstruct to another platform? Most platforms on this list offer some level of data migration support. Contact each vendor to ask about their migration process for CoConstruct data. Projul’s support team can walk you through the transition and help you get your projects, contacts, and financial data moved over.
Last updated: October 2026. Pricing and features are subject to change. Visit each vendor’s website for the most current information.