TL;DR
We checked the real 2026 pricing of 16 construction software platforms used by Australian builders. The headline finding: nearly a third don’t publish any pricing at all — Buildertrend, Procore, CostX, simPRO and AroFlo all make you request a quote. Of those that do publish, most charge per user, which quietly inflates the bill as your crew grows. For a 5-person team, the gap between the cheapest and dearest mainstream option is over $8,000 a year. Entry pricing ranges from $0 (Built Simple’s free plan) to $10,000+/year (Procore, enterprise). Every figure below was verified in July 2026.
Key findings (July 2026)
- 5 of 16 platforms don’t publish pricing — you have to request a quote
- Most published plans are per-user — cost scales with headcount, not value
- $0 – $10,000+/year — the full entry-price spread for AU builders
- >$8,000/year — the 5-person-team gap between cheapest and dearest mainstream tool
Ask any Australian builder what construction software costs and you’ll get a shrug — because the industry works hard to keep you guessing. Half the vendors bury their pricing behind a “book a demo” button, and the ones that don’t often price per user, so the number you see isn’t the number you pay. We got tired of it, so we verified the lot. Below is what 16 platforms actually cost in 2026, how they charge, and who won’t tell you until you’re on a sales call.
The full 2026 pricing table
| Software | Origin | Pricing model | Entry price (2026) | Publishes pricing? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Built Simple | AU | Flat per business | $0 free, then $79/mo | Yes |
| Buildxact | AU | Per business (tiers) | $199/mo ($169 annual) | Yes |
| Tradify | NZ | Per user | from $48/user/mo | Yes |
| Fergus | NZ | Per user | from $48/user/mo | Yes |
| ServiceM8 | AU | Per job volume | Free, then $29/mo | Yes |
| BuildBook | US | Per business | Free, then US$79/mo | Yes |
| Contractor Foreman | US | Per user (tiers) | US$49/mo | Yes |
| Wunderbuild | AU | Per active project | from $123/mo | Yes |
| JACK App | AU | Flat + per user add-ons | $349/mo | Yes |
| SmarteBuild | AU | Per business | from ~$165/mo | Yes |
| PlanSwift | US | One-time licence | US$1,595 one-off | Yes |
| AroFlo | AU | Per user (3-user min) | Quote only (~$67–120/user + setup) | Quote only |
| simPRO | AU | Per user | Quote only (~$80+/user est.) | No |
| Buildertrend | US | Volume-based | Quote only (was ~US$399/mo) | No (dropped 2026) |
| Procore | US | Custom | Quote only (~US$10,000+/yr) | No |
| CostX (RIB) | AU | Custom | Quote only (~$15,000/yr est.) | No |
All figures verified July 2026 from vendor pricing pages and independent listings (Capterra, GetApp, TrustRadius). Quote-only vendors don’t publish pricing; ranges shown are indicative from independent sources. Prices exclude GST and one-off setup fees unless noted.
Finding 1: Nearly a third of vendors hide their pricing
Five of the sixteen platforms — Buildertrend, Procore, CostX, simPRO and AroFlo — won’t give you a price without a sales conversation. Buildertrend actually removed its published tiers in 2026 in favour of a volume-based quote form. For a small builder trying to budget, that’s a real barrier: you can’t compare what you can’t see. The tools that publish flat, plain pricing (Built Simple, BuildBook, Buildxact) are the minority — and the easiest to actually plan around.
Finding 2: Per-user pricing is the hidden tax on growing teams
Most published platforms — Tradify, Fergus, Contractor Foreman, simPRO, AroFlo — charge per user. It looks cheap for a sole trader and gets expensive fast. A $48/user tool is $48 for you, but $240 once you’ve got a five-person crew, and it keeps climbing with every apprentice. Flat-rate platforms (Built Simple at $79/mo for the whole business, ServiceM8’s job-volume model) break that link between headcount and cost.
Finding 3: What a 5-person team really pays (per year)
| Platform | 5-user cost/year (indicative) |
|---|---|
| Built Simple (Tradie, flat) | ~$948 |
| ServiceM8 (job volume) | ~$1,800–3,600 |
| Tradify (Pro, per user) | ~$3,120 |
| Fergus (Pro, per user) | ~$4,080 |
| AroFlo (per user + setup) | ~$5,300–8,500 |
| simPRO (per user, quote) | ~$4,800–9,000 |
| Procore (enterprise) | ~$10,000+ |
The spread between the cheapest mainstream option and the dearest is more than $8,000 a year — for software that, at the small-builder end, does much the same job. Pricing model matters more than sticker price.
Finding 4: The market shifted in 2026 — watch these
- CoConstruct is gone — merged into Buildertrend. If a “2026” comparison still lists it as a live product, it’s out of date.
- ProEst was absorbed into Autodesk Construction Cloud — no longer sold as a standalone estimating tool.
- JACK App repriced upmarket to a single $349/mo plan — it’s no longer the budget option it once was.
- Buildertrend stopped publishing pricing — now quote-only by build volume.
What this means for Australian builders
Wondering not just what vendors charge but what you actually should pay (and when a price is too much)? Our builder’s pricing guide walks through it.
Two practical takeaways. First, if a vendor won’t show you a price, factor in the friction — quote-only usually means enterprise-oriented sales, longer onboarding, and a number that scales with your business. Second, read the pricing model, not just the headline: a flat per-business plan and a per-user plan that look similar for one user can be thousands apart for a crew. For most small-to-mid AU builders, a flat-priced platform with a free tier to trial — like Built Simple — is the safest way to keep software cost predictable as you grow.
For deeper comparisons see our guides to the best construction project management software in Australia and the best estimating software, or use our free construction calculators to pressure-test a quote.
Pricing you can actually see
Built Simple is flat per business — $0 free, then $79/month — no per-user fees, no quote form. Start free.
Methodology
We verified pricing for 16 construction software platforms in July 2026 using each vendor’s official pricing page where published, cross-checked against independent listings (Capterra Australia, GetApp, TrustRadius). For vendors that don’t publish pricing (Buildertrend, Procore, CostX, simPRO, AroFlo), we report indicative ranges from independent sources and mark them “quote only”. Figures exclude GST and one-off setup or onboarding fees unless stated, and reflect month-to-month pricing (annual plans are typically 10–20% cheaper). Pricing changes often — treat these as a July 2026 snapshot and confirm current figures with the vendor before deciding.
Frequently asked questions
How much does construction software cost in Australia in 2026?
Entry pricing ranges from $0 (Built Simple’s free plan and BuildBook’s free tier) to over $10,000 per year for enterprise platforms like Procore. Most small-builder tools sit between $79 and $349 per month, though per-user platforms cost more as your team grows.
Which construction software is cheapest for a small team?
For a team of several users, flat-per-business pricing is cheapest because it doesn’t charge per head. Built Simple at $79/month flat works out around $948/year for a 5-person crew, versus $3,000–9,000/year for per-user platforms at the same team size.
Why don’t some construction software companies show their pricing?
Quote-only pricing (Buildertrend, Procore, CostX, simPRO, AroFlo) usually signals enterprise-oriented sales, where the price is tailored to company size, user count and build volume. It also makes direct comparison harder, which tends to favour the vendor.
Is per-user or flat-rate pricing better for builders?
For a solo operator, per-user can be cheaper. For any growing team, flat-rate per-business pricing is usually better because the cost doesn’t rise every time you add a crew member. Always model the cost at your expected team size, not just for one user.
