Buildxact alternative: what it costs, and when to build your own
Buildxact is estimating and quoting software for residential builders, priced per account rather than per user: A$199, A$399 or A$599 a month before GST. For a builder quoting from plans it is often the right tool. For a joiner or manufacturer quoting from their own products and rates, it can mean paying for takeoffs they do not use while the quote still has to be re-keyed into job tracking. Here is what it costs over three years, when it fits, and when a custom quoting system is cheaper.
- Category:
- Estimating and quoting for builders
- Priced:
- from A$199 a month
- Prices checked:
- 25 October 2026
The short answer
- Buildxact lists at A$199, A$399 or A$599 a month before GST, per account with unlimited users, so team size does not change the bill.
- Over three years, Pro costs A$14,364 billed monthly or A$12,204 billed annually, before add-ons and GST.
- It is the right tool for builders who quote from plans and want takeoffs, supplier price files and estimate templates maintained for them.
- It fits less well when quotes come from your own products and rates, or when the quote then has to be retyped into job tracking and costing.
- A custom quoting system is a one-off US$2,000 to US$5,000 with running costs under US$100 a month; we built one for a Sydney joinery that had been quoting in Buildxact.
Buildxact over three years, against a custom build
Buildxact charges per account, not per user: paid plans include unlimited users. Annual billing takes about 15% off in return for a 12-month commitment. Reviews also list paid add-ons, such as an estimate generator and a takeoff assistant, on top of the plan price.
Swipe the table to see 10 and 20 users →
| Three years, excluding GST, list prices | 5 users | 10 users | 20 users |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buildxact FoundationA$199 a month | A$7,164 | A$7,164 | A$7,164 |
| Buildxact ProA$399 a month | A$14,364 | A$14,364 | A$14,364 |
| Buildxact MasterA$599 a month | A$21,564 | A$21,564 | A$21,564 |
| Buildxact Pro (annual)A$339 a month | A$12,204 | A$12,204 | A$12,204 |
| Custom build (Skofi)US$2,000 to US$5,000 once, depending on scope, then under US$100 a month | US$5,600–8,600 | US$5,600–8,600 | US$5,600–8,600 |
When Buildxact is the right choice
- You are a residential builder quoting from plans, and digital takeoffs save real hours each week.
- You want supplier price files and estimate templates kept up to date by the vendor, not by you.
- Your process is still forming, and a product with a defined way of working is a help rather than a constraint.
- You need support, training and updates from a vendor rather than a developer.
When teams outgrow it
- Your quotes are built from your own product catalogue, cabinet sizes, materials and labour rates rather than from takeoffs.
- Every accepted quote is retyped into another tool, such as monday.com, for production, job costing or variations.
- You pay for Pro or Master for job management while running jobs somewhere else.
- You need staff to see only some of the data, and that means moving to the A$599 Master plan.
We replaced Buildxact for a client
Divine Kitchens & Joinery
A family-owned Sydney joinery was quoting in Buildxact and running jobs on monday.com, so every accepted quote was keyed in twice. We replaced both with one custom system, a one-off build, for a team of 10 to 20 users. It now runs for under US$100 a month, where the two subscriptions had cost thousands of dollars a year.
What does Buildxact cost over three years?
Because Buildxact charges per account with unlimited users, its cost does not grow with your team, which is unusual and in its favour. The price that matters is the plan you actually need. Foundation covers estimating; Pro adds job management, schedules and the Onsite app; Master adds the takeoff assistant, the estimate reviewer and user access controls. Many teams start on Foundation and move up once they want jobs or permissions in the same place.
Three years of Pro billed monthly is A$399 x 36 = A$14,364, or A$12,204 on annual billing, before GST and before add-ons. Master is A$21,564 billed monthly. A custom quoting system costs US$2,000 to US$5,000 once and under US$100 a month to run, so its three-year ceiling is US$5,600 to US$8,600 whatever the team size. The two are in different currencies (we quote in US dollars), but the gap is large enough that the exchange rate does not change the answer for Pro or Master.
When is Buildxact the right choice?
Buildxact is built around the way a residential builder estimates: measure from the plans, apply supplier prices, produce a priced estimate and a client-ready quote. If that is your day, the takeoffs and price files are hard to beat for the money, and a vendor maintains them. A small builder on Foundation, quoting a few jobs a week, will rarely save money by building something custom.
Where do teams outgrow it?
The strain shows when the quote is not built from takeoffs. A kitchen or joinery quote is usually assembled from the business's own cabinet ranges, materials, hardware and labour rates. That can be modelled in a general estimating product, but it is maintained by hand. The second strain is what happens after the quote is accepted: if production, purchasing, job costing and variations live in another tool, the quote is retyped, and the margin you quoted is never compared with the cost you incurred.
That was the position of the Sydney joinery we built for. Quotes came from their own ranges and rates, and jobs ran on monday.com, so the business was paying for two platforms and keying each job into both. One system that prices the quote, turns it into a job, and costs the job against the quote removed both the subscriptions and the double entry.
What does a custom quoting system include?
- A product and rates catalogue the business maintains itself, so prices change in one place.
- Quotes built from that catalogue, with margins, options and a branded PDF for the client.
- Accepted quotes that become jobs without retyping, with stages for production and installation.
- Job costing against the quote, and variations recorded against the job they belong to.
- Roles, so a production worker does not see margins and a salesperson does not see wages.
- Connections to the accounting package, so invoices are raised from the job.
What it does not include is a maintained supplier price file or plan takeoffs. If those are what you use Buildxact for, keep it.
Three ways forward from Buildxact
Stay on Buildxact, and connect it
If takeoffs and the supplier catalogue earn their keep, keep Buildxact and remove the re-keying instead: connect accepted quotes to your job board or accounting so each one is typed once. Check Buildxact's own integrations list for what connects natively before paying for middleware.
Switch to another estimating product
Other estimating and job-management products exist for builders and trades, at different prices and with different strengths. Compare them on how your quotes are actually built, not on feature lists, and price the plan your team would really need.
Build a quoting system around your own rates
When quotes come from your own catalogue and rates, a custom system can price them the way you already do, carry the accepted quote straight into job tracking and costing, and show each person only what they need. A one-off US$2,000 to US$5,000 build, then under US$100 a month to run, with no per-user fees.
Questions about Buildxact
Buildxact's Australian list prices are A$199 (Foundation), A$399 (Pro) and A$599 (Master) a month before GST, billed monthly, as reported on 25 October 2026. Annual billing takes about 15% off with a 12-month commitment. Check Buildxact's pricing page for the current figures.
No. Reviews of the current plans report unlimited users on every paid plan. User access controls, which restrict what each person can see, are reported as a Master-plan feature.
Over three years, usually yes against Pro or Master: a custom build has a ceiling of US$5,600 to US$8,600 including running costs, against A$12,204 to A$21,564 for those plans. Against Foundation the difference is small, and Buildxact gives you takeoffs and price files a custom build would not.
Often, yes, and if Buildxact's estimating suits you that is the cheaper fix. The aim is that an accepted quote is typed once. Check Buildxact's integrations list for native connections first.
Sources
- Buildxact pricing (Australia) (Buildxact)
- Why was I charged a different amount for my Buildxact subscription? (Buildxact Help Centre)
- Buildxact Pricing: What Each Plan Costs (2026) (Ressio Software)
- Buildxact Review 2026: Pricing, Limits and Alternatives (Fervor Studio)
Read next
- Build vs buy: when custom software pays for itself →
- monday.com for job costing →
- Estimating assistant case study →
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