Construction projects involve many moving parts. You have to manage project bids and proposals, monitor budgets, resolve job site issues, and schedule resources. Completing these tasks manually or using spreadsheets can become overwhelming, even for the most skilled construction project managers.
Construction management software can help you execute projects across locations. It lets you manage RFIs, project timelines, budgets, dependencies, documents, workforce, and much more. The software offers complete visibility into job progress, costs and expenses, and resource availability to help ensure your projects are completed on time.
But what if your IT budget can’t accommodate a construction project management tool? Should you use pen and paper, spreadsheets, or some other obsolete method? No. Instead, try free construction management software to manage your project workload without burning a hole in your pocket.
In this article, we list (alphabetically) the six best free construction management software tools. Each tool has a minimum user rating of 4 (out of 5) and at least 10 user-submitted reviews on Capterra. Read the full product selection methodology here.
Explore free construction management software.
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Device compatibility
Free plan: Includes up to 100MB of storage, unlimited tasks, and unlimited users. Key features are task and time management, collaboration and reporting, process management, document management, and Gantt charts.
Paid plans: Start at $5 per user per month (billed annually). The base plan includes unlimited storage, unlimited integrations, and unlimited dashboards.
ClickUp is project management software that can be used by construction companies. It can help you manage multiple projects simultaneously and check the status of jobs and operations at various construction sites.
The software lets you create tasks and attach project blueprints and documents to them, ensuring all your team members have access to project resources. It also offers capabilities such as live chat, comments, and @mentions to help you collaborate with field workers and maintenance and operations teams.
ClickUp’s support options include phone assistance, email assistance, and support tickets.
An overview of tasks in ClickUp (Source)
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Overall rating: 4.6
Value-for-money rating: 4.4
Functionality rating: 4.4
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Plans in Fieldwire
Free plan: Supports up to five users and three projects, and includes task management, instant messaging, file sharing, and construction plan viewing.
Paid plans: Start at $29 per user per month (billed annually). The base plan includes reporting, sheet comparisons, custom task statuses, and email support.
Fieldwire is a construction management platform for architects, designers, general contractors, specialty contractors, and project owners, among others. It offers push notifications and real-time messaging to help you stay in touch with your field workers.
The tool allows you to create project tasks, assign them to team members, and track their completion status. You can create custom site inspection checklists and digitally record job site issues. You can also visualize upcoming tasks or the project progress using Kanban boards, Gantt charts, and custom reporting.
Fieldwire’s support options include a knowledge hub and phone and email assistance.
Construction location management in Fieldwire (Source)
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Device compatibility
Free plan: Supports one user and includes task management, document management, online estimating, a Gantt scheduler, and 24/7 support.
Paid plans: Start at $27 per month. The base plan supports up to five users and offers all the features of the free plan along with additional capabilities such as collaboration and budgeting.
Methvin is project management and estimating software designed for the construction industry. It can be used by bid managers, estimators, engineers, project controllers, quantity surveyors, operations teams, and project managers, among others.
The software offers a tender portal via which you can accept proposals from potential contractors and subcontractors. It lets you create project estimates, define the project budget, prioritize tasks using a Gantt interface, forecast labor needs, add documents, and monitor the project progress. It also offers building information modeling (BIM) management and online project takeoff capabilities.
Methvin’s support options include phone, email, and online training assistance.
A view of a Gantt chart in Methvin (Source)
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Device compatibility
Free plan: Supports up to three users, offers one Gantt chart, and includes dependency management, project or task status updates, email reminders, and file attachments.
Paid plans: Start at $19.90 per user per month (billed annually) and include workload forecasting, custom project templates, Kanban boards, discussion dashboards, and time tracking.
TeamGantt is a project collaboration and planning tool to help manage your construction projects. It allows you to schedule tasks, set timelines, and track completion dates. Its drag-and-drop interface lets you change the start and end dates of tasks, reorder the sequence of tasks, and adjust the project timeline in a few clicks.
You can monitor resource availability by checking the queue of team members to ensure no one is under- or overburdened. You can also define the order in which tasks should be completed, attach images or documents to the tasks, share project updates with internal and external stakeholders, and compare the predicted timelines against the actual timelines.
TeamGantt’s support options include phone, email, and live chat assistance.
A view of the project schedule in TeamGantt (Source)
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Device compatibility
Free plan: Supports up to 2GB of storage and includes task management, file sharing, and board and spreadsheet views of tasks and projects.
Paid plans: Start at $9.80 per user per month (billed annually) and include Gantt charts, customizable dashboards, and an automation engine.
Wrike is a project management software solution that can be used by construction businesses. It helps you automate the building inspection process, conduct job site inspections, and communicate with field workers across locations. It also lets you add images and documents to tasks or projects and share relevant information with stakeholders.
The project capacity planning feature allows you to monitor resource availability using burndown charts. The tool also offers customizable dashboards and reports, interactive Gantt charts, and agile Kanban boards to track the overall progress of your construction projects.
Wrike’s support options include phone, email, and live chat assistance and a resource library.
A view of a Gantt Chart in Wrike (Source)
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Device compatibility
Free plan: Supports up to three users, two projects, and 1MB of storage. It offers project feeds, task management, document sharing, and iOS and Android mobile apps.
Paid plans: Start at $4 per user per month (billed annually). The base plane supports up to 50 users, unlimited projects, and 100GB of storage.
Zoho Projects is a project management tool that can help manage construction projects. It lets you track project dependencies, expenses, deadlines, and resources. Its key features include workflow automation, task management, time tracking, and team collaboration and communication.
You can use Gantt charts to visualize the project progress and the drag-and-drop functionality to set up dependencies and reschedule tasks. You can generate productivity reports to check which team member has completed the most jobs and how balanced workload distribution is. You can integrate the tool with other Zoho apps, such as Zoho Docs for document management.
Zoho Projects’ support options include a knowledge hub and email and phone assistance.
Creating task automation in Zoho Projects (Source)
How to choose the right free construction management tool for your business
These considerations can make your software decision a little easier:
Understand your business requirements. If you have a large construction business, a tool with basic or limited features may not be the right choice. Similarly, if you own a small business, you may not need the advanced features required to manage multiple construction projects.
Consider your employees’ tech know-how. A simple construction management tool with fewer features will be easier to learn and use for beginners. On the other hand, a sophisticated tool will suit employees with sound technical knowledge. Also, ensure the vendor offers ample training resources to help your team get up to speed.
Check the cost to upgrade. For each of the tools you shortlist, check the upgrade cost so that budget isn’t an issue if you decide to purchase a paid plan later.
Ask about integration options. If you need additional capabilities such as bid management, job costing, or tender management, you’ll have to integrate your construction management system with third-party applications.
Common questions to ask when selecting a free construction management tool
Here are a few questions to ask software vendors to ensure you’re choosing the right tool for your construction firm:
Does the free plan include tech support? Not all free tools offer free tech support; some charge users a fee for support options. Therefore, check the cost of tech support with the vendor beforehand.
Will my team need additional training to use the tool? Some software tools have certain unique features or methods of operations that may require additional training. Check with the vendor if your team will need additional training to learn how to use the tool and if such training will come at an extra cost.
For how many hours a day will support be available? If you think you’ll need frequent access to customer support, check the support team’s work timings. For example, if support is available for only five hours a day while you operate 24/7, you may face some delay in getting help with your queries.