Comparison
BuiltSum as a Werx alternative
Werx and BuiltSum solve overlapping problems for the same contractor, and they are not the same product. Werx is stronger on bookkeeping and the field; BuiltSum is stronger on pricing work and on not being capped. Here is the whole picture, including the parts where Werx wins.
| Werx | BuiltSum | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $49/mo (Essential) | $49/mo (Solo) |
| Active projects at $49 | 10 | Unlimited |
| Unlimited projects | $119/mo (Unlimited plan) | Every paid plan |
| AIA-style pay applications | Yes, on every plan from $49 | Yes, on every plan — including Free |
| Retainage tracking | Yes | Yes, per line, with a 50-state law reference |
| Trade assemblies with unit costs | No — you write the lines | 139 assemblies across 6 trades |
| Own-historicals price book | No | Built from every estimate you save |
| Plan takeoff | No | No — Phase 3 |
| QuickBooks Online sync | Yes | Not yet — export today |
| Crew time tracking | Yes | No |
| RFIs and submittals | Yes, from the $89 plan | Free tools, no account needed |
| Additional users | $6/mo each, $4 time-only | Free for field/time-only; 5 full users at $99 |
| Free tier | 30-day trial, no card | Free plan: 1 active project, full pay apps |
Werx figures taken from its published pricing and feature pages, August 2026. Vendors change plans — check theirs before deciding, and tell us if anything here is out of date.
Which one fits
Werx is the better buy if…
- • QuickBooks Online sync has to work on day one.
- • You need crew time tracking in the same tool.
- • You run a handful of jobs at once and the 10-project cap never binds.
- • Your estimates are written by hand anyway and assemblies would go unused.
BuiltSum is the better buy if…
- • You carry more than ten open jobs and refuse to pay $119 for the privilege.
- • You want the estimate priced from assemblies, not typed from memory.
- • You want the company’s own historical rates to build themselves.
- • You want the estimate, the schedule of values and the pay application to be one chain.
Try the part that matters before you switch
You do not need an account to check whether the billing is right: build a schedule of values and run a real pay application through it, then price a job against your own rates in the estimate builder. If the numbers do not match what you bill today, do not switch.
Frequently asked questions
Is Werx a good product?
Yes — it is one of the few genuinely affordable tools that put AIA-style billing, job costing and time tracking on its entry plan instead of gating them behind a top tier, and its QuickBooks Online sync is real. If your bottleneck is bookkeeping and crew time rather than pricing work, Werx may well be the better fit, and this page will not pretend otherwise.
What is the main difference between BuiltSum and Werx?
Two things: project caps and where the estimate comes from. Werx's $49 plan allows 10 active projects and its $89 plan 20, with unlimited only at $119. Every paid BuiltSum plan has unlimited projects. And Werx's estimating produces proposals from lines you write yourself, while BuiltSum ships priced trade assemblies — 139 across six trades — that turn quantities into a bid, then learn your own rates from the jobs you win.
Does BuiltSum sync with QuickBooks?
Not yet — Werx does, and that is a real advantage today if you need pay applications landing in QuickBooks Online automatically. QuickBooks Online sync is on the BuiltSum roadmap; until it ships, invoices are exported rather than pushed. If that integration is the deciding factor for you, it should decide it.
What about time tracking and field users?
Werx charges per additional seat, at the time of writing $6/month, or $4 for time-only users. BuiltSum does not charge for field or time-only users on any plan, and Crew includes five full users at $99. BuiltSum does not have crew time tracking yet, so if clocking hours is what you are buying, Werx covers it and BuiltSum does not.
Unlimited projects, from the first paid plan
Every feature on every tier, field users free — $49/mo, or free for one active project.
Start free