CoConstruct Alternative
By Phazahn Odom | Founder of Phixmo | Former bookkeeper for residential GCs | Former NFL tight end, Pittsburgh Steelers
If you're a CoConstruct user searching for alternatives, you're probably already dealing with the fallout from the 2021 merger with Buildertrend. Prices went up. Features got reshuffled. The product you signed up for isn't quite the product you're using anymore.
You're not alone. A lot of custom home builders and remodelers who loved CoConstruct's client communication tools and specification management are looking for their next platform.
Phixmo is project management software built specifically for residential GCs. Not a repurposed commercial tool. Not a marketing platform with PM bolted on. A purpose-built operations platform for crews doing remodels, additions, ADUs, and custom homes.
CoConstruct was acquired by Buildertrend in 2021. Existing customers were and are being migrated onto the Buildertrend platform, and new sign-ups for the CoConstruct brand now go to Buildertrend directly.
CoConstruct, founded in 2005, built one of the most loved residential project management tools in the industry. It was known for clean client communication, specification management, and a focused interface that custom home builders could actually use without weeks of training. In December 2021, CoConstruct was acquired by Buildertrend in a deal that combined two of the largest residential PM platforms under one roof.
What happened next was the part that frustrated long-time CoConstruct users. The plan to keep both products running side by side gave way to a single platform direction. Existing customers started getting migrated. Pricing changed. Features that were core to CoConstruct's workflow got reshuffled or absorbed into Buildertrend's structure. The product wasn't gone, but it wasn't quite the product people signed up for either.
If you're a CoConstruct customer evaluating whether to stay on the merged Buildertrend platform or look for something else, the practical question now is: how does Buildertrend (post-merger) compare to other residential options? We have a full comparison of Buildertrend's current pricing and feature set on the Buildertrend alternative page. That's the most useful next read if you want the details on what you'd actually be using if you stay.
Three things CoConstruct did really well, and an honest read on how Phixmo handles each one.
CoConstruct's homeowner portal and message threads were known for being clean, easy for clients to use, and tightly integrated with the project timeline. Phixmo's customer portal covers the same ground: homeowners see project progress, milestones, signed documents, invoices, and pending change orders. They can message you directly through the portal instead of texting your personal phone at 9pm.
This is where CoConstruct was strongest. Detailed specifications, room-by-room finish schedules, and selections tied to the budget. Phixmo does not have a selections management tool today, and we are honest that this is a gap for custom home builders who rely on it. If specifications are core to how you sell and run projects, that's a real reason to think carefully.
CoConstruct never tried to be everything to everyone. It was a residential PM tool with a clear scope, and the interface reflected that. Phixmo follows the same philosophy. Every feature exists because residential GCs use it. There is no commercial bid management module, no enterprise SSO admin panel, no marketing automation suite buried in a settings page.
Seven features that didn't exist in CoConstruct (or in Buildertrend today) that ship as standard in Phixmo.
Upload a blueprint PDF and calibrate the scale with two clicks on a known dimension. AI extracts room dimensions, wall lengths, door and window counts, square footage, and fixtures, each with a badge showing how it was derived. You review and adjust, then generate a full cost estimate from the takeoff. Turns a 3 to 4 hour manual takeoff into about 10 minutes.
Don't have blueprints yet? Describe the job in plain English and get a first-pass estimate broken down by labor, materials, subs, permits, overhead, and contingency. Once you've completed jobs in Phixmo, it's priced from your own actuals rather than generic data. Useful for the homeowner phone call when you want a ballpark before scheduling a site visit.
Type 'how much have we spent on labor for the kitchen remodel?' and get an immediate answer from your real project data. No report builder, no filters, no exports.
Phixmo charges for managers, PMs, and supervisors. Field workers clock in with GPS, submit receipts, and log daily photos for free. Buildertrend charges $39/month per additional user above three, so the bigger your crew gets, the more your bill grows. On Phixmo, your bill stays the same.
Phixmo's change order system sends to the customer for approval via portal or email, requires sign-off before invoicing, and maintains a complete audit trail. This prevents the most common margin leak in residential construction: work done without documentation.
When a project completes, the homeowner is prompted for a star rating, written review, and photos. Every review is tied to a real completed project in your system. These will feed a future lead generation feature built on trust instead of paid placements.
Snap a photo of a receipt from the field, AI extracts vendor, amount, and category, and maps it to the right project. No data entry, no manual receipt log at the end of the week.
Side by side
Since CoConstruct was merged into Buildertrend, this is a direct Phixmo vs current Buildertrend comparison. The full Buildertrend page has even more detail.
Phixmo Pro
$169/mo
Buildertrend (was CoConstruct)
$339 to $1,099/mo
Built for
Field worker seats
AI blueprint takeoffs
AI text estimation
Natural language query
AI receipt parsing
Job costing
Contracts + e-signature
Customer portal
Change order approval workflow
Invoicing + branded PDFs
Daily logs + photos
Time tracking with geofence
Verified customer reviews
Selections management
Warranty tracking
QuickBooks integration
Onboarding fee
Free trial
Price increases on existing customers
For the full Buildertrend feature-by-feature comparison, see the Buildertrend alternative page.
Three honest gaps. If your business runs heavily on any of these, evaluate carefully.
This is the biggest gap. CoConstruct's selections workflow (helping homeowners pick finishes, fixtures, appliances, and materials, tied to the budget) was one of its strongest features for custom home builders. Phixmo doesn't have a comparable selections tool today. For straight remodels and additions, this is usually fine. For custom homes with extensive client selections across every room, it is a real difference.
Buildertrend (post-merger) has a mature warranty module that came from CoConstruct's heritage. Phixmo's warranty tracking is on the roadmap and not in the product today. If post-completion warranty workflows are critical to your business, plan around that.
Buildertrend has a working QuickBooks integration today. Phixmo's is in active development and not yet live. If two-way QuickBooks sync is non-negotiable right now, that is a real reason to stay on Buildertrend until Phixmo ships it.
Three reasons that come up most often when former CoConstruct users decide to move.
Phixmo Pro is $169/month with unlimited free field workers. Buildertrend Essential is $339/month plus $39/month per user past three. For a 10-person crew, that's $8,748/year on Buildertrend versus $2,028/year on Phixmo. Roughly $6,700 per year back to your business.
Buildertrend has gotten bigger and more feature-rich as it has merged in CoConstruct and continued building. That's a strength for some buyers, but it means more screens, more settings, more onboarding time. Phixmo stays focused on the residential operations workflow without the enterprise creep.
Blueprint takeoffs, text estimation, receipt parsing, natural language queries, and project summaries. None of these exist in Buildertrend today. The shift from manual to AI-assisted estimating and data work is the biggest change in construction software in 20 years, and Phixmo is leading on it.
Phixmo Pro is $169/month with free field worker seats. Buildertrend Essential is $339/month plus $39/month per user past three, which puts a 10-person crew at $8,748/year on Buildertrend versus $2,028/year on Phixmo.
Phixmo Pro is $169/month. 5 office seats, unlimited free field workers.
Buildertrend Essential with 10 field users is $729/month ($339 base + 10 × $39).
Annual cost, 10-person residential GC
Buildertrend Essential + 10 users
$8,748/yr
$339 + (10 × $39) = $729/mo
Phixmo Pro + unlimited free field workers
$2,028/yr
$169/mo flat
That's $6,720 per year back in your pocket.
No. CoConstruct was acquired by Buildertrend in 2021. Existing CoConstruct customers have been migrated, or are being migrated, onto the Buildertrend platform. New customers signing up for "CoConstruct" today are signing up for Buildertrend.
For most former CoConstruct users (custom home builders, remodelers, design-build firms), yes. Phixmo covers estimating, job costing, contracts with e-signature, change order approval, invoicing, time tracking, daily logs, and a customer portal. The two things former CoConstruct users will notice are missing: deep selections management and warranty tracking. Both are honest gaps. Everything else CoConstruct was loved for is in Phixmo, and there's a long list of features CoConstruct never had that Phixmo includes.
We're building data import tools. We'll help you set up and bring over the data that matters most: active projects, contacts, templates, and historical estimates. Signing up is free, and most builders are running new jobs in Phixmo within a day or two.
Email phaz@phixmo.com. You get the founder directly. No support queue, no tier 1 triage. The person who built the platform is the person you talk to.
The rate you subscribe at stays your rate. After watching what happened to CoConstruct users after the merger, this is one of the most important promises Phixmo makes. And the Free plan is free forever.