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A Buildxact alternative for small builders and reno crews.
Buildxact is estimating and job management software for residential builders: takeoffs from plans, supplier price lists, Gantt schedules and unlimited users. Sammy is an AI estimator: describe the job by voice note, photos or plans and he prices it, sends the proposal, then handles the variations, progress claims and invoices, on iPhone, Android and the web. Checked 27 September 2026.
The short answer
Sammy suits you if
- You’re on your own or a crew of up to five, and want to pay less each month.
- You’d rather describe a job by voice note or photos than measure it off plans at a desk.
- You want the quote, variations, progress claims and invoices in an app on your phone.
- You want your quotes and jobs kept if you ever stop paying.
Buildxact suits you if
- Most of your jobs start with plans you want to measure digitally.
- You want Gantt schedules, a client portal with selections, and purchase orders in one place.
- More than five people need to use it: every plan includes unlimited users.
- You buy through a supplier connected to Buildxact, or you do your books in MYOB or QuickBooks.
Both have a free trial with no card. The fairest test is to price the same job in each and see which quote you’d rather send.
Side by side
| Sammy | Buildxact | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An AI estimator for trades and small builders. You describe the job and Sammy writes and prices the quote. | Estimating and job management software for small residential builders and renovators. |
| How an estimate is built | Describe the job by voice note, text, photos, video or plans. Sammy prices each line from your rates, then your supplier prices, then your instructions, then his trade knowledge. | Digital takeoffs from your PDF plans, priced from supplier price lists, saved templates and recipes for repeat jobs. |
| AI | Included on every paid plan. Writes the whole estimate and changes it when you ask in plain words. | Blu. Its Estimate Generator builds an editable estimate from a project description (Pro, or an add-on on Foundation). Takeoff and review assistants come with Master or as add-ons. |
| Takeoffs | A takeoff report of every material and quantity in the estimate, ready for ordering. | Measure straight off PDF plans, with an AI assistant that scales and measures (Master, or an add-on on Pro). |
| Sending the quote | A proposal your client accepts online, with optional follow-up emails on days 2, 5 and 10. | Custom quote letters with digital signatures, on every plan. |
| After you win it | The job, contract, variations, progress claims, what the job is costing you, and the invoices. | Job management, Gantt schedules, a client portal with selections, and purchase orders. |
| Scheduling | A project plan for each job: a timeline of its tasks. No staff scheduling. | Gantt charts built from your estimate, on Pro and up. |
| Connects to | Xero, ServiceM8 (both ways), Simpro and Ascora. | Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks on Pro and up, plus live price lists from suppliers such as Mitre 10 (participating stores) and Dahlsens. |
| Where it runs | iPhone and Android apps, and the web. | The web, plus the Buildxact Onsite phone app (Pro and up) for timesheets, schedule tasks, documents and the site diary. |
| Free trial | 7 days, no card. | 14 days, no card. |
How an estimate gets built
Buildxact is built around the plans. You upload PDF plans, measure them with its digital takeoff tools, and price the quantities from supplier price lists and your saved templates. Its AI, Blu, can start an estimate from a description of the project, and on its top plan it helps measure plans and checks your estimate for errors.
Sammy is built around the conversation. Tell him about the job by voice note, text, photos, video or plans, and he prices it from, in this order:
- your rate rules, the rates you’ve told him to charge
- your supplier price lists, matched to material lines automatically
- your instructions, such as allowances you always add or brands you prefer
- his Australian trade knowledge, only where you haven’t given him anything better
Each estimate comes with a takeoff report of every material and quantity, and a project plan of the job’s tasks. For big multi-trade jobs, like additions and full renovations, the Thorough mode plans the job out in more detail before he prices it.
What it costs
For one to five people, Sammy costs less. Buildxact charges the same whatever the size of your team, so it works out cheaper per head for a big crew. The bigger difference is what happens if you stop: once you cancel Buildxact you lose access to your previous work unless you subscribe again, while Sammy drops you to the free plan with your data kept.
| Sammy | Buildxact | |
|---|---|---|
| Just you | Pro: $99 a month | Foundation: $218.90 a month. Pro, with Blu’s Estimate Generator and job management: $438.90 |
| Up to 3 people | Team 3: $249 a month flat | Same as above: every plan includes unlimited users |
| Up to 5 people | Team 5: $399 a month flat | Same as above: every plan includes unlimited users |
| 6 or more | Team 5 is the largest plan. Talk to us about bigger crews. | Same as above: every plan includes unlimited users |
| Paying yearly | Pro $950, Team 3 $2,390, Team 5 $3,830 | Foundation $2,233, Pro $4,477 |
Questions builders ask
Does Buildxact have AI estimating?
Yes. Buildxact’s Blu Estimate Generator builds an editable estimate from a project description; it comes with the Pro plan or as an add-on to Foundation. Sammy’s AI is on every paid plan, and you can describe the job by voice note, text, photos, video or plans.
Can Sammy do takeoffs from plans?
Sammy reads the plans you upload along with everything else you tell him, and every estimate comes with a takeoff report of the materials and quantities. He doesn’t give you tools to measure plans by hand. If you measure every job off plans, Buildxact’s takeoff tools are built for that.
What happens to my work if I cancel?
With Sammy, your account drops to the free Basic plan and your data is kept; resubscribe any time and it’s all there. Buildxact’s help centre says that once you cancel, you won’t have access to your previous work unless you subscribe again.
Is Sammy priced per user?
No. Pro is $99 a month for one person. Team 3 is $249 a month for up to three people and Team 5 is $399 a month for up to five, whether you’ve filled every seat or not. All prices include GST. See team plans and billing.