These aren't two tools fighting over the same job. Fieldwire (by Hilti) is jobsite execution software — plan viewing, tasks, punch lists, and RFIs for crews in the field. BuildVision AI is preconstruction — AI-powered takeoffs, estimates, and instant proposals from your drawings, with trade-specific AI for 60+ trades. Many contractors run both: BuildVision AI to win the job, a field app to build it.
5 min
Average takeoff time
60+
Trade-specific AI models
Instant
Proposals from every takeoff
14 days
Free trial
Freelance estimators charge around $1,000 for a 30-page takeoff. BuildVision AI returns the same takeoff in minutes — with a proposal and material list attached.
Fieldwire is jobsite management software from Hilti. It puts the current plan set on every phone and tablet on site — mobile-first plan viewing and markup, task management pinned directly to drawings, punch lists, inspections, forms, and reporting. Foremen, superintendents, and project managers use it to coordinate crews, track work, and keep the field and the office looking at the same information. As field execution tools go, it's a genuinely strong one.
And yes — Fieldwire has AI. In 2026 it ships Field Intelligence™, a set of AI features for jobsite workflows: automatic drawing title and page-number detection when sheets are uploaded, AI-assisted RFI editing, talk-to-action voice reporting, instant task creation from form issues, and AI photo tagging. Its 2026 direction also brings BIM into everyday workflows, with tasks pinned inside 3D models.
Notice what all of that AI accelerates: field administration. There is no quantity takeoff and no cost estimating inside Fieldwire — the quantities, the estimate, and the winning bid all happen before a Fieldwire project ever starts. That preconstruction stage is exactly what BuildVision AI automates, and it's what the rest of this page covers.
| Feature | BuildVision AI | Fieldwire |
|---|---|---|
| AI-Powered Takeoffs | ||
| Cost Estimating | ||
| Instant Proposals | ||
| Material Lists | Full | |
| Multi-Trade Support | 60+ trades | All trades |
| Trade-Specific AI Models | ||
| AI Assistant | AI takeoff & plan assistant | Field Intelligence™ — jobsite admin |
| Plan Viewing | ||
| Field Task Management & Punch Lists | ||
| Jobsite Forms & Inspections | ||
| BIM / 3D Task Tracking | ||
| Mobile App | ||
| Getting Started | 14-day free trial | Free plan for small teams |
| Pricing | From $299/mo | From $39/user/mo (billed annually) |
Fieldwire has a Free plan for small teams — up to 3 projects, 100 sheets, and 5 users. Paid plans are priced per user per month: Pro at $39 billed annually ($54 monthly), Business at $59 ($74 monthly), and Business Plus at $89 ($104 monthly), plus enterprise contracts that add API access, SSO, and a dedicated account manager. There is no traditional free trial of the paid tiers; plans are month-to-month and the free plan is the entry point.
The useful comparison is the pricing model, not the price points. Fieldwire is per-seat field licensing, priced to put whole crews on the platform. BuildVision AI uses token-based usage pricing from $299/mo that covers AI takeoffs, proposals, and material lists for your team. They price different jobs — field execution versus winning the work — so they aren't substitutes for each other.
For the estimating side, the anchor is simple: freelance estimators charge around $1,000 for a single 30-page takeoff. The question that matters is how much finished, sendable bid output your estimating spend produces — and BuildVision AI's output is a priced proposal, not just quantities.
Plenty of contractors use both — BuildVision AI for preconstruction, Fieldwire for the build — because neither replaces the other.
Fieldwire is jobsite management software owned by Hilti. Field teams use it for mobile plan viewing and markup, task management, punch lists, inspections, forms, and reporting on active construction projects. It is built for field execution — coordinating foremen, superintendents, and crews — rather than for preconstruction takeoffs or estimating.
Yes. Fieldwire's Field Intelligence™ brings AI to jobsite workflows: automatic drawing title and page-number detection on upload, AI-assisted RFI editing, talk-to-action voice reporting, instant task creation from form issues, and AI photo tagging. It is AI for field administration — Fieldwire does not do AI takeoffs or estimating. For AI that reads drawings and produces quantities, estimates, and proposals, that is what BuildVision AI is built for.
Fieldwire has a free plan for small teams (up to 3 projects, 100 sheets, and 5 users). Paid plans are per user per month: Pro at $39 billed annually ($54 monthly), Business at $59 ($74 monthly), and Business Plus at $89 ($104 monthly), with enterprise contracts adding API access, SSO, and a dedicated account manager. BuildVision AI uses token-based pricing from $299/mo that covers AI takeoffs, proposals, and material lists — see /pricing for details.
No. Fieldwire is a field execution platform — it has no quantity takeoff or cost estimating tools. Quantities, estimates, and bids are produced in other software before a project is managed in Fieldwire. BuildVision AI covers exactly that stage: AI-powered takeoffs with trade-specific models for 60+ trades, turned into priced proposals and material lists in minutes.
If you are looking at Fieldwire for estimating, you are looking at the wrong category — Fieldwire manages jobsites, it does not produce bids. For AI takeoffs and estimating, BuildVision AI is the strongest choice: trade-specific AI for 60+ trades reads your drawings and returns quantities, a priced proposal, and a full material list, with a 14-day free trial to test it on your own plans.
Yes, and many contractors effectively do — the tools cover different phases of a project. BuildVision AI handles preconstruction: takeoffs, estimates, and the proposal that wins the job. A field app like Fieldwire then handles execution: tasks, punch lists, and crew coordination once the job is underway. They complement each other rather than compete.
