Bluebeam vs. FileHold Document Management

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Bluebeam
Score 9.1 out of 10
N/A
Bluebeam Revu is a PDF management, control, and editing tool. It enables collaboration and markup within shared documents across projects’ life cycles and has takeoff and bid creation capabilities.
$349
per seat
FileHold Document Management
Score 7.7 out of 10
Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 employees)
FileHold is a document and records management software. FileHold is integrated with both Microsoft Office and Microsoft Teams and provides secure single log in to both FileHold and Office 365. FileHold can be deployed on a customers own servers or private cloud or hosted by FileHold on the Azure Cloud Standard features include; document scanning, version control, search, tagging, full user audit trail, archiving and scheduled disposition. Out of the box, users can search the FileHold…
$10
Per user / month
Pricing
BluebeamFileHold Document Management
Editions & Modules
Revu Standard
$349
per seat
Revu CAD
$449
per seat
Revu eXtreme
$599
per seat
FileHold Enterprise
$10.00
Per user / month
FileHold installed on cusomers own Cloud or in house server
$15.00
per month per seat
FileHold Express for 5 users
$15.00
per user / month
FileHold Cloud, Fully hosted on Microsoft Azure
$30.00
per month per seat
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
BluebeamFileHold Document Management
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
Additional DetailsIn all cases the price per user will decrease as more users are added to the system. FileHold has many optional and custom features that can be chosen and will change the price. For outright purchase of a license there is an optional 20% per year support and upgrade fee.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
BluebeamFileHold Document Management
Considered Both Products
Bluebeam
Chose Bluebeam
I believe Bluebeam is actually easier to learn and use versus Adobe Acrobat. With it’s how to videos and great customer support, there’s basically not a problem that cannot be figured out. As far as PDF modification, I believe Bluebeam’s tools and screen configuration is very …
Chose Bluebeam
It is just more advanced in terms of functionality. Bluebeam has far more features for collaboration, document sharing and marking up.
Chose Bluebeam
Bluebeam is targeted towards construction professional and offers features and built-in markups that I use everyday. Acrobat is a generic program that requires more training and set-up for use specific to construction and design. Bluebeam was more cost-effective than Acrobat, …
Chose Bluebeam
I haven’t spent enough time with Revit to give a full comparison. But three architects I’ve worked with have all said they enjoy both programs and Bluebeam was highly recommended for my needs in the company.
Chose Bluebeam
Years ago I used Adobe which was not well suited for CAD drawings. I soon found Bluebeam which at the time was a wonderful game changer. Sadly, my recent experience has caused me to begin searching elsewhere for new software.
Chose Bluebeam
Bluebeam I believe is much better then Smartsheets because there are way more features that just make sense and are construction minded. I am able to host and share these documents with other users who do not need to have a Bluebeam license to view or download them from the …
Chose Bluebeam
Bluebeam is a more advanced PDF editor and better suited for the engineering and construction industry. It has far more tools and better capabilities for collaborative viewing, marking up, and sharing of documents.
Chose Bluebeam
Much better. The features are greater, the layout is better and you can just do so much more. The features alone and what you can do with it makes it worth it. Also, it allows for you to edit and create in a much more user friendly way. All of our engineers love using it …
Chose Bluebeam
Bluebeam Revu has essentially replaced Adobe Acrobat as our default PDF viewer and editor, because its robust suite of architecturally-focused tools allow for better review of documents and creation of simple graphic diagrams. The scale and measurement tools are especially …
Chose Bluebeam
It is better than acrobat in my opinion. More features and more user-friendly.
Chose Bluebeam
PDF file sharing is really easy and simple, so users can markup and others can view them in real-time. Also, editing PDF files to crop, batch, remove, or replace pages is really efficient compared to Adobe Acrobat DC. Plus, the licensing fee is pretty small compared to Adobe …
Chose Bluebeam
Bluebeam Revu is a no-brainer in the AEC space. Stop wasting money on owning adobe and Revu. Revu can replace all of your Adobe usage. With a good change management process, Revu can meet the needs of your entire organization. The Bluebeam team will be with you every step …
Chose Bluebeam

Revu was much easier to use, more cost-effective, and is more generally used in the construction and design industry than Adobe. We found Adobe to be more of a resource hog, as well as being bloated with offers for other Adobe applications, which many times would slow down a …

Chose Bluebeam
Bluebeam is a good in-between of Adobe and Photoshop. If you're not looking to do photo editing, but need more capabilities than just line work, Bluebeam is perfect.
Chose Bluebeam
I select Bluebeam Revu when I have to as directed by the client or the owner. Otherwise, when the user does not need such a specific or robust piece of software, I usually go to one of the less expensive competitor's PDF editors. They suite our needs just fine and cost half …
Chose Bluebeam
Bluebeam definitely blows Adobe out of the water in the basic to the basic comparison. You will have to do more research on how exactly to use all the tools if you have never used the program before such as myself.
Chose Bluebeam
Bluebeam Revu has a much more sophisticated interface that allows you to mark up documents in many different ways. It can store tools for standard markup use. It provides digital signatures which can be very useful for many document types. By creating a Revu studio, multiple …
Chose Bluebeam
We've used these other products in conjunction with Bluebeam mainly because Bluebeam lacks RFI/COR/PO/Mark-up/revision tracking, and doesn't handle punch lists or tasks.
Chose Bluebeam
Adobe is good for viewing PDFs, but as far as how PDFs are utilized in construction, Bluebeam is hands-down the best program I have used.
Chose Bluebeam
The newer Adobe interfaces are poor. Adobe does not do as well with drawing markup or takeoff tools. Adobe does seem to render some drawing files more quickly though. Adobe text document markup feels a bit more polished. Bluebeam was selected for better tools specific to …
Chose Bluebeam
This is by FAR the most powerful product that I have used. I have not turned back to Adobe for modifying documents since we purchased Bluebeam. I am not sure of the cost of the program, but sure it is worth it to the company. As to doing take-offs, this is a great tool as well …
Chose Bluebeam
Procore is excellent for tracking documents and links. Bluebeam is superior at editing, scaling, and marking up documents. You can track projects of any size at a very low price point with Bluebeam.
Chose Bluebeam
There is no comparison. The editing tools, batch tools drafting tools, personal environment profiles, settings, printing, calibrating, direct connecting apps that links Bluebeam to AutoCad and Revit. This is an extremely powerful program that is amazingly helpful and I probably …
FileHold Document Management
Chose FileHold Document Management
I selected file storage document because it has better security feature and some employees are used to the software already. Also, I wanted to try out new software to see if there are better software out there than what I'm currently using. Google drive doesn't offer too much …
Chose FileHold Document Management
We used to use SharePoint but made the move to FileHold because of the additional functionality that it provided, unique to our line of business. We evaluated Laserfiche at the same time and ended up going with FileHold because it seemed to be a more stable platform that …
Chose FileHold Document Management
I find FileHold more useful than SAP at times. It is easier to use, you do not need transaction codes. Both programs allow you to run reports. I am not sure if SAP could be compared with FileHold due to the fact that I use SAP to get approval and funding on tooling contracts. …
Features
BluebeamFileHold Document Management
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Bluebeam
8.7
Ratings
13% above category average
FileHold Document Management
-
Ratings
Standard reports9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Custom reports8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Data exportability9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Construction Project & Field Management
Comparison of Construction Project & Field Management features of Product A and Product B
Bluebeam
8.9
Ratings
16% above category average
FileHold Document Management
-
Ratings
Plan distribution & viewing8.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Plan markups & sharing9.20 Ratings00 Ratings
Issue tracking & punchlists8.50 Ratings00 Ratings
Photo documentation8.70 Ratings00 Ratings
Jobsite reports9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Document sharing9.30 Ratings00 Ratings
RFI tools9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Collaboration & approvals9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
As-built drawings8.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile app7.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Submittal design and management8.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Checklists9.50 Ratings00 Ratings
Change orders9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Estimating
Comparison of Estimating features of Product A and Product B
Bluebeam
9.1
Ratings
13% above category average
FileHold Document Management
-
Ratings
Takeoff tools7.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Job costing8.40 Ratings00 Ratings
Cost databases10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Cost calculator10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Bid creation9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
BluebeamFileHold Document Management
Small Businesses
FollowUp CRM
FollowUp CRM
Score 10.0 out of 10
Square 9 Softworks
Square 9 Softworks
Score 9.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
InEight
InEight
Score 8.3 out of 10
MSB Docs
MSB Docs
Score 9.4 out of 10
Enterprises
InEight
InEight
Score 8.3 out of 10
Tungsten Capture
Tungsten Capture
Score 8.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
BluebeamFileHold Document Management
Likelihood to Recommend
9.6
(0 ratings)
7.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
1.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(0 ratings)
6.0
(0 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
7.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
1.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
6.0
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
BluebeamFileHold Document Management
Likelihood to Recommend
As stated before, the mobile application is a great companion to the desktop version. Either one works great in viewing, editing and saving documents. While the measurement tool is handy to have, we have found the precision to be lacking when measuring scaled drawings (construction design drawings). While it is a good rough place to start for measurements, we wouldn't recommend relying on the precision of the measurements taken on something with a very large scale.
Read full review
FileHold is great for any size department or organization that is looking to "go paperless." It is a great tool for groups that need to have workflow management and tracking, especially with forms. It is well-suited for groups that are already familiar with Microsoft Office, and not so much for users of other Office Suites.
Read full review
Pros
  • Overlaying pdf drawings to identify changes made by architects.
  • Scaling dimensions when the architect has not provided required dimensions to proceed with work in the field.
  • Hyperlinking construction documents with required information makes it much easier to look through multiple sheets in less time.
Read full review
  • Document management
  • File storage
  • File sharing through cloud
Read full review
Cons
  • If you have several tabs open and you try to drag one out for a side by side view then you do not have all the modification options and you have to combine them back together.
  • There is a lag time when hitting the print option.
  • There is also a lag time when opening files, sometimes I think the window is frozen.
  • I wish the basic version also had basic file editing, as in editing a document as Adobe does.
Read full review
  • We could not find a graphical representation of the Workflow designer with drag-and-drop fields.
  • We also could not find any easy, efficient way to import or convert from other storage platforms.
  • The only other comment that my team had was that the color scheme could be tweaked to be more pleasing.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Bluebeam is a powerful PDF viewer and mark-up tool. We are more familiar with it than Adobe Acrobat Pro or other viewers, and it has more features geared towards construction document managers than Acrobat Pro does.
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Usability
I'm constantly finding that Bluebeam Revu does more than I knew it could. And when I find something that it can't do, I've found that Bluebeam truly listens to its user base and will work to incorporate any good suggestion when feasible.
Read full review
FileHold is the ideal solution if you are looking for an electronic library with workflow functionality. The ease of use and integration with other tools we already use was also a huge incentive. It also allows us to import and export data. The search features and the ability to accept electronic signatures further made our lives easier.
Read full review
Performance
No answers on this topic
FileHold was easy to implement as well as to configure to meet our organization's business requirements. We all found the search capabilities to be wonderful, reducing the time it takes to find a particular document. FileHold is easy even for the most novice of users to become productive in a very short amount of time.
Read full review
Support Rating
Its hard for me to give a rating on this one as we rarely have to use the support feature for Bluebeam. However, when we have used it, they have been ultra supportive in helping us get exactly what we needed. I know another engineer was trying to figure out a feature and the rep gave a detailed tutorial on how to complete the task
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Bluebeam is a diverse program with many functions and tools, whereas competitive programs only specialize in one or few tasks. Although there are many tools within the program, users can still quickly learn how to use the program to best fit their needs. There is always a help tab for any assistance needed.
Read full review
I selected file storage document because it has better security feature and some employees are used to the software already. Also, I wanted to try out new software to see if there are better software out there than what I'm currently using. Google Drive doesn't offer too much security in term of their file storage feature.
Read full review
Return on Investment
  • A major positive aspect is being able to take your computer home without taking the entire set of paper drawings. They have made it so easy to navigate a set of drawings that I can work at home using only the digital drawings.
  • Collaboration with owners and architects has been a great feature. Setting up a Bluebeam studio and having everyone get in and mark things up, then having the architect be able to go in and see what markups have been added, has made the constructability review process much much better.
  • Even when not working on drawings, Bluebeam is a very good tool for working with standard PDF documents. The markup tools are very easy to use.
  • The negative aspect is the takeoff function because some people would like estimators to use the Bluebeam takeoff because it would make their job easier down the road; however, the actual act of doing a full scale takeoff in Bluebeam would require much more time.
Read full review
  • Faster approval process
  • Better relationships with our plant [locations]
  • Improved employee efficiency by making the approval process faster
  • Improved employee efficiency by allowing employees to find documents faster through the search function
Read full review
ScreenShots

Bluebeam Screenshots

Screenshot of Bluebeam Cloud with Markup ListScreenshot of Bluebeam Cloud with Tool ChestScreenshot of Bluebeam Revu MarkupScreenshot of Bluebeam Revu Studio Session

FileHold Document Management Screenshots

Screenshot of Adding documents from Microsoft officeScreenshot of The Library treeScreenshot of FileHold architecture