PlanHub Reviews

Pros

PlanHub feels really user friendly and the built in filtering makes it simple to narrow down exactly what you're searching for. There also seem to be plenty of early bid opportunities available which is great for getting your foot in the door during the early stages of bidding on a project.

Cons

A few listings don't include enough detail to make a confident decision and it would be better if they either provided more information by default or required certain key details to be filled in.

Pros

Gives solid access to a broad mix of commercial projects from different trade partners. Filtering bids by trade and location is easy and the plan documents are typically well put together and quick to download.

Cons

Some of the listings come with incomplete drawings and some bid windows are so short that it's tough to respond in time. The free tier also caps how deeply you can explore projects. On top of that, notifications feel more frequent than they need to be and it's not always clear whether certain GCs are actively reviewing bids or just gathering numbers.

Pros

The site layout feels well organized and looks really nice overall. Navigation is easy and the structure makes it simple to figure out where to go next.

Cons

I couldn't tell whether dark mode exists or if it's just not an option but I'd definitely use it to make reading more comfortable. Also, the small floating chat box tends to pop up in the bottom-right corner and can overlap the exit button when I'm trying to leave the page.

Pros

This tool pulls in my plans from a bunch of GC partners so I'm not limited to the contractors we've worked with before. It opens up opportunities from general contractors I wouldn't normally see.

Cons

Every now and then it glitches and fails to remove plans for projects we chose not to move forward with so those items can stay sitting on the bid board.

Pros

It is completely free to get more bids which has been a huge win for us! The software also keeps construction projects organized in one place making it easy to find opportunities and manage them without jumping between tools.

Cons

The subcontractor list is quite broad which actually helps us pull together more competitive bids. I also really appreciate how fast it is to search for projects that match our trade and location.

Pros

Our whole team took to it right away and the results have been spot on. Estimation runs quickly too so we're spending less time figuring things out and more time moving projects forward.

Cons

Mobile access has been a letdown for us. It feels outdated and slow to respond on phones and that's why we don't end up using it as much as we expected. I've even been considering switching providers after dealing with that limitation.

Pros

The feature that lets you view multiple bidding GC's in one place has been really helpful for me. Instead of digging through a bunch of emails to find everything, it's much simpler to review them all together and compare what's going on.

Cons

One thing that holds it back is that not every GC is using the system yet. It also feels like some of the information is being pulled from other sources and occasionally the contact details don't match what you'd expect or aren't fully accurate.

Pros

Does what it's supposed to do! I'm able to locate jobs that I can place bids on and that's really the only part I use. The other sections don't seem useful for our bidding workflow so I skip them.

Cons

A big annoyance is the way some GCs respond. When I try to message them, many bounce back and others reply saying they aren't bidding at all. It feels like PlanHub staff may be adding random GCs they think might bid because there's no clear reason for someone to contact back just to say they won't participate. On top of that, estimating firms get access to PlanHub and it turns into daily spam across the platform. I've also noticed the platform's view has been changed multiple times and some updates have made the experience worse instead of better.

Pros

With this tool, we can communicate with our customers a lot more easily and it definitely feels like there's a higher chance of building an even bigger network over time.

Cons

A couple of the features are a bit tricky to get the hang of but I'm planning to spend some time experimenting so I can master more of them.

Pros

After signing up, I was quickly presented with several chances to submit potential bids. It felt like the platform was already matching me with relevant opportunities right away.

Cons

Nothing negative has shown up yet for me and from what I've seen so far, I don't really foresee any problems.

Pros

Makes it simple to find bid opportunities from well-known prospects and the platform stays competitive while still showing every GC's bid which is genuinely helpful when you're comparing options.

Cons

Occasionally, a job won't load when you click through from the email notification link. I'd love that issue to get fixed so every opportunity reliably opens for all users.

Pros

Absolutely no pros!

Cons

Customer Service is terrible. Service is subpar and they have no reasonable cancelation policy!

Pros

The software not only sends out invitations to bid but also indicates whether a project is being bid on by more than one contractor and gives updates on its progress. Also, Planhub provides us with the information upfront. So, we no longer spend time downloading and searching through project plans to discover that only VCT or LVT flooring is involved.

Cons

Not much to say, but the product is still young, so other companies are covering more jobs. But this is changing each week as more businesses start posting on the platform.