Construction management is a serious responsibility, and a variety of tools are needed to handle all the different tasks involved. A modern smartphone or tablet can be a great tool for overseeing various tasks on a construction site, especially if you use high quality, multifunctional applications. In this review, we have collected the most convenient and popular construction apps for Android that can be helpful for professionals outside the office and on the construction site.
The Android app market has grown a lot over the past few years. The number of Android users has also increased dramatically due to the release of powerful flagship smartphones by Apple’s major competitors. There isn’t evidence to say whether iOS or Android devices are more popular with construction professionals, but all leading IT companies, as well as construction software developers, should offer applications that work equally well on both operating systems. If you’re looking for a digital tool for your construction work, you have a wide range of choices to pick from.
Once, smartphones and tablets were used for personal purposes only, such as taking notes or photos, and they were mostly owned by the tech-savvy or wealthy. Today, they’re a must-have item that are often used as tools for work. A lot of applications can help you do much more than you’re used to. For example, modern apps can assist you in planning and tracking problems, generating tasks and reports, as well as interacting with employees and specialists at all levels of the project. There are also applications to help you make calculations and estimates, determine the exact dimensions of structures and identify deviations. Digital guides can give you all the necessary specialized information so that you won’t need to сarry large stacks of papers with you or spend time searching for detailed information on the Internet.
So, without further ado, here are the best construction apps for Android:
Best CAD Applications for Drawing
Mobile Autocad 360
An Autodesk application with extremely broad functionality for working on-site. It could be useful for engineers, site managers and architects. The app enables you to view DWG files sent by email or downloaded from a cloud-based document management service. This app also provides extensive tools for creating, editing and managing your drawings and plan layers. Features easy navigation with both zoom and panorama modes, plus the possibility to work offline and sync when connected. You can exchange projects right on the site, add photos and comments. A 7-day free demo of the Premium version is available.
Prices start at £6 a month or £54 a year.
biiCADo Touch Free for mobile
biiCADo Touch is a German professional CAD application designed for mobile. It features intuitive navigation and is compatible with a wide range of CAD tools, enabling you to quickly and accurately create DXF drawings. Thanks to the intuitive implementation and support for gesture control, you can easily use a touch screen with your fingers, with no need for a mouse and keyboard. Using the wider app functionality, you can create technically advanced drawings right on the go from your smartphone. The DXF format makes it possible to exchange information with other computer-aided design systems without any hassle. You can edit drawings and create PDF documents for printing or mailing.
The free application has certain limitations. There is also a PRO version with maximum functionality that costs £8.99.
eDrawings
A convenient mobile CAD-viewing application. This app allows a project team and suppliers to view project data wherever they are, offering a rich set of easy-to-use tools to work with. All models and drawings can be viewed in the field and connected to augmented reality mode to get a real-time view of the project. eDrawings Mobile supports Google cardboard for a truly immersive VR experience.
Price – £1.25 for the basic app, with an extra cost to unlock the Pro version and its collaborative features.
ARES Touch: DWG CAD Viewer & Editor
Another CAD solution for construction professionals by German developer Graebert GmbH. This app enables users to create, view and edit DWG drawings. Provides a complete set of drawing and commenting tools. Synchronises with the cloud and can be used offline. Supports multiple languages.
The first 14 days are free. After that, there is a range of subscription options that begin at around £7 a month.
BIMx — BIM eXplorer
With this Hungarian app, you can view and edit BIM models created in ARCHICAD on a mobile device. BIMx Hypermodel technology offers extremely smooth control and powerful performance even for projects with complex 3D models and extensive 2D documentation. It also provides access to all construction documents of buildings for all project participants – with a touch of a finger, even when you are working on the construction site. It’s a great tool for showcasing projects to contractors and clients. Сonvenient navigation and control using finger touches enable you to easily scale, rotate the model and enlarge objects.
Price – $49.99 for a PRO version with excellent additional features.
3D Modeling App: Sketch, Draw, Paint Sculpt Create
This Belarusian 3D modelling app makes it easy to create 3D models on the go using gestures on your mobile phone or tablet. It can be used with a stylus. The app provides a huge set of functional tools, which makes it as convenient as possible for designers and architects. Results can be imported into 3D modelling software including 3ds Max, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, or CAD software such as Autodesk AutoCAD, SolidWorks, Autodesk Fusion 360, Trimble Sketchup and many more. There are video instructions on how to use the app.
Price – from 99p to around £30
Construction Project Management Applications
PlanRadar — Punch list app
What sets this app apart from other construction and document management apps is its amazing ease of use right from the start. The interface is multilingual with an excellent English-language version and local-language technical support. Thanks to the tips provided in the app, a user of any level will easily figure out how the app works. Onboarding a new user can take less than 10 minutes, it’s that simple. PlanRadar have achieved this simplicity due to their long-term work with different specialists in the construction industry, from architects and general contractors through to specialist engineers and fire safety contractors.
“Software should be an assistant that makes life easier” – PlanRadar was created with this thought in mind. As a result, engineers, construction project managers, architects, foremen and even subcontractors can all easily work with this app via both 2D plans, technical drawings or BIM models. Simple features, plus a clear structure with intuitive headings such as “create a project,” “tasks,” “task templates,” “invite/add a user,” “upload a drawing,” and “generate a report” make your work easy and quick.
PlanRadar’s functionality can be used for a variety of construction projects and purposes: you can manage all tasks relating to construction projects, communicate with subcontractors, create all kinds of checklists, including fire safety checklists, and draw up snagging lists and handover reports. There are also more advanced functions: the ability to work with BIM models from mobile devices, record and attach videos and edit photos, and analyse the data you’ve collected in graphs and statistics. You can also run reports that are boardroom-ready. The core of PlanRadar’s construction app is that you can communicate effectively with your team in real-time without missing any details on the project.
Pricing is flexible and depends on the needs of your team. There’s a 30-day free trial available. After that, prices begin at £23 a month.
Construction Manager
A useful app developed by programmers from Bangladesh to help you manage construction projects. The Construction Manager app integrates all the actions of construction project participants and visualizes information in the form of structured data cards. It provides a very simple and straightforward navigation. In the app, you can add additional members with specific access to the project. The functionality allows you to create diagrams for a quick snapshot of the project’s current state. Here you can create invoices, make reports on transactions on a weekly or monthly basis, easily create tasks and track their statuses. The app will show you the list of vendor partners/stores and all conducted transactions. A convenient platform for interaction between different team specialists, the Construction Manager can become your pocket diary to help you manage different construction tasks. There is no support for drawings, no task reports generation, or ready-made templates.
It’s free and only available in English.
Site Diary — Construction site journal
Another simple application features a working log and basic task management functionality. It also allows you to attach photos to tasks. With the Site Diary, you can monitor projects in real-time, create reports, send by email, and export them to PDF, Excel, or CSV. Weather conditions are automatically linked to the report. It is also possible to add additional users to the existing team. The application can work without the Internet and synchronises when the connection is next renewed. Overall, Site Diary is a convenient construction app that supports easy interaction between different members of a construction team. There are no drawings or 3D models.
You can access the web version for a test period or use one of three plans: Shovel, a free version with limited functionality, then Forklift costs £8 per month and Bulldozer is a custom plan available for more than 25 users.
Fieldwire — Construction
A well-known American software developer for construction documentation as well as construction and commercial real estate management. It has very good mobile versions for both Android and iOS.
The basic version is free for up to 5 users, while a Pro account costs £25/user/month, Business costs £39/user/month and Premier costs £69/user/month.
Buildo — Construction diary
A helpful construction site planner created by Slovak developers. This app can be used for project management and administration purposes by small construction companies. The functionality is focused on work logs, including the ability to attach photos to records, manage equipment, materials and employee records. The application automatically detects weather conditions, can send reminders and notifications about jobs or gaps in records. All documents can be exported to PDF files. Overall, the Buildo app helps automate routine construction work and control basic tasks. It was made in English and there are also Slovak and Czech versions.
This app is free for the first 3 sites or 500 records. After that point, you’ll need the Pro version which costs between €6.00 and €9.85 a month.
Measurement Applications
Floor Plan Creator
This is a useful Polish 3D application for creating accurate floor and room plans. The app allows you to add furniture from an extensive library in order to understand what an interior will look like. It is also possible to upload and use a finished plan as a template. The program will automatically calculate the room area. Users can define dimension lines to show and change distances and sizes. They can also export plans as images, PDFs (printed to scale), DXF, SVG or create Wavefront .obj files that can be imported into most 3D rendering programs. The Floor Plan Creator supports working with a stylus.
It has a free trial for 1 project and two paid versions: up to 10 projects per year will cost you €5.11 a year, an unlimited Pro Package is €7.19 a month.
AR Plan 3D
A digital ruler that uses augmented reality (AR) to quickly measure a room. With this app, the process of measuring and drawing up a 3D floor plan becomes simple and fast. Just point the camera at the room and the application will provide you with the exact dimensions, calculating a perimeter and area. You can then turn this image into a 2D or 3D plan with dimensions, or a side plan. You can also measure separate elements like doors, apertures, and windows. The finished plan can be saved and sent by email.
Price: Free basic version, paid content is available, ranging from $9.99 to $89.99.
Stairs-X Lite Calculator
As the name implies, this application calculates the number of stairs needed. It is a Romanian app made by the Pixiefan team. The Fast Stairs Calculator app enables you to create accurate and detailed drawings of all types of stairs and to have all the necessary calculations saved directly on your smartphone. The app also works without an internet connection. It’s helpful for architects, engineers, construction professionals, field technicians, builders, handymen, and contractors.
There is a free Stairs-X Lite version. Stairs-X Pro costs £14.99 and offers additional features.
Building Calculations
This French developer provides a simple and straightforward construction calculator for building materials, ranging from concrete, cinder blocks and bricks to paint and lumber. The app can also be used for calculating the room area and evaluating the cost of certain materials.
It is free and supports many different languages.
Contractor Calculator
A handy calculator for quick and accurate measurements while on-site. All calculations can be saved in your projects whether it’s a calculation of the area, drywall footage, flooring, roofing, siding, or the size of wires and bricks. There is a decimal converter and Amps to Watts conversion. The Contractor Calculator is a practical tool for foremen, contractors, and technical systems engineers. The application has convenient sections for different specialities: calculations for electricians, painters, roofers, etc.
It’s free, but registration is required to create your own projects.
Concrete Calculator
The app by the Inch Calculator development team provides you with all possible calculations related to concrete, including how much of it will be required for different types of structures. You can choose which units to use. On the Inch Calculator website, you can choose more specialized calculators with a lot of practical tips. However, they are mostly available in browser-based versions and are overloaded with theoretical reference material.
The Android app is free to use.
Civil Rate Analysis – Construction Cost Estimation
A simple application for engineers and contractors that allows them to estimate the budget for construction work. Among its functionality, there is the possibility to choose appropriate units of measurement, currency, material amount and cost. It’s free to use.
Construction Calculator Material Balding Estimate
This is yet another simple budgeting app. The functionality involves several calculation modules: foundations, floors (taking into account the choice of materials), types of structures and their shape, stairs, axial loads, and other construction measurements that are necessary for a final understanding of labour and material costs. It is free to use.
QuantiCALC – Building cost estimator
The app automatically performs all calculations of materials and construction costs based on the entered data. Just input the data: the size of the building floor, the total length and height of all walls, the data for windows, doors, plumbing, or electrical items, and the app will generate a report on the estimated cost of the project in a professional format. The estimates can be exported in HTML, CSV, Excel, and PDF format. This app also works without an Internet connection. There is additional paid content, but the app includes ads. The application has a tutorial section on how to use it which comes in handy for first-time users.
The app is free of charge for the first 10 reports. There is also an advanced version with extended functionality for $1.60 and a professional version for $10.
Related reading: Find out more about what PlanRadar can do for snagging.
The best construction apps for Android
As you can see, there are a lot of high-quality Android apps available for the building industry! When you’re looking for a new tool, take your time to test different options, use free trials and consider which features you really need.
If you want to try PlanRadar’s construction app for Android, which can help you with snagging, checklists, plan management, reporting and more, we recommend starting with a 30-day free trial.
