Subino vs Buildxact for subcontractors

Last checked 25 Oct 2026. I'm the founder of Subino, so read this as a comparison written by a vendor who has tried to be fair, not by a neutral reviewer. Every statement about Buildxact below links to the Buildxact page it came from. Software changes, so check those pages yourself before you decide.

What is Buildxact built for?

Buildxact describes itself as estimating, scheduling and job management software for builders and the trades, developed in Australia. The same page says it was first developed as part of Master Builders' Builder Registration Course. From its own help centre:

• Takeoff on the plans. You upload a PDF of your plans, set the scale and measure on screen, with shapes for areas, a line tool and deductions for openings.
• Supplier prices. You can load price catalogues from Excel, most commonly from your suppliers and trades, and connect to suppliers who load their own prices into Buildxact.
• Estimate to job. You create a job from the estimate, and accepting the estimate locks its value when the contract is signed.
• Cost tracking. Buildxact tracks estimated, committed and actual costs, where committed cost comes from sent purchase orders.
• Variations and invoicing. A variation is built like a mini estimate and sent to the client for approval, and Completion Percent invoicing bills the percentage of each cost category completed, with retention.
• AI. Its Blu tools, which it says were trained on thousands of residential projects, include an estimate reviewer and a takeoff assistant.

What is Subino built for?

Subino is estimating and job-cost software for subcontractors, built in a facade and cladding business. It follows the subbie's half of the job, from the tender to the last claim, in one system:

• Price on your own rates. The cost sheet prices labour, material, subbie and hire under your own cost codes, with waste, preliminaries and markup applied across the lot.
• The estimate becomes the budget. Awarding the job locks the contract to the winning revision, and the budget reads from that cost sheet, cost code by cost code.
• Committed cost when you order. Purchase orders against a cost code put committed cost on the job the day you order.
• Forecast while you can still act. Budget, variations, committed and actual cost on every code, with a forecast final cost and the profit remaining.
• Claims and variations against the contract. Progress claims by percentage complete against the scopes you priced, with retention, and variations the builder approves by link.

Two parts are specific to cladding: panel drawings, which turn a site sketch into a CNC-ready DXF, and factory stock. Both can be kept out of the way if you don't need them.

How do Subino and Buildxact compare?

Each row says what each product publishes about itself. Read the source and judge the fit for your own business.

Where is Buildxact strong?

Be honest about what it does well, because it decides who should pick it.

• Takeoff and estimate in one place. If you measure your own jobs from PDF plans, having the takeoff tool inside the estimate saves a step.
• Supplier pricing. Supplier connections and Excel price catalogues suit a business that buys from the same suppliers on every job.
• Builders' roots. It started in the Master Builders' Builder Registration Course, and its Blu AI was trained on thousands of residential projects.

What should a subcontractor check before choosing?

Don't compare feature lists. Take one job you've already priced and check whether each step works the way your business does:

1. Check whether you can price on your own rates and cost codes without an Excel template beside it. That is the test that matters most to a subbie.
2. Check whether the won price becomes the budget without re-typing, and what happens to the budget if the estimate changes after award.
3. Check where committed cost shows up. You want it against the cost code, on the day you raise the order.
4. Check how forecast profit works on the invoicing method you'll use. Buildxact's own help says its Advanced Cost Tracking dashboard is optimised for Contract Price jobs, and that Completion Percent jobs show profit figures only when the job is complete. If you claim monthly by percentage, ask how you'd see the forecast mid-job.
5. Check how claims and variations reach the builder, and whether the builder's answer lands back on the job.
6. Check what your crew and office each see. Money should stay with the people who are supposed to see money.

Who should choose Buildxact?

Choose Buildxact if you're a builder or a trade that measures its own jobs from PDF plans with its takeoff tool, buys from suppliers whose prices you want inside the estimate through its supplier connections or Excel price catalogues, and does the kind of residential work its Blu AI was trained on. If your quotes start from a takeoff and a supplier price list, those are the tools its help centre puts at the centre of the estimate.

Who should choose Subino?

Choose Subino if you're a subcontractor quoting head contractors, pricing on your own rates and cost codes, and claiming progressively against a contract. Especially if you're running an Excel template beside your current software to cover the estimate, the budget, the forecast or the claims. If you're in facade and cladding, the panel drawings and factory stock parts were built for you. I've written more about the subbie's half of the job in committed costs and forecast final cost and progress claims and variations.

How do you test both on a real job?

Run the same priced job through both. For Buildxact, its help centre points to its pricing page for prices in your currency. Subino's pricing shows what each plan includes.

For Subino, book a 15-minute demo and bring a job you've already priced. We'll put it through the cost sheet, award it, raise an order and build the first claim, so you can see whether you still need the spreadsheet.