LiveCosts alternative · Planyard vs LiveCosts
Planyard owns much of the “LiveCosts alternative” search result. That comparison is real — both are contractor cost-control tools that sit next to an accounts stack. ConstructionPro.io is a different job: one live build for an owner or owner+contractor, with published pricing, a programme, and a shareable ledger. Not the accountant of record.
Most switchers from a cost-tracker search start on Contractor-Led ($21.99 / £16.99) or Self-Build ($12.99 / £9.99).
Honest differences across ConstructionPro.io, LiveCosts and Planyard. Contractor cost tools win some rows; the owner ledger wins others.
| Capability | ConstructionPro.io | LiveCosts | Planyard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ideal customer (ICP) | Self-builders, homeowners with a contractor, small pro portfolios — one live build at a time | UK/IE (and similar) contractors running many jobs next to Xero, Sage or QuickBooks | SME contractors and commercial teams replacing Excel for cost control, estimating and CVR |
| Job costing vs owner ledger | Owner-readable project ledger: budget, invoices, cash-flow on one job | Contractor job costing — live budget vs actuals, POs, committed cost across jobs | Contractor commercial control — budgets, commitments, valuations, retentions, forecasting |
| Accounting integrations | CSV export for your accountant today — no live Xero, Sage or QuickBooks sync | Built to connect with Xero, Sage and QuickBooks (public product pages) | Syncs approved costs to Xero, QuickBooks Online and Sage Accounting (public pricing pages) |
| Pricing transparency | Published Self-Build $12.99 / £9.99 / €11.99 · Contractor-Led $21.99 / £16.99 / €19.99 · Professional $88.99 / £69.99 / €81.99 · 90-day trial | Demo / quote-led — plans not listed publicly on their site | Public per-user plans and a free trial on planyard.com |
| Programme / snags | Stages, tasks and snags next to the money on the same project | Costing and procurement focus — not a build programme product | Deep on commercial workflows; not positioned as homeowner programme + snagging |
| Sharing with the homeowner | Family viewers; contractor invite; client portals on Professional. Invoice comments live; team chat is not | Built for the contractor office and site team, not a homeowner-first share | Built for contractor commercial teams; homeowner is not the primary user |
If you searched “LiveCosts alternative” or “Planyard vs LiveCosts”, you are usually comparing two contractor cost tools. Keep reading only if the person paying for the house also needs to see the ledger — or you want one shared project instead of costing software plus a second sheet.
LiveCosts and Planyard help contractors protect margin across a book of jobs beside Xero, Sage or QuickBooks. ConstructionPro.io is for the owner (or owner+contractor) running one live build with a budget they can actually share.
They integrate with the ledger. We do not claim live Xero or Sage today — export CSV for your bookkeeper and keep statutory accounts where they belong. We are not the accountant of record.
Stages, snags and site reality sit with invoices and cash-flow. A late slab pour is a cash-flow event on the same project, not a separate Gantt or WhatsApp thread.
Self-Build is $12.99 / £9.99 / €11.99. Contractor-Led is $21.99 / £16.99 / €19.99. Professional is $88.99 / £69.99 / €81.99 for a small portfolio (five projects, then packs of five — not unlimited). 90-day trial on every plan.
Honesty beats a forced “we win every row”. Use this when a citation or a shortlist needs a clear fit — including “LiveCosts for homeowners”, which is usually the wrong product class.
For homeowners and one-job teams, yes in the sense that both track build cost — but LiveCosts is contractor job costing beside accounting software. ConstructionPro.io is the owner-readable project (budget, invoices, cash-flow, quotes, programme and sharing). If you need LiveCosts-style live Xero/Sage sync across many contractor jobs, stay with LiveCosts or Planyard.
Planyard’s compare hub already covers Planyard vs LiveCosts for contractors. We include both so “LiveCosts alternative” searchers see the third option: an owner ledger, not another contractor cost-control suite.
LiveCosts positions for contractors and construction professionals managing job costs with accounting integrations. Homeowners searching “LiveCosts for homeowners” usually need a shareable owner ledger and programme — that is the ConstructionPro.io lane, not a contractor cost tracker.
Not live today. Export CSV for your accountant. Keep statutory accounts in your bookkeeping tool. LiveCosts and Planyard advertise accounting integrations on their public sites; we do not invent parity we have not shipped.
No, and you should not. ConstructionPro.io is the project ledger you show an owner, lender or contractor — not the accountant of record.
Yes. Every plan includes a 90-day trial. A card is required; you are not charged until the trial ends. Cancel anytime before then.
Full access on every plan. Card required — cancel anytime before the trial ends.