Honest Comparison
SubTrade vs Fieldwire: Plans on site, or the whole business?
Fieldwire is an excellent jobsite coordination tool: plans, tasks, punch lists, and field markups, backed by Hilti. But it stops at the field. SubTrade covers the rest of running a trade sub: time tracking, change orders, scheduling, and job costing, in one app built for crews.
No credit card required. An honest look at where each tool stops.
The short answer
Which one fits you
Your main need is jobsite plan management: drawings, tasks, punch lists, and field markups, and you handle costing and billing elsewhere.
You want plans plus the business side: time tracking, change orders, scheduling, and job costing, in one app built for the trade sub.
The spec sheet
At a glance
Fieldwire is strong on plans and field coordination. SubTrade runs the whole sub workflow. Here is how they line up.
| SubTrade | Fieldwire | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Running the whole trade-sub business | Jobsite plan and task coordination |
| Plans, drawings & markups | Included | Core strength |
| Tasks & punch lists | Yes | Core strength |
| Time tracking & job costing | Core feature | Not the focus |
| Change orders | Core, field-first | Not the focus |
| Scheduling | Crew & job scheduling | Task-level |
| Pricing | From $299/mo CAD, all-in | Free tier; paid about $29–$89/user/mo |
| Best for | Subs who want one app for field and office | Teams who just need plan coordination |
Pricing as publicly listed. Confirm current tiers on their site.
Built for your side of the job
Where SubTrade wins for subcontractors
Fieldwire keeps the plans organized. SubTrade runs the business those plans are part of.
The Whole Workflow
Plans and field coordination plus time, change orders, scheduling, and costing, instead of just one slice.
Field-First Change Orders
Price extras on the spot and see margin in real time, from the jobsite.
Real-Time Job Costing
Labor and cost tracked as the crew works, not pieced together after the fact.
Transparent Pricing
One all-inclusive plan instead of stacking per-user seats as the crew grows.
Plans & Markups Too
Drawings, markups, and punch lists are included, so you do not lose what Fieldwire does well.
One App, Not Two
No bolting a separate costing or billing tool onto your plan viewer.
Built By A Real Sub
Out of a working commercial drywall company in Calgary. Every feature survived a real jobsite.
In fairness
Where Fieldwire wins
For pure jobsite plan management, Fieldwire is excellent and well-backed by Hilti, with a free tier that is hard to beat if all you need is drawings, tasks, and punch lists. If you do not need costing, change orders, or billing in the same place, it is a strong, focused tool.
Pricing comparison
What you actually pay
Fieldwire has a free tier, with paid plans publicly around $29 to $89 per user per month depending on features. SubTrade is $299 per month CAD all-in with every feature included, a 14-day free trial, and no credit card.
As crews grow, per-user pricing adds up; SubTrade keeps it flat and bundles the field and office toolkit in one plan.
Built for the trades, by the trades. Confirm current competitor pricing before relying on these figures.
Who should choose SubTrade?
- You want field and office in one app
- Change orders, time, and costing matter, not just plans
- Per-user pricing is getting expensive as you grow
- Time tracking, change orders, scheduling, logs, drawings, costing
Questions, answered straight
SubTrade vs Fieldwire FAQ
Is SubTrade a good Fieldwire alternative?
Yes, if you want more than plan coordination. SubTrade includes drawings and markups but adds time tracking, change orders, scheduling, and job costing in one app for the trade sub.
Does SubTrade do plans and markups like Fieldwire?
Yes. SubTrade includes drawings, markups, and punch lists, plus the costing and change-order tools Fieldwire leaves to other software.
Comparisons reflect general product positioning and publicly available information; check each vendor for current features and pricing. Fieldwire is a trademark of its respective owner.