eSUB
Autodesk Forma Build is construction management software for handling project documents, RFIs, submittals, field reports, and cost management. Before choosing it, commercial subcontractors need to understand which features their subscription includes and what additional tools their trade requires.
Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC) has transitioned to Autodesk Forma, and Autodesk Build is now Forma Build. Autodesk offers individual products and bundled subscriptions, so the cost depends on the product and licensing option you choose.
For electrical, mechanical, plumbing, HVAC, and other specialty contractors, the key question is whether the software supports the workflows that keep jobs moving and protect margins. That includes tracking labor against cost codes, documenting time-and-materials (T&M) tickets, and managing change orders alongside RFIs and submittals.
This guide explains Forma Build’s pricing options and what commercial subcontractors should evaluate before committing to a subscription.
Key Takeaways
- Autodesk Build is now packaged under the Autodesk Forma and Autodesk Construction Cloud naming, which is why older pricing guides no longer match what you see.
- Autodesk construction products are priced per user, so cost scales directly with how many people need a seat.
- A design seat such as AutoCAD or Revit does not include the construction products; they are licensed separately.
- Autodesk is genuinely strong on documents, drawings and model coordination, which matters most for MEP and model-heavy trades.
What Happened to Autodesk Build?
Autodesk Construction Cloud is now Autodesk Forma, and Autodesk Build is now Forma Build. Autodesk announced the change in March 2026. The company says the product names were updated across its websites, contracts, licensing, and Autodesk Account.
That explains why you may still find Autodesk Build pricing in older articles while current Autodesk pages use Forma Build. Autodesk confirms that the construction products were renamed under the Forma industry cloud, while the underlying project data, workflows, and infrastructure remained in place.
For a commercial subcontractor comparing construction software, use Forma Build when checking a current quote or discussing the product with a reseller or GC. “Autodesk Build” is still useful when searching for older documentation or pricing information.
For more background on the previous product name, see What Is Autodesk Build?
The name change also matters when comparing Autodesk Construction Cloud pricing. Older pricing pages may use Autodesk Build, while current Autodesk pages use Forma names and current product packaging. Check the current Autodesk pricing page before comparing tiers, seats, or subscription terms.
How Autodesk Construction Cloud Pricing Works
The first thing to understand about Autodesk Construction Cloud pricing is that Autodesk offers different products, user plans, and bundle options. Your cost depends on what your team buys and who needs access.
For a subcontractor, that makes headcount part of the calculation. Your PM may need broader project access. Your foreman may need field access. Other office staff may only need to review project information.
Current Forma Build options follow three pricing approaches:
- Forma Build Essentials: $100/month when paid monthly or $67/month with annual payment. The checkout also shows $800 for 1 year and $2,400 for 3 years for 1 user.
- Forma Build, per user: $175/month monthly or $117/month annually.
- Forma Build: Contact sales, with unlimited users and projects.
The tiers also cover different work. Essentials includes issues, forms, photos, sheets, and files. Broader Forma Build access covers project management, cost management, quality, safety, and closeout workflows.
Why is Autodesk so expensive for some subcontractors? The seat model is a major part of the answer. Adding paid users or moving into broader product coverage increases the cost.
Your existing design software is another part of the calculation. AutoCAD or Revit does not automatically include Forma Build. Autodesk licenses construction products separately.
And AutoCAD is not sold as a lifetime license. Autodesk offers monthly, annual, and 3-year subscription options instead.
For a subcontractor, price the people, the tier, and the work together. A lower seat count does not help much if your PMs and foremen still need another system for the work that follows the drawings.
What It Costs to Put a Field Crew on It
Per-user pricing matters when you map Autodesk against the actual roles on a subcontractor’s team.
Forma Build Essentials is sold as a per-user subscription, and Forma Build also has per-user monthly and annual plans. Autodesk also offers an unlimited-user option for Forma Build through sales. That means the seat calculation depends on which Forma Build option fits the job, not just how many employees you have (source: Autodesk).
For a field-heavy subcontractor, start with the roles that need to create or manage project information. A PM may need project management and cost workflows. A foreman may need drawings, forms, photos, issues, and daily field documentation. Those roles have a clearer need for construction access than someone who only needs to review project files.
You also should not assume every employee needs a Forma Build subscription. Autodesk notes that someone who only needs access to the Files area can use Forma Data Management instead of Forma Build. The specific access each person needs should be matched to the product and license (source: Autodesk).
That gives you a more useful seat calculation:
- Who needs to create and manage project information?
- Who needs field execution tools?
- Who needs cost or project management?
- Who only needs access to files and documents?
- Which employees need model or drawing access?
The other issue is what happens as the crew grows. With a per-user plan, adding another person changes the subscription cost. With Forma Build’s unlimited-user option, the pricing model works differently (source: Autodesk).
Fusion by eSUB takes a modular approach instead. You can evaluate the modules your subcontracting team actually needs rather than reducing the decision to a per-user calculation. The right comparison is the cost of the software against the subcontractor workflows it needs to cover.
Autodesk for Subcontractors: What You Get and What You Do Not
Autodesk is a stronger fit when your work depends on drawings, project documents, and model coordination. Current Forma Build supports sheets, files, 3D models, RFIs, submittals, issues, forms, and other project workflows. Autodesk also connects Forma Build with Model Coordination for design and model coordination work.
That can matter on projects where coordinated design information drives the work and robust drawings capability is important. However, some subcontractors report that Autodesk is more expensive because it includes functionality that they don’t truly need.
For document-heavy work, that makes Autodesk worth considering. You can use it for construction document management and submittals while working with the GC's project team. Forma Build supports RFI and submittal workflows, including routing, review, responses, and project records.
Where the subcontractor's own workflow still matters
Working in the GC's Autodesk environment does not automatically replace the system you use to run your side of the job.
A subcontractor still has to manage work tied to its own labor, material, and equipment quantities. eSUB's client feedback is clear on the difference: the GC tracks scope of work, while the subcontractor tracks the quantities behind its work. GC-controlled RFI and change-order processes can also use different numbering, terminology, and workflows.
That is where you need to evaluate workflows such as T&M tracking, progress billing, labor against cost codes, and internal change-order pricing. These are not the same question as whether the GC's platform handles drawings, documents, or model coordination.
What happens when the GC requires Autodesk
A subcontractor may work inside the GC's Autodesk environment and still maintain its own project system. eSUB's customer feedback says subs may have to maintain information twice, once in the GC's platform and again in the tool they use themselves. The GC-controlled data also belongs to the GC and may not remain available to the subcontractor later.
That is why the distinction matters. The GC's Autodesk environment can handle the project information the GC requires, while the sub's own system manages the records and workflows used to run its business.
eSUB customers can start with Dailies and Field Notes, then add Time Tracking, POs, COs, and Job Costing or Cost to Complete as their needs expand.
For a mechanical contractor or another model-heavy trade, the decision comes down to the work. Do you need Autodesk primarily for coordinated drawings and models, or do you need a subcontractor platform to manage the labor, costs, changes, and project records around that work? Those are two different requirements.
Autodesk and Procore Compared on Pricing Model
Autodesk and Procore can appear on the same shortlist, but the cost calculation is different for each platform.
Current Forma Build pricing includes per-user plans. Full Forma Build also has an unlimited-user option through Autodesk sales. For a subcontractor using a per-user plan, adding PMs, foremen, or office staff who need their own access can increase the subscription cost.
Procore uses a different model. Its annual pricing is based on Annual Construction Volume (ACV), the aggregate value of construction work across the projects in the contract. Procore includes unlimited users, so adding another employee does not create another seat charge.
That creates two different cost variables for a subcontractor. With a per-user Forma Build plan, headcount matters. With Procore, the amount of construction run through the platform matters.
Neither pricing model tells you whether the software fits your subcontractor workflows. You still need to compare the project records, field work, change orders, job costing, and billing processes your team needs to manage.
For the broader feature and workflow comparison, see Autodesk Build vs. Procore.
When Autodesk Is the Right Choice
Autodesk makes more sense when coordinated models are central to the work. Its Model Coordination tools support multidisciplinary model review, clash detection, and coordination issues. That can matter when field installation depends on resolving conflicts between building systems before work starts.
For an MEP subcontractor, that can be a practical reason to use Autodesk when the project relies heavily on coordinated models. Some subcontractors use Autodesk for drawings because of its robust functionality. Subcontractors should be cautious, however, because Autodesk's drawings platform is typically more expensive, and they may pay for functionality that they won’t use.
Design-assist work can create a similar need. If your team is working closely with design information and coordinated models, Autodesk may fit that part of the job.
Existing Autodesk investment is another factor. A company already using Autodesk design products may have a reason to keep design and construction work within the same ecosystem. That does not mean existing design licenses automatically include construction products.
The calculation changes when your main problem is running the subcontractor side of the job. If the work centers on field reporting, labor, change orders, job costs, billing, RFIs, and submittals, model coordination is only one part of the job.
That is where the platform's intended user matters. Fusion by eSUB is built specifically for commercial subcontractors, with workflows centered on how trade contractors manage their own projects. The goal is to keep every project and its field, cost, change, billing, RFI, and submittal information in one system.
A GC-mandated Autodesk environment can still be necessary for a specific project. That does not automatically make it the right system for managing every subcontractor-side workflow across your business.
How eSUB Prices Differently
Fusion by eSUB uses a flexible, modular pricing model built around the needs of commercial subcontractors. You pay for the modules your team needs and can add more as those needs change. Discounts can scale with users and modules, while revenue growth does not automatically increase the software bill.
That gives a subcontractor room to build its system around actual project requirements. eSUB customers can start with Dailies and Field Notes, then add Time Tracking, POs, COs, and Job Costing or Cost to Complete. Some customers also start with a smaller division or user group and expand later.
Fusion is built around the subcontractor's own project records and workflows. That includes field documentation, RFIs, submittals, change orders, job costs, and billing. The focus is the work your PMs, foremen, and office team manage on the subcontractor side of each project.
That differs from using a GC's Autodesk environment for drawings, documents, or model coordination. A subcontractor can still need its own system for the records, costs, changes, and field work it controls.
The right comparison is not which platform has the most features. It is whether the pricing model and workflows fit how your subcontracting team runs commercial jobs.
Get a custom quote based on the users and modules your team needs.
FAQ
What is Autodesk Construction Cloud now called?
Autodesk Construction Cloud is now part of Autodesk Forma, and Autodesk Build is now Forma Build. Autodesk made the naming change in March 2026. Existing project data, workflows, integrations, and licensing were not replaced by the rebrand (source: Autodesk News).
Older articles may still use “Autodesk Construction Cloud” or “Autodesk Build,” so check the current Forma product name when comparing Autodesk construction pricing.
How much does Autodesk Construction Cloud cost per user?
Current Forma Build pricing lists Forma Build Essentials at $100 per user per month, or $67 per user per month when billed annually. Forma Build is $175 per user per month, or $117 per user per month when billed annually. Autodesk also lists an unlimited-user Forma Build option through sales (source: Autodesk).
The plan matters because Forma Build Essentials does not include the full project and cost management capabilities available in Forma Build (source: Autodesk).
Can subcontractors use Autodesk Build?
Yes. Autodesk's current construction platform can be used by subcontractors working on projects managed in a GC's Autodesk environment. Autodesk also supports a Bring Your Own Subscription model, which allows an invited external project member to work with eligible Forma products when that member has the required subscription or trial (source: Autodesk Help).
The bigger question for a subcontractor is what work the GC's environment covers. eSUB's client feedback shows that subs may still maintain their own project information because GC and subcontractor workflows track different details, including labor, material, equipment, and change-order information.
Is Autodesk Build good for subcontractors?
It can be a good fit when drawings, project documents, and model coordination are central to the work. The eSUB team reports that some subcontractors use Autodesk for drawings because of its greater functionality. They also note that Autodesk can provide more functionality than some subs need.
For MEP or other model-heavy work, model coordination can be a practical reason to use Autodesk when coordinated models are central to the project. eSUB has not identified one specific trade as the universal Autodesk fit, so the decision should stay tied to the actual workflow.
A subcontractor focused more on field documentation, T&M tracking, progress billing, labor against cost codes, and subcontractor-side change orders may need additional software. Fusion by eSUB is built specifically around commercial subcontractor workflows, including the records and processes managed on the sub's side of the job.
Is Autodesk Build included with AutoCAD or Revit?
No. AutoCAD or Revit does not automatically include Forma Build. Autodesk lists Forma Build as a separate construction subscription. Standalone AutoCAD and Revit subscribers do receive access to Forma Data Management Essentials, but that is not the same as a Forma Build subscription (source: Autodesk News).
That distinction matters when you calculate the total cost of adding construction workflows to an existing Autodesk design stack.
Why is Autodesk so expensive?
There is no single Autodesk construction price. The total depends on which Forma construction products you need and how those products are licensed.
For Forma Build, Autodesk currently offers per-user plans plus an unlimited-user option through sales. Bundled products can also change what is included in the subscription (source: Autodesk).
For a subcontractor, compare the licensing model with the actual work your team needs to manage. Look at the number of paid users, the construction workflows included, and any subcontractor-side work that still needs another system.
Get a Custom Quote for Your Subcontracting Team
Need a system built around how your commercial subcontracting team runs jobs?
Fusion by eSUB is built for subcontractor workflows, including field reporting, RFIs, submittals, change orders, job costs, and billing. Its modular pricing lets you pay for the modules you need without automatically increasing your software bill when annual revenue grows. Tell eSUB how your team operates and get a custom quote.