Houzz Pro is two products in one subscription: a design studio, with 3D floor plans, mood boards, selections and a client dashboard, and a contractor's office, with estimates, takeoffs, change orders, budgets and schedules. Which half you use decides what you should replace it with. A design firm and a remodeling crew leave Houzz Pro for different reasons and land in different places.
Disclosure: we make Obra. It's the last entry below, it's only for the contractor side, and the entry says where it's the wrong choice. Prices are list prices checked on the vendors' own pages on October 20, 2026, before promotions and rounded; they change.
What Houzz Pro costs now
Houzz Pro publishes every plan, and contractors and designers pay the same:
- Free Basic: the 3D floor planner, estimates and invoicing.
- Design, $99 a month for one user: estimates and proposals, invoices with online payments, QuickBooks Online, the client dashboard, expense and time tracking, purchase orders, a cost catalog, selections, mood boards, 3D floor plans and a CRM.
- Pro, $199 a month for one user: adds takeoffs, assemblies, bid management, change orders, budget management, contracts, the project schedule and daily logs.
- Teams, from $399 a month: unlimited users, with a success manager; demo only.
Extra users on Design and Pro are $50 a month each, annual billing takes about 20% off, and the advertising package that brings leads from the Houzz marketplace is sold separately, starting at $499 a month. The 30-day trial on Design and Pro rolls into an annual subscription unless you cancel.
The reasons people look elsewhere follow from that list. For a contractor, change orders and budgets mean Pro, so a crew of three is about $299 a month before any leads. The trial ends in a year-long commitment. And Houzz Pro's Spanish is for your own screen: its help center says what clients and subs see, including shared documents and the client dashboard, stays in English.
The short version
| Alternative | Best for | To start | Free trial |
|---|---|---|---|
| JobTread | Remodelers who want the estimate to become the budget | $199 a month, plus $20 per added user | No; 30-day money-back on monthly |
| Buildertrend | Builders who want unlimited users and the full client-facing suite | From $499 a month, quoted | No; demo |
| Buildern | Home builders who want a client portal at a known price | About $250 a month for two seats | 7 days |
| Contractor Foreman | The broadest contractor suite for the money | About $199 a month on Plus for job costing and change orders | 30 days, on annual plans |
| Studio Designer | Design firms that want accounting and purchasing built in | About $69 per user a month, billed annually | No; demo |
| DesignFiles | Solo decorators and e-designers | About $55 a month | 90-day money-back |
| Obra | Remodelers whose problem is the job's money, in English or Spanish | Free for one active project; $12 per user a month | Free tier |
For remodelers and design-build firms
JobTread
What you get. Estimating with a cost catalog and takeoff, budgets, purchase orders, change orders, scheduling, time tracking, customer, sub and vendor portals, and QuickBooks Online, all on one plan with free implementation.
Why people move to it from Houzz Pro. The estimate becomes the budget and costs land against each line, which is the part of Houzz Pro's Pro plan contractors use most. Portal users are free.
Watch out for. $199 a month with one internal user, $20 for each added one, so about $239 for three, with no free trial and no design tools. JobTread alternatives covers what people compare it with.
Buildertrend
What you get. One plan with unlimited users and projects: estimating, proposals, scheduling, daily logs, selections, a client portal, budgets and job costing, with QuickBooks, Xero, Sage and Gusto integrations.
Why people move to it from Houzz Pro. The client-facing side is as complete, with no per-user math, for builders running five or more projects a year.
Watch out for. The pricing page starts at $499 a month, and the real price is quoted from your annual construction volume and onboarding package. Obra vs Buildertrend has more.
Buildern
What you get. Estimating with cost catalogs and takeoff, scheduling, bills and purchase orders, change orders, budgets with cost codes, a client portal, and QuickBooks and Xero sync, with selections and RFIs on the Professional plan. Clients, subs and field workers use it free.
Why people move to it from Houzz Pro. A client portal and selections at a published price, without the design studio you don't use.
Watch out for. About $250 a month for two seats, $400 for four on Professional, and about $90 to $100 per extra seat. The trial is seven days.
Contractor Foreman
What you get. On the Plus plan: estimates, scheduling, daily logs, change orders, progress invoicing, retainage, time cards, job costing reports and QuickBooks Online, for up to eight users.
Why people move to it from Houzz Pro. The most contractor features for the money, for up to eight users at one price.
Watch out for. The cheaper plans leave out job costing and change orders; Plus is about $199 a month, or $166 on annual billing. No design tools, and setup takes weeks.
For interior designers
Studio Designer
What you get. Project and product management, purchasing, time billing, a client portal and full accounting with a general ledger, priced per user.
Why people move to it from Houzz Pro. Design firms that bill by time and by product, and want the books, purchase orders and client invoices in one system.
Watch out for. About $69 to $109 per user a month on annual billing, account setup is mandatory, and there's a demo instead of a trial.
DesignFiles
What you get. Design boards and a client portal; quotes and invoices, purchase orders, a time tracker and QuickBooks on the Full Service plan.
Why people move to it from Houzz Pro. Price and simplicity for a solo designer or an e-design business, billed monthly with no annual contract.
Watch out for. e-Design is about $55 a month and Full Service about $75, with $30 per extra user. There are no construction tools: no change orders, budgets or schedules for a build.
Obra, for the contractor's money
What you get. Estimates priced from your own past jobs and price book, sent as a PDF and a private link where the client ticks the optional items they want and signs; the accepted estimate opens the project with its contract and budget. Receipts arrive by WhatsApp, email or photo and a person confirms them to the job. Change orders, invoices with your own payment link, a reviewed forecast of the final cost and a close. The client's documents go out in your organization's language, English or Spanish.
When it's the right alternative. When what you needed from Houzz Pro's Pro plan was estimates, change orders and the budget, and the crew's receipts never reached it. A crew of three pays $36 a month, and the free tier runs one active project.
When it isn't. When you need 3D floor plans, mood boards, selections, a client dashboard, takeoffs or leads. Obra has none of them. Obra vs Houzz Pro goes line by line.
Which one, by situation
- Remodeler, two to five people, used Houzz Pro for estimates and budgets. Obra, or JobTread if you want the schedule in the same place.
- Design-build firm that needs selections and a polished client portal. Buildern or Buildertrend.
- The broadest contractor feature list for the least money. Contractor Foreman.
- Interior design firm that bills by time and product. Studio Designer.
- Solo designer or e-designer. DesignFiles.
- Your best clients come from Houzz. Stay on Houzz Pro, and get the advertising cost in writing before you sign the year.
Questions people ask
How much does Houzz Pro cost? There's a free Basic plan; Design is $99 a month and Pro $199 a month, each for one user, with $50 a month per extra user; Teams starts at $399 a month. Annual billing is about 20% less. Advertising for leads starts at $499 a month on top.
Does the Houzz Pro trial turn into an annual plan? Yes. Its FAQ says you can cancel during the 30-day trial, and that the annual subscription begins when the trial ends.
Does Houzz Pro work in Spanish? Each user can switch their own screen to Spanish. According to its help center, what clients and subs see, including shared documents, selections and the client dashboard, stays in English.
Is Houzz Pro priced differently for designers? No. Its pricing page shows the same plans and prices for contractors and design firms.
Get the template
If you're leaving Houzz Pro and need something in the meantime, the free job costing spreadsheet keeps each job honest: one sheet per job, the contract and change orders in one section, costs in the other. Enter your email and the download starts right away.