--- description: Review of WinEst Essentials Software: system overview, features, price and cost information. Get free demos and compare to similar programs. image: https://gdm-localsites-assets-gfprod.imgix.net/images/software_advice/og_logo-55146305bbe7b450bea05c18e9be9c9a.png title: WinEst Essentials | Reviews, Pricing & Demos - SoftwareAdvice GB --- Breadcrumb: [Home](/) > [Construction Software](/directory/4133/construction/software) > [WinEst Essentials](/software/404952/winest-essentials) # WinEst Essentials Canonical: https://www.softwareadvice.co.uk/software/404952/winest-essentials Page: 1 / 2\ Next: [Next page](https://www.softwareadvice.co.uk/software/404952/winest-essentials?page=2) > No matter where you are in the estimating process—from initial conceptual budgeting to specialty execution—WinEst Essentials provides estimators the tools they need to confidently make profitable decisions that are based off of real-world data — all in one value-packed subscription. With WinEst Essentials, you get access to Trimble’s WinEst estimating solution, integrated digital takeoff, up-to-date cost databases, drawing and document manipulation capabilities, and collaboration tools. Combined, these solutions provide necessary and invaluable visibility throughout all phases of the estimating process, allowing you to win more work through efficiencies in estimate creation, precision, and shareability. The WinEst Essentials subscription reduces error and increases efficiency by managing everything related to your estimating workflow, getting you to bid day confidently, accurately, profitably, and with a competitive advantage. 24/7 access without the IT hassle many contractors want to avoid. > > Verdict: Rated **4.3/5** by 12 users. Top-rated for **Likelihood to recommend**. ----- ## Quick Stats & Ratings | Metric | Rating | Detail | | **Overall** | **4.3/5** | 12 Reviews | | Ease of Use | 4.2/5 | Based on overall reviews | | Customer Support | 4.4/5 | Based on overall reviews | | Value for Money | 4.3/5 | Based on overall reviews | | Features | 4.3/5 | Based on overall reviews | | Recommendation percentage | 90% | (9/10 Likelihood to recommend) | ## About the vendor - **Company**: B2W Software - **Location**: Princeton, US - **Founded**: 1978 ## Commercial Context - **Target Audience**: 51–200 - **Deployment & Platforms**: Mac (Desktop), Windows (Desktop), Linux (Desktop), Windows (On-Premise), Linux (On-Premise) - **Supported Languages**: English - **Available Countries**: Canada, United States ## Features - Bid Management - Collaboration Tools - Cost Database - Cost Estimating - Cost Tracking - For AEC Industry - Historical Database - Project Management - Project Tracking - Real-Time Updates - Takeoff ## Category - [Construction Software](https://www.softwareadvice.co.uk/directory/4133/construction/software) ## Related Categories - [Construction Software](https://www.softwareadvice.co.uk/directory/4133/construction/software) - [Concrete Cost Estimating Software](https://www.softwareadvice.co.uk/directory/53/concrete-masonry-software/software) - [Construction Estimating Software](https://www.softwareadvice.co.uk/directory/20/cost-estimating-software/software) - [Paving Software](https://www.softwareadvice.co.uk/directory/3795/paving/software) ## Alternatives 1. [Autodesk Forma](https://www.softwareadvice.co.uk/software/390033/autodesk-construction-cloud) — 4.3/5 (2205 reviews) 2. [Houzz Pro](https://www.softwareadvice.co.uk/software/101873/houzz-pro) — 4.3/5 (1086 reviews) 3. [Sage Construction Suite](https://www.softwareadvice.co.uk/software/185440/sage-construction-suite) — 4.0/5 (1035 reviews) 4. [Knowify](https://www.softwareadvice.co.uk/software/110463/knowify-general-contractor) — 4.5/5 (109 reviews) 5. [Leap](https://www.softwareadvice.co.uk/software/110460/leap) — 4.3/5 (389 reviews) ## Reviews ### "Good Program with Great Customer Service" — 4.0/5 > **Carl** | *27 March 2018* | Utilities | Recommendation rating: 8.0/10 > > **Pros**: WinEst is a great tool for estimating. Whether you are doing small estimates or large collaborative estimates, it can do the job. It also has a lot of flexibility and customization for working with multiple customers. And the Customer Service is top notch. I don't think I've ever seen a company respond so quickly or help work through issues with the perseverance that the WinEst staff does. > > **Cons**: Setup and administration can be quite a chore. And it can be tricky to get all of the output you may want, that will also take a lot of time and effort. > > WinEst is still a great program, but it will require an investment to get the most return. ----- ### "WinEst vs. Sage Timberline" — 5.0/5 > **Chris** | *6 December 2016* | Construction | Recommendation rating: 10.0/10 > > **Pros**: Spreadsheet based, but very powerful database behind it. Ability to assign two crews and two equipment groups to each line item, allowing huge flexibility in crew makeup. Easy to make revisions to production, crew hours, etc. on the spreadsheet, on the fly without having to open a detail window. Great flexibility in reporting of information without having to create/write custom reports. Creation of assemblies is much, much easier than Sage. > > **Cons**: You have to assign both 5 digit and 6 digit CSI codes to each database item, making input of new database items cumbersome. We wish there was a way to toggle off the 5 digit requirement. > > We were a 20+ year user of Sage/Timberline (Estimating Extended Version). We have been using WinEst Pro Plus version for about 6 months now. We are building our own database rather than using one of theirs, so it has been slow going, but we love the software. For those Sage/Timberline users, WinEst works on a very similar platform and you will find it very easy to pick up. However, it seems like every little task you do in WinEst is just a little better, a little easier, a little faster than Sage. Because of all those little things adding up, we have found WinEst to be a much better solution overall. ----- ### "WinEst - Powerful and Easy To Use" — 3.5/5 > **Zachary** | *15 April 2016* | Construction | Recommendation rating: 8.0/10 > > **Pros**: I like the flexibility the simple interface offers. The ability to allocate markups makes this product especially useful and dynamic. The catalog and database of cost items is very helpful. Having the ability to choose items from a tree helps in the estimating process. It reminds you of different items you might be forgetting in your bid. > > **Cons**: The biggest downside to this software is the customer support. Easy enough to get someone on the phone, but they will literally refuse to speak to you about any issues or problems unless you buy the support plan. The support plan is also overpriced. I am OK with software developers charging a fee to teach someone how to use the software, or to assist with integrating their program into your existing system. However, I am not OK with them charging a fee to fix issues within their software that you have already purchased. I feel like that should be included in the price of the program. ----- ### "This is a great software for estimating/PM" — 5.0/5 > **Leticia** | *19 November 2018* | Construction | Recommendation rating: 10.0/10 > > **Pros**: I liked this software because I was able to build a database and after I did my take offs, I could enter them in here and it would do the math automatically. I think this is a lot like sage, but I love anything that has an Excel theme. > > **Cons**: I did like everything about this software, I ended up using Sage at a new company, they were very similar and the costs were too. > > Try this if you are familiar with sage\! ----- ### "Very Versatile Estimating Software, not so great reporting capability" — 4.0/5 > **Jeffrey** | *26 August 2016* | Utilities | Recommendation rating: 7.0/10 > > **Pros**: WinEst Customer support is always superb and helpful. Just about anytime you call or email, you would get an answer right away\! The markup function is great. It allows users to easily manage different markups, taxes or escalation. > > **Cons**: Reporting is not the best. It would be great if it comes with a set of can reports and allow users to modify from it. Also, it would be great if crews table can be imported and exported. Understanding that there are ties from the trade table with it, but it is a pain to not able to import from a table. Auto line number would be nice, especially if it would be nice if it lets you renumber in case if we want to insert line in between existing ones. ----- Page: 1 / 2\ Next: [Next page](https://www.softwareadvice.co.uk/software/404952/winest-essentials?page=2) ## Links - [View on SoftwareAdvice](https://www.softwareadvice.co.uk/software/404952/winest-essentials) ## This page is available in the following languages | Locale | URL | | de | | | en | | | en-AU | | | en-GB | | | en-IE | | | en-NZ | | | fr | | ----- ## Structured Data