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About Bluebeam Revu

AECO professionals worldwide trust Bluebeam construction software to help them reduce risk, maximize ROI, and finish projects faster.

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Pros:

I like all the features and the integration capabilities. Bluebeam integrates with many other softwares which makes it a one-stop-shop to maximize its utility.

Cons:

Printing from it seams to be a problem for our field manager sometimes.

Bluebeam Revu ratings

Average score

Ease of Use
4.3
Customer Service
4.3
Features
4.6
Value for Money
4.5

Likelihood to recommend

8.9/10

Bluebeam Revu has an overall rating of 4.7 out 5 stars based on 962 user reviews on Capterra.

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Filter reviews (962)

Kelsey
Kelsey
Project Manager in US
Verified LinkedIn User
Construction, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Top PDF Viewer/Editor Program on Market

5.0 2 years ago

Comments: Overall, great experience with Bluebeam Revu. Been a customer for the past 5 years. Never looked back or started looking for another program. Bluebeam has made my work quite simpler. Once you learn the basics, this program is so simple to do quick field measurements, combine/edit files, markup pdf's, extract pages to separate files and so many more functions that I have still to learn.

Pros:

So many functions that are pertinent to the construction industry that I can use on a daily basis from viewing files to doing quick measurements to editing files to combining or converting to and from PDF files. One very big pro about Bluebeam is the customer service. I had a laptop die on me and it locked out my bluebeam account. I contacted customer support and within a few hours, they unlocked my account for me to register on my new laptop. I thought that was absolutely incredible with the quick turnaround on my Bluebeam license.

Cons:

Probably my biggest con for Bluebeam is the cost of the software. It is a little pricey, little higher than competitors. But well worth it if you use this program on a daily basis.

Amy
Project Coordinator in US
Construction, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Bluebeam Revu

4.0 5 months ago

Comments: I was a little hesitant at first when my company switched from Adobe to Bluebeam, but now that I have gotten use to the program I would never want to go back to Adobe.

Pros:

It's easy to mark up PDF files. In the construction industry, we make markups on blueprints and submittals. It's also easy for material take-offs with the measuring tools.

Cons:

I still haven't been satisfied with all the toolbars and their locations. I have a tool bar on the top, side and bottom and I haven't figured out how to make it so I can just show the tools that I use the most.

Ashley
Office Manager in US
Automotive, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Unlock Documents & Make Estimating a Breeze

5.0 last month New

Comments: Once you understand how to use bluebeam you will never go back to adobe again! I absolutely love all the extra things that I can do in bluebeam that I cannot in adobe. Being able to use this software for more than just a PDF and for estimating projects has made life way easier and help make sure we are not missing items on the estimates.

Pros:

Bluebeam has an amazing customizable tool box which I find the most helpful! There are certain tools I will use over and over again and having this quick popup with all my tools to grab and use saves me so much time. Also, adding pages into a current document is as easy as just dropping into the place where you want it. If you are using bluebeam more for just PDF purposes, this software will do so much more than adobe and give me cleaner documents. I use it alot to make submittals and I need to markup and add/ move pages alot and this makes it the easiest and fastest way for me to do so. I can remove items off the pages and add notes when needed. I can go on about the list of amazing features this offers, like counting how many outlets I need on the plan, or resizing and signing it. Your options here are endless.

Cons:

The biggest downside to bluebeam is that it takes time to learn and isn't very user friendly for the average person. Figuring out what each tool does takes some time, and sometimes there are a few you can use for the same thing. Since bluebeam has so many features it can be hard to narrow down or even locate the one you are needing. This is why that custom tool box is so handy.

Joshua
Joshua
Project Manager in US
Verified LinkedIn User
Architecture & Planning, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Untrustworthy Developer - Dropped the ball

3.0 5 years ago

Pros:

Brings a lot of features and functionality missing from Acrobat. To my knowledge, no other PDF software is geared towards the A+E market. I wish there was another one out there so that these guys didn't have a monopoly on the market. It has given them a sense of invincibility that has led to stagnation and a lack of genuine support for their customers.

Cons:

I've been using Revu for about 8 years, 5 of those on Windows. The last 3 are at my most recent job, and when I found out that Bluebeam had created a Revu for Mac, I was quick to push our company to adopt. I even gave a lunchtime presentation to show everyone some of the really powerful features I had come to know and love from the windows side. Playing with the trial version of 1.0, though, I quickly realized that a ton of features were absent from the windows version. I went ahead and gave the presentation anyway, though and with some convincing, we bought seats for everyone. It became clear within the first week of using the software, though, that it was incredibly slow. So slow as to be unusable. It took several seconds to render every page... considering that we regularly deal with 100+ page architectural sets, this made the program worthless in a lot of cases. What's more we really felt the lack of some features from the windows side, many of which were so basic that it's laughable that Bluebeam decided not to invest in them. You can't crop pdfs for instance. Anyway, when bluebeam for mac 2.0 came out, we bought in thinking that we'd be getting all of the features that we were missing along with performance improvements. Turns out they decided to revamp the UI with almost 0 feature inclusions. The performance of page rendering was significantly improved, which was helpful, although page thumbnails now no longer load.

Eddie
Senior Project Manager in US
Construction, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Bluebeam is a cost effective alternative to other PDF Editors in the construction world

5.0 2 months ago

Pros:

Cost effectiveness and ease of use compared to other editors.

Cons:

Some tools are less sophisticated than other editors on the market but overall worth it in terms of cost.

Gloria
Human Resources Manager in US
Construction, 201–500 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Bluebeam Revu raving results

5.0 4 months ago

Pros:

Once I learned how to use it there was no going back to Adobe. Blue Beam has management tools that improve review speed and accuracy.

Cons:

Thelearning curve if you really want to use the product the correct way.

Darragh
Director in Germany
Construction, Self Employed
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Essential for anyone in Engineering and construction

5.0 2 months ago

Comments: Excellent

Pros:

It makes marking up, commenting, and editing drawings extremely easy and quick

Cons:

Price, I feel it could be a little cheaper but it's not terrible

Kyle
Estimator in UK
Construction, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Great Software But Needs To Be Available To Mac Users Again

5.0 2 months ago

Comments: Very good, just disappointed it's no longer available on mac. It was by far the best for everything we do as a company and now we can't use it.

Pros:

The take off function and ability to add comments was extremely useful

Cons:

The licensing expired on Mac, so new employees are unable to use the software which is a huge issue as we had three members of the commercial department using Bluebeam and we had to change when another three employees joined the team as we can't collaborate unless all on same software.

HAFIZ USMAN
Traffic engineer in US
Civil Engineering, 10,000+ Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Blie beam for collaboration

5.0 2 months ago

Comments: I am okay with using it. However not happy with sudden shutdown.

Pros:

It’s easy to collaborate and add comments.

Cons:

The program cannot handle large files and closes without any notice.

Joel
Information manager in UK
Construction, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

BB Revue - Track all changes to any document and review design live.

5.0 last month New

Pros:

The ability to track changes to any document.

Cons:

That others do not know its full potential in design reviews and across the construction industry.

James
Telecommunications Project Manager in US
Construction, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Alternatives Considered:

Must have software for engineering companies

5.0 3 years ago

Comments: We use Bluebeam on a daily basis for the organization of drawing sets and reports. Bluebeam makes it possible to collaborate on project review with local and remote personnel. Bluebeam makes it possible to help reduce paper waste and to maintain project records for quality controls.

Pros:

The robust features of Bluebeam make this essential software for engineering companies. Mark up and organize drawings, compare versions of documents, OCR capabilities, and online collaboration are just some of the many features.

Cons:

Sometimes the icons are not as intuitive to me as they should be. Would be nice if Bluebeam would incorporate the Ribbon format that many other programs use.

Aditya
Civil Designer in US
Civil Engineering, 10,000+ Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

The best software for engineers!

5.0 2 years ago

Comments: I am very satisfied with the BlueBeam and its capabilities. It makes my work more manageable and accessible.

Pros:

BlueBeam supports many different file formats compared to Adobe Reader. It can open Image files and can open Internet browser through it. This makes it one stop solution station for multiple problems. It reduces workload. BlueBeam allows sessions that can be used by multiple organizations and trades and same time. This save project budget and time.

Cons:

BlueBeam can not open 2 online sessions at same time. In order to that, you have to exit out of one session to access another. This is time consuming and unnecessary.

Nathan
Client Service Represenative in US
Construction, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

The Third Hand

4.0 4 years ago

Comments: We have designers that draw projects with a different program. Once that project is drawn, it gets sent to all the personal that need to look at it and use it for their specific tasks. BlueBeam makes it so I can get my notes and my measurements fast and easy. For example, when I am with a client making siding selection, I can add the note right on the plan with there Text tab. Simple and easy. When they want to change a window location, neat, crisp lines can be drawn to show were it should go. Bluebeam also helps me daily when I receive PDF documents from vendors or suppliers.

Pros:

It is my go-to program to look at and edit PDF's. When one has to measure something, its easy to use and easy to give accurate information to the project managers, vendors, & suppliers. Easy to add notes and clean up PDF's to make them look and say the things you want. Like the fact my toolbox is saved and can be used over and over. While I was filling this out, a sub called and asked a question about a plan. I used Revu to answer the question because its quick and easy to get the information they are looking for.

Cons:

Learning the way the Revu works takes time. Once you figure it out, its great though. I had to have someone else that had used Revu before set up my toolbox and headers because trying to do it myself was taking so long. Mostly that is my own fault but getting a program tailored to yourself should not be hard to set up. There is not much I don't like about the this program.

Dani
Project Coordinator in
Construction, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source
Source: SoftwareAdvice

Far superior than Adobe for construction

5.0 7 years ago

Comments: First, let me start by saying I have the Extreme version and create forms and use the JavaScript features frequently. I switched to Revu because Adobe wasn't giving me what I needed and that was software that could automate many of the tasks I was performing at the time. For example, to process one submittal, I had to combine the pages from one file with the submittal cover page, stamp it, add the date and signature of the person approving the submittal, flatten the markups so no one could edit them, and then save them on a network drive. With Revu I was able to click one icon and do all that from inserting the page, stamping/flattening, and prompting me to save on the network. It saved me so much time! I was able to create custom stamps for all our coordinators to use.

Pros:

Suited for construction work, not just documents. It lets me do so much so easily. I can overlay drawings and find where things have changed. This works for contracts too. I can overlay the pages and see if the sub revised the document at all. I can easily markup drawings without any CAD experience needed. I can create forms from PDFs.

Cons:

It takes a little while to learn the program because many icons are unfamiliar at first. And because it can do so much, there are so many icons. But I was able to customize my layout so it narrowed down my available icons to just the ones I use regularly. It's only a con for the first month of learning the program. Same for creating forms. As you start to work with it, you learn the tricks to making them easily, but at first it can be difficult. Most of the functions are similar to Adobe, but the one that I had to get used to was copying pages from one document to another. I used to open two separate Adobe windows and then click and drag pages from one into another. Revu only has one thumbnail view pane available at a time, so I had to modify my steps by copy and pasting pages from one document into another.

Charlie
Application Engineer in
Construction, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source
Source: SoftwareAdvice

Very Good Functionality and Good Overall Performance for the Money

4.0 7 years ago

Comments: Our estimating team switched to this from planswift and we've had more people get on board who were doing paper takeoff. While there were definitely some pains with transitioning once we got used to the new layout we came to appreciate some of the additional features Revu has to offer. I would say planswift is a bit quicker for doing small quick takeoffs, but when we do larger jobs and especially jobs with breakouts Bluebeam starts to pull ahead. The biggest timesaver (and reason we switched) is that Revu makes it much easier to hand-off from estimating to sales (due to the fact that it uses pdf/excel files and the fact that it has the spaces feature that allows sales to provide more detailed info/schedule products by room). In addition, it is much easier to use than Adobe Acrobat (or any dedicated takeoff software) for quickly making comments/marking up PDF's for customers. Also, have to commend them for making changes based on customer feedback that greatly improved the takeoff process.

Pros:

Lots of different functions (construction takeoff/room scheduling, document mark-up/review, document creation) Customization for different users/tasks through profiles Excel export of markups/takeoff Cheaper than alternative takeoff software Easy to share with others (uses .pdf files) Ability to transition from takeoff to room schedule through spaces feature (big time saver for us as we do lots of air device takeoff) Easy to combine/compare revised drawings to old drawings/takeoff.

Cons:

Takes a while to get up to speed on compared to other takeoff software (all the features can get overwhelming) Takeoff functions are not as polished/fast to use as some dedicated takeoff software (although the latest update fixed some of this) Certain PDF's can take long to load/render (rare problem, but very difficult to work around when it happens)

Ash
Project Manager in Australia
Construction, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Alternatives Considered:

Easy pdf editing and take off's

5.0 2 years ago

Comments: Bluebeam Revu is my to go app for pdf viewing, editing and take offs.

Pros:

Bluebeam Revu gives you more level of control over pdf's than you can imagine. The number of tools and features are extensive. Take offs and commenting is the least you can expect from Bluebeam.

Cons:

Although Bluebeam Revu has a very good take off facility, the labelling could have been better.

Chase
Chase
Structural Engineer in US
Verified LinkedIn User
Building Materials, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Easy to use. Lot of functionality.

5.0 6 years ago

Comments: Quickly and easily edit PDFs. More powerful and functional than most of the basic PDF applications available. Merge documents from a Windows Explorer window.

Pros:

Bluebeam has a lot of buttons and features out-of-the-box. The default layout is intuitive. Quickly and easily add text, highlights, shapes, callouts, and lines to PDFs. The buttons for rotating the page are readily available. Taking snapshots/copies, cropping, and other editing functions are easy. Bluebeam has measurement tools so you can easily get dimensions off of plans. There are tons of keyboard shortcuts and "toolboxes" that allow you to perform repetitive tasks quickly. Customize stamps to create signatures or other repetitive text like "Reviewed By..." or dynamic shop drawing stamps (like "Make Corrections Noted"). Flatten tool allow you to lock your edits into place. Security features are also available. Bluebeam also allows you to merge/staple multiple sheets together and further manipulate pages within a document.

Cons:

Bluebeam provides a lot of functionality, but depending on your needs you may be able to use something cheaper and less functional. You should weigh your need for a tool like this. The "Staple" function for combining files within a Windows Explorer window/menu could be a little simpler. It currently brings up a dialogue box that is overly complicated and not intuitive. Other software like Adobe Acrobat allow you to do this much easier with only a few mouse clicks.

John
Senior Quantity Surveyor in Jordan
Construction, 5,001–10,000 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

A flexible PDF file editor that helps us estimate , analyze and mange construction projects.

5.0 last year

Comments: Bids that we are currently pricing are received from clients in the form of PDF files and contain many fees that are not clear in scale; however, with the help of Bluebeam tools, we were able to establish measurements for them, calculate areas, and issue tables of quantities accurately, greatly simplifying the pricing procedures for projects.

Pros:

Bluebeam is one of the best PDF management programs, particularly in the realm of construction projects, as it allows us to highlight the details of plans and allocate measurements accurately, allowing us to take measurements directly and also calculate areas and sizes directly from PDF files, even if it is a manual drawing. The ability to alter texts is fantastic, and I also enjoy that new elements, symbols, and even pagination can be added with relative ease. It's simple to add a digital signature, which is useful for keeping tabs on who approved and received credit for files that were shared across teams.

Cons:

Once you get past the initial learning curve, using Bluebeam is simple, but the high annual subscription costs mean that we can't afford to include all of our members.

Ana
Architectural designer in US
Architecture & Planning, 201–500 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Easy document based collaboration

5.0 2 years ago

Pros:

This is an easy to use cloud based document storage that is accessible live by team members to mark up with a robust tool chest. Any type of document management, from idea brainstorming to architectural drawing set review, is easy to do in this program. It is also easy to track others’ or your own mark ups in the document, and set a status to the mark ups like completed or incomplete or in need of discussion. You can also alert a team member to a mark. The bluebeam session feature of revu is simple yet powerful. The bluebeam project feature is similar but is based on the idea of each sheet of a document being easy to check in or out by a team member, and mark up or replace back into the larger document.

Cons:

I wish there was an easier way to swap out a document or sheet without losing the comments and their properties. I also wish there was a homepage feature for a project that teams could add milestone information, weekly or monthly tasks, and sort your notifications by priority that are within the bluebeam session.

Fazal
Architect in US
Verified LinkedIn User
Architecture & Planning, 201–500 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

The best PDF markup tool for the A&E industry

4.0 5 years ago

Comments: It makes checking drawings and communicating changes a lot easier. The markup tools are much better than any other similar software I've tried.

Pros:

I'm constantly amazed by how many features bluebeam has packed in. The markup tools themselves have a lot flexibility. Being able to scale drawings and generate dimensions and areas is a huge plus. Creating new elements and adding them to your tool chest for future use is also a nice feature to have. The OCR tools are fantastic helping us create bookmarks and labels to navigate large PDFs. We also routinely use the hyperlink tool to create linkable details that make navigating a large drawing set even easier. (I believe this feature is available only in the "Extreme" version). There is also an option to take two versions of a document and compare changes between two versions. Beyond that being able to use blue beam sessions to collaborate with your project team on common markups is a great bonus.

Cons:

I would really like the software to have the ability to create preset profiles that automatically set defaults for markup styles and colors.

Deniel
Field Engineer in Canada
Construction, 10,000+ Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

BlueBeam Review

4.0 3 years ago

Comments: Markups of documents for red lines and revisions. Calculation area/volume/length of certain items in drawings for use in construction planning and estimating

Pros:

Excellent document markup interface, accurate measuring tools for estimating, OCR fairly accurate and tracking of markups

Cons:

When integrated with InEight Documents, the time for opening and saving documents is extended. No notification when emailing document if the document is too large. When using print to bluebeam, characters and whole words are not transferred to the Bluebeam version of the document.

Tyler
Owner in US
Construction, Self Employed
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source
Source: SoftwareAdvice

Way more than just a .PDF program...

5.0 10 months ago

Pros:

I love all of the takeoff features bluebeam has. Being tailor made for construction and having all of the same features as the competitors as well makes it a no Brainer for me.

Cons:

Integration was easy. Learning the program is slightly different than competitors but there is a good help section and online communities.

Jacob
Jacob
Project Engineer in US
Verified LinkedIn User
Construction, 501–1,000 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Not just a PDF viewer!

5.0 5 years ago

Comments: Bluebeam has increased office productivity tenfold over the years I have seen/implemented it. It really can do whatever you think up, you just need to figure out what you want done.

Pros:

EVERYTHING! This software is incredible and to say that you can use it to markup PDF's is just scratching the surface. You can use it as an estimating takeoff tool, estimating database, document control system, cloud document storage and more! Really the list goes on and on for the uses of this tool. I have never been so satisfied by any software as much as I am with Bluebeam Revu. You cant go wrong here, and if you ever do mess something up or think you can't do something, their customer support team is top notch, so you'll be saved by their graces! (Shout out to Amanda Wieting for the impeccable support over the years!)

Cons:

Honestly the only thing I have ever not liked about Bluebeam Revu was the UI change they made when going to 2018. They changed the colors around and that's the worst thing that has ever happened with this program.

Jesse
Senior Engineer/Associate in US
Civil Engineering, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Best PDF editor I have ever used, Period!

5.0 6 years ago

Comments: The biggest benefit from the software is that it saves me so much time thus allowing me to be more productive and profitable!

Pros:

My favorite feature is the ability to set the scale and take measurements of items that are drawn on the PDF sheets. I am an Engineer so this comes in very handy. I also love that I can quickly sketch details to get to my drafter or a contractor who is working on my project. Revu has a tool chest where I can store my most frequently used mark-ups so I dont have to keep redrawing them. This program is super powerful with the ability to insert images, reduce the file size, and create an open session that multiple people can join into and make markups on the same document simultaneously. Lastly, one of the best features are the keyboard hot-keys - just type [L} to draw a line, [C} to draw a cloud, and so on.

Cons:

Since there are so many options, it can be daunting to learn at first, but with use and time it becomes more and more intuitive.

Muhammad
Estimator in US
Construction, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

a great program to use for review and PDF editing

5.0 4 years ago

Comments: so far its been a great Alternative to Adobe or other programs to edit then share with clients, we use it to make notes on PDF files do quick takeoffs and send as built plans

Pros:

when i first started using this program i realized how much better it is than adobe reader, it lets you edit draw lines, add text even do takeoffs on the same sheets. as well as the ability to stamp all the sheets with one click!

Cons:

price, has a learning curve , fezzes with very large PDF files