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choose better software

What is Bluebeam Revu?

If you're experiencing challenges when sharing architecture designs and ideas across platforms, and with many team members and stakeholders across the world, turn to Bluebeam, a suite of on-the-go construction markup software that seamlessly keeps your team on the same page when design elements are modified or updated. With its 2D/3D capabilities and support for many formats, your team projects will stay on budget and on time.

Who Uses Bluebeam Revu?

Bluebeam serves architecture, engineering, construction, and owner (AECO) professionals across industry segments from individual users to large-scale enterprises.

Bluebeam Revu Software - Revu makes your project’s drawings and plans work smarter by using them to share metadata, markups, hyperlinks, bookmarks, images, stamps, signatures, attachments and 3D data-streamlining critical time-consuming processes and simplifying communication.
Bluebeam Revu Software - Studio Projects give you a single centralized location to store documents—even entire projects—in the cloud. And Studio Sessions let project teams worldwide review, mark up, modify and update the same files at the same time.

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Reviews of Bluebeam Revu

Average score

Overall
4.7
Ease of Use
4.3
Customer Service
4.3
Features
4.6
Value for Money
4.5

Reviews by company size (employees)

  • <50
  • 51-200
  • 201-1,000
  • >1,001
Clarissa
Clarissa
Project Management Assistant in US
Verified LinkedIn User
Construction, 201–500 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Very comprehensive pdf editing software - I'll never go back to Adobe!!!

5.0 7 years ago

Comments: I spend a lot less time posting changes and as-builts, but with much more professional results. I also love the time it's cut down on creating our punch lists and tracking the completion of those items.

Pros:

I love that it can "read" my plans, and help me with my takeoffs. The search function can look for either words or symbols, and is incredibly useful when I'm looking for something specific. The different user type profiles are tailored to show the tools and functions that someone in that role would be more likely to use the most. It's easy to switch between these profiles, even when viewing the same file, so no matter what or how many hats I'm wearing that day, it's easy to find the tools that I need for the job I'm doing. The customizable tool box is great - I can use the existing tools, or create my own! These are handy for posting as-builts, as well as for doing take offs and estimates. I love all the short cut keys!! Instead of using my mouse to select tool options, I can simply use the "G" key to take a "photo" of a certain part of my open file, or "C" to cloud an area. I use these frequently and it really cuts down the time I spend posting changes to our drawings. There are so many tools, functions, and options, that you're sure to find everything you need for seamless and efficient construction drawing management!

Cons:

At first, it was a bit overwhelming to use. There are so many tools and menus that it definitely took a little time to learn; however, Bluebeam offers hundreds of short "how-to" videos on many different topics. After watching these, and using the software for a few weeks, it got much easier.

Joshua
Transportation Engineer in Canada
Civil Engineering, 1,001–5,000 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Amazing PDF reader, better than Adobe Acrobat. Very useful engineering tools

5.0 last year

Comments: This is the fastest tool when it comes to drawing review, pdf document creation and control, and diagram creation. The tools at your disposal allow you to do many things which other programs do not. I would recommend this software over any other PDF reader.

Pros:

Very handy and intuitive engineering tools, you can mark up drawings, get measurements and estimate quantities very easily. The drawings tools are also very useful, allowing for easy creation of clean diagrams. The PDF tools are powerful and I have completely phased out Adobe Acrobat in favour of using Bluebeam.

Cons:

The only downside I have come across is the inability to created lines of fixed length, you have to create a measurement and then create a line to match the measurement.

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.

Taras
Designer in US
Architecture & Planning, Self Employed
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Heavy duty PDF editor

4.0 4 months ago

Comments: With a production factor of this software is amazing and that would highly recommend it for anybody who marks up documents as a team especially. I would be cautious the program loses connectivity often enough to where it affected our workflow. Uncertain days nobody in the office. Could do anything for an hour or two because their server is having issues and it would constantly keep disconnecting.

Pros:

It completely replaced printing documents for review in our office. I like all the editing capabilities and how well you can have your entire team edit a document live even if they're working remotely. The sessions feature is amazing.

Cons:

The worst feature about it is that it is cloud hosted so whenever you lose connection your dot turns red and it's not super noticeable. And if you happen to close the program while it's offline, you lose all your changes.

Verified Reviewer
Verified LinkedIn User
Construction, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

tons of features, faily easy to use

5.0 last year

Comments: I use this program almost daily for work and find it to be faily simple, mostly reliable, and with all the features I could hope for without being crazy complex.

Pros:

Lots of useful features. Easy to merge documents and edit files. Lots of editing tools, and once all that's done, you can also reduce file size to allow the file to compress and be small enough to attach to emails.

Cons:

Certain updates make it very glitchy and it will freeze frequently on me. Other updates are perfectly fine. Seems they issue a revised update fairly quickly when these issues occur.

Jennifer
Jennifer
Sr. Project Engineer in US
Construction, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Necessary in the Construction Industry

5.0 5 years ago

Comments: I have used this software everyday since joining the construction industry. Like every software there are glitches, however the benefits MAJORLY outweigh the pitfalls.

Pros:

Every day I am learning about a new feature that makes life even easier in the industry. Love their takoff capabilities, measuring, stamps, and just the general fact that I can view PDFs and manipulate them. I have had VERY few complaints over the many years I have used this software.

Cons:

Like all softwares, there are glitches. One bummer is the lack of integration on android phones. There was also an issue with integrating the software with an apple update; this was resolved fairly quickly though.

Verified Reviewer
Verified LinkedIn User
Hospital & Health Care, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Bluebeam - a complete pdf pack

5.0 4 years ago

Comments: If tour are typical and Adobe or Foxit user, just try the Bluebeam revu. It owns some unique pdf features you will definitely to love.

Pros:

There are so many PDf readers and editors available on the market with restricted features, and Bluebeam covers almost each and every feature. Its user friendly for editing ad commenting on PDF & almost can get accurate values for measuring the distances. Text recognizing mechanism (OCR) almost accurate for every scenario. The inbuilt converter helps us to convert our PDFs to other formats hassle-free.

Cons:

I really dont have any cons regarding Bluebeam revu. It's a fantastic and complete tool for all your pdf needs. It's worth the money.

Verified Reviewer
Verified LinkedIn User
Construction, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Great Program for self-taught people

5.0 3 years ago

Pros:

Manage pretty much any PDF Document. Customizable and user friendly interface.

Cons:

This program has so many functions I know I am missing out on key and crucial aspects of it. The customer service is a bit non-existent but they will respond to emails. I think that the cost effectiveness if you learn things yourself is great, but asking for $250 for classes at the top end and $100 for classes at the low end is a bit steep.

Lap
Lap
project Manager in US
Verified LinkedIn User
Real Estate, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Blue beam review

4.0 3 years ago

Comments: It is my preferred PDF editor and I constantly use it to make edits

Pros:

It is very user friendly and very intuitive. The dashboards are set up similar to acad and I can draw pretty well. The editing features are also top notch.

Cons:

It is a bit pricey for a PDF editor. You can get adobe versions much cheaper and while it maybe less functional, the adobe programs do work ok.

Verified Reviewer
Verified LinkedIn User
Construction, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Alternatives Considered:

Complex PDF and MarkUp Software Tool

5.0 2 years ago

Comments: BlueBeam is a comprehensive solution for use in the construction industry that allows you to easily view and mark up plans and drawings.

Pros:

BlueBeam is a very complex software that has extensive capabilities for creating and marking up PDF documents and it has a lot more options than the standard Adobe products.

Cons:

There are so many tools available to use in the software that it can be a little hard to learn how to use them all.

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

Alternatives Considered:

Should not be an Option - Should be Mandatory

4.0 4 years ago

Comments: I can't imagine doing my job without access to Bluebeam. I use it that much. For that many different things.

Pros:

Bluebeam is so versatile. I can create and/or modify all my RFI's, shop drawings, and detail clarifications from various professional sources - all in one package. I'm surprised at how often I find new ways to make use of the standard tools included with the software.

Cons:

Bluebeam does have some issues reading some fonts. Not sure what the deal is, but some pdfs show up looking like a crude binary system.

chandra
electrical designer in India
Civil Engineering, 5,001–10,000 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

best for pdf viewer in modeling

4.0 3 years ago

Comments: its very good. uses daily, its very compatible with AutoCAD Revit and other software's where its gives best pdf viewer experience and editing marking or comment session. best options are availed to make changes for document. security is high. content is preserved.

Pros:

any changes in the pdf it can be preserved with the owner with date and time itself. Variety of pdf editing options like text editing . marking highlight and work sharing with others. its can be operated with number of other software's to make pdf and print setting.

Cons:

nothing much but its taking some time to load file at starting of opening.

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

Far superior than Adobe for construction

5.0 8 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.

Scott
Sr project manager in US
Construction, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Lengthy enjoyable experience with this software.

4.0 4 years ago

Comments: My overall experience was stellar. To import plans was so easy and other softwares this is not the case. Many other software would take 2-4 additional steps just to import blueprints. Where as Bluebeam is basically one step. The software runs rather fast with hardly resizing delays , I have used similar softwares after acquiring Bluebeam and on the same computer I experienced resizing delays on the similar software, where Bluebeam had no issues.

Pros:

The most important part of this software was the complete ease of use. With no experience with estimating software, I was able to jump right in and get to work without any training, videos or someone else to teach me the basics. The original layout and key icons made everything simple but necessary.

Cons:

The first major issue I incurred was learning how to compile all of the data at the finish of gathering the take off( sq ft measurements) this portion of the software was slightly less user friendly when it came to compiling the lists of rooms/areas with the details .eventually after some months of use I began to become familiar with the steps of the software sorting the sq feet and labeling the areas

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.

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

My favorite software for easy collaboration

5.0 4 years ago

Comments: Overall one of my favorite tools to use daily. This tool makes my job fun and helps me manage my team and project with less stress and difficulty for me.

Pros:

This is easy for even the most computer illiterate person to use. I use this on ever team and always have it open on a monitor - every project I have a bluebeam session for. I find that this tool makes my life easier in collaborative review of drawings, markup and sharing of changes and information, directing people to issues or topics for discussion, and using as a tool to sketch together live while in a virtual meeting.

Cons:

The marking complete feature could be less clunky. The pen tool could be vastly improved. Having a way to know if someone did not get in to review by a deadline, or enter the session at all, would be helpful. All in all minor things

Sam
Senior VDC Engineer in US
Construction, 1,001–5,000 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Long Time Bluebeam Revu User - Best Day to Day Software I use

5.0 6 years ago

Comments: Like I said, I could not function on a daily basis without the use of Bluebeam. I have been a daily user for just about 3 years now and I couldn't say enough good things about this software solution and I know it isn't just the Construction Industry that utilizes this software. Anyone can!! Highly Recommend!!

Pros:

Bluebeam is not only a construction industry standard now, it is a necessity!! I use this software on a daily basis and could not function without it. Some people look at it as a replacement for Adobe Acrobat as just a simple PDF viewer but it is so much more than that. I use it to dimension drawings with it's calibration tool, you can extract specific pages from large document packages mark them up and send them out, their OCR feature is something that I know our Project Engineers and Project Managers use all the time as well and that is just a start of what it can do. Highly recommend!! Worth every penny!!

Cons:

The cons is simply that there is a learning curve to know how to utilize all of the features it offers. I still learn something new everyday and I have been using it for 2-3 years now. They have great training videos on the website that walk you through Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced features that I would highly recommend.

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 2 years ago

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.

Apeksha
Product Development - Designer in Sri Lanka
Apparel & Fashion, 201–500 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

There is nothing better than Bluebeam for PDF editing...!!!!

5.0 5 years ago

Comments: I am using this great software for some designing works. I can simply edit all my designs as per clients requirements and make them perfect with absolute easy.

Pros:

There is no doubt that Bluebeam Revu is the best software available at the market today for viewing and editing PDFs. Software is fairly easy to handle and learn. Free versions are available for use. There are so many editing options, tools and functions are available. PDFs can be converted to word files with high accuracy.

Cons:

I absolutely have nothing against the bluebeam revu. Files with macro details takes some times to load and zooming. But that is acceptable.

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

An essential tool for the AE Industry

5.0 last year

Comments: Bluebeam Revu proved to be even more an essential tool during the pandemic when the team was remote. During that time clients and consultants became more familiar with it's functions and now we are able to save money and time by reducing in person meetings.

Pros:

Bluebeam Revu provides such a wide breadth of tools, users can create or edit a document in almost any way they see fit. The ability to format a document using page labels, bookmarks, and hyperlinks allows us to present information in a digestible way regardless the size of the document. The search function and markups list make looking for information a snap. When in doubt, use Bluebeam.

Cons:

Aside from being expensive, there is nothing to dislike about Bluebeam Revu. There are enough tutorials online to bring new staff up to speed. Tools can be accessed from customized toolbars or the menu header making it easy to catch on.

Matthew
Design Manager in UK
Construction, 501–1,000 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

BlueBeam Revu

5.0 10 months ago

Comments: the product makes it easy to measure, mark up and make amendments to drawings during the design process without the need to have expensive CAD software

Pros:

easy to use, inexpensive and has great features

Cons:

I sometimes struggle to find features, but that is because I don't use everything all the time, and it is a very feature rich product

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 2 years 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 6 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.

Baldemar
Project Engineer in US
Construction, 1,001–5,000 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Game Changer

5.0 6 years ago

Pros:

What is there not to like about Bluebeam? I first started using it when I got in the construction industry in June 2016 and I have never used a PDF editing software that is as user friendly as Bluebeam. There is countless things you can use it for and more than anything, it is the editing options and capabilities that this program has what makes it simply unique. Being able to create a session and invite members to join is quite a unique feature too; I am glad my company uses it for basically everything!

Cons:

This isn't a negative comment, as I truly don't have anything bad to say about it, but if anything I would say that I would like to have a bit more training on how to use the software as it updates from one version to the other; I wish there was either trainings or instructional videos that would show the users how it is that a new version of Bluebeam compares to the older one. With that said above, it is by far, the best PDF viewer/editor there is out there!

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

Essential for anyone in Engineering and construction

5.0 10 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