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Buildertrend is a genuine heavyweight in US construction project management. But it is sold by sales-call quote and built on US payment rails. Stagex is Australian, publicly priced, and tracks every stage to client sign-off — invoiced the moment it’s approved.
Invite-only while we onboard our first builders. No lock-in. The client pays you directly on sign-off.
The row no job-management app can tick
Most tradie apps help you send the invoice faster. Stagex goes one step further: you and your client agree the milestones up front, they sign off each stage from their own portal, and the invoice for that stage is generated immediately — no manual re-entry, no delay. The client pays you directly; Stagex does not collect or hold the payment. See /product-status.
Buildertrend is US construction project management software for home builders, remodelers and contractors — deep on scheduling, selections, change orders and job costing for multi-phase builds. Here is where each genuinely fits — no spin.
These tools solve different problems. Buildertrend manages complex builds; Stagex keeps a clear milestone trail on staged work. Here is the honest line between them.
| Feature | Stagex | Buildertrend |
|---|---|---|
| Does it hold customer funds before work starts? | Not yet. Milestone escrow is not available — Stagex does not hold customer funds and is not licensed to. It is the product we are building; see /product-status. | No. Buildertrend is construction management software — clients pay invoices through its payments feature, but nothing holds or guarantees the money before work starts.[2] |
| How you actually get paid | Invoice with a Stripe payment link, and the money reaches your bank on your Stripe payout schedule. Milestone escrow — the client funding each stage before you start it — is what we are building, and it is not available yet. | Invoice + online payment links. Faster to send, but the customer still chooses whether and when to pay. Same as Stagex today — Buildertrend is mature at it.[2] |
| Construction project management depth | Job pipeline built for trades — quotes, scheduling, evidence capture, invoicing, Xero sync. | Category-leading depth for structural builds: selections, change orders, takeoff-to-job-costing, purchase orders, sub portal. For a volume builder this is genuinely deeper.[1] |
| Pricing transparency | Public: $59/mo Professional ($49/mo billed annually, GST inclusive) — flat subscription, no transaction fee. | No published prices — “Get your custom quote” via a scheduled sales call. Unlimited users and projects; 10% off when paying annually upfront.[1] |
| Built for Australia | Yes — AUD pricing, GST tax invoices, and milestone tracking built for Australian trades. | US-centric: payments run on US rails (cards 2.99%, ACH US$15 flat, via Adyen) and there is no Australian site or AU-specific payment rails as at August 2026.[2] |
| If a client won’t pay | Every milestone and sign-off is timestamped, giving you a clear record to back a payment claim. Stagex does not hold or guarantee the money. | None on the client side — its payments move money when the client chooses to pay; its lien-waiver controls protect the builder paying subcontractors, not the client-to-builder flow.[2] |
Does it hold customer funds before work starts?
Not yet. Milestone escrow is not available — Stagex does not hold customer funds and is not licensed to. It is the product we are building; see /product-status.
No. Buildertrend is construction management software — clients pay invoices through its payments feature, but nothing holds or guarantees the money before work starts.[2]
How you actually get paid
Invoice with a Stripe payment link, and the money reaches your bank on your Stripe payout schedule. Milestone escrow — the client funding each stage before you start it — is what we are building, and it is not available yet.
Invoice + online payment links. Faster to send, but the customer still chooses whether and when to pay. Same as Stagex today — Buildertrend is mature at it.[2]
Construction project management depth
Job pipeline built for trades — quotes, scheduling, evidence capture, invoicing, Xero sync.
Category-leading depth for structural builds: selections, change orders, takeoff-to-job-costing, purchase orders, sub portal. For a volume builder this is genuinely deeper.[1]
Pricing transparency
Public: $59/mo Professional ($49/mo billed annually, GST inclusive) — flat subscription, no transaction fee.
No published prices — “Get your custom quote” via a scheduled sales call. Unlimited users and projects; 10% off when paying annually upfront.[1]
Built for Australia
Yes — AUD pricing, GST tax invoices, and milestone tracking built for Australian trades.
US-centric: payments run on US rails (cards 2.99%, ACH US$15 flat, via Adyen) and there is no Australian site or AU-specific payment rails as at August 2026.[2]
If a client won’t pay
Every milestone and sign-off is timestamped, giving you a clear record to back a payment claim. Stagex does not hold or guarantee the money.
None on the client side — its payments move money when the client chooses to pay; its lien-waiver controls protect the builder paying subcontractors, not the client-to-builder flow.[2]
A tick in the Buildertrend column means Buildertrend genuinely leads on that row. We call it where they do.
Sources
Claims about Buildertrend reflect its own public pricing, payments and help pages as reviewed in August 2026. Feature sets and pricing change — confirm current details on buildertrend.com. Stagex is not affiliated with or endorsed by Buildertrend.
Milestone tracking
Signed off, stage by stage
Invoice on sign-off
No manual re-entry, no delay
No lock-in
Month-to-month, cancel anytime
Dispute evidence
A timestamped record for both sides
It depends on your business. If you are a volume builder running five or more concurrent multi-phase projects, Buildertrend’s selections, change-order and job-costing depth is genuinely stronger — Stagex does not pretend otherwise. If you are an Australian tradie or builder whose real problem is keeping a clear milestone trail on staged work, Stagex is built for exactly that.
No. As at August 2026, Buildertrend advertises no escrow or trust capability for client funds — its payments feature moves money when the client pays, and the closest thing it has (lien-waiver-gated bill pay) protects the builder paying subcontractors, not the homeowner-to-builder flow. Stagex doesn’t hold client funds either (see /product-status); it tracks each stage to sign-off and invoices the moment it’s approved.
Buildertrend does not publish prices — its pricing page offers a custom quote via a scheduled call, with unlimited users and a 10% discount for paying annually upfront. Stagex publishes its pricing: a flat A$59/mo Professional, or A$49/mo billed annually (GST inclusive) — no transaction fee.
Buildertrend says it has users in over 100 countries, but as at August 2026 there is no Australian site, no AUD pricing, and its payments run on US rails (ACH and US card processing). Stagex is Australian-built: AUD pricing and GST tax invoices throughout.
The moment your client signs off a milestone, Stagex generates the invoice for that stage automatically. They pay you directly, on whatever method you’ve agreed — Stagex doesn’t collect or hold the payment.
No card to start, and the trial simply ends if you don’t add one — we never bill you by surprise. Bring one staged job through Stagex this week and see what chase-free payment feels like.
Stage by stage. Always paid.