1build
Live construction cost database with 68M priced items across every US county; estimating and digital takeoff platform for residential contractors.
2.8 /5 composite score
Legitimate cost data platform; useful for early ballpark estimates and residential bidding. The cost database is the real product -- do not confuse this with a drawing-analysis AI. Integration partnerships with STACK and Buildxact add credibility but the core product is narrow in scope.
Rubric Scorecard
| Criterion | Score | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Maturity | 2/5 | Early-stage; partnership announcements with major platforms signal growing traction but limited independent production case studies. |
| AEC Specificity | 2/5 | Cost database (68M data points, county-level) is the demonstrated capability; AI claims are modest and tied to data retrieval, not drawing interpretation. |
| Integration | 3/5 | Public REST/GraphQL API; confirmed platform integrations with STACK Construction and Buildxact as announced partners. |
| Value / Pricing | 4/5 | Freemium with clear paid tier pricing on 1build.com; accessible and low-risk to trial. |
| Evidence | 3/5 | Press coverage in TechCrunch, ForConstructionPros, and Fortune; named integration partners STACK and Buildxact provide third-party validation. |
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