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Construction · head to head

ALICE Technologies vs GCPay

ALICE Technologies logo

ALICE Technologies

Construction

Generative construction scheduling that produces and compares millions of build sequences

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
GCPay logo

GCPay

Construction

Subcontractor pay application and lien waiver exchange for general contractors in North America

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: ALICE Technologies the output is only as good as the recipes, and building accurate recipes is specialist modelling work most contractors cannot staff, so engagements depend on ALICE or a consultant doing it, which turns software into a services contract.; GCPay the subcontractor is a compelled user who did not choose the tool, so adoption friction and support load fall on the general contractor, and small trades with one bookkeeper resent every extra portal.
  • They diverge on capability: ALICE Technologies covers Generative scheduling, GCPay covers Pay application workflow.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ALICE Technologies and GCPay actually diverge.

Attributes where ALICE Technologies and GCPay differ
AttributeALICE TechnologiesGCPay
PlatformsWeb, WindowsWeb

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Construction).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in ALICE Technologies

  • Generative scheduling
  • Recipe modelling
  • Optioneering
  • Schedule recovery
  • Resource levelling
  • 4D visualisation
  • P6 and MS Project import
  • Scenario comparison reports

Only in GCPay

  • Pay application workflow
  • Lien waiver exchange
  • Compliance tracking
  • Change order management
  • ePayments
  • Retainage handling
  • ERP integration
  • Subcontractor portal

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

ALICE Technologies

  • A data centre programme where six months of earlier energisation is worth more than the entire construction management budget, and the owner wants evidence that a proposed sequence change actually delivers itnot GCPay
  • A contractor facing liquidated damages that must decide between a second shift, a second crane and resequencing, and needs the cost and duration consequence of each before committingnot GCPay
  • A bid team wanting to submit a shorter programme than competitors while proving to the client that the resource profile is achievable rather than optimisticnot GCPay
  • A delay claim where the contractor must demonstrate to a client or adjudicator what the schedule would have looked like without a specific disruptionnot GCPay

GCPay

  • A general contractor in a strict lien state that has been burned by a missing unconditional waiver and needs waiver status tied to each payment rather than filed in a shared drivenot ALICE Technologies
  • A contractor whose accounts payable team spends the first week of every month rekeying pay applications from PDF emails into Sage or Viewpointnot ALICE Technologies
  • An owner-facing GC that must produce a clean audit trail of who was paid what and when, with insurance compliance evidence attachednot ALICE Technologies
  • A construction group standardising on Autodesk Construction Cloud that wants payment application data in the same estate as the project recordnot ALICE Technologies

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

ALICE Technologies

  • The output is only as good as the recipes, and building accurate recipes is specialist modelling work most contractors cannot staff, so engagements depend on ALICE or a consultant doing it, which turns software into a services contract.
  • Pricing is quoted per project or programme with no published rates, so the tool is effectively unavailable to anyone who cannot justify a bespoke enterprise negotiation.
  • It only pays back on projects where float has a high monetary value; on a mid-size commercial building the modelling effort exceeds the schedule saving, which is why the customer list skews to data centres, energy and heavy civils.
  • A generated schedule still has to be accepted by superintendents and subcontractors who did not build it, and adoption failures are usually social rather than technical: the field runs the plan it believes in.
  • The 2026 McKinsey alliance pushes distribution towards consulting-led engagements, which raises the effective cost of entry and makes the direct-purchase path less certain for a contractor that just wants a licence.

GCPay

  • The subcontractor is a compelled user who did not choose the tool, so adoption friction and support load fall on the general contractor, and small trades with one bookkeeper resent every extra portal.
  • Pricing is entirely quoted and keyed to annual subcontracted construction value, which means a contractor with a few very large subcontracts can pay far more than one with many small ones for identical functionality.
  • The ePayment fee structure is decided per general contractor, so a subcontractor cannot predict its cost of getting paid across clients and may be charged on one job and not another for the same work.
  • It is a payment and compliance system, not job costing; commitments still have to reconcile against the ERP, and integration gaps mean many contractors run a manual check anyway.
  • Autodesk acquired parent Payapps in 2024, and the strategic direction is convergence with Autodesk Construction Cloud, so buyers on Procore or a non-Autodesk stack should ask directly what the roadmap commitment to their platform is.

Pricing, plan by plan

ALICE Technologies

On request
  • ALICE$undefined/year
    • Quoted per project or per programme
    • Generative scheduling and optioneering
    • Recipe modelling support

GCPay

On request
  • GCPay for General Contractors$undefined/year
    • Priced on project count, subcontractor count and annual subcontracted volume
    • Unlimited free subcontractor accounts
    • Lien waiver and compliance tracking
  • ePayments and Waiver Exchange$undefined/month
    • Per-transaction fee disclosed at submission
    • General contractor may absorb the fee or pass it to the subcontractor
    • Subcontractor must acknowledge the fee before submitting

Which should you pick?

Choose ALICE Technologies if

  • You need generative scheduling.
  • You work on Web, Windows.
  • You also want recipe modelling.
ALICE Technologies review

Choose GCPay if

  • You need pay application workflow.
  • You also want lien waiver exchange.
GCPay review

Questions people ask

Is ALICE Technologies or GCPay better?
Neither clearly leads. ALICE Technologies starts at On request and GCPay at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ALICE Technologies or GCPay?
ALICE Technologies starts at On request and GCPay at On request.
Does ALICE Technologies or GCPay run on more platforms?
ALICE Technologies runs on Web, Windows. GCPay runs on Web.
What is ALICE Technologies best used for?
ALICE Technologies is most often used for a data centre programme where six months of earlier energisation is worth more than the entire construction management budget, and the owner wants evidence that a proposed sequence change actually delivers it, a contractor facing liquidated damages that must decide between a second shift, a second crane and resequencing, and needs the cost and duration consequence of each before committing, a bid team wanting to submit a shorter programme than competitors while proving to the client that the resource profile is achievable rather than optimistic, a delay claim where the contractor must demonstrate to a client or adjudicator what the schedule would have looked like without a specific disruption. Of those, a data centre programme where six months of earlier energisation is worth more than the entire construction management budget, and the owner wants evidence that a proposed sequence change actually delivers it and a contractor facing liquidated damages that must decide between a second shift, a second crane and resequencing, and needs the cost and duration consequence of each before committing are not what GCPay is typically brought in for.
What can ALICE Technologies do that GCPay cannot?
ALICE Technologies covers Generative scheduling, Recipe modelling, Optioneering, Schedule recovery. GCPay covers Pay application workflow, Lien waiver exchange, Compliance tracking, Change order management.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

ALICE Technologies: What does ALICE actually produce?

A set of alternative construction sequences generated from your constraints, scored on duration, cost and resource use, so you can choose rather than accept one plan.

GCPay: Who pays for GCPay, the GC or the sub?

The general contractor pays the subscription. Subcontractor accounts are free. Only the optional ePayment and waiver exchange transaction fee can be passed to the subcontractor, and only with their acknowledgement.

ALICE Technologies: Does it replace Primavera P6?

No. It imports from and exports to P6. P6 remains the contractual schedule of record on most projects.

GCPay: How much is the ePayment fee?

It is a flat per-transaction fee, disclosed at the point the pay application is submitted. GCPay has published a $15 figure for the ePayments and waiver exchange service, and the GC decides who bears it.

ALICE Technologies: Is the company still operating?

Yes. ALICE is active as of 2026 and announced an alliance with McKinsey in April 2026 to deliver AI scheduling to McKinsey clients.

GCPay: Is GCPay owned by Autodesk?

Yes. Autodesk agreed to acquire Payapps, which trades as GCPay in North America and Payapps elsewhere, in January 2024.

ALICE Technologies: How much does it cost?

Not published. It is quoted per project or programme and typically includes modelling and onboarding services.

GCPay: Does it replace our construction accounting system?

No. It handles the application, approval and compliance workflow and then pushes approved payments into your ERP.

ALICE Technologies: What size project justifies it?

Projects where a week of schedule has a large monetary value: data centres, energy, industrial and major infrastructure. It is hard to justify on standard commercial building work.

GCPay: Can subcontractors export their own records?

Subcontractors can download their submitted applications and waivers, but the project record belongs to the general contractor's account, so a sub should keep its own copies rather than rely on continued portal access.

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