Softwr

Construction · head to head

Briq vs RIB CostX

Briq logo

Briq

Construction

Financial automation and forecasting for contractors sitting on top of construction ERP

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
RIB CostX logo

RIB CostX

Construction

2D and BIM quantity takeoff with live-linked estimating workbooks for quantity surveyors and estimators

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Briq briq layers on top of an ERP rather than replacing it, so the total finance software bill goes up and the business case has to come from headcount or close-time savings that are hard to measure in advance.; RIB CostX pricing is not published anywhere and is quoted per package and per seat through regional resellers, so two firms of similar size routinely pay materially different rates for the same configuration.
  • They diverge on capability: Briq covers Invoice capture and coding, RIB CostX covers 2D drawing takeoff.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Briq and RIB CostX actually diverge.

Attributes where Briq and RIB CostX differ
AttributeBriqRIB CostX
PlatformsWebWindows

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 Briq

  • Invoice capture and coding
  • WIP schedules
  • Cash flow forecasting
  • Cost at completion forecasting
  • Multi-entity consolidation
  • Overhead allocation
  • Workflow automation
  • Dashboards and reporting

Only in RIB CostX

  • 2D drawing takeoff
  • BIM and 3D takeoff
  • Live-linked workbooks
  • Drawing revision comparison
  • Bill of quantities production
  • Rate libraries
  • Subcontractor comparison
  • CostX Viewer

What people use each for

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

Briq

  • A contractor whose month-end close runs three weeks because WIP is rebuilt by hand in Excel every periodnot RIB CostX
  • A group with four operating companies on different chart-of-accounts structures that needs one consolidated margin viewnot RIB CostX
  • A specialty contractor processing thousands of supplier invoices a month that wants coding and approval automated rather than keyednot RIB CostX
  • A finance director who needs a defensible cost-at-completion forecast for a surety or lender rather than a project manager's estimatenot RIB CostX

RIB CostX

  • A quantity surveying practice that must issue a formatted bill of quantities under NRM or SMM7 and cannot do so from a generic takeoff toolnot Briq
  • A contractor tendering a job where the client reissues drawings mid-tender, needing revision comparison so only changed areas are remeasurednot Briq
  • An estimating department moving from paper and Excel to model-based measurement while keeping the same rate library and bill structurenot Briq
  • A cost consultant producing early-stage elemental cost plans from partial models, then refining the same workbook as design detail arrivesnot Briq

Where each one falls short

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

Briq

  • Briq layers on top of an ERP rather than replacing it, so the total finance software bill goes up and the business case has to come from headcount or close-time savings that are hard to measure in advance.
  • The output is only as good as job cost coding in the underlying ledger, and contractors with inconsistent cost codes get faster visibility of a mess rather than a clean forecast.
  • No pricing is published and the contract is scoped by entities, modules and transaction volume, which makes budgeting impossible without a full discovery exercise.
  • Implementation is a data mapping project against systems such as Vista and Sage 300 that were not designed to be read this way, so go-live timelines run into months and depend on your own finance team's availability.
  • It targets mid-market and larger contractors; a firm with one entity and a competent controller in Excel will not recover the cost, and the product is oversized for smaller subcontractors.

RIB CostX

  • Pricing is not published anywhere and is quoted per package and per seat through regional resellers, so two firms of similar size routinely pay materially different rates for the same configuration.
  • It is Windows desktop software with heavy graphics demands; there is no meaningful macOS or browser option, which rules it out for practices standardised on Apple hardware.
  • The learning curve is steep enough that firms typically budget formal training, and an estimator productive in a rival tool takes weeks rather than days to reach the same output here.
  • RIB is owned by Schneider Electric, whose strategic interest is the wider RIB construction cloud, so a buyer choosing CostX today is betting on continued investment in a desktop estimating product inside a group focused elsewhere.
  • BIM takeoff is only as good as the model, and on projects where the model is modelled for coordination rather than measurement the automatic quantities need enough manual checking that the time saving largely disappears.

Pricing, plan by plan

Briq

On request
  • Briq$undefined/year
    • Annual platform subscription
    • Scoped by modules, entities and transaction volume
    • Implementation and data mapping quoted separately

RIB CostX

On request
  • CostX Quantify$undefined/year
    • 2D and BIM takeoff
    • Measurement export
    • No integrated estimating workbook
  • CostX Core$undefined/year
    • Takeoff plus live-linked workbooks
    • Rate libraries
    • Standard reporting
  • CostX Complete$undefined/year
    • Full BIM takeoff
    • Advanced workbooks and bills of quantities
    • Subcontractor comparison

Which should you pick?

Choose Briq if

  • You need invoice capture and coding.
  • You also want wip schedules.
Briq review

Choose RIB CostX if

  • You need 2d drawing takeoff.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want bim and 3d takeoff.
RIB CostX review

Questions people ask

Is Briq or RIB CostX better?
Neither clearly leads. Briq starts at On request and RIB CostX at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Briq or RIB CostX?
Briq starts at On request and RIB CostX at On request.
Does Briq or RIB CostX run on more platforms?
Briq runs on Web. RIB CostX runs on Windows.
What is Briq best used for?
Briq is most often used for a contractor whose month-end close runs three weeks because wip is rebuilt by hand in excel every period, a group with four operating companies on different chart-of-accounts structures that needs one consolidated margin view, a specialty contractor processing thousands of supplier invoices a month that wants coding and approval automated rather than keyed, a finance director who needs a defensible cost-at-completion forecast for a surety or lender rather than a project manager's estimate. Of those, a contractor whose month-end close runs three weeks because wip is rebuilt by hand in excel every period and a group with four operating companies on different chart-of-accounts structures that needs one consolidated margin view are not what RIB CostX is typically brought in for.
What can Briq do that RIB CostX cannot?
Briq covers Invoice capture and coding, WIP schedules, Cash flow forecasting, Cost at completion forecasting. RIB CostX covers 2D drawing takeoff, BIM and 3D takeoff, Live-linked workbooks, Drawing revision comparison.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Briq: Does Briq replace my construction accounting system?

No. It reads from Vista, Sage or similar and automates the reporting and forecasting layer above them. You keep the ERP.

RIB CostX: How much does RIB CostX cost?

RIB does not publish prices. It is quoted per package (Quantify, Core or Complete) and per seat, usually through a regional reseller.

Briq: What does it cost?

Briq does not publish pricing. Contracts are scoped by module, entity count and transaction volume and quoted annually.

RIB CostX: Is a perpetual licence available?

RIB has historically offered both perpetual and subscription licensing, with subscription now the default push. Ask explicitly, because the perpetual option is not advertised.

Briq: How long does implementation take?

Expect months rather than weeks, because most of the work is mapping and cleaning job cost data from the existing ledger.

RIB CostX: Does it do BIM takeoff or just 2D?

Both. Complete handles IFC and Revit models; Quantify and Core differ in workbook capability rather than measurement.

Briq: Is it useful for a single-entity contractor?

Less so. The strongest case is multi-entity consolidation and high invoice volume; a small contractor gets thinner returns.

RIB CostX: Who is it for?

Quantity surveyors and estimators in markets that use bills of quantities: UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East and South Africa above all.

RIB CostX: Can we open estimates without a licence?

A free CostX Viewer lets others open and inspect measured drawings and workbooks without a full seat.

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