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Construction · head to head

GCPay vs Propeller Aero

GCPay logo

GCPay

Construction

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

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Propeller Aero logo

Propeller Aero

Construction

Drone survey processing and earthworks volume measurement for sites that measure stockpiles weekly

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Propeller Aero platform pricing is not published and is scoped by sites and users, so a contractor with many short-lived sites can be quoted very differently from one with a few long ones, and neither can benchmark against a list price
  • They diverge on capability: GCPay covers Pay application workflow, Propeller Aero covers Photogrammetric processing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which GCPay and Propeller Aero actually diverge.

Attributes where GCPay and Propeller Aero differ
AttributeGCPayPropeller Aero
Pricing modelquoteHardware purchase plus a quoted platform subscription
PlatformsWebWeb, iOS, Android

Identical on both: starting price (On request), 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 GCPay

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

Only in Propeller Aero

  • Photogrammetric processing
  • AeroPoints ground control
  • Volume measurement
  • Design surface comparison
  • Progress timeline
  • Machine telemetry
  • Corrections network

What people use each for

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

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 Propeller Aero
  • A contractor whose accounts payable team spends the first week of every month rekeying pay applications from PDF emails into Sage or Viewpointnot Propeller Aero
  • An owner-facing GC that must produce a clean audit trail of who was paid what and when, with insurance compliance evidence attachednot Propeller Aero
  • A construction group standardising on Autodesk Construction Cloud that wants payment application data in the same estate as the project recordnot Propeller Aero

Propeller Aero

  • A quarry that reconciles stockpile inventory monthly for its accounts and wants the volume evidence to survive an auditnot GCPay
  • An earthworks contractor claiming progress payments on cubic metres moved who needs an independent measurement the client will acceptnot GCPay
  • A civil site checking whether a subgrade is within tolerance of the design before the surfacing crew arrivesnot GCPay
  • A mine that wants weekly volume reporting without a survey crew on the ground every weeknot GCPay

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Propeller Aero

  • Platform pricing is not published and is scoped by sites and users, so a contractor with many short-lived sites can be quoted very differently from one with a few long ones, and neither can benchmark against a list price
  • The corrections network is free only while you hold a current platform licence, so cancelling the platform subscription reintroduces a 1,000 dollar per year per group hardware cost that many buyers do not model
  • AeroPoints are a hardware purchase at 1,000 dollars each and most sites need several, so the true entry cost includes several thousand dollars of equipment on top of a subscription
  • It measures rather than designs, so a contractor still needs Civil 3D, Trimble Business Center or an equivalent to produce and revise the design surfaces the measurement is compared against
  • Accuracy depends on flight planning, ground control placement and weather, and a poorly flown survey produces a confident wrong volume, so an organisation still needs someone who understands survey error rather than only a drone pilot

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Propeller Aero

On request
  • AeroPoint ground control unit$1000/one-time
    • Single solar-powered GNSS ground control marker
    • Includes 12 months of the Propeller Corrections Network
    • Network renewal 1,000 USD per year per AeroPoint group
  • Propeller Platform$undefined/year
    • Quoted by number of sites, users and survey volume
    • Not published
    • Processing turnaround and support level vary by agreement

Which should you pick?

Choose GCPay if

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

Choose Propeller Aero if

  • You need photogrammetric processing.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want aeropoints ground control.
Propeller Aero review

Questions people ask

Is GCPay or Propeller Aero better?
Neither clearly leads. GCPay starts at On request and Propeller Aero at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, GCPay or Propeller Aero?
GCPay starts at On request and Propeller Aero at On request.
Does GCPay or Propeller Aero run on more platforms?
GCPay runs on Web. Propeller Aero runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is GCPay best used for?
GCPay is most often used for 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 drive, a contractor whose accounts payable team spends the first week of every month rekeying pay applications from pdf emails into sage or viewpoint, an owner-facing gc that must produce a clean audit trail of who was paid what and when, with insurance compliance evidence attached, a construction group standardising on autodesk construction cloud that wants payment application data in the same estate as the project record. Of those, 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 drive and a contractor whose accounts payable team spends the first week of every month rekeying pay applications from pdf emails into sage or viewpoint are not what Propeller Aero is typically brought in for.
What can GCPay do that Propeller Aero cannot?
GCPay covers Pay application workflow, Lien waiver exchange, Compliance tracking, Change order management. Propeller Aero covers Photogrammetric processing, AeroPoints ground control, Volume measurement, Design surface comparison.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Propeller Aero: How much does Propeller cost?

The platform is quoted and not published. AeroPoints are 1,000 US dollars each, with the corrections network included for twelve months and thereafter free while a platform licence is current, otherwise 1,000 dollars a year per group.

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.

Propeller Aero: Do I need AeroPoints?

No, you can use conventional surveyed ground control, but the AeroPoints workflow is the main reason contractors choose Propeller over generic photogrammetry.

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.

Propeller Aero: Is it survey grade?

Propeller states centimetre-level accuracy with correct ground control. Whether that satisfies a contract depends on your specification and on how the survey was flown, not on the software alone.

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.

Propeller Aero: Who owns the data?

You retain your survey data and can export surfaces and point clouds, but check the export formats and retention terms in your contract before closeout, because bulk historical export is not a self-service one-click operation.

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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