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Construction · head to head

GCPay vs Handoff

GCPay logo

GCPay

Construction

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

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Handoff logo

Handoff

Construction

AI estimating and proposals for residential remodelling contractors, priced per company not per seat

From
$119/month
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.; Handoff pro and Scale require a 12 month commitment, so a seasonal remodeller who slows down over winter pays through the quiet months or stays on the more expensive month-to-month Flex tier
  • They diverge on capability: GCPay covers Pay application workflow, Handoff covers Estimate from description.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which GCPay and Handoff actually diverge.

Attributes where GCPay and Handoff differ
AttributeGCPayHandoff
Starting priceOn request$119/month
Pricing modelquotePer company per month
PlatformsWebWeb, iOS, Android

Identical on both: 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 Handoff

  • Estimate from description
  • Photo-based estimating
  • AI takeoff
  • Custom pricing catalogues
  • Proposals and e-signature
  • Change orders
  • Invoicing and card payments

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

Handoff

  • A remodelling contractor who visits four kitchens a week and wants a priced proposal out the same evening instead of three days laternot GCPay
  • A roofing business whose owner writes every estimate personally and is the bottleneck on salesnot GCPay
  • A small builder who wants proposal, change order and invoice in one record so the final billing reconciles to what the client signednot GCPay
  • A contractor collecting payment by card who wants to cut the processing rate from 3.35 to 2.85 per cent by moving to the annual Pro tiernot 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.

Handoff

  • Pro and Scale require a 12 month commitment, so a seasonal remodeller who slows down over winter pays through the quiet months or stays on the more expensive month-to-month Flex tier
  • AI-generated line item pricing is based on general cost data, not your suppliers or your subcontractors, so every estimate needs review and the time saving is smaller than the marketing implies once a real pricing catalogue is built
  • AI takeoff only appears on the 899 dollar Scale tier and is capped at plans of 5,000 square feet, which excludes most light commercial and larger custom homes
  • Flex includes only 50 AI credits a month and one pricing catalogue, which a busy estimator exhausts quickly, making the entry tier more of a trial than a working plan
  • It targets residential remodelling specifically, with no scheduling, no field production tracking and no job costing depth, so a growing contractor outgrows it and migrates to a full construction management platform

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

Handoff

$119/month
  • Flex$119/month
    • Billed annually, 149 USD month to month
    • 2 users
    • 50 AI credits a month
  • Pro$239/month
    • Billed annually, 299 USD month to month
    • 12 month commitment
    • 5 users
  • Scale$719/month
    • Billed annually, 899 USD month to month
    • 12 month commitment
    • 5 users
  • Custom API$undefined/year
    • Quoted for multi-location businesses
    • API access
    • Custom integrations

Which should you pick?

Choose GCPay if

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

Choose Handoff if

  • You need estimate from description.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want photo-based estimating.
Handoff review

Questions people ask

Is GCPay or Handoff better?
Neither clearly leads. GCPay starts at On request and Handoff at $119/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, GCPay or Handoff?
GCPay starts at On request and Handoff at $119/month.
Does GCPay or Handoff run on more platforms?
GCPay runs on Web. Handoff 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 Handoff is typically brought in for.
What can GCPay do that Handoff cannot?
GCPay covers Pay application workflow, Lien waiver exchange, Compliance tracking, Change order management. Handoff covers Estimate from description, Photo-based estimating, AI takeoff, Custom pricing catalogues.

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.

Handoff: What does Handoff actually cost?

From 119 US dollars a month billed annually on Flex for two users, 239 on Pro for five users, and 719 on Scale which is the only tier with AI takeoff. Month to month prices are 149, 299 and 899.

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.

Handoff: Is the card processing fee on top of the subscription?

Yes. It is 3.35 per cent on Flex and 2.85 per cent on Pro and Scale, charged on payments you collect through the platform.

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.

Handoff: Does it do commercial construction?

No. It is built for residential remodelling scopes and its cost data and takeoff limits reflect that.

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.

Handoff: Can I cancel monthly?

Only on Flex. Pro and Scale carry a 12 month commitment.

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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