Projul vs Houzz Pro

Projul vs Houzz Pro: What Contractors Actually Need to Know

Projul is an all-in-one construction management platform with flat-rate annual pricing, no per-user fees, and 7 scheduling views including Gantt charts. Houzz Pro is a business management and marketing platform built for residential remodelers and designers, with a built-in homeowner marketplace and design tools. This page breaks down the real differences so you can pick the right tool for your operation.

These two platforms actually come at the construction business from different angles. Projul was built to help contractors run projects and manage crews. Houzz Pro was built to help design-build firms find clients and present beautiful proposals. There’s overlap in the middle, but understanding that difference upfront will save you a lot of time.

How Pricing Actually Works

Let’s put real numbers on the table, because this is where most contractors start.

Projul charges a flat annual rate. Three plans, all with no per-user fees and unlimited projects:

• Core: $4,788/yr ($399/mo)
• Core+: $7,188/yr ($599/mo)
• Pro: $14,388/yr ($1,199/mo)

No per-user fees. No per-project fees. No onboarding charges. Your 5th user and your 50th user cost the same: nothing extra. Check our full pricing page for details on what’s included in each plan.

Houzz Pro uses tiered, volume-based pricing. Their current structure includes three tiers:

• Pro: For businesses with up to $500K in annual project volume. Includes 1 user seat, with additional users at $60/user/mo. Covers estimating, invoicing, 3D floor planner, online payments, and CRM.
• Custom: For businesses with $500K to $5M in annual project volume. Adds project scheduling, daily logs, budgets, bid management, change orders, financial reports, and dedicated account support. Pricing requires a sales call.
• Enterprise: For businesses with $5M+ in annual project volume. Adds no per-user fees, priority support, early feature access. Pricing requires a sales call.

On top of any plan, Houzz Pro offers advertising packages starting at $499/mo for visibility in their homeowner marketplace.

Here’s the math that matters. Say you have 10 people who need access to your project management software. On Projul Core, that’s $4,788/yr total. On Houzz Pro, even if the base plan is $99/mo, you’re adding $60/mo for each of those 9 extra users. That’s $60 x 9 = $540/mo in user fees alone, plus the base. You’re looking at roughly $7,668/yr before you even touch advertising. And that’s just the Pro plan, which doesn’t include scheduling, budgets, or change orders.

To get those features on Houzz Pro, you need the Custom plan. Pricing isn’t published, but it’s going to be more.

Where Houzz Pro Does Well

Let’s be straight about what Houzz Pro brings to the table. They’re not a bad platform. They’re just built for a different primary use case.

The Houzz Marketplace. This is the big one. Houzz has over 70 million registered homeowners browsing projects, looking for pros, and getting inspiration. If you’re a residential remodeler or designer, having a premium profile on Houzz puts you in front of people who are actively looking to hire. No other construction management platform has anything close to this. Projul doesn’t try to be a lead generation platform, and we’re upfront about that.

Design presentation tools. Houzz Pro includes a 3D Floor Planner, mood boards, a product clipper for building material libraries, photorealistic renders, and mobile room scanning. If your business involves presenting design concepts to homeowners before breaking ground, these tools are genuinely useful. Projul doesn’t include design tools because that’s not what we do. We build software for running the job, not selling the vision.

Client-facing dashboards. Houzz Pro’s client dashboard lets homeowners see project progress, approve selections, review invoices, and communicate with your team. It’s polished and looks good, which matters when you’re working with homeowners who want to feel involved.

Email marketing. Built-in email marketing tools let you stay in touch with past clients and prospects. That’s a nice touch for companies focused on repeat residential work and referrals.

Where Contractors Run Into Walls With Houzz Pro

Here’s where things get real. Houzz Pro works great if you’re a 3-person design-build firm doing kitchen remodels. It starts to fall apart when you try to use it as a full construction management platform for a growing operation.

Per-user pricing punishes growth. At $60/user/mo for additional seats on the Pro plan, adding your field crew gets expensive in a hurry. A framing crew of 6 guys who just need to clock in and check their tasks would cost you $360/mo. That’s $4,320/yr just for basic field access. With Projul, those 6 guys are included at no extra cost on any plan.

There’s also that familiar temptation to limit who gets a login. When every user costs money, you start asking “does the drywall crew really need access?” instead of “how do we get everyone on the same page?” That’s the wrong question to be asking.

Key features locked behind higher tiers. Project scheduling, daily logs, budgets, bid management, change orders, and financial reports are all locked to the Custom plan and above. On Projul, scheduling, budgets, and change orders are available on every plan. You shouldn’t have to pay enterprise prices for basic project management features.

No QuickBooks Desktop support. Houzz Pro only integrates with QuickBooks Online. If your bookkeeper runs QuickBooks Desktop (and plenty still do), you’re out of luck. Projul supports both QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop with two-way sync.

No Spanish-language support. In construction, a huge percentage of the workforce speaks Spanish as their first language. Houzz Pro doesn’t offer Spanish-language support. Projul does, across the entire platform including the mobile app. Your crew can navigate tasks, clock in, upload photos, and communicate in Spanish.

No Gantt charts. Houzz Pro’s scheduling (only on Custom+) doesn’t include Gantt chart views. If you’re running a project with 8 different trades and need to see how a delay with the electrician affects the tile installer’s start date, you need visual timeline tools. Projul offers 7 different scheduling views including Gantt charts where you can slide the entire downstream schedule.

No WIP reporting. Work-in-progress reports matter for tracking revenue recognition and understanding where your money actually is across active projects. Projul includes WIP reports. Houzz Pro doesn’t.

Built for residential design, not all construction. If you’re a commercial contractor, a specialty sub, or a home builder doing production builds, Houzz Pro wasn’t designed for you. The platform is oriented around the homeowner experience and the Houzz marketplace. Projul serves GCs, remodelers, specialty contractors, and home builders across residential and light commercial.

The Crew Adoption Factor

Here’s something that doesn’t show up on feature comparison charts but matters more than almost anything: will your people actually use it?

Houzz Pro is designed for the office. The 3D floor planner, mood boards, and client dashboards are great tools for designers and project managers sitting at a desk. But what about the guys on the jobsite? The ones covered in drywall dust who need to check tomorrow’s schedule or upload a photo of a plumbing rough-in?

Projul’s mobile app was built for those people. Simple interface. Spanish-language support. Automatic photo uploads. Task reminders that go out without anyone having to remember to send them. We’ve seen crews go from “nobody uses the software” to full adoption in under a week. That’s not an accident. It’s because the app was designed by people who’ve actually worked on jobsites. Read what contractors say about it on our reviews page.

With Houzz Pro’s per-user pricing, there’s a built-in financial reason to keep crew off the platform. With Projul’s flat rate, there’s every reason to put everyone on it.

Feature-by-Feature Breakdown

Estimating: Both platforms include estimating tools. Projul converts estimates directly to project budgets without re-entry. Houzz Pro’s estimating includes assemblies and cost catalogs with a polished proposal format.

Change orders: Projul includes change orders on all plans. Houzz Pro limits change orders to Custom and Enterprise.

Invoicing and payments: Both handle invoicing and online payments. Projul includes progress billing tied to project milestones. Houzz Pro offers volume-based discounts on payment processing.

Time tracking: Projul includes time tracking with automatic reminders and a simple field interface. Houzz Pro includes time and expense tracking.

Design tools: Houzz Pro wins here with 3D Floor Planner, mood boards, product library, photorealistic renders, and room scanning. Projul doesn’t include design tools because that’s not what we build.

Lead generation: Houzz Pro wins again with the Houzz marketplace, premium profiles, and advertising packages. Projul focuses on running your business, not selling you leads.

Scheduling: Projul offers 7 views including Gantt on all plans. Houzz Pro offers basic scheduling on Custom and Enterprise only.

Job costing and financials: Projul includes real-time job costing, WIP reports, and budget-to-actual tracking on all plans. Houzz Pro includes budgets and financial reports on Custom and Enterprise.

Integrations: Projul connects with QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop, JustiFi, 1build, and Zapier. Houzz Pro connects with QuickBooks Online and Google Suite (Custom+ only).

Making the Right Choice

Choose Projul if:

• You’re a contractor who needs to manage projects, schedules, crews, and budgets
• You want flat-rate pricing with no per-user fees as your team grows
• Your crew includes Spanish-speaking workers
• You need Gantt charts and visual scheduling with cascade rescheduling
• You want WIP reporting, progress billing, and real-time job costing
• You use QuickBooks Desktop
• You want your entire team, office and field, on one platform without worrying about per-seat costs
• You’re ready to schedule a demo and see how it works for your operation

Choose Houzz Pro if:

• You’re a residential designer or design-build firm that relies on the Houzz marketplace for leads
• Design presentation tools (3D floor plans, mood boards, renders) are central to your sales process
• You’re a small team (1-3 people) and per-user costs aren’t a concern
• Client-facing design presentations matter more than field crew management
• Your marketing strategy is built around the Houzz homeowner community

Use both if:

• You love the Houzz marketplace for finding clients but need real construction management tools for running the work
• Many contractors keep a Houzz profile for lead gen and use Projul for everything after the handshake

The Bottom Line

Houzz Pro and Projul solve different problems. Houzz Pro is a marketing and business management platform with project management features added on. Projul is a construction management platform built from the ground up for contractors who need to run jobs, manage crews, and track money.

If you’re a designer who occasionally manages a renovation, Houzz Pro might be all you need. If you’re a contractor who runs multiple jobs with crews in the field, Projul was built for you. Check out our blog for more on how contractors are using Projul to run better operations, and schedule a demo to see the platform firsthand.

The best way to decide is to see both in action. Projul’s demo isn’t a generic sales pitch. You’ll walk through your actual workflows with someone who understands construction and can show you exactly how the platform fits your operation.