Brikt vs Excel
Same price. 10x smarter.
We get it. Excel is familiar. It's flexible. It's free. You've been using it for years and it mostly works. We're not here to trash your spreadsheets — we're here to show you what comes next.
We started with Excel too.
The founder of Brikt spent 15 years in construction. Every estimate started in a spreadsheet. Every PO was a modified version of last month's PO. Every invoice got matched by eyeballing two printed pages side by side.
Excel isn't the problem. It's just not the solution anymore.
When you have 3 projects, Excel is fine. When you have 8 projects, 4 crews, and 12 active POs — Excel starts breaking in ways you don't notice until it's too late.
The Things Excel Can't Do
Zero intelligence
Excel doesn't know that herringbone pattern wastes 12% more pavers. Or that you paid $4.50/SF for the same material last month. Or that your vendor's price just went up 8%. You have to know all of that — and remember it every time.
Formulas break silently
Someone accidentally overwrites a cell. A formula references the wrong row after you inserted a line. The total looks right but it's not. You don't find out until the project is $15K over budget.
No procurement workflow
You finish the estimate. Now you manually create POs in a different spreadsheet. Email them to vendors. Track shipments in your head. Match invoices by printing two things and squinting. It's 4 hours of work that should be 4 clicks.
No audit trail
Who changed that price? When? Why? Excel doesn't know. When there's a dispute with a vendor or a client questions a change order, you're digging through email chains and old file versions.
Single player mode
Your PM updates the estimate. Your foreman has a different version. Your office manager has last week's copy. Nobody's looking at the same numbers. Dropbox sync isn't a collaboration tool.
Zero integration
Your GC uses Procore. Your bookkeeper uses QuickBooks. Your Excel spreadsheet talks to neither. You're the human API — copying numbers between systems. Every copy is a chance for error.
The Path From Excel to Brikt
You don't have to jump to a paid plan. Start free. See if it's better than your spreadsheet. Upgrade when you're ready.
Excel → Brikt Free ($0/mo)
Same price. Way smarter.
- 5-slider estimate builder with real-time cost updates
- Pattern selection + waste factors (no more guessing)
- 1,476+ items in the catalog (no more Googling prices)
- PDF proposals (professional, not a printed spreadsheet)
- Revision tracking (know what changed and when)
- 3 projects, 1 user — enough to prove it works
Growing? → Starter ($59/mo)
Add procurement without the overhead.
- One-click PO from your estimate (no re-entering data)
- Vendor management (contacts, terms, history)
- Mobile receiving with photo capture
- Procurement tracker (see every PO status at a glance)
- Procore budget sync
- 3 users — bring your PM aboard
Scaling? → Professional ($189/mo)
Financial controls that pay for themselves.
- Unlimited POs
- Triple match catches invoice discrepancies automatically
- Budget dashboard shows burn rate in real-time
- Intelligence engine makes every estimate smarter
- Crew board + daily reports
- QBO integration (your bookkeeper stays happy)
- 10 users, 50GB storage
Quick Comparison
| Excel | Brikt Free | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0 | $0 |
| Time to first estimate | 30-90 min | 90 seconds |
| Material intelligence | None | 1,476+ items |
| Waste factors | You calculate | Built in by pattern |
| Formula errors | Silent | Impossible |
| Revision history | File versions | Built in |
| PDF proposals | DIY formatting | One click |
| Procurement workflow | None | Upgrade to Starter |
| Collaboration | File sharing | Real-time |
| Learning curve | You already know it | 5 minutes |
No pressure. Just try it.
Keep your spreadsheets. We're not asking you to burn them. Just build one estimate in Brikt and see how it feels. If Excel is still better for you, no hard feelings.
Excel got you here. Brikt takes you further.
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