[SOLVED] Bluebeam Revu Alternative

[PsychoPsyops]

Hello all,

We at a small business are looking for an alternative to Bluebeam Revu and one without a subscription model.

Bluebeam Revu is a robust pdf viewer and mark-up tool that we use for large-scale drawings in the construction field and prominently dealing with duct work.
We have been using it for years, however Bluebeam is changing their licensing model to a subscription-based model early next year, which is looking to be too expensive for us.

I was having trouble finding an alternative to Bluebeam Revu that is both as robust or more, and does not have a subscription model. We would like to continue to pay per license.
It must also support both Windows 10 and Windows 11.
Anyone know of any out there?

Thank you.

 

[kanewolf]

Hello all,

We at a small business are looking for an alternative to Bluebeam Revu and one without a subscription model.

Bluebeam Revu is a robust pdf viewer and mark-up tool that we use for large-scale drawings in the construction field and prominently dealing with duct work.
We have been using it for years, however Bluebeam is changing their licensing model to a subscription-based model early next year, which is looking to be too expensive for us.

I was having trouble finding an alternative to Bluebeam Revu that is both as robust or more, and does not have a subscription model. We would like to continue to pay per license.
It must also support both Windows 10 and Windows 11.
Anyone know of any out there?

Thank you.

Have you investigated if the new licensing allows you to have fewer total licenses? For example, you might be able to have "floating" licenses which are used on-demand by staff and automatically returned to the pool after a non-use timeout. So if the peak simultaneous usage is 7 even if you have 25 different employees that use the software periodically, you would only require 7 or 8 subscriptions. Software on a per user basis may not have an option like that. You might not like the subscription model, but you may be forced into it if you like the software.

 

[PsychoPsyops]

Have you investigated if the new licensing allows you to have fewer total licenses? For example, you might be able to have "floating" licenses which are used on-demand by staff and automatically returned to the pool after a non-use timeout. So if the peak simultaneous usage is 7 even if you have 25 different employees that use the software periodically, you would only require 7 or 8 subscriptions. Software on a per user basis may not have an option like that. You might not like the subscription model, but you may be forced into it if you like the software.

The new Bluebeam subscription model will only allow up to 5 simultaneous devices with each subscription, and only annual payments. We have between 100 and 150 devices and counting that all need an active Bluebeam license, so this new model is not ideal for us at all for these reasons, in addition to the price increase.

 

[kanewolf]

The new Bluebeam subscription model will only allow up to 5 simultaneous devices with each subscription, and only annual payments. We have between 100 and 150 devices and counting that all need an active Bluebeam license, so this new model is not ideal for us at all for these reasons, in addition to the price increase.

The expense may be undesirable, but it is a business expense. If it generates enough revenue because of using the software, then it should be a fairly easy justification.
I am not in that industry, nor have I ever used that specific software. I did purchasing of software for a large contract. Sometimes, you just have to create appropriate justifications and suck up the costs.