What does a BIM viewer for site teams cost?

The drawing office sends over an IFC model and asks whether the crew can look at it on site. You search for “ifc viewer price” and get a row of free programs for a PC, a few training sites and not a single price you can compare with anything. If you do find a price list, it shows an amount per user per month, and you are left to work out what that means for a full crew.

The problem is not that viewers are expensive. The problem is that they are priced in very different ways, and the amount on the pricing page rarely tells you what you will actually pay. A viewer that charges per user costs something different for three people than for thirty. A free viewer costs nothing, until you find out what it cannot do.

This article explains how the market prices viewers, who pays in each model, and what to check before you put two prices side by side. It contains no amounts for other products: they change, and they say little without the conditions that come with them.

The free viewer from your CAD package

Several software makers offer a free viewer. Autodesk has a free online viewer that runs in the browser. Dalux offers a free BIM viewer in which you look at models and drawings together and share them with your crew. On top of that there are standalone free IFC viewers for a PC.

For the drawing office, that is often enough. You open the model, turn it around and check whether the export is right. On site it is different. A program for a PC does not help you on the scaffolding. A viewer in the browser needs a signal. And free usually means there is a limit, or that the features for the site sit in a paid version.

Who pays for the crew here? Nobody, as long as you stay within the limits. The question is what you have to do when you go over them, and that is not always on the first page.

Per user per month

This is the usual model for site platforms and collaboration tools. Fieldwire charges per user per month and has a free plan with a limit on users, projects and sheets. BIMcollab charges per user per month and allows a limited number of guests per paying user. PlanRadar also charges per user per month, and states explicitly that subcontractors and watchers are free in every package.

The advantage is that you can start small. The drawback is that the bill grows with your crew. Add a foreman, or send a second installation crew, and you pay more. If you want to give everyone on site a tablet, you see it in the price quickly.

With this model, always check who counts as a user. A subcontractor who only needs to look can be free, limited to a number per paying user, or simply cost a full licence. That difference often weighs more than the amount itself.

Per project or per company

A smaller part of the market charges per project or with one price for the whole company. With a price per project you pay for every site that is running, regardless of how many people look at it. With a price per company you pay one subscription, and the crew and the subcontractors pay nothing separately.

For a contractor with many people on a few sites, that is often easier to budget. You know in advance what it costs, even if three more people join next month. Do check where the limit is: a price per company usually has a maximum on projects, people or storage, and if you go over it, you move up to a bigger plan.

What to check before you compare

A price only means something once you know what you get for it. These five questions help you put two viewers side by side fairly.

Does it work without a signal? In a basement, a hall with a metal roof or behind foil, the signal drops. A viewer that stops working then is of little use on site, however cheap it is. Ask whether the model stays on the device and whether you can open it without a connection.

Can you measure yourself? Looking at a model is different from taking a dimension from it. Check whether you can measure between two points yourself, or whether you only see the dimensions the draughtsman put in.

Do the drawings sit next to the model? The crew works with drawings, not only with a model. A viewer that only opens IFC sends you back to paper or to a second program. Ask whether PDFs and DWGs sit next to the model.

Do subcontractors count? This is where the bill most often differs from what you expected. Ask whether a subcontractor is free, how many are allowed, and whether they need their own account.

What happens when you stop? Check what happens to your projects and models when you cancel or move back to a free plan. Does everything stay, can you still open it, or do you have to download everything before a certain date?

How Field-Viewer does it

Field-Viewer charges per company, not per user. There is a free plan to start with, a Team plan with one fixed price per company when you have more projects at the same time, and a custom plan for larger companies. Subcontractors do not count as people on your crew. If you stop Team, you fall back to the free plan and everything stays. Working without a signal, measuring yourself and the drawings next to the model are in every plan. What each plan allows and costs is on the pricing page, and how Field-Viewer compares with other viewers is in the comparisons.

Sources

Checked on 4 November 2026, pricing model only, no amounts:

• Autodesk Viewer, free online viewer: viewer.autodesk.com
• Dalux, free BIM viewer: dalux.com/products/bim-viewer
• Fieldwire, price per user per month and a free plan with limits: fieldwire.com/pricing
• BIMcollab, price per user per month and a limited number of guests per paying user: bimcollab.com/pricing
• PlanRadar, price per user per month, subcontractors and watchers free: planradar.com/pricing