Comparison

Material Now vs HCSS Plans

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Material Now

This app helps contractors manage concrete and bulk material deliveries, track job site performance, and monitor project status in real time. Field crews can monitor truck movements and communicate with suppliers, while managers can oversee project progress, place orders, and review financials from any device.

Highlights
  • Real-time delivery tracking
  • Job site performance monitoring
  • Project status updates
  • Truck tracking
  • Messaging with suppliers
  • Financial overview
Features
Read full description

Material Now lets contractors track concrete and bulk material deliveries, job site performance, and project status in real time. If you have a smart phone or tablet, you’ll have the updates you need to make informed decisions. Crews in the field can track trucks, exchange messages with materials suppliers, get alerts and avoid problems. Managers can follow project and crew performance, request new orders and check financials – all from a mobile device or online.

About

HCSS Plans

This app facilitates real-time collaboration on construction plans for heavy civil projects. It allows teams to upload, annotate, and share PDF plans, ensuring everyone works with the latest revisions. Features include smart revision control, instant document access, and built-in calculators for accurate quantity takeoffs.

Highlights
  • Real-time collaboration
  • Smart revision control
  • PDF plan upload and markup
  • Instant document access
  • Built-in heavy civil calculators
  • Location services for field use
  • Sheet overlays for conflict detection
Features
Read full description

Get everyone on the same (digital) page with this easy app, designed for heavy civil construction. Upload PDF plans from the office, and then collaborate with your entire project team in real time, no matter where they are, using markups, call-outs, notes, photos/videos, and more. Smart revision control ensures everyone works off the latest set of plans and site instructions so your crews can build correctly the first time, every time. ~~~~~ Collaboration ~~~~~ SEAMLESS TEAMWORK Align your entire project team — from foremen and managers to estimators, executives, and owners. • Management gains detailed insight into how the project was bid. • Foremen get instant access to project managers’ notes, clarifications, and calculations. • All team members can add and share layers, annotations, notes, photos, and videos. • Subcontractors can collaborate with your team for free while your sensitive information is protected. SMART REVISION CONTROL Avoid rework and delays when everyone works off the most up-to-date set of plans. • Sync revisions, annotations, and photos between the office and field. • Overlay new and old versions to identify design changes immediately. INSTANT ACCESS TO DOCS Digitally store all project documents in one, easy-to-use system for instant access in the office and field, even without Internet. • Organize your permits, contracts, shop drawings, vendor agreements, manuals, specs, and more. • Pin RFIs, issues, dig permits, and submittals directly onto plan sheets to quickly reference relevant info. ~~~~~ Heavy Civil Focused ~~~~~ CALCULATIONS & QUANTITIES Save time and money with effortless calculations, right in your app. • Accurately determine volume, tonnage, trucking, and more with built-in, heavy civil calculators. • No more guessing — report true quantities rather than eyeballing. • Supports both horizontal and vertical measurements for profile views. REAL-TIME LOCATION SERVICES No other digital plans solution provides this level of location services for your construction sites. • Easily locate yourself on the plans sheet, even in a green field, without a survey crew. • Catch issues early by walking the site to identify any obstacles that may not be accounted for in drawings. • Auto-pin photos in the exact place they were taken to more clearly communicate issues or work progress. SHEET OVERLAYS Overlay sheets to gain a more comprehensive view of your project. • Stack related sheets, such as electrical and sewer, to verify there are no conflicts in the area before each stage of work. • Stitch sheets over Apple Maps to see your plans in relation to existing structures in road or satellite view. ~~~~~ Smart Integrations ~~~~~ HCSS Plans is part of the HCSS suite, providing even more efficiency and accuracy across your teams. HeavyBid estimating software • Takeoff integration: Import HCSS Plans takeoff quantities into HeavyBid. • Easy reference: Link biditems and activities to relevant sheets for easy reference. • Better collaboration: Instantly share estimators’ notes and calculations with your Operations team after winning the bid. HeavyJob field entry & job management software • Accurate quantities: Pull in sheet calculations for accurate production quantities without double entry. • Quick reviews: Relevant sheets are one click away for easy quantity checks during web time card reviews. • Issue alerts: Get notified when an issue is logged on a sheet, and elevate it to an RFI if necessary.

Screenshots

Material Now4 screens
HCSS Plans3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: HCSS Plans at 57% against Material Now's 0%. HCSS Plans also leads on rating (4.6 vs 3.6) and ratings volume (406 vs 9). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

HCSS Plans holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: HCSS Plans has 406 ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of Material Now's written reviews are positive against 57% of HCSS Plans's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Material Now ships an update fortnightly, HCSS Plans every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Material Now versus HCSS Plans: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMaterial NowHCSS Plans
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.6 (9 ratings)4.6 (406 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews57.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings9406 — better
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.617.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size63 MB201 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBCMI CorporationHeavy Construction Systems Specialists, Inc.

Customer experience

Material Now

All ratings9 ratings
Positive55.6%
Neutral11.1%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative50.0%

HCSS Plans

All ratings392 ratings
Positive91.6%
Neutral3.1%
Negative5.4%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive57.1%
Neutral28.6%
Negative14.3%

In-app purchases

None

Material Now

No in-app purchases

None

HCSS Plans

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Material Now free?
Material Now is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is HCSS Plans free?
HCSS Plans is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Material Now or HCSS Plans?
HCSS Plans is rated higher. Material Now averages 3.6 out of 5 from 9 ratings, while HCSS Plans averages 4.6 from 406 ratings.
Do Material Now or HCSS Plans have ads?
Neither Material Now nor HCSS Plans shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Material Now or HCSS Plans?
Material Now ships an update fortnightly, and HCSS Plans every 3 weeks. Most recently, Material Now was updated on November 2, 2026 and HCSS Plans on November 3, 2026.

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