Comparison

Bluebeam vs Nucleus

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

Head to head
About

Bluebeam

Access and collaborate on PDF documents directly from your mobile device. Communicate project updates with markups and work offline by syncing files. Seamlessly join live collaboration sessions and manage document revisions from the field.

Highlights
  • Real-time PDF collaboration
  • Markup and annotation tools
  • Offline file access
  • Document syncing
  • Studio Project management
  • Live session joining
Features
Read full description

Bluebeam for iOS keeps you connected to your teams and documents, so you can quickly access the information you need in the field and capture what matters for the office. - Communicate with markups using tools like callouts, text, clouds, and status indicators - Import your team's custom Tool Sets from Revu, so your standardized markups are ready to go in the field, even offline - Attach photos captured in the field directly to a markup, so supporting documentation stays organized without cluttering your drawings - Open your files stored on your device, Studio Projects, or Studio Sessions - Join Studio Sessions for live collaboration. If your connection drops, your changes sync when you're back online - Check out files in Studio Projects to make edits, then check them back in when you're ready - Work offline by syncing Project files ahead of time or opening PDFs stored on your device Whether you’re reviewing submittals, placing markups in the field, or tracking revisions with your team, Bluebeam gives you the flexibility to get the job done from anywhere.

About

Nucleus

Features
Read full description

Nucleus - Field Manager is field project management built by people who've actually pulled wire, terminated panels, and chased down change orders — not generic task software retrofitted for construction. TRACK EVERY DEVICE, NOT JUST EVERY TASK Most project tools stop at "task complete." Nucleus tracks every camera, reader, and panel through its real installation lifecycle — Wire Ran, Terminated, Deviced, Commissioned — so you always know exactly what's left before a job can close out. BOARD, LIST, OR TIMELINE — YOUR CALL Work the way your team already thinks: a Kanban board for daily flow, a list view for detail, or a full project timeline showing device-level progress alongside task schedules. FINANCIALS THAT ACTUALLY MATCH THE FIELD Change orders with real labor/material/rental line-item math, PO tracking from submission through received, and budget-vs-actual P&L by phase — built around how low-voltage and security integrators actually bill. PROCUREMENT WITHOUT THE SPREADSHEET Track parts ordered vs. received, by distributor and PO number, so nothing falls through the cracks between the office and the warehouse. BUILT FOR HOW CREWS ARE ACTUALLY STRUCTURED Role-based access from Admin down to Technician — a Foreman sees what a Foreman needs, a Technician sees exactly their assigned tasks, nothing more. STAY IN SYNC IN THE FIELD Real-time chat, push notifications for assignments and status changes, and a full audit trail of who changed what and when. Whether you run security integration, structured cabling, AV, or any low-voltage trade, Nucleus is built around the real lifecycle of a device install — not adapted from software meant for something else.

Screenshots

Bluebeam4 screens
Nucleus4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Nucleus at 15.0 against Bluebeam's 18.0. 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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bluebeam ships an update monthly, Nucleus every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Bluebeam versus Nucleus: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBluebeamNucleus
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.5 (408 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews2.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings408 — better—
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size295 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBluebeam, Inc.MICHAEL G DEERFIELD

Bugs and requests

Bluebeam

Reported bugs

28 issues
  • Markups fail to load or display correctly
  • App deletes markups instead of saving them
  • Documents wipe clean when reopened
  • Files uploaded disappear from app
  • Corrupted file errors when opening PDFs
Show 23 more
  • Keyboard disappears during login
  • Selection boundaries too large, preventing precise markup selection
  • Apple Pencil input stops working intermittently
  • Pen tool produces no line output despite input
  • App crashes when opening large file sets
  • Session documents fail to load
  • Blank PDF pages displayed
  • Scaling doesn't work properly
  • Blue screen errors
  • Markups missing after checkout and checkin
  • Incomplete markups syncing between devices
  • App freezes during document checkin
  • Unable to add users to sessions
  • Projects not showing up in app
  • App crashes when opening Studio sessions
  • Drawings won't load or open
  • Markup placement doesn't correspond to tap location
  • PDF goes blank when inserting callouts
  • Constant logout requiring re-authentication
  • Links to details don't work
  • App crashes on older iOS versions
  • Audio communication issues
  • File synchronization failures

Requested features

25 requests
  • Restore measurement and scaling tools
  • Add custom toolsets and tool libraries
  • Implement bookmarks for document navigation
  • Enable image embedding in callouts
  • Add undo/redo functionality
Show 20 more
  • Support multiple PDF tabs simultaneously
  • Create stamp library with standardized markups
  • Add dimension markup capabilities
  • Allow local PDF file access and import
  • Full Studio session integration
  • Improve Apple Pencil responsiveness and precision
  • Add eraser tool for pen markups
  • Enable photo capture and attachment to markups
  • Support Dropbox and cloud storage integration
  • Add form field editing capabilities
  • Implement punch list and defect tracking
  • Add RFI creation functionality
  • Support for custom columns and data fields
  • Reset viewpoints feature
  • Pen width and cloud shape customization
  • Settings menu for preferences
  • Better pen and drawing mechanics like Notability
  • Ability to download session documents to device
  • Support for opening PDF attachments from desktop
  • Batch file upload capability

Nucleus

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Bluebeam

No in-app purchases

None

Nucleus

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Bluebeam free?
Bluebeam is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Nucleus free?
Nucleus is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Bluebeam or Nucleus have ads?
Neither Bluebeam nor Nucleus shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Bluebeam or Nucleus?
Bluebeam ships an update monthly, and Nucleus every 2 weeks. Most recently, Bluebeam was updated on October 24, 2026 and Nucleus on September 27, 2026.

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