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ALICE vs Outbuild

Two AI-first scheduling tools that sit at different levels of a project. ALICE is generative scheduling software for large capital projects that simulates many construction scenarios to optimize, de-risk, recover or accelerate a Primavera P6 or Microsoft Project schedule, sold by custom quote. Outbuild is a collaborative scheduling and field-coordination platform that ties the master schedule to lookaheads, weekly work plans and roadblocks for supers and trades, with a published starting price. Vendor pages read Oct 22, 2026; desk research, not tested, no winner.

DESK RESEARCH, NOT TESTED. Compiled from vendors' public websites (accessed Oct 22, 2026). Vendor claims are not verified by Means & Methods Lab. No scores or rankings.

In short: ALICE (Scheduling; no public prices (quote / sales)) vs Outbuild (Collaborative scheduling & lookahead; vendor publishes prices). Facts last checked Oct 22, 2026. No winner declared; not tested.

Side by side

ALICE vs Outbuild: vendor-published facts side by side
Sheet rowALICEOutbuild
CategorySchedulingCollaborative scheduling & lookahead
AI role (our label)AI-firstAI-first
What it doesAI construction scheduling software that simulates many scenarios to optimize, de-risk, and recover schedules, at bid stage and during construction. The vendor calls this planning approach "generative scheduling", with "what-if" exploration of construction scenarios. Products listed: ALICE Optimize, ALICE Analyze, ALICE Model (baseline from a 3D model), and ALICE FieldPlan (beta), plus a Schedule Insights Agent for chatting with a schedule. Imports Microsoft Project, Oracle Primavera P6, and Primavera Cloud schedules. Vendor says it has been deployed on more than $410 billion of construction projects (vendor claim). Re-read Oct 17, 2026: the homepage also lists Targeted Optimization (finding the fastest path to a schedule acceleration target), a Schedule Quality Score that says what to fix and why, and a Construction Schedule Agent; its FAQ says the platform is SOC 2 Type II compliant and Cyber Essentials Plus certified, data is encrypted in transit (TLS 1.2+) and at rest (AES-256), and customers own all data they submit and generate (vendor statements). Re-checked Oct 19, 2026: ALICE FieldPlan is still marked In Beta and is described as building lookaheads connected to drawings, ALICE Analyze as a single view of project and portfolio health, and the homepage names industrial (energy, data centers, battery plants, chemical plants, mines, pipelines), civil and transit (railways, metros, highways, bridges, tunnels, viaducts) and building project types. Re-checked Oct 21, 2026: homepage unchanged in substance (ALICE Optimize, Analyze, Model and FieldPlan, still marked In Beta; Targeted Optimization; Schedule Quality Score; works with Primavera P6 or Microsoft Project). The page names both a Construction Schedule Agent and a Schedule Insights Agent; the $410 billion deployment figure is an unchanged vendor claim. Re-checked Oct 22, 2026: unchanged in substance (Optimize, Analyze, Model, FieldPlan in beta, Targeted Optimization, Schedule Quality Score, Construction Schedule Agent and Schedule Insights Agent); the $410 billion figure and 17% / 14% / 12% savings lines remain vendor claims and are not used.AI-powered, collaborative scheduling and field coordination platform (vendor description) for master schedules, lookaheads and weekly work plans. Users can build master schedules (or import from MS Project or P6), create lookaheads from the master schedule with progress pushing back automatically, weekly work plans with trade commitments, and reporting such as Percent Planned Complete, Percent Roadblocks Removed, Reason for Variance, and S-curves. Procore integration is described by customers; the pricing FAQ (checked Oct 15, 2026) lists two-way Procore integration, Autodesk Construction Cloud integration, and export to PDF, XML, or XER. Vendor cites 450+ customers and $50B+ in active projects (vendor claims). Re-read Oct 17, 2026: the homepage now calls Outbuild a scheduling intelligence platform for construction, announces a Q3 launch called Field Forward, and lists turning RFIs into trackable roadblocks; its Procore section lists two-way schedule sync, submittals tied to schedule activities, RFIs pulled into the Roadblock Log and drawings attached to lookahead tasks. The pricing FAQ says every plan includes onboarding, live support, integrations and iPad access. Re-checked Oct 19, 2026: unchanged in substance. The base plan is now named Outbuild Core (master schedule, lookahead, project hub, weekly work plan, schedule impact management, roadblocks and Outbuild AI); the menu describes Outbuild AI as instant schedule answers and lists scheduling agents, a template library and Schedule Impact Requests; integrations listed are Autodesk, Procore and Trimble ProjectSight; and the pricing page lists iPad and iPhone apps with an offline mode. Re-checked Oct 21, 2026: unchanged in substance (scheduling intelligence platform, Field Forward Q3 launch banner); the pricing page's plan table lists Outbuild AI features as Executive Dashboard Assistant, Schedule Assistant, Schedule Health Agent, Schedule Co-Builder Agent and Schedule Generator Agent. The 450+ customers and $50B+ figures remain vendor claims. Re-checked Oct 22, 2026: unchanged in substance; the plan table still lists the Executive Dashboard Assistant, Schedule Assistant, Schedule Health Agent, Schedule Co-Builder Agent and Schedule Generator Agent, and a homepage banner promotes a Q3 release called Field Forward. The pricing FAQ says a phone version is coming soon while the plan table lists iPad and iPhone apps.
Who it's forOwners, contractors, and consultants. Pricing FAQ says it is most often used by GCs and owners in infrastructure, industrial, and commercial sectors, generally on projects of at least $75M construction value.General contractors, owners, trade partners, and architects; superintendents and schedulers.
Pricing (as publicly stated)No public prices (checked Oct 16, 2026; unchanged Oct 17 and Oct 19, 2026): the pricing page says "Start here to request a custom quote of ALICE", with a questionnaire (company type, project size, construction value of your average project, priorities, location) followed by a consultation call to share tailored pricing; no figures. The pricing FAQ says the price covers access to the platform plus dedicated time from the customer success team. Earlier note (Oct 14, 2026): pricing based on the size and scope of your projects, with unlimited users and unlimited data. Confirm current pricing with the vendor. Re-checked Oct 21, 2026: unchanged (custom-quote questionnaire on company type, project size, priorities, business model and average project value, then a consultation call; no figures; unlimited users). Re-checked Oct 22, 2026: unchanged (custom quote, no figures, unlimited users and data; the FAQ still says customers generally use it on projects of $75M+).Starts at $999/month, billed annually, scaled by the company's annual construction volume rather than by user or project; every plan includes unlimited users and projects. Outbuild Pro (portfolio dashboards, risk and variance analysis) is custom-priced. Free trial offered. (Pricing checked Oct 15, 2026; unchanged Oct 17 and Oct 19, 2026; the page's example works out to $100 per project or $50 per user a month at 10 projects and 20 users.) Re-checked Oct 21, 2026: unchanged (Outbuild Core starts at $999/month billed annually, based on annual construction volume, unlimited users and projects; Outbuild Pro shows Speak to an expert with no figure). The $20,000 on the pricing page is an ROI calculator output, not a price. Re-checked Oct 22, 2026: unchanged (Core from $999/mo billed annually, priced on annual construction volume, unlimited users and projects; Pro custom; free trial or demo). The ROI calculator is still not used.
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Vendor links
Sources

Facts last checked: Oct 22, 2026. Prices change; check the vendor page before relying on them.

Where the vendor descriptions differ

  • What the AI does: ALICE says it simulates millions of possible construction scenarios to find an efficient resource-loaded schedule, with Targeted Optimization for a schedule acceleration target, a Schedule Quality Score, construction sequencing and a Schedule Insights Agent for chatting with a schedule. Outbuild lists Outbuild AI features on its plan table as an Executive Dashboard Assistant, Schedule Assistant, Schedule Health Agent, Schedule Co-Builder Agent and Schedule Generator Agent.
  • Where it is used: ALICE names owners, contractors and consultants on industrial, infrastructure (railways, highways, bridges, tunnels) and commercial work, from pursuit through execution; its pricing FAQ says customers generally use it on projects of at least $75M construction value. Outbuild names general contractors, owners, trade partners and architects, and is built around the field: lookaheads tied to the master schedule, weekly work plans with trade commitments, roadblocks with reason codes and iPad use offline.
  • Schedules in and out: ALICE imports Microsoft Project, Oracle Primavera P6 and Primavera Cloud schedules, and ALICE Model builds a baseline from a 3D model. Outbuild builds master schedules or imports them from MS Project or P6, exports to PDF, XML or XER, and says it is built to replace legacy scheduling tools.
  • Integrations: Outbuild lists two-way Procore integration (RFIs, submittals and schedule updates), Autodesk Construction Cloud and Trimble ProjectSight. ALICE's pages read today centre on schedule import rather than listing project-management integrations.
  • Pricing (checked Oct 22, 2026): ALICE publishes no prices; its pricing page takes a quote request and its FAQ says pricing is based on the size and scope of your projects, with unlimited users and data, and covers platform access plus customer success time. Outbuild Core starts at $999 a month billed annually, priced on your annual construction volume, with unlimited users and projects; Outbuild Pro (portfolio dashboards, risk and variance analysis) is custom-priced; a free trial is offered.
  • Security: ALICE's FAQ says it is SOC 2 Type II compliant and Cyber Essentials Plus certified (vendor statement). We recorded no security certification from Outbuild's pages.
  • AI tags: both are tagged AI-first.
  • Not used here: ALICE's $410 billion deployment figure and its 17% duration and 14% labor and 12% equipment cost-saving lines, and Outbuild's 450+ customers, $50B+ active projects, hours-saved and days-of-delay lines and ROI calculator (vendor material). Neither tool has been tested by Means & Methods Lab.

Paraphrased from the sources listed above. Vendor claims are reported as claims.

What users say

The facts above come from vendor websites. Whether either tool is any good for your work is something only people who use them can say. These are member reviews, all ratings shown, never edited or removed for being negative.

Used either of these? Share your take

Good or bad, an honest review from an estimator, PM or super helps the next team more than another vendor demo. You post under a handle; your email is never shown.

Questions to ask in your review

  • How each handles a real infrastructure schedule with thousands of activities and resource constraints
  • Whether field updates in Outbuild and ALICE's optimized options can feed the same P6 baseline without rework
  • What ALICE costs for a single project versus a portfolio
  • Where Outbuild's price lands for your annual construction volume
  • What did you use it for, on what kind of work and project size?
  • How long did setup and training take, and who on your team did it?

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