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Arcol vs SWAPP

Not like-for-like. Arcol is a browser-based building design authoring platform where the model, live metrics, sheet sets and boards update together, aimed at feasibility and early design, with published per-user prices. SWAPP sells AI that produces construction document sets, models and QA checks inside a firm's own Revit or ArchiCAD files, priced by credits through a quote. Desk research from vendor pages read Oct 27, 2026; not tested, no winner.

DESK RESEARCH, NOT TESTED. Compiled from vendors' public websites (accessed Oct 27, 2026). Vendor claims are not verified by Means & Methods Lab. No scores or rankings.

In short: Arcol (Browser-based building design & feasibility; vendor publishes prices) vs SWAPP (AI construction documents & BIM automation; no public prices (quote / sales)). Facts last checked Oct 27, 2026. No winner declared; not tested.

Side by side

Arcol vs SWAPP: vendor-published facts side by side
Sheet rowArcolSWAPP
CategoryBrowser-based building design & feasibilityAI construction documents & BIM automation
AI role (our label)AI features added to established productAI-first
What it doesBuilding design authoring platform with a shared model where design, live metrics and reporting update together, plus sheet sets and boards. The vendor says it has "construction intelligence at its core"; boards are for presentation and site context is added automatically. The homepage describes a platform "built for agentic workflows" where AI agents and teams collaborate, and says every design action produces structured outputs that humans and agents can act on (integrated preconstruction); it frames deeper agent automation as something the architecture is built for rather than itemizing AI features today. Paid plans add Revit export and North American site parcel and zoning data. Vendor customer stories name architecture firms using it for feasibility and masterplanning (vendor-published). Re-read Oct 17, 2026 (rendered in a browser): homepage and pricing page unchanged in substance; the pricing FAQ says editors can create presentations, change metrics and model, while collaborators can only view and comment on projects they are invited to, and that Revit export is on paid plans only. Re-checked Oct 19, 2026: unchanged in substance; the pricing FAQ adds that team admins manage billing from their settings page and that student offers are available through sales, and homepage customer stories name SERA Architects, Gorman, GWWO, HCM Architects, THW and CDH (vendor-published). Re-checked Oct 21, 2026: homepage and pricing page unchanged in substance. Re-checked Oct 23, 2026: the homepage still says AI agents and teams collaborate to design buildable, on-budget projects and that it is built for agentic workflows; customer stories have grown (vendor material, not used). Re-checked Oct 25, 2026 (pricing page rendered in a headless browser): the plan comparison still lists unlimited collaborators, live-updating metrics, sheet sets, automatic site context, Revit export on paid plans, and North American site parcel and zoning data. Re-checked Oct 27, 2026 (also read for a compare): the homepage now leads with "Constructible. By Design." and calls Arcol the authoring platform for designing buildings with construction intelligence at its core; it still says AI agents and teams collaborate and that it is built for agentic workflows. Unchanged in substance otherwise. Customer stories are vendor material and not used.AI documentation and modeling platform for architecture firms that produces CD sets, models and QA checks inside Revit and ArchiCAD. It executes work in the model: complete construction document sets (dimensions, tags, views, sheets) to a firm's standards, 2D-to-3D modeling, finish schedules and parameters from SD through CD, QA validations, and agentic ADA checking that finds and fixes issues in the model. Frank is its agentic assistant that reads and writes the live model. Each engagement starts with a two-week onboarding that encodes the firm's guidelines and QA logic. Vendor claims it automates up to 80% of CD tasks, has delivered 35M+ sq ft of documents and saved 104,300+ production hours in two years (vendor claims, not verified). Preconstruction coordination, construction RFI feedback and operations modules are listed as "Coming 2026". Vendor says it is ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certified and that native BIM files are not sent to third-party LLM providers. Re-read Oct 17, 2026: homepage unchanged in substance; the navigation now lists a Frank Skills Library, Workflow Memory and an Integrations page naming Revit, ArchiCAD, Procore and Trimble. Re-checked Oct 19, 2026: unchanged in substance; Frank is now billed as an AI Architect, with Revit and Archicad demo pages; the 80% CD-task, 35M+ sq ft and 104,300 hour figures and the Coming 2026 modules are unchanged (vendor claims). Re-checked Oct 20, 2026: unchanged in substance (Frank billed as an AI Architect that reads and writes the live Revit or ArchiCAD model, two-week onboarding, workflow memory, Preconstruction, Construction and Operations modules still Coming 2026, ISO/IEC 27001:2022 with native BIM files not sent to third-party LLM providers); the homepage also offers Request Early Access next to Book a Demo. Re-checked Oct 21, 2026: unchanged in substance (Frank, two-week onboarding, workflow memory, Preconstruction, Construction and Operations still Coming 2026, ISO/IEC 27001:2022). Re-checked Oct 23, 2026: still positioned around Frank, an AI architect for Revit and Archicad, with a skills library, workflow memory built in a two-week onboarding, several items marked Coming 2026, ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification and a statement that data is not used to train general models. Re-checked Oct 25, 2026: homepage unchanged in substance (Frank, an agentic AI assistant working inside Revit and ArchiCAD for CD sets, 2D-to-3D modeling, validations against firm standards and agentic ADA checking; Design to Operations scope; ISO/IEC 27001:2022). Production claims are vendor statements and not used. Re-checked Oct 27, 2026 (also read for a compare): unchanged in substance (Frank, an agentic AI assistant inside Revit and ArchiCAD for CD sets, 2D-to-3D modeling, QA validations against firm standards and agentic ADA checking; Lifecycle Intelligence and Workflow Memory; ISO/IEC 27001:2022). Production figures are vendor claims and not used.
Who it's forArchitects and designers, developers, general contractors and owners (vendor's site navigation lists all four).Architecture firms' project architects, BIM and design-technology leaders, and firm leadership; a Contractors & Owners page frames design intelligence carried into the field (vendor wording).
Pricing (as publicly stated)Solo: free for personal projects, no credit card required. Team: $100 per user per month billed monthly (unlimited projects, templates, Revit export, North American parcel and zoning data, customer success manager). Annual Team plan shown in the comparison table without a separate price; contact sales. (Checked Oct 15, 2026.) Re-checked Oct 17 and Oct 19, 2026: unchanged. Re-checked Oct 21, 2026: unchanged (Solo free, no credit card; Team $100 per user per month billed monthly; Team Annual in the comparison table with no separate price, through Contact Sales). Re-checked Oct 23, 2026: unchanged; Solo is free with no credit card, Team is $100 per user per month billed monthly, and Team Annual is through sales. Re-checked Oct 25, 2026: unchanged (Solo free with no credit card; Team $100 per user per month billed monthly; Team Annual in the comparison table through Contact Sales). Re-checked Oct 27, 2026: unchanged (Solo free with no credit card; Team $100 per user per month billed monthly; Team Annual through Contact Sales; Revit export on paid plans).Not publicly listed. Pricing page (checked Oct 16, 2026) now describes credit-based pricing with no rigid tiers or fixed scopes: credits are consumed across the platform by the work you run (documentation, modeling, annotation, optimization), with different tasks consuming credits differently; a custom quote form asks for firm size and project types, and a quick estimate can be requested. No credit prices shown. Earlier note (Oct 15, 2026): Not publicly listed (pricing page is a quote form; vendor says engagements start with a pilot on your own projects). Re-checked Oct 17, 2026: unchanged (credit-based, custom quote form, no credit prices). Re-checked Oct 19, 2026: unchanged. (credit-based, custom quote, no credit prices). Re-checked Oct 20, 2026: unchanged (credit-based, no tiers, custom quote form asking firm size, project types, Revit use and US projects; quick estimate on request; no credit prices). Re-checked Oct 21, 2026: unchanged (credit-based, no tiers, custom quote form; no credit prices). Re-checked Oct 23, 2026: still credit-based with no published tiers and a custom quote form; no change. Re-checked Oct 25, 2026: unchanged (credit-based with no rigid tiers or fixed scopes; custom quote form and a quick estimate on request; no credit prices). Re-checked Oct 27, 2026: unchanged (credit-based, no tiers; custom quote form and a quick estimate on request; no credit prices shown).
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Facts last checked: Oct 27, 2026. Prices change; check the vendor page before relying on them.

Where the vendor descriptions differ

  • What each sells (vendor wording): Arcol calls itself the authoring platform for designing buildings with construction intelligence at its core, with a shared model, live-updating metrics, sheet sets, presentation boards and automatic site context. SWAPP describes complete CD sets to a firm's standards (dimensions, tags, views, sheets), 2D-to-3D modeling, finish schedules and parameters, QA validations and agentic ADA checking.
  • How the AI is used: Arcol says it is built for agentic workflows where AI agents and teams collaborate, and that design actions produce structured outputs people and agents can act on; it does not itemize AI features today. SWAPP's Frank is an agentic assistant that reads and writes the live Revit or ArchiCAD model, with a skills library and Workflow Memory built during a two-week onboarding.
  • Where the work lives: Arcol runs in the browser, with Revit export on paid plans and North American parcel and zoning data. SWAPP works inside the firm's existing Revit and ArchiCAD models and says native BIM files are not sent to third-party LLM providers; it states ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification.
  • Who they name: Arcol's navigation lists architects and designers, developers, general contractors and owners. SWAPP targets architecture firms' project architects, BIM and design-technology leads and firm leadership, with a Contractors & Owners page.
  • Pricing (checked Oct 27, 2026): Arcol Solo is free with no credit card; Team is $100 per user per month billed monthly; Team Annual is through sales. SWAPP publishes no prices: credits are consumed by the work you run, with a custom quote or quick estimate on request. See each tool page for detail.
  • Not used here: Arcol's customer stories and SWAPP's CD-task share, square footage and production-hour figures (vendor claims).

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.

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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

  • Whether you need early-stage design and feasibility or construction documents produced in your existing BIM files
  • How well either fits your firm's Revit or ArchiCAD standards and templates
  • What SWAPP's credits cost for your project 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?
  • What does it cost you in practice, compared with what the sales call said?

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