Get a Quick Side-by-Side Comparison
Feature comparison
High
Medium for schedulers, low for field team
Procore, Autodesk
None
"Outbuild has streamlined our schedule making process as well as providing increased visibility to stakeholders inside and outside of our organization. It has also provided a streamlined process for connecting our schedules to other tools in our organization we utilize."
What matters most to you?
We’ve compared Outbuild and Phoenix in the six areas that have the biggest impact on your schedules, your team, and your bottom line. The results speak for themselves.
One living plan: CPM + field lookahead.
Outbuild connects a field‑first lookahead directly to the master schedule, so plans stay aligned as work happens. Supers and trades can update from the jobsite while PMs keep CPM rigor—no parallel spreadsheets, no stale exports.
Desktop CPM. Powerful, but disconnected.
Phoenix delivers core CPM scheduling, but it’s desktop‑based and lacks a connected lookahead. Teams often maintain short‑interval plans in Excel, which fragments data and drives miscommunication.
Built for everyone, not just schedulers.
Outbuild’s modern, intuitive interface is designed so supers, PMs, and trades can get productive fast—often with minimal training. Guided onboarding and a clean, construction-ready layout on web and mobile help teams adopt the platform in days, not weeks.
Simple for schedulers, less so for the field.
Phoenix’s desktop-era design caters mainly to trained schedulers. Without a field-first experience or mobile access, field teams won’t adopt it and the problem of a schedule disconnected from field realities remains.
Access from anywhere.
Outbuild is designed for use on the web or on iPad, so PMs and schedulers can access it from any computer with an internet connection, and the field team has an easy-to-use iPad app they can take around the job site.
Stuck in the office.
Phoenix is built for master schedule management on a computer—without dedicated or mobile field planning functionality, the field team isn’t going to touch it.
Work as one team, keep commitments visible.
Outbuild brings office and field together on a single live schedule, enabling PMs, supers, and trades to update progress, flag risks, and solve issues in real time. Built-in Lean/Last Planner tools make trade commitments visible, trackable, and easier to manage, so constraints are resolved before they cause delays.
Disconnected updates, manual accountability.
Phoenix stores schedules locally with no real-time collaboration layer, so sharing updates requires exporting and emailing files. Without Lean/Last Planner features, subcontractor accountability is handled manually, often through spreadsheets and meetings.
Stay connected to your project ecosystem.
Outbuild offers direct integrations with tools like Procore and Autodesk Construction Cloud, keeping the PM system up to date and aligning core project documentation like RFIs and Submittals to the schedule. This eliminates duplicate data entry and ensures the entire team is always working from the latest information.
Manual updates, siloed data.
Phoenix has no direct integrations with major construction platforms. Teams must rely on importing and exporting files, which increases admin work and the risk of outdated information in the field.
Fast start, guided by experts.
Most teams are fully operational in less than a week thanks to Outbuild’s guided onboarding and intuitive design. Our team works directly with your PMs, supers, and trades to ensure adoption in both the office and the field from day one.
Longer ramp-up, limited field focus.
Phoenix onboarding can take longer due to its desktop setup and scheduler-centric design. Without a field-first approach, adoption among supers and trades often stays nonexistent.
final verdict
Is Outbuild better than Phoenix?
If you want construction scheduling that includes field team participation, enables real-time updates and risk tracking, connects lookaheads to the master schedule, integrates with PM systems, and provides robust schedule analytics, Outbuild is the better choice over Phoenix. Phoenix remains a lightweight desktop CPM tool built for schedulers, without mobile access, collaboration, live integrations, or analytics.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why choose Outbuild over Phoenix?
Outbuild delivers the same CPM scheduling power as Phoenix but adds connected lookahead planning, iPad access, real-time collaboration, integrations, and analytics. This makes it effective for the entire project team, not just schedulers.
How does Outbuild keep schedules more accurate than Phoenix?
Outbuild’s connected lookahead keeps the master schedule updated with progress and roadblocks in real time, eliminating the need for time consuming meetings to reconcile field updates with the schedule. Phoenix schedules are static until updated manually, which means information becomes outdated quickly.
Can my field team use Outbuild on-site?
Yes. Outbuild is designed for the jobsite, with full access to the schedule and ability to update the lookahead on iPads. Phoenix is desktop-only, meaning field teams must rely on static schedules and have no direct way to provide updates back to the office.
Does Outbuild integrate with other construction tools?
Yes. Outbuild offers a deep, two-way integration with Procore, connecting RFIs, submittals, and schedule updates in real time. Outbuild also integrates directly with Autodesk Construction Cloud, allowing you to push schedules with one click and keep teams working from the most current plan without manual exports. Phoenix has no direct integrations, requiring manual updates between systems.
How does collaboration compare between Outbuild and Phoenix?
With Outbuild, PMs, supers, and trades can collaborate on a shared schedule together, and provide instant communication about changes and issues. Phoenix has no built-in collaboration layer, so changes and updates must be shared manually, and information is likely to lag.
What makes Outbuild better for subcontractor accountability?
Outbuild supports Lean/Last Planner workflows, making commitments visible and trackable while helping teams remove constraints early. Phoenix does not provide these features, leaving accountability to manual or separate processes.
Does Outbuild provide analytics and risk tracking?
Yes. Outbuild includes schedule risk and roadblock tracking plus automated analytics to spot delays before they impact the project. Phoenix offers no built-in performance analytics.
How quickly can we get started with Outbuild?
Most teams are fully operational in less than a week, thanks to Outbuild’s guided onboarding and easy-to-use interface. Phoenix onboarding can take longer due to its desktop setup and scheduler-focused design.
What our customers are saying.
From billion-dollar companies to smaller family-owned businesses. They all believe that construction deserves a better scheduling and planning tool.
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