ComparisonLooking for a plancraft alternative? Here it is.
plancraft is solid subscription software for trades businesses — well executed, clean interface, a strong app for the building site. For many businesses it is the right call. krafteq Handwerk is standard software for trade businesses too — with a different model behind it: you buy a permanent right of use instead of renting monthly, you get your own installation per business instead of access to the vendor's cloud, and billing is per business rather than per seat. We are currently rolling krafteq Handwerk out with the first businesses: you test it free of charge, receive an individual offer afterwards, and we set up your business together with you. Below is the honest comparison.
Bought, not rented. Whatever does not fit your business in the first months, we fine-tune — fine-tuning after go-live is included.
What plancraft does wellWhere plancraft is strong — and we say so plainly
plancraft is not a household name in German trades by accident. If you want finished software that starts immediately, plancraft serves you well. These strengths are not marketing fluff — they are real.
Clean interface
plancraft has invested heavily in its interface over recent years. Navigation is tidy, onboarding is fast, the learning curve is gentle — especially for owners and master craftspeople who do not want a second degree just to use their software.
Prices are public
plancraft lists its Business, Pro and Premium plan tiers with prices on its own pricing page (as of August 2026). You can compare up front, without first having to sit through a sales call.
Established vendor
plancraft is based in Hamburg per its imprint and offers its product as a subscription — with one-month, one-year and two-year terms per its own pricing page (as of August 2026). If you want an established vendor, plancraft fits.
Ready to use immediately
Contract, login, go — no set-up by a service provider. That is the real value of the subscription model, and we do not talk it down.
Where the subscription model hits limitsWhere renting gets expensive for your business
The points below are not weaknesses of the software but properties of the contract model plancraft describes on its own pricing page (as of August 2026): rented instead of bought, seats priced individually, operated in the vendor's cloud. For some businesses that is exactly right. For others it adds up over the years.
The rent never ends
As long as the subscription runs, the software runs. When the subscription ends, so does the right of use — what you paid over the years leaves no value in the business. With a perpetual licence you buy the right of use once, and it never expires.
The package price covers one office seat
Per its pricing page plancraft costs €59.90 per month on the Business tier (net, 1-year subscription), and that includes one office user. Pro (€109.90) includes two, Premium (€199.90) three. Each further office user costs €49.90, each further mobile user €19.90, the planning board €39.90 per month — as of August 2026. So the monthly bill grows with the team, traceably, per the price list. Our perpetual licence covers the business: the seats for the site crew are included.
A standard product from the vendor's cloud
Per the vendor's own description, plancraft is operated as a cloud service (as of August 2026). In a standardised operation serving many customers, customer-specific changes are typically more tightly bounded; how far any vendor goes is a commercial question and one to ask them. That is not a flaw — it is the precondition for a low entry price. We take the other route: one installation per business, which is what makes changes for your business possible in the first place.
Operation in your own network is not on the menu
Your data sits with the vendor and the software runs in the vendor's cloud — that is how plancraft describes the product itself (as of August 2026). On that description, an installation on your own server is not part of the offering. For businesses with security requirements or poor connectivity, this is where the two models part ways.
What comes with you belongs in the decision, not the cancellation
plancraft documents several export paths; per the pricing page, the GAEB interface and DATANORM are available from the Pro plan (as of Aug 2026). Which of your content comes out in which format is best settled before you sign — not when you want to cancel. What ends in any case is the use of the software itself: it is tied to the subscription term.
Price source (list prices, net, as of August 2026): plancraft pricing page — Business €59.90, Pro €109.90, Premium €199.90 per month on the 1-year subscription; additional users €49.90 (office) and €19.90 (mobile)
Direct comparisonkrafteq Handwerk and plancraft — point by point
Both are standard software for trades businesses. The difference is not a feature list but the model behind it: how you are billed, what remains after a cancellation, where the software runs, and how far it can move towards your business.
| krafteq Handwerk | plancraft | |
|---|---|---|
| How you acquire it | Purchase: a perpetual licence per business, paid once | Subscription per the vendor, term of 1 month, 1 year or 2 years |
| Entry list price | A fixed price in your offer, no monthly licence fee | €59.90 per month (Business, 1-year subscription, net) |
| Seats in the base price | Every role in your business — office and site | one office user (Business); Pro two, Premium three |
| When you hire | price stays the same | a further office user €49.90, a further mobile user €19.90 per month |
| Use after the contract ends | unlimited — your version keeps running | tied to the subscription term |
| Where the software runs | Your own installation per business: own database, own domain, own configuration | The vendor's cloud |
| Operation in your own network | on request, also without an internet connection | not part of the offering per the vendor's description |
| Adaptation to your business | Switch areas off, rename processes and statuses to your own terms, settings per installation — plus fine-tuning after go-live | Settings within the standard product; the vendor states the actual scope |
| Point of contact | A named German-speaking contact in Leverkusen, on-site meetings possible | Vendor support, based in Hamburg |
Evidence for the plancraft column (net, as of August 2026): plancraft pricing page — tiers, terms and additional users — krafteq amounts deliberately do not appear in this table — they belong in the individual offer. The plancraft rows reproduce the list prices and statements on the vendor's pricing page (net, as of August 2026); time-limited promotions are not included. We do not extrapolate a total saving from that — what your business actually needs is decided by seats, tier and add-ons. Your data belongs to you under either model; the difference is how easily you can take it with you.
Compare it against your own business
The most honest comparison is the one against your own processes. You get your test instance of krafteq Handwerk — set up for your trade, ready for your own data. Usually within three working days, no sales call and no obligation.
- No subscription
- No sales call
FAQSwitching from plancraft — what you want to know
Comparing other subscription vendors? See ToolTime and HERO.
If ToolTime or HERO Software are also on your shortlist, the comparison is worth your time. We looked at both vendors with the same method — what they do well, where the rental model hits its limits, and what a bought perpetual licence with your own installation changes about it. Start with the ToolTime comparison; you will find the HERO comparison from there.
To the ToolTime comparisonReady to stop renting?
Tell us briefly what your business does — we set up your test instance of krafteq Handwerk, usually within three working days. You try with your own data whether it fits, before cancelling plancraft. Afterwards you receive an individual written offer; we set up your business together with you. For trade businesses. Not a trade business? Then write to us via the contact form.
- No subscription
- Per business, not per head
- Your own installation
- No sales call