// PURPLE HAMMER VS BLUEBEAM
Purple Hammer vs Bluebeam, feature by feature.
The first real alternative to Bluebeam. Matched on the basics, further where it matters.
| Ability | Purple Hammer | Bluebeam* |
|---|---|---|
| // Markup | ||
| Text, clouds, shapes, lines, arrows, polylines | Yes | Yes |
| Callouts, freehand pen, stamps | Yes | Yes |
| Images, signatures | Yes | Yes |
| Styles / palettes | Yes | Yes |
| Flatten / export marked-up PDF | Yes | Yes |
| // Measure & takeoff | ||
| Length & area takeoff | Yes | Yes |
| Dimensions, per-page scale, calibration | Yes | Yes |
| Metric & imperial | Yes | Yes |
| Markups list / takeoff table | Yes | Yes |
| Custom columns | Yes | Yes |
| Formula columns (takeoff calculations) | Yes | Core+ |
| Measured markups become rows | Yes | Yes |
| Count takeoff | Yes | Core+ |
| Perimeter / volume | PerimeterVolume soon | Core+ |
| // Export | ||
| Marked-up PDF, full-page & region PNG/PDF | Yes | Yes |
| Comparison PDF / PNG | Yes | Core+ |
| Excel (XLSX) workbook | Yes | Complete+ / reports |
| Comparison GIF | Yes | No |
| // Worksheets & estimating | ||
| Built-in estimating worksheet | Yes | No |
| Custom spreadsheet | Yes | No |
| Lookup tables | Yes | Limited / Excel-side |
| Project-wide rollups & cross-drawing totals | Yes | Reporting / Excel-side |
| Quantity Link | Native worksheet workflow | External · Complete+ |
| Pricing without leaving the app | Yes | Limited |
| Export formulas that keep working | Yes | Not published |
| // Power Syntax | ||
| Named columns | Yes | Yes |
| Whole-column formulas | Yes | Core+ |
| Lookup tables as functions | Yes | NoExcel-side |
| Project / building / floor scopes | Yes | No |
| One formula across many drawings | Yes | No |
| Cross-drawing SUM / SUMIF rollups | Yes | Reporting / Excel-side |
| Duplicate lookup error | Yes | No |
| Native Excel formula export | Yes | Not published |
| // Revisions & comparison | ||
| Compare two revisions, overlay | Yes | Core+ |
| Auto-align | Yes | Core+ |
| Fast compare | <2 s typical | Manual / workflow-heavy |
| Blink compare | Yes | No |
| Multiple alignment candidates | Yes | No |
| Unevenly shifted drawings | Yes | Limited |
| Compare any historical version | Yes | Workflow-dependent |
| Revision-linked takeoff data | Yes | Limited |
| // Big projects & document control | ||
| Revision history per drawing, markups per revision | Yes | Core+ |
| Large project drawing sets | Yes | Workflow-heavy: manual Sets + slip-sheeting |
| Performance maintained in big sets | Yes | Depends on file complexity, hardware & workflow |
| Folder watcher / new-PDF detection | Yes | Manual |
| Rename-safe & move-safe tracking | Yes | Not published |
| Content fingerprinting, duplicate detection | Yes | Not published |
| Latest revision tracking | Partial | Core+Sets |
| Slip-sheeting | Automated, version-controlled | Complete+ |
| // Performance | ||
| Very large zoom range, native viewer engine | Yes | Yes |
| Smooth pan / zoom target | 120 FPS | No published 2D FPS target |
| Heavy PDF responsiveness | Yes | Yes |
| Sharp render after zoom | ~100 ms typical | Not published |
| Vector display sharpening | Yes | Not published |
| // Snap & bad PDFs | ||
| Vector / object snap, grid snap | Yes | Yes |
| Raster edge snap — flattened & scanned linework | Yes | Not published |
| Magic Measure / click-to-fill area | Yes | Complete+ · Dynamic Fill |
| // AI & MCP | ||
| AI / MCP — drive the full app (human parity) | Native · full-app | Limited |
| Plan availability | All — no tiers | Max only |
| // Platform | ||
| Windows desktop | Yes | Yes |
| Native Mac desktop | Yes | No |
| Native Linux desktop | Partial · webview-dependent | No |
| Web app | No | Yes |
| iOS / Android | No | Yes |
| // Collaboration & enterprise | ||
| Real-time markup sessions | Soon | Yes |
| Studio-style cloud sessions | Soon | Core+ |
| Cloud project storage, web/mobile field review | No | Yes |
| // Price & tiering | ||
| Trial | Yes | Yes |
| Entry price | $12.99/mo founding | $260–$590 / user / yr · billed annually |
| Rotate licences | Monthly | Annual, per user |
| Compare & auto-align included | Yes | Core+ |
| Advanced takeoff workflow included | Yes | Complete+ |
| Feature tiers | None | Tiered |
| Price lock | Through 2029 | Promo terms vary |
* Comparison based on a best-efforts review of published information and broadly available third-party reviews, as of 16 June 2026. Bluebeam plan names, tiering, and pricing reflect plans published at that date and may change — verify current plans at bluebeam.com. “Not published” means Bluebeam may have a related capability but does not appear to publish the same explicit claim. Purple Hammer statuses reflect the current product and near-term roadmap. Bluebeam® is a trademark of its respective owner; this page is an independent comparison and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Bluebeam.