Looking for an alternative to Accela for plan review?
Whether you're frustrated by its interface or want a tool dedicated to the plan review experience rather than dozens of other functions, you have plenty of options. Some are just as comprehensive as Accela, while others are dedicated plan review tools that slot into Accela's ecosystem.
Below, we'll compare the best plan review platforms by use case so you can select the right fit.
Accela is one of the most comprehensive platforms available for city management and local government. It truly is end-to-end; Accela can handle everything from permitting and licensing to short-term rentals. Plan review came to Accela more recently, through its 2025 acquisition of ePermitHub.
Like some reviewers on G2, you may find Accela feels a bit outdated compared to other tools on the market. Or maybe you’re hitting roadblocks integrating with your other systems. Or perhaps you’re running into the broader set of issues local governments face when relying on one platform to handle every function, rather than best-in-class software that integrates.
Even with ePermitHub in the mix, plan review is one piece of a much larger platform, and it can get deprioritized. Larger platforms tend to focus more on being a system of record than on offering a best-in-class markup experience, which matters when you're in the weeds of plan review.
Here's the good news: depending on what's frustrating you, replacing Accela's plan review doesn't have to mean replacing Accela. Some of the platforms below can slot right into Accela’s permitting suite, rather than ripping it out.
No matter what the marketing guides say, there’s no single “best” platform; instead, there’s a best platform for each use case. Here are the two use cases we come across most:
If you’re leaving Accela because you’re frustrated over the lack of attention to markup tooling, then Bluebeam Revu might be a suitable alternative to try.
Bluebeam Revu is primarily marketed and sold for construction, so if you need a PDF markup tool designed for construction plan sets, then Revu is a solid choice.
All four of Bluebeam’s pricing tiers include access to Revu, Bluebeam’s desktop markup application. In comparison, the three highest tiers include Bluebeam’s cloud-based software (Basics does include the cloud but cannot create new Studio sessions).
Basics includes Bluebeam Revu and Bluebeam Cloud, with PDF creation and markup plus basic length and area measurement tools. Meanwhile, Core includes more advanced measurement capabilities and CAD workflows, and the highest tier, Max, offers advanced features, including Bluebeam’s AI features like automated checks for plan errors and LLM integrations that can edit documents and collect metadata.
As a desktop markup tool, Bluebeam Revu is great, but what if you need a cloud-based markup tool for plan review? Our next alternatives may be the platform you’re looking for.
What if you want something more powerful than a desktop markup tool, but still dedicated to the needs of plan reviewers rather than entire city governments?
For that, you need electronic plan review software designed to support the entire plan review process and slot into your permitting system. There are two platforms we’d recommend here, depending on the size of your city or complexity of your needs:
Avolve offers two plan review software products: ProjectDox and DigEplan. ProjectDox came first as Avolve’s original plan review product. DigEplan started as a separate company before merging with Avolve in 2022. Both products exist concurrently today, with ProjectDox sold to larger governments that need enterprise software while DigEplan serves the midmarket.
If you need the enterprise sophistication and complexity Avolve offers, these can be great options. It’s worth noting that while these are dedicated solutions for permitting and plan review within Avolve’s ecosystem, some reviewers find the markup tools lacking – often a shortcoming with these larger, more comprehensive platforms.
What if you want something in the middle: modern, cloud-based software that doesn’t sacrifice markup capabilities for other features? For that, a modern, collaborative plan review platform like e-PlanSoft may be the answer.
Like ePermitHub, e-PlanSoft is a cloud-based plan review product that supports markup, plan intake, and plan set comments. And like Bluebeam Revu, e-PlanSoft offers a best-in-class markup interface with advanced features like snap-to-measure, intuitive measurements, and dark mode.
But there’s one key difference that sets e-PlanSoft apart. Unlike the other platforms on this list, e-PlanSoft was built solely for collaborative, cloud-based review. That means that everyone reviews and comments on the same plan set in real time – not different versions that are reconciled and compiled later.
And if you're on Accela, you don't have to leave it. e-PlanSoft integrates with the Accela Civic Platform and seven other permitting solutions (and offers a developer-friendly REST API). You’ll get a two-way connection to keep records in sync, reflect resubmittals back in Accela, and support single sign-on, so reviewers move from their Accela queue into markup without a second login.
e-PlanSoft also offers time-saving AI features that can help flag errors before the review begins, check versions on resubmission, and help reviewers turn findings into actionable feedback for applicants.
If you want a broad platform with Esri GIS layers inside the review screen, heavily customized enterprise workflows, and built-in performance dashboards, Avolve is a great option for you. But if you want simultaneous multi-discipline markup, a world-class markup tool, and a system of record for plan review, all in an intuitive platform your reviewers can learn quickly, e-PlanSoft may be a better fit.
Here’s a quick side-by-side comparison showing how a dedicated plan review tool like e-PlanSoft compares with markup tooling and all-in-one permitting and plan review solutions.
| Capability | PDF Markup Tools GENERAL PURPOSE | All-in-One Permitting PERMITTING SUITE | Comprehensive Plan Review ENTERPRISE PLATFORM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dedicated plan-review software | ✓e-PlanSoft was built exclusively for plan review. | — | — | ✓ |
| Configurable fields and workflows | ✓e-PlanSoft offers custom fields and configurable workflows to match your processes. | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Native support for reviewer comments | ✓Reviewer comments are automatically added to an applicant’s corrections list. | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Native support for real-time collaboration on a shared document | ✓Every department marks up the same plan set at the same time. | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| PDF-like interface for document review | ✓If you can mark up a PDF, you’ll find e-PlanSoft’s markup tool to be remarkably similar – with added features Adobe can’t support. | ✓ | — | ✓ |
| Self-serve portal for intake | ✓e-PlanSoft includes a citizen portal for intake and status checks. | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| AI-powered plan review | ✓Rather than replace plan reviewers, we believe that AI should automate the simple stuff, augment what you can do, and free people up to offer judgment where they are needed most. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Designed for speed and ease of use | ✓e-PlanSoft was designed for the needs of modern plan reviewers. | ✓ | — | — |
Whether you choose a PDF markup tool or a comprehensive plan review platform is your choice. But here’s why cities and local governments looking to bring their plan review process into the 21st century trust e-PlanSoft:
Plan review should be collaborative, but traditional methods treat it like anything but. We often speak to governments that wade their way through a mess of paperwork after each discipline reviews and comments on copies of the same plan set.
With e-PlanSoft, you get a shared review environment that lets multiple disciplines review the same plan set at the same time, with comments, markups, and version history in one place. Unlike other software platforms that create multiple files behind the scenes and reconcile them with technical wizardry, e-PlanSoft keeps everything in a single file. This saves you time, reduces the room for error, ensures that everyone has the latest version, and gives you more time to complete reviews.
The need for human expertise and judgment in plan review isn’t going anywhere. We firmly believe that, which is why we’re building AI that saves you time where you lose it most while preserving your judgment where it matters most.
Many new upstarts are offering AI-powered plan review to automate the entire process. Instead, we’re focusing on four key areas where plan reviewers lose the most time:
AI that tries to automate every facet of plan review is liable to make mistakes, which slows you down and forces you to babysit a tool and do double work. We believe in AI that speeds you up where it’s needed so you can focus on your most important work.
Email, paper, massive PDFs, and clunky software – who has time for that?
e-PlanSoft was designed for modern governments, empowering plan reviewers instead of getting in their way. With a thoughtful approach to AI that removes busywork while preserving human judgment, plus time-saving features like reusable comments, plan-set statuses, and an external-facing intake portal, city governments on e-PlanSoft can stay on top of their queues.
e-PlanSoft also integrates directly with your permitting platform to bridge the gap between disciplines by moving documents and review information between systems, reducing manual handoffs and keeping the process moving.
Between Avolve, Bluebeam, and e-PlanSoft, you have three excellent choices to support your plan review and permitting process.
If you need a simple desktop markup tool, Bluebeam is a great choice. If you want a comprehensive enterprise-level platform, Avolve is the right option.
But if the problem is plan review itself (sequential reviews, comment reconciliation, wrangling large PDFs), you may not need to replace Accela at all. e-PlanSoft plugs into your Accela workflow, so you keep your system of record and upgrade the part of the process your reviewers live in.
By taking the manual work of copying, routing, and consolidating documents off your plate, e-PlanSoft lets your whole team review the same plan set at once, so you can focus on compliance, safety, and staying a step ahead of your queue.
Click the button below to see e-PlanSoft for yourself.