Autodesk Docs vs zipBoard
An Autodesk Docs alternative for drawing review: send a link, get every comment closed
Autodesk Docs is now Forma Data Management. If clients and consultants struggle to review drawings in it, zipBoard lets them mark up from one link, with no account, and tracks every comment to sign-off.
No credit card needed. Reviewers are always free.
Try it: mark up this drawing, no Autodesk account needed
No sign-up. Click Annotate to leave a comment or Measure to check a dimension. This is exactly what your reviewers see when you send them a zipBoard link.
This is a shared demo file, so you may see markups from other visitors.
Stop buying named-user licences for everyone who comments
On a typical project, the people who need to comment on drawings far outnumber the people who produce them. With zipBoard, everyone outside your team reviews for free.
Clients and trade partners review free
Owners, consultants, subcontractors and trade partners open a link and mark up the drawing. No licence, no app, no install.
No per-user pricing for your team
zipBoard plans are priced by the number of files you review, with unlimited collaborators and reviewers. Adding a new sub or consultant to a project costs nothing.
What it takes in Autodesk Docs
Outside recipients of a public link get a download page. To review in the Reviews tool, they need to be project members with folder permissions, on a workflow a project admin sets up.
Clients and trade partners review free: no licence, no account
Pay for files, not per-user licences
Find every open comment in one click
zipBoard vs Autodesk Docs (now Forma Data Management): how do they compare?
Feature
Built for
Getting drawings and documents reviewed and approved by your team, clients and consultants
A common data environment: storing, controlling and connecting project data across design, construction and operations
Where it runs
Any modern browser. Nothing to install
Browser and mobile. Desktop Connector syncs files with AutoCAD, Revit and Civil 3D
Price
Priced by number of files, with monthly or annual billing
Per named user, billed monthly or yearly. Essentials comes with stand-alone AutoCAD, Revit and Civil 3D
Who pays
Priced by number of files. Clients, trade partners and reviewers are free and unlimited
Named users. Outside recipients of a public link can only download
Outside reviewers
Open a share link and mark up. No account needed (optional sign-in, password, expiry)
Public links open a download page. Formal reviews are for project members with folder permissions
Markup and photos
Clouds, arrows, shapes, highlights, text and stamps. Attach photos and files to any comment, or place an image on the sheet
Markups and issues on drawings and models
Measurement
Distance, area, perimeter, arcs and count, with calibrated and multiple scales per sheet
Takeoff is a separate Autodesk product (Forma Takeoff)
Comparing revisions
Two PDF versions side by side, with synced scroll and zoom
Version history with restore
Tracking comments
Each markup becomes a task with an owner, priority and status (Open / Resolved)
Issues tracked in the Issues tool
Sign-off
Reviewers with due dates, Approved / Changes Requested decisions, custom stamps and signatures. Approvals reset on each new version
Approval workflows with steps, reviewers and approvers, set up by a project admin
Other file types
Images and renderings, video, websites and SCORM courses in the same project
Design files (DWG, RVT and more), 2D drawings and 3D models
3D / BIM
No
Yes: models in the browser and Revit cloud models
Integrations
Procore, Jira, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zapier, REST API
400+ partner integrations; API access on Forma Data Management
Hosting
AWS. SSO and private or customer-hosted options on Enterprise
Regional hosting in 8 regions, including the US, Canada, EU, UK and Australia
zipBoard vs Autodesk Docs (now Forma Data Management): how do they compare?
Feature
Built for
Getting drawings and documents reviewed and approved by your team, clients and consultants
A common data environment: storing, controlling and connecting project data across design, construction and operations
Where it runs
Any modern browser. Nothing to install
Browser and mobile. Desktop Connector syncs files with AutoCAD, Revit and Civil 3D
Price
Priced by number of files, with monthly or annual billing
Per named user, billed monthly or yearly. Essentials comes with stand-alone AutoCAD, Revit and Civil 3D
Who pays
Priced by number of files. Clients, trade partners and reviewers are free and unlimited
Named users. Outside recipients of a public link can only download
Outside reviewers
Open a share link and mark up. No account needed (optional sign-in, password, expiry)
Public links open a download page. Formal reviews are for project members with folder permissions
Markup and photos
Clouds, arrows, shapes, highlights, text and stamps. Attach photos and files to any comment, or place an image on the sheet
Markups and issues on drawings and models
Measurement
Distance, area, perimeter, arcs and count, with calibrated and multiple scales per sheet
Takeoff is a separate Autodesk product (Forma Takeoff)
Comparing revisions
Two PDF versions side by side, with synced scroll and zoom
Version history with restore
Tracking comments
Each markup becomes a task with an owner, priority and status (Open / Resolved)
Issues tracked in the Issues tool
Sign-off
Reviewers with due dates, Approved / Changes Requested decisions, custom stamps and signatures. Approvals reset on each new version
Approval workflows with steps, reviewers and approvers, set up by a project admin
Other file types
Images and renderings, video, websites and SCORM courses in the same project
Design files (DWG, RVT and more), 2D drawings and 3D models
3D / BIM
No
Yes: models in the browser and Revit cloud models
Integrations
Procore, Jira, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zapier, REST API
400+ partner integrations; API access on Forma Data Management
Hosting
AWS. SSO and private or customer-hosted options on Enterprise
Regional hosting in 8 regions, including the US, Canada, EU, UK and Australia
More review features for small teams, without per-user licences
In one zipBoard subscription
- Unlimited collaborators and reviewers: you pay for files, not people
- Share links with optional sign-in, password and expiry
- Every markup becomes a task with an owner, priority and due date
- Filters to find every open comment on a drawing
- Phases and custom statuses for your review stages
- Reviewers with due dates and an Approved / Changes Requested decision
- Measurement with calibrated scales, and side-by-side version compare
- Custom stamps and signatures
- Drawings, renderings, images, video and web pages in one project
What the full Forma Data Management plan adds
- Document approvals and metadata-driven workflows
- Automation
- Insight reporting
- API access
Forma Data Management Essentials, included with stand-alone AutoCAD, Revit and Civil 3D, covers storage, browser viewing, markups, issues and controlled sharing (Autodesk: Essentials vs Forma Data Management).
Keep the CDE you already pay for. For the review round, everyone outside your team reviews free in zipBoard, and the whole office can work in it at once.
Why do teams look for an Autodesk Docs alternative?
Rarely because file storage is the problem. They look when the review round gets painful:
- “The client doesn’t have an Autodesk account and won’t make one for one review.”
- “Comments came back by email, in a PDF and on a call. We pieced them together by hand.”
- “Who still hasn’t signed off on this set?”
- “Did the consultant’s comment on rev B actually get fixed in rev C?”
- “We’re being asked to upgrade to the full suite just to keep marking up drawings.”
Is Autodesk Docs still called Autodesk Docs? No. It’s now Autodesk Forma Data Management, part of Autodesk’s Forma industry cloud; existing projects, data and permissions carry over (Autodesk). PlanGrid users face the same question: PlanGrid is no longer sold to new customers (PlanGrid alternative).
Can clients and consultants review drawings without an Autodesk account?
In zipBoard, yes. Click Share on the file, choose what the link allows, and send it. Reviewers open it in any modern browser, type their name if asked, and mark up the PDF. You can still require sign-in, add a password or set an expiry date for confidential sets (share link settings).
In Autodesk Forma Data Management, you can send files to anyone with a public link once a project admin turns public sharing on. The recipient lands on a download page; links can expire after up to 365 days (Autodesk help). Formal reviews run in the Reviews tool, on approval workflows a project admin sets up, for members with folder permissions (Autodesk help).
So the difference is who can comment on the drawing itself. In Autodesk, that’s project members; outside parties get a download. In zipBoard, anyone with the link marks up in place.
How do comments turn into assigned work?
Every markup a reviewer places (a cloud, arrow, highlight or note) opens a task panel, so the comment gets an owner, a priority and a due date straight away.
No more retyping comments from a marked-up PDF into a spreadsheet: the task list builds itself as people review (creating tasks from PDF annotations).
Attach site photos, specs or calculations to any comment, and keep renderings, images and videos in the same project (attaching files to comments).
How do you find every comment again?
Open the filter in the review view and show only what still needs action: filter by status (Open, In Progress, Resolved/Fixed or your own statuses), by reviewer, colour or markup type, and apply it to both the drawing and the comments panel.
Click any comment to jump to its spot on the drawing, or see every task across the project in one list. Guest reviewers can use the same filters without logging in (working through a large number of comments).
Can you set up your own review workflow?
Create a phase for each stage, such as Consultant review, Client approval and Final approval, and move each drawing across as it progresses. Rename statuses to your own action codes, like Approved as Noted or Revise and Resubmit.
Assign reviewers with due dates and save the setup as a project template, so every job starts the same way (running a submittal review cycle).
Already on Procore?
Connect your Procore account and choose which projects to sync. New RFIs, submittals and change orders added in Procore then appear in zipBoard automatically, ready to mark up, so nobody downloads and re-uploads files.
Consultants and clients review those documents in zipBoard without a Procore licence, and their markups become tracked tasks. Included on the Agency and Enterprise plans (Procore integration).
Can you measure and compare revisions in the browser?
Open the Measure tab, calibrate the scale against a known dimension, then measure distance, area, perimeter, arcs or count. It’s built for checking dimensions during review, not for full takeoffs (how to measure).
When a revised sheet or set arrives, upload it as a new version of the same file and compare it with the previous one side by side, with synced scrolling and zoom, to check every comment was addressed (compare two PDF versions).
How do you record sign-off?
Add reviewers with a due date. Each one records a decision (Approved or Changes Requested), so you can see who still hasn’t signed off, across every project.
Drop your firm’s stamp, such as “Approved as Noted”, and your signature onto the drawing from the review toolbar (stamping submittals and shop drawings).
When the next revision is uploaded, approvals reset for the new round. When the round closes, download the PDF with every markup and comment, for example as an as-built or approval record for your customer (download annotated PDFs).
20,000+
users
15,000+
projects
Free
for every reviewer you invite
Works with the tools AEC teams already use
Connect zipBoard to Procore and Microsoft Teams out of the box. Need something else, such as SharePoint, your document management system or your ERP? Custom integrations through our API are available on the Enterprise plan. Tell us what you use and we’ll scope it.
How do you review a drawing set in zipBoard?
Upload the drawing set and share it as a link (reviewers need no account).
Reviewers mark up the drawings. Every markup becomes a tracked task.
Measure dimensions and compare revisions side by side.
Stamp, sign off and close the round.
Watch: track every review and approval in one place
Who should use zipBoard instead of Autodesk Docs, and who shouldn't?
zipBoard is a good fit if:
- you’re an architect or engineer reviewing with clients, owners, consultants and owner’s reps outside the firm;
- you’re a specialty contractor or small GC with a few office users and many outside reviewers;
- you review renderings, photos, walkthrough videos and specs alongside the drawings;
- you used PlanGrid for sheet markup and revisions, not for field management;
- you’re on Procore and want drawing markups to flow into the review (Procore integration).
Keep Autodesk Forma Data Management if:
- your team authors in Revit, AutoCAD or Civil 3D and relies on Desktop Connector and Revit cloud models;
- you need a contractual common data environment with folder permissions, file naming standards and transmittals;
- you coordinate 3D models, or run RFIs, schedules and cost in Forma Build;
- your crews work from tablets in the field, often offline;
- the owner or GC mandates Autodesk Construction Cloud on the project.
Already get Forma Data Management Essentials with AutoCAD or Revit? Keep it, and use zipBoard for the review and sign-off round with people outside it. zipBoard has no direct Autodesk integration today: publish the set to PDF and upload it, or build a custom integration through the API on Enterprise.
What does the review round really cost?
Seats are the visible cost; Autodesk lists Forma Data Management per named user on its store. zipBoard is priced by the number of files you review, with unlimited collaborators and reviewers (zipBoard pricing).
The review round is the bigger cost: time spent piecing comments together from email, comments lost in translation, extra rounds when nobody can see what’s still open, and chasing sign-off one person at a time.
Team
Starts at $99/ mo
For small teams that review a steady stream of drawings and documents.
- Includes:
- Up to 20 Digital Asset Pieces
- Up to 1GB Storage
- Unlimited Collaborators
- Unlimited Reviewers
- Unlimited Projects
- Standard Email Support
- Knowledge Base
Agency
Starts at $199/ mo
Ideal for an agency with multiple managers to manage projects.
- Includes everything in Team, plus:
- Up to 50 Digital Asset Uploads
- Manager seats (add-on)
- Project reports
- Integrations
Enterprise
Custom
Flexibility of content volume, priority support and dedicated account manager.
- Includes everything in Agency, plus:
- Premium Customer Success
- Single sign-on
- Archive Projects
- Custom Integrations
- Custom Workflows
- Custom Training
- Custom Reports & Insights
- Custom User Permissions & Roles
Get your next drawing set reviewed from a link
Frequently asked questions
It depends on what you need to replace. For a full common data environment, the usual alternatives are other CDEs such as Procore, Oracle Aconex or Trimble ProjectSight. For getting drawings reviewed and approved by clients and consultants, zipBoard is built for that round: reviewers mark up from a link with no account, and every comment is tracked to sign-off.
Yes. Autodesk Docs is now called Autodesk Forma Data Management. Autodesk says existing users keep their projects, data and permissions under the new name.
Existing users can still sign in, but PlanGrid is no longer sold to new customers. Autodesk offers Forma Build instead. Teams that used PlanGrid mainly for sheet markup and revisions can use zipBoard for that; field and punch-list teams usually move to a field tool.
Outside recipients of a public link get a download page. Formal reviews in the Reviews tool are for project members with folder permissions. In zipBoard, anyone you send a share link to can mark up the drawing in the browser without an account.
Not directly. Teams publish sets to PDF and upload them to zipBoard for the review round. zipBoard integrates with Procore, Microsoft Teams, Outlook, Jira, Slack, Wrike and Zapier, and has a REST API for custom integrations.
No. zipBoard reviews PDFs and drawings, images, video, websites and eLearning courses. Keep Autodesk for model viewing and coordination.
Yes. Upload the new revision as a new version of the same file and compare the two PDFs side by side, with synced scrolling and zoom. Approvals reset on each new version, so a sign-off on rev B never counts for rev C.
No. zipBoard is priced by the number of files you review, with unlimited collaborators and reviewers.
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