F&D Studio vs ArcSite
ArcSite earned its reputation the hard way: draw-as-you-measure on an iPad, standing in the yard with the client. It's a genuinely good on-site 2D drawing tool, and a lot of fence and deck contractors learned to trust it. Its limit is what happens after the drawing — ArcSite stops at the estimate. There's no invoicing, no job tracking, no scheduling, no books, and no way to price from your own supplier's numbers. You still need a second (or third) piece of software to run the rest of the business.
Pricing
ArcSite is priced per user, around $49/user/month — a two-person crew both drawing on site is already close to F&D Studio's flat Pro price, before you've added anything to run the business end. F&D Studio's price covers the whole account, not each seat.
| Feature | F&D Studio | ArcSite |
|---|---|---|
| On-site drawing | Yes (3D) | Yes (2D) |
| Satellite tracing & scale calibration | Yes | Yes |
| Automatic material takeoff (posts, rails, screws) | Yes | Manual templates |
| Real regional material pricing | Yes | No |
| Your own supplier's prices | Yes (Pro+) | No |
| Client e-signature on estimates | Yes | Yes |
| Invoicing & online payments | Yes | No |
| Jobs, crews & scheduling | Yes (Pro+) | No |
| Books / accounting | Yes (beta) | No |
| Pricing model | Flat per account | Per user |
Where ArcSite wins
If you draw exclusively on-site with the customer standing next to you, ArcSite's in-the-field 2D workflow and installed base of habit are real advantages, and it's not a fence/deck-specific tool trying to also be a general drawing app — it's built for exactly that use case.
Where F&D Studio wins
- A 3D model, not a 2D sketch — the client sees the actual fence or deck before it's built.
- The material list, price, e-signature, invoice, and payment happen in the same tool the drawing came from.
- Pricing comes from your own supplier's price sheet, not a generic average.
- One flat account price instead of a per-seat bill that scales with your crew.