← Architecture & Engineering (AEC) ranking

Startup & small team · Prompt 4 of 8 · September 2026

A real buyer question from the September 2026 snapshot, asked 3× to each of the three models. 9 answers recorded.

“Which AEC project software is best for a small design studio on a budget?”

ChatGPT answered 3× this snapshot

For a small AEC design studio on a budget, the “best” software depends on what you need most: Best overall budget pick: Monograph Built for architecture and engineering firms Strong for project budgeting, forecasting, staffing, and time tracking Easier to use than heavier enterprise tools Good fit if you want firm management + project performance in one place Best if you want low-cost flexibility: ClickUp Very…

Named across its answers: 1. Monograph2. ClickUp3. Autodesk Construction Cloud4. Deltek Ajera5. BQE CORE

Verbatim excerpt from one collected ChatGPT answer; formatting flattened, words untouched.

Blender and Monograph tie on raw mention count (4 of 9 each), but Blender wins on quality of placement with an average position of 2.3 versus Monograph's 3.8. Monograph's visibility is effectively a ChatGPT phenomenon, meaning its exposure disappears entirely outside that one model.

AI-generated read of the September 2026 measurements.

Who wins this question

Open

ChatGPT

Claude

Gemini mentioned · first · avg. pos

Blender 1224 4/9 · 1× first · #2.3

Monograph 1257 4/9 · 1× first · #3.8

Notion 4146 4/9 · 1× first · #3.8

SketchUp 5546 4/9 · never first · #5

FreeCAD 211 3/9 · 2× first · #1.3

ClickUp 231 3/9 · 1× first · #2

BricsCAD 411 3/9 · 2× first · #2

LibreCAD 333 3/9 · never first · #3

monday.com 433 3/9 · never first · #3.3

Autodesk Construction Cloud 418 3/9 · 1× first · #4.3

Archicad 675 3/9 · never first · #6

Deltek Ajera 686 3/9 · never first · #6.7

Each square is one collected answer; the number is the brand's position in that answer. Lime = the very first recommendation. Unlinked brands were named by the models here but sit outside this category's published top 15 overall. Showing the top 12 of 45 brands named at least once. Never mentioned here: Deltek Vantagepoint, Procore, Unanet AE, Ajera, Deltek, Unanet AE ERP, ArchiOffice, BigTime.