Automated Plan Check
Helonic is an AI construction drawing analysis platform for people comparing AI tools for Automated Plan Check.
Tools that read the issued PDF package and return located findings, ranked apart from manual markup and from GC-only plan review.
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Permit-preview products and AHJ tools also automate parts of plan check. They target comment rounds with a building department. Helonic targets the producer-side pass before you submit or bid. For the definition of the workflow, read what AI plan check is. For AHJ and permit buying criteria without a ranked list, read what to look for in automated plan check software. Producer-side drawing-review criteria stay on what to look for in AI drawing review.
Automated plan check on the issued set
Helonic reads architectural, structural, MEP, fire, and civil PDFs together and flags IBC, ADA, coordination, and missing-detail issues with sheet coordinates. Design and CM teams run it before they file so the first human pass starts from a located list. Findings can become Procore or Autodesk RFIs after triage.
Best for: Producer teams checking the set before they submit
Permit comment preview
PlanCheckPro runs a code-citation pass meant to preview what a building department might mark. It is useful as a pre-submission simulator. It is not a full coordination and constructability review of the same package. See [Helonic vs PlanCheckPro](/compare/helonic-vs-plancheckpro) for the split.
Best for: Firms that want a Florida-centered or AHJ-style comment preview
AHJ and code-consultant assist
CodeComply is built for plan reviewers inside a jurisdiction or a code consultancy. It speeds intake and cited findings on submitted sets. Producer teams that still own coordination and RFI workflow usually want a different tool. See [Helonic vs CodeComply](/compare/helonic-vs-codecomply).
Best for: Building departments and code consultants reviewing incoming sets
Permit intake and completeness
Archidian (and similar permit-readiness tools) scores sheet completeness, title blocks, and selected IBC and ADA checks before you file. Strong on intake hygiene. Weaker as a cross-discipline coordination engine that writes RFIs into the GC platform.
Best for: Architects cleaning a set before the permit counter
Manual plan-check markup
Bluebeam is how most reviewers still mark a set by hand. Bluebeam Max adds Smart Review in preview, which scans for issues like missing sheets, door and plumbing tags, and gridlines. Keep Bluebeam for overlays and transmittals, and pair it with Helonic when the set is too large to read sheet by sheet.
Best for: Human markup, compare, and studio sessions
Automated plan check reads the sheets you would send to a reviewer and returns issues with a location, a reason, and enough evidence for a person to accept or reject. Helonic does that on 2D PDFs with no BIM required.
A completeness score or a chat summary is not plan check. The output has to name the sheet, the conflict, and the next owner. That is the same standard we use in how to review construction drawings.
Buy PlanCheckPro or Archidian when the only job is a comment preview before you file. Buy CodeComply when you are the jurisdiction or a code consultancy reviewing incoming sets. Buy Bluebeam when a person will mark every sheet and you only need the markup tool.
Buy Helonic when the same team owns coordination and code on the set they are about to submit. The average RFI still costs about $1,080 and 10 to 15 days (Navigant Construction Forum). GC bid-and-mobilization ranking stays on best plan review software for general contractors.
Jurisdiction plan check decides whether the city accepts the permit. Producer-side automated plan check decides whether your set is ready to file. Helonic does not issue a permit. A reviewer still owns the determination.
Running Helonic before you submit cuts comment rounds because the obvious IBC, ADA, and coordination misses are already on a list. The AHJ pass still happens. You just stop using the city as your first reviewer.
UpCodes launched Plan Review on June 3, 2026, which analyzes project drawings against its library of locally adopted codes and links each issue to a drawing page and code section. Bluebeam Max added Smart Review in preview, and Autodesk plans a Drawing Compliance Review for early 2027 that checks packages against codes and owner requirements.
Those tools overlap with the code side of Helonic. Helonic differs by combining code checks with cross-discipline coordination and by pushing accepted findings into Procore and Autodesk as RFIs.
Helonic automates plan check on 2D PDF drawing sets for design and construction teams. It flags code, coordination, and constructability issues with sheet coordinates. PlanCheckPro and Archidian preview permit comments. CodeComply assists jurisdiction reviewers.
Helonic and similar tools surface likely issues before a human reviewer or AHJ decides. Final code determination stays with the licensed reviewer and the jurisdiction.
Helonic runs automated plan check on issued 2D PDFs. BIM clash tools help when a federated model exists. Most permit and bid sets are still PDF packages.
Bluebeam records markups a person makes on the sheet, and Bluebeam Max adds Smart Review in preview for a few automated checks. Helonic reads the whole set and proposes located code and coordination findings first. Most teams keep Bluebeam for communication.
The GC ranking covers bid and mobilization review. This page ranks software that automates plan check on the drawing set, including permit-preview and AHJ tools.
UpCodes launched Plan Review in June 2026, which analyzes project drawings against locally adopted building codes and returns issues linked to the drawing page and code section. Helonic adds cross-discipline coordination checks and RFI export to Procore and Autodesk.
Milind is the co-founder and CEO of Helonic, where he leads product and go-to-market for AI-powered construction drawing analysis. He works closely with general contractors, project managers, estimators, and owners to understand how drawing quality drives project outcomes - and where AI can reduce RFIs, change orders, and rework. Milind has interviewed hundreds of construction professionals across project delivery roles, from preconstruction estimators at ENR top-400 contractors to facilities directors at institutional owners, and uses those conversations to shape both product direction and the way Helonic talks about the work.
How this page was researched: Ranked software that automates plan check on issued drawing sets, separate from GC-persona plan review and from the buying-criteria blog. Compared producer-side full-set review (Helonic) with permit-preview tools (PlanCheckPro, Archidian) and AHJ-side review (CodeComply). Informed by Helonic runs on commercial PDF sets and conversations with permit coordinators and GC precon leads. Updated October 2026 for UpCodes Plan Review, Bluebeam Max Smart Review, and Autodesk's planned Drawing Compliance Review.
Last reviewed by Milind Sagaram · October 4, 2026
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