Cosuno alternatives: 3 options compared (2026)

Cosuno is a tendering platform for construction services that clients and general contractors use to find, invite and award subcontractors. People looking for alternatives usually also want to buy building materials, or to handle the steps after awarding (ordering, delivery notes, invoice checking and payment) in the same system. This comparison sets out Cosuno and three alternatives side by side.

Disclosure: This comparison is published by Streckenheld. Information about other providers comes from their public websites (as of October 2026) and may have changed since. If you spot an error or an update, please let us know at hello@streckenheld.com.

Cosuno at a glance

Cosuno describes itself as "The leading AI-based tendering platform for construction" and "The leading platform for tendering and subcontractor management in the construction industry". A co-founder summed up the space in 2022 as "We call it pre-construction." The company was founded in 2019 in Berlin, its website is in German and English, and its focus is the DACH region.

Built for: clients, general contractors, developers and architects; its case studies include ALDI SÜD and Kondor Wessels. Subcontractors use the platform on a free Basis plan or a paid Premium plan.

Main modules according to its website:

• Tendering: create tenders in a few clicks, an AI agent checks the tender, and bid requests go out with one click.
• Subcontractor network: "über 250.000 qualifizierte Auftragnehmer" (more than 250,000 qualified contractors) according to the site; AI suggests suitable bidders.
• Bid comparison: an "automatischer Preisspiegel" (automatic price matrix) and comparison against your own cost estimate.
• Awarding and contracts: digital awards and rejections, contract signing and change-order management.
• GAEB: subcontractors bid in GAEB format, and import and export are supported.
• Cost control: estimate versus actual, where actuals come from awarded contract values and approved change orders according to the help centre.
• Certificates: expiry dates are tracked, with automatic reminders.
• Analytics: award success and a historical price database.
• Cost structures: the common German structures DIN 276 and STLB are supported by default, plus custom structures. Users assign line items to cost groups.

AI features: the AI price assistant gives a market reference price for each BoQ line from "über 7 Millionen Preisdaten" (more than 7 million price points), explicitly described as a reference to put into context, not a price to adopt. The AI agent in the BoQ (beta) explains and checks the bill of quantities; Cosuno notes that the check finds what is missing but does not confirm what is correct. There is also a BoQ assistant that reuses earlier texts and prices, a PDF price import (beta) and AI bidder recommendations. Cosuno's openness about the limits of these features is worth noting.

Integrations and rollout: Cosuno mentions connections to SAP, RIB iTWO, Nevaris Build and BRZ; the documented integration is with RIB iTWO 4.0, for exchanging GAEB BoQs and bids. Cosuno holds BVBS seals. One customer reports having moved the whole tendering process online "innerhalb von drei Tagen" (within three days).

Why companies look for alternatives to Cosuno

Cosuno is built for tendering construction services. Alternatives usually come up when needs go beyond that:

• Building materials: a dedicated module for building-material purchasing is not described on its website; material requests can run through the normal tendering flow.
• Steps after awarding: purchase orders, order confirmations, delivery notes, invoice checking and payment approval are not described on its website.
• Actual costs from invoices: cost-control actuals come from contract values and change orders. If you want to track costs based on checked invoices, you need another system for that.
• Classification: DIN 276 and STLB are supported, and users assign the cost groups. Automatic categorisation is not described on its website.
• The bidder's view: the AI agent in the BoQ checks for missing content. A check of the BoQ and contract terms against VOB/B and the ATV of VOB/C (the German construction contract rules and technical specifications) is not described on its website.

The alternatives

Streckenheld

Streckenheld is an AI platform for procurement and document checking in construction, for building materials as well as services. Bills of quantities or material lists go to several suppliers or subcontractors with deadlines and automatic reminders, and offers arrive as a web form or PDF. A line-by-line price matrix compares them, with AI matching, a spec comparison and a negotiation co-pilot. RFQs can be sent as budget or award requests; an accepted offer becomes a contract. The guide to quote requests shows how this works in practice.

For bidders there is costing per BoQ with cost sources and markups, offer PDFs, a pipeline for tenders and the VOB check. GAEB is imported (X80 to X86) and exported as X83/X84. After the award come ordering with multi-step approval, delivery notes, the four-way match, payment approval and a SEPA file. Every line is classified automatically under ECLASS.

• Strengths: building materials and services in one chain from RFQ to payment, automatic classification, the VOB check for bidders, integrations with BRZ, Nevaris, RIB and PDS.
• Keep in mind: suppliers and subcontractors are found through your own contacts, Google Places and the Streckenheld network, not through a subcontractor marketplace. Prices are not public.
• Best fit: construction companies and building-material dealers that want to manage material purchasing and subcontracted services together with the document chain.

Comstruct

Munich-based Comstruct calls itself "AI agents for construction" and "automates your entire procurement process, from the Bill of Quantities to the fully matched invoice." The BoQ becomes a structured enquiry, items are grouped by material category and sent to suitable suppliers. Offers are compared line by line, with "automatic renegotiation". Then come call-offs against framework contracts with an approval chain, delivery tickets digitised from paper, PDF, EDI or photo, and an invoice check against the BoQ, framework contract and delivery note with automatic account assignment. An ESG module provides CO₂ data and EPDs.

• Strengths: continuous material procurement from the BoQ to the invoice, experience with large general contractors and infrastructure projects, ISO/IEC 27001.
• Not described on its website: GAEB, order-confirmation check, e-invoicing, payment approval.
• Best fit: large general contractors and infrastructure builders in Switzerland and Germany. More in the comparison of Comstruct alternatives.

Kuro

Berlin-based Kuro, founded in November 2024, sees itself as the "KI-Fundament für Generalunternehmer" (AI foundation for general contractors) that turns the chaos of every project into knowledge that grows with each one. Its contradiction analysis checks plans, the building specification and the contract against each other and rates every contradiction by risk. For bid review, Kuro converts every offer into GAEB and shows where quantities, texts or line items were changed. There is also a room-book agent that writes back to the BIM model via Revit, an agent for public tenders, risk and tender analysis, and an AI chat. Every result is linked to its source.

• Strengths: analysis of large document sets before construction, a customer-specific rulebook with review criteria and checklists, ISO 27001 and EU hosting, integrations with iTWO/RIB, Revit, IFC, SharePoint and Egnyte.
• Not described on its website: awarding, purchase orders, delivery notes, invoice checking, payment. Procurement and accounting are named by an investor as future areas.
• Best fit: estimating teams at large general contractors. More in the comparison of Kuro alternatives.

Classic AVA software: alongside platforms such as Cosuno, many construction companies and planning offices work with classic AVA software such as RIB iTWO, Nevaris or ORCA AVA, that is, software for tendering, awarding and billing (Ausschreibung, Vergabe, Abrechnung). Cosuno itself mentions connections to RIB iTWO and Nevaris Build. If you already work with such a program, you are often looking for a complement for individual steps rather than a replacement.

Comparison table

"Not described" means not described on the provider's website (as of October 2026).

When Cosuno is still the right choice

• You mainly award construction services to subcontractors. The network of more than 250,000 contractors claimed on its website and the AI bidder recommendations help you get enough bids for every trade.
• You need reference prices for your cost estimate. The AI price assistant benchmarks each BoQ line against more than 7 million price points.
• Certificates and compliance documents take a lot of effort. Cosuno tracks expiry dates and sends automatic reminders.
• You work as a client or developer with DIN 276. Custom cost structures, the documented RIB iTWO 4.0 integration and the BVBS seals fit well with that way of working.

Where Streckenheld is different

Building materials and services, across the whole document chain. Cosuno focuses on tendering construction services to subcontractors. Ordering, delivery notes, invoice checking and payment features are not described on its website, and actual costs come from contract values rather than invoices. Streckenheld covers building materials and services: RFQs to suppliers and subcontractors, contracts, ordering with approvals, delivery notes, the four-way match of order, order confirmation, delivery note and invoice, payment approval and a SEPA file. If you want, Streckenheld chases missing delivery notes and order confirmations automatically per supplier, and your own rules are set up as AI instructions, typically during a two-week onboarding.

Automatic ECLASS classification. Every line item is assigned automatically to an ECLASS product category, and suppliers and services to trades. Spend can then be analysed by site, supplier and material without anyone maintaining cost groups by hand. In Cosuno, users assign line items to DIN 276 or STLB cost groups.

The VOB check for bidders. If you bid on public tenders yourself, the VOB check reviews the BoQ: every line is assigned to the matching ATV of VOB/C and checked against it and against VOB/A, and the contract terms are checked against VOB/B. Every finding quotes the BoQ and the exact clause. Tenders often arrive as a GAEB file. The VOB check is not legal advice.

A complement, not either-or. Cosuno and Streckenheld are not mutually exclusive: Cosuno for tendering subcontracted services, Streckenheld for building materials and the document chain from ordering to payment approval. Want to see how that looks for your projects? Book a demo.