ConstruSteel and EZIIL both promise to get your steel shop off spreadsheets and paper. But they were built for different shops, and picking the wrong one costs you months of implementation and a team that quietly goes back to Excel.
In this head-to-head comparison of ConstruSteel and EZIIL, we’ll take a look at pricing, implementation, ease of use on the shop floor, scheduling, profit visibility, machine integration, traceability, and support.
TL;DR: ConstruSteel is a structural steel suite with 20+ years of history, strongest for structural fabricators whose margins depend on bar nesting yield, direct CNC machine links (Voortman, Kaltenbach, Ficep, Peddinghaus, Behringer, Daito), and model-based production from Tekla Structures or Advance Steel. Pricing is quote-only, so budget a sales conversation and ask for total first-year cost including training and configuration. EZIIL is purpose-built production management for 15-150 person custom fabrication shops, with flat team-size pricing (€120/$140 to €290/$338 per month for the whole team, plus a one-off €300/$350 onboarding fee), real-time profit per job, built-in EN 1090-2 traceability, a mobile shop-floor app, and a modular start that has shops live in under a week. If you run high tonnages through a beam line and live inside 3D BIM models, ConstruSteel deserves to be on your list. If you run varied custom projects and your real problem is knowing where every job stands and whether it is making money, EZIIL is the more precise and dramatically more predictable fit.
Last updated: July 2026
ConstruSteel vs EZIIL: quick comparison table
If you cut and drill high tonnages of structural steel on CNC lines and live inside Tekla models, ConstruSteel might be a solid choice. If you run varied custom projects and your real problem is knowing where every job stands and whether it is making money, keep reading, because that is exactly what EZIIL was built for.
What is ConstruSteel?
ConstruSteel is steel fabrication software from the Netherlands. Founder Jos Bonte started building it in the 1990s after implementing Tekla Structures (then Xsteel) at a Dutch structural steel company, and the product grew into a modular suite covering estimating, job preparation, bar nesting, purchasing, stock, production control, and CNC machine deployment.
The current product lineup has three parts:
- The ConstruSteel Online Suite is a web-based MRP platform for job preparation, nesting, stock management, purchasing, and workshop tablet apps.
- The Production Suite adds Smart Factory capabilities: model-based production that reuses 3D BIM data across the workshop, with digital task lists and a 3D BIM viewer on tablets.
- The Advanced Scribing plugin for Tekla Structures automates scribing, marking lines, and pop marks.
Where ConstruSteel is strong
ConstruSteel’s machine layer is the standout. Direct links to Voortman, Kaltenbach, Ficep, Peddinghaus, Behringer, and Daito equipment mean nesting output flows straight to the saw and drill line. Its bar nesting handles skew and angular cuts and automatically rotates parts to reduce cuts and material waste. For shops whose workflow starts in a Tekla or Advance Steel model, the model-based production approach reuses engineering data instead of re-keying it. And in the Benelux and German-speaking markets it has a long install base, local partners, and an estimating module that Dutch and German fabricators know well.
Where ConstruSteel has limits for small custom shops
Three things matter here:
- Pricing is quote-only, so you cannot budget the software without a sales conversation, and there is no public benchmark for what a 20-person shop pays.
- The suite is built around structural steel and machine automation. If your work is varied custom fabrication (stairs, frames, equipment, architectural metalwork) rather than beam lines and high tonnage, you are paying for depth you may not use, while the thing you actually need (live job status and job profitability) is handled as post-calculation project administration rather than a real-time view.
- There are no user reviews on the major software comparison sites (SoftwareConnect, SourceForge, Slashdot all show none as of this writing), so independent validation is hard to come by.
What is EZIIL?
EZIIL is cloud production management software built specifically for small custom steel and metal fabrication shops, typically 15-150 people, doing project-based, make-to-order work.
EZIIL Starter is the complete base product: drag and drop capacity planning by department, a live dashboard that updates as hours are reported, planned vs actual hours and costs per project, OTD indicators that flag tasks or departments falling behind, and document, drawing, and BOM management tied to each job. Optional advanced ERP add-on modules layer on top when you are ready: Bill of Materials (BOM), procurement, inventory, EN 1090-2 compliance, subcontractor management, machine planning, advanced shop floor control, detailed reporting, shipments, and invoicing integrations. Integrations include Directo and ProNest, among others.
Where EZIIL is strong
Speed and clarity. You go live in under a week starting with one module, with personal onboarding from people who understand fabrication (a one-off €300/$350 fee covers setup, training, and regular check-ins). Pricing is flat by team size, published on the website, and adding shop floor users never raises your bill. The whole shop works in one live system: Enefit Solutions deleted 12 separate Excel sheets after rollout, and APS Group rolled EZIIL out internally in a few weeks with a minimal learning curve, in the words of their planner, Sayed. And profit is visible while the job is running, not after: as APS Group put it, seeing exactly what workers are doing and how many hours each process takes gave them “tighter control of active jobs, better-informed estimating and concrete profit/loss insights per job.”
Where EZIIL has limits
EZIIL is not a machine-control product. It integrates with nesting via ProNest, but if your priority is direct CNC deployment to a Voortman or Kaltenbach line with automated bar nesting, ConstruSteel’s machine layer is deeper. EZIIL is also deliberately not a full ERP: it does not replace your accounting system, and it is built for one-off project work, not high-volume repeatable production. And there is no self-serve free trial; because every fabrication shop’s setup is unique, EZIIL starts with a free guided product tour and the onboarding team helps with initial setup and data migration.
ConstruSteel vs EZIIL
| Feature | EZIIL | ConstruSteel |
|---|---|---|
| Running the business | ||
| Job costing (plan vs actual hours and costs per project) | EZIIL✓Live profit visibility per job, while the job is running, before the invoice. | ConstruSteel●Post-calculation after project phases; you learn what a job cost once the phase is done. |
| On-time delivery (OTD) indicators across all jobs | EZIIL✓Flags tasks and departments falling behind, shop-wide, in real time. | ConstruSteel●Progress overviews of parts and assemblies driven by the 3D BIM model. |
| Live dashboard and KPI reporting | EZIIL✓Dashboard updates as hours are reported; detailed reporting module available. | ConstruSteel●Production progress overviews; oriented to workshop status rather than job profitability. |
| Estimating module | EZIIL●No dedicated estimating module; plan vs actual data per job sharpens future quotes. | ConstruSteel✓Established estimating module, well known among Dutch and German structural fabricators. |
| Planning and scheduling | ||
| Drag and drop capacity planning by department | EZIIL✓Visual planning with bottleneck and overload flags. | ConstruSteel●Production planned through orders and digital task lists generated from the model. |
| BOM, drawing, and document management tied to jobs | EZIIL✓Structural BOM module; drawings, files, and custom data on every project. | ConstruSteel✓Job preparation built around the BIM model; data flows in from Tekla or Advance Steel. |
| Subcontractor management | EZIIL✓Dedicated module; subcontracted steps planned inside the project. | ConstruSteel✗Not a published capability. |
| Procurement and stock tied to production | EZIIL✓Procurement and inventory modules linked to project BOMs and budgets. | ConstruSteel✓Purchasing and stock management in the Online Suite, fed by nesting output. |
| Nesting, machines, and BIM | ||
| Bar and plate nesting | EZIIL●Via ProNest integration; not a machine-control product by design. | ConstruSteel✓Core strength: skew and angular cuts, automatic part rotation to cut waste. |
| Direct CNC machine links | EZIIL✗Out of scope; shops needing deep CNC automation run a CAM tool alongside EZIIL. | ConstruSteel✓Voortman, Kaltenbach, Ficep, Peddinghaus, Behringer, and Daito machines. |
| 3D BIM model-based production | EZIIL✗Drawings, documents, and BOMs tied to each job rather than model-driven workflows. | ConstruSteel✓Core strength: Tekla Structures and Advance Steel reuse, 3D BIM viewer on tablets. |
| Tekla scribing automation | EZIIL✗Not offered. | ConstruSteel✓Advanced Scribing plugin for Tekla: marking lines and pop marks, automated. |
| Shop floor | ||
| Mobile apps on the worker’s own phone (iOS and Android) | EZIIL✓App Store and Google Play: start/stop timer and today’s tasks. | ConstruSteel✗Workshop tablet apps at stations instead; no published personal phone app. |
| Digital drawings and task lists on the floor | EZIIL✓On the worker’s phone, tied to the job they are clocked into. | ConstruSteel✓Tablet apps with drawings, lists, orders, and a 3D BIM viewer showing model revisions. |
| Works for manual and mixed-equipment shops | EZIIL✓Saws, drills, and welding bays; no machine dependency. | ConstruSteel●Workflow built around CNC machine deployment and model-driven production. |
| Whole-team adoption without per-user cost | EZIIL✓Flat by team size; the fifteenth welder costs nothing to add. | ConstruSteel●Licensing model not published; ask what adding users costs when you get the quote. |
| Compliance and traceability | ||
| EN 1090-2 compliance module | EZIIL✓Built in, with job-level tracking: who did what, when, with which material. | ConstruSteel●Traceability features within the production suite; no dedicated EN 1090-2 module published. |
| Shipments and deliveries | EZIIL✓Shipments and deliveries module tied to projects. | ConstruSteel●Handled through production orders and progress tracking; not a published standalone module. |
| Platform, cost, and adoption | ||
| Cloud based, works on any device | EZIIL✓100% cloud SaaS, OS agnostic, automatic updates. | ConstruSteel✓Online Suite is web based; review sites note no on-premise option for it. |
| Published pricing | EZIIL✓€120/$140 to €290/$338 per month by team size, plus one-off €300/$350 onboarding. | ConstruSteel✗Custom quote only. |
| Go live in under a week | EZIIL✓Start with one module, add the rest when ready; personal onboarding included. | ConstruSteel●Plug-and-play claim for the Online Suite; CNC and BIM configuration via training and partners. |
| Changes without consultants | EZIIL✓Configurable by your team; support comes direct from the product team. | ConstruSteel●Advanced settings handled through ConstruSteel or local partners and training courses. |
| English-first product and support | EZIIL✓English-first, with offices in Estonia and the UK; no reseller layer. | ConstruSteel●Dutch and English; strongest partner and support network in the Benelux and wider EU. |
| Public user reviews and named customer stories | EZIIL✓Published customer stories with named sources (FLI Structures, APS Group, B&W Metall). | ConstruSteel✗No user reviews on SoftwareConnect, SourceForge, or Slashdot as of this writing; vendor-published stories only. |
✓ Included ● Partial or via integration ✗ Not offered. ConstruSteel details from public vendor documentation, verified July 2026; capabilities evolve, confirm specifics with ConstruSteel. EZIIL details: eziil.com/features and eziil.com/pricing.
Pricing: published flat rate vs custom quote
This is the clearest difference between the two, and for a small shop it matters more than any feature list.
EZIIL publishes its pricing. Starter is €120/$140 per month for 1 to 15 users, €180/$210 for 16 to 50, and €290/$338 for 51 to 150, plus a one-off €300/$350 onboarding fee. Every tier gets the same feature set; tiers differ only by team size, and modules are optional add-ons. A 15-person shop’s first year on Starter costs €1,740/$2,030 all-in (12 x €120/$140 + €300/$350). You can put that number in a budget today without talking to anyone.
ConstruSteel’s pricing is available on request. That is common for established EU software suites, and a quote tailored to your machines and modules can be perfectly fair. But it means you cannot compare costs at the research stage, and you should ask specifically about the cost of adding users, adding modules, training days, and partner-delivered configuration, since those are where quote-based suites typically grow.
A practical tip whichever way you go: get the total first-year cost in writing, including onboarding, training, and every module you will actually use.
Implementation: days vs a configuration project
ConstruSteel describes its Online Suite as plug and play and ready for immediate use, with training courses, consultancy, and an expanding partner network for advanced settings. For a structural shop wiring the software into CNC machines and BIM models, that machine and model configuration is real work by nature, and the partner model exists because shops need it.
EZIIL’s model is different: start with one module, go live in under a week, and add the rest only when you are ready. Onboarding is personal and included in the one-off fee. Kane Metall built a production drawing management platform and job order system within a week. APS Group’s rollout took a few weeks for full internal adoption because, as their planner put it, the learning curve was minimal.
If you have been burned before by software that took months and got abandoned, this difference is the one to weigh most heavily. The graveyard of shop software is full of powerful systems that never reached the shop floor.
Ease of use and the shop floor
Both products understand that paper drawings and printed lists are the enemy. ConstruSteel puts specialized apps on workshop tablets: digital drawings, production lists, orders, and a 3D BIM viewer that shows model revisions instantly. That is a strong setup for a structural workshop organized around stations and machines.
EZIIL puts the shop floor on the worker’s own phone, with mobile apps on the App Store and Google Play. For the floor it is mostly start and stop a timer and see today’s tasks. If they can use a smartphone, they can use EZIIL. B&W Metall reached 100% shop floor adoption, every worker reporting in EZIIL regardless of age or role, through a step-by-step rollout, and eliminated thousands of paper work orders along the way.
The practical difference: tablet apps tied to machine stations suit a structural flow; personal mobile reporting suits a custom shop where people move between varied jobs all day.
Scheduling, visibility, and on-time delivery
ConstruSteel gives you progress overviews and production orders driven by the model, so you can see how parts and assemblies are advancing through the workshop.
EZIIL is built around the question every custom shop owner asks daily: which jobs are behind, and by how much? Capacity planning is drag and drop by department, the dashboard updates live as hours are reported, and OTD indicators flag tasks or departments falling behind before the deadline slips. FLI Structures‘ purchasing manager Lynn S. describes it as “a hub of information that is extremely easy to navigate, giving a full picture of all live jobs.”
Profit tracking: real time vs post-calculation
ConstruSteel’s project administration supports post-calculation, comparing costs after project phases complete, which feeds better future estimates. That is genuinely useful.
EZIIL shows planned vs actual hours and costs while the job is running, with profitability indicators per project. The difference is when you find out. Post-calculation tells you which jobs lost money last quarter. A live plan vs reality view lets you intervene on the job that is drifting this week. For a small shop where two bad jobs can erase a month’s margin, this is the feature that pays for the software.
Machine integration, nesting, and BIM
This is ConstruSteel’s home turf. Bar and plate nesting with skew and angular support, automatic part rotation to minimize cuts, CNC file generation matched to your specific machines, and direct links to six major machine brands. If your shop’s economics are driven by material yield on a beam line, this depth is worth paying for, and EZIIL does not attempt to replicate it.
EZIIL covers nesting through its ProNest integration and focuses instead on the management layer: making sure the right jobs, drawings, BOMs, and hours flow through the shop and show up in one live view. Shops that need both deep machine automation and modern management sometimes run a nesting/CAM tool alongside EZIIL.
Traceability and EN 1090
Both products address traceability. ConstruSteel lists traceability among its production features, in line with its structural steel heritage.
EZIIL offers a dedicated EN 1090-2 compliance module built into the product. If a new contract requires EN 1090 execution class documentation, that module plus EZIIL’s job-level tracking (who did what, when, with which material) is a fast path to compliance without a separate QC system.
Support, language, and geography
ConstruSteel is strongest where its roots are: the Benelux, with Dutch-language support, local partners, training courses, and consultancy across the EU. If you are a Dutch or German-speaking structural fabricator, that local network is a real advantage and we will not pretend otherwise.
EZIIL is English-first in both product and support and support delivered directly by people who understand fabrication rather than through a reseller layer. For shops in the UK, US, Canada, and Australia, or EU shops that work in English, direct access to the product team matters: FLI Structures in the UK and APS Group are both named customers with published results, and EZIIL customers’ feature requests go straight to the people building the product.
Who should choose ConstruSteel
Choose ConstruSteel if you are a structural steel fabricator whose workflow starts in Tekla Structures or Advance Steel, whose margins depend on bar nesting yield and CNC machine utilization, and who values a local Benelux or EU partner for configuration and training. It is an established, award-winning suite with decades of structural steel domain knowledge, and for that profile of shop it is a credible, proven choice.
Who should choose EZIIL
Choose EZIIL if you are a 15-150 person custom fabricator where every job is different, and your daily pain is not machine files but chaos: schedules living in one person’s head, twelve spreadsheets that disagree, no live answer to “how far are we?”, and finding out a job lost money only after the invoice went out. EZIIL gives you one live system for the whole shop, profit per job in real time, flat published pricing that does not punish you for adding shop floor users, and a go-live in under a week.
VMT (Viljandi Metall Grupp) raised engineers’ work efficiency by 40% and grew turnover 30% without hiring after adopting EZIIL BOM. Nordic Shelter’s engineering lead calculates that one hour invested in EZIIL BOM saves 8 hours in procurement and 16 in production, a 24x return. Those are the kinds of numbers a small shop can feel.
The bottom line
This is not a case of one good product and one bad product. It is two products built for two different shops. ConstruSteel is production automation for structural steel: nesting, machines, and models. EZIIL is production management for custom fabrication: jobs, schedules, people, and profit. Match the tool to your shop, not the other way around.
If your shop sounds like the second one, see EZIIL from the inside. Take a free product tour and look around a demo version yourself, or book a demo and we will walk you through it with your own workflow in mind. Either way, you will know within 30 minutes whether it fits, which is more than any comparison article can tell you.
Frequently asked questions
What is the main difference between ConstruSteel and EZIIL? ConstruSteel is a structural steel suite focused on bar nesting, CNC machine integration, and 3D BIM model reuse, strongest in the Benelux and wider EU. EZIIL is cloud production management for small custom steel fabricators, focused on live job status, real-time profit per project, fast go-live, and flat published pricing.
How much does ConstruSteel cost? ConstruSteel does not publish pricing; you need to request a custom quote. When you do, ask for total first-year cost including users, modules, training, and partner configuration.
How much does EZIIL cost? EZIIL Starter is €120/$140 per month for 1 to 15 users, €180/$210 for 16 to 50, and €290/$338 for 51 to 150, plus a one-off €300/$350 onboarding fee. All tiers include the same features; optional modules can be added at any time. A 15-person shop’s first year is €1,740/$2,030 all-in.
Which is faster to implement, ConstruSteel or EZIIL? EZIIL customers go live in under a week starting with one module, with personal onboarding included. ConstruSteel’s Online Suite is described as plug and play, with training courses and partner-delivered consultancy for advanced configuration such as CNC machine and BIM setup.
Does EZIIL integrate with CNC machines like ConstruSteel does? No, and this is ConstruSteel’s biggest strength. ConstruSteel links directly to machines from Voortman, Kaltenbach, Ficep, Peddinghaus, Behringer, and Daito. EZIIL handles nesting through its ProNest integration and focuses on the production management layer; some shops run a dedicated CAM or nesting tool alongside EZIIL.
Which is better for EN 1090 compliance? EZIIL has a built-in EN 1090-2 compliance module and job-level traceability. ConstruSteel includes traceability features within its production suite. If EN 1090 execution class documentation is a contract requirement, evaluate both against your specific execution class during a demo.
Does EZIIL offer a free trial? EZIIL offers a free guided product tour: you sign up and see inside the platform in a demo version. There is no self-serve free trial because every fabrication shop’s setup is unique and the EZIIL onboarding team helps with initial setup and data migration.
Is ConstruSteel cloud based? The ConstruSteel Online Suite is web based and works on any device. The company’s roots go back to the 1990s and the broader product family has grown from that heritage; review sites note there is no on-premise option for the online platform.