Trimble Connect is a cloud-based collaboration platform designed for construction and building projects. It lets architects, engineers, contractors, and other stakeholders upload, view, and coordinate 3D models, 2D drawings, and project documents in a single shared workspace. The platform runs across desktop apps, web browsers, mobile devices, and even mixed reality headsets, so teams can access up-to-date project data from the office or the jobsite.
What Trimble Connect Does
At its core, Trimble Connect is a centralized hub for construction project data. You upload files, invite team members, and everyone works from the same set of models and documents. The platform supports over 60 file formats, including industry standards like IFC (the open format for Building Information Modeling), DWG (AutoCAD files), DGN, SketchUp, FBX, LandXML, and point cloud laser data. That broad compatibility means structural engineers, MEP designers, architects, and surveyors can all bring their native files into one environment without converting everything first.
Once files are uploaded, the built-in 3D viewer lets anyone on the project open and inspect models directly in a browser or app, no expensive design software required. You can orbit around a building model, isolate specific floors or systems, and dig into object-level data. The platform also handles 2D drawings and PDFs, so it works for teams that haven’t fully moved to 3D workflows.
Beyond viewing, Trimble Connect includes tools for active project coordination. You can run clash detection to find conflicts between disciplines (for example, a duct running through a structural beam), assign tasks to specific team members, compile feedback with markups and comments, and track version history so nothing gets lost when files are updated. Administrators can set granular permissions, controlling who can view, edit, or download specific files or folders.
How It Fits Into BIM Workflows
BIM, or Building Information Modeling, is the practice of creating and managing digital representations of a building’s physical and functional characteristics. Trimble Connect serves as a common data environment for BIM projects, giving all disciplines a shared space to coordinate their models before and during construction.
The platform integrates directly with several major design tools. Tekla Structures users can publish steel and concrete models for clash checking and design coordination. SketchUp models can be sent to Trimble Connect for stakeholder review. Revit users can connect through tools like Trimble SysQue, which provides manufacturing-specific MEP content ready for fabrication, and Stabicad, which supports electrical and mechanical engineering design. These integrations mean designers can push updates from their native software and have them immediately available to the rest of the project team.
Supported File Formats
The range of formats Trimble Connect can import is one of its practical strengths. Key supported types include:
- 3D model formats: IFC, DWG, DGN, DXF, SketchUp (SKP), FBX, 3D PDF
- Survey and civil data: LandXML, Trimble TTM, Esri Shapefiles, GeoTIFF, KML
- Point clouds: LAS, LAZ, and delimited text formats (CSV, TXT, XYZ)
- Grid data: Esri ASCII Grid
Several of these formats also support export, including IFC, DWG, DGN, SketchUp, and LandXML. This two-way capability makes it easier to pull coordinated models back into design software for further work.
Desktop, Mobile, and Mixed Reality Access
Trimble Connect runs on Windows desktops, in any modern web browser, and through iOS and Android mobile apps. The mobile apps are particularly useful on construction sites, where field crews can pull up the latest drawings or 3D models on a tablet or phone to verify what they’re building matches the design.
The platform also extends into mixed reality and augmented reality. Using the Trimble HoloLens (a hard hat-compatible version of Microsoft’s HoloLens headset), workers can overlay holographic 3D models directly onto a physical job site. This lets you see, for instance, where mechanical systems will run inside a wall before it’s framed. Trimble SiteVision offers a similar capability through a tablet, letting users view 3D models overlaid on the real-world environment for layout verification, quality control, and stakeholder communication.
Pricing and Plan Tiers
Trimble Connect offers three subscription levels. All prices are listed in USD before applicable taxes.
- Personal (Free): One project, up to 10 GB of storage, and a maximum of five project members. Includes BIM coordination, clash detection, and task management tools. Data created through workflow extensions is available in read-only mode.
- Business ($12.99 per user per month): Unlimited projects, unlimited project members, and unlimited storage with full version control. Adds metadata definition for files and project and user management tools.
- Business Premium ($23.95 per user per month, billed annually): Everything in Business plus advanced BIM tools, enriched 3D workflows, and full access to Connect Workflow Extensions and apps.
The free Personal tier is a reasonable way to test the platform on a small project or for individual use. For teams actively collaborating across disciplines, the Business tier removes the storage and member caps that would quickly become limiting. Business Premium adds the deeper BIM tooling that larger or more complex projects typically need, such as extended app integrations and richer 3D coordination features.
Who Uses Trimble Connect
The platform is built for the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry. In practice, its users span a wide range of roles. Architects and engineers use it to share design models and coordinate across disciplines. General contractors use it to distribute current drawings to subcontractors and track issues. Project managers use the task and permissions tools to keep work organized. Field teams use the mobile and mixed reality apps to reference models on site.
Because it handles everything from early-stage SketchUp concepts to fabrication-ready Tekla steel models to as-built point cloud scans, Trimble Connect can follow a project from design through construction. The unlimited cloud storage on paid plans means teams don’t have to worry about running out of space as models grow more detailed and file counts climb into the thousands.