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Honest comparison

Best Alternatives to RAMS App for UK Builders (2026)

The top credible alternatives to RAMs App for builders who have outgrown template-only tooling - The Site Book for full CDM coverage at flat-rate pricing, HandsHQ for enterprise, RapidRAMS for pay-per-document, Evalu-8 for broader EHS, CDM Wizard as a free learning starting point, and Word/Excel for DIY paperwork.

The best like-for-like alternative to RAMs App for most UK small builders is The Site Book — £30/month flat rate with RAMS, CPPs, COSHH and inductions bundled. Haspod is the closest template-library equivalent if you prefer hand-editable documents. RAMS Pro covers RAMS-only at a lower price. CDM Wizard is the free fallback. Avoid SafetyCulture and Procore — both are enterprise tools priced for large contractors, not sole traders downsizing from RAMs App.

Reviewed

Nicola Dobbie, Founder of The Site Book
Nicola Dobbie·Founder, The Site Book

Based on publicly available vendor documentation and published pricing as of 2026-04-15.

At-a-glance comparison

Pricing, fit, and feature coverage side by side.

FeatureThe Site BookHandsHQRAMS ProRapidRAMSEvalu-8CDM WizardExcel templates
Pricingfrom £30/mo£44–275+/moFree; GBP15-45/mo£15 per document, no subscription£295/moFreeMicrosoft 365 licence (£7.90+/mo per user) + your time
Team size1–5010+Small-midSolo / occasional50+Any -learning toolAny
Best forSmall-to-mid UK builders (1–50 users) who need a full CDM pack -RAMS, CPP, COSHH, site inductions, toolbox talks -without paying enterprise per-seat prices.Mid-to-large contractors (10+ people) with a dedicated health and safety manager who need enterprise-grade team collaboration, approval workflows, and a curated template library.UK contractors who want AI RAMS on a low monthly tier, with COSHH, inductions, inspections, toolbox talks, and other modules from Pro upward.Builders needing occasional RAMS on an ad-hoc basis who don't want a monthly subscription.Large contractors and enterprise teams with 50+ people who need a broad EHS platform covering compliance, training, audits, and incident management.Builders learning the basics of CDM 2015 who want a free checklist-style walkthrough before committing to paid compliance tooling.Anyone willing to spend 1–3 hours per document on manual admin who already has Microsoft 365 and doesn't produce RAMS often.
Not ideal forNew product (launched 2025) -smaller customer base and shorter track record than established tools like HandsHQ.Pricing starts at £44/mo for Basic with 1 RAMS; Advanced is £99/mo for 3 RAMS, Pro is £190/mo for 6 RAMS, and Teams starts from £275/mo.Document and back-office user limits apply on the lower tiers, so growing teams need to watch usage and plan fit.£15 per document becomes expensive fast once you need more than two RAMS a month -flat-rate tools pay for themselves quickly.£295/mo is 10× The Site Book's entry price -prohibitive for 1–10 person firms that only need CDM compliance.Does not produce site-ready RAMS, CPP, COSHH, or method statements -it's a learning tool, not a document generator.Each RAMS takes 1–3 hours to write from scratch -manual work that purpose-built tools do in minutes.
RAMSAI-generated, site-specific, edit in-browser.Template library with editor.AI RAMS generator with monthly limits.Template-based, per document.Module within wider EHS platform.DIY -manual Word/Excel template, no substance database.
CPPFull Construction Phase Plans -not just RAMS.Pro/Enterprise module.Basic CPP checklist, not a document generator.
COSHHPro/Enterprise add-on module.
Method statementsManual Word template.
Site inductionsWorkers sign from their phone.Pro/Enterprise add-on module.
Worker cert trackingTraining matrix on Pro/Enterprise.
Incident logAccident records on Pro/Enterprise.
Permits to work
Site diarySite logbook present in the app bundle.
Subcontractor trackingEngineers and client contacts.
Toolbox talksPro/Enterprise add-on module.
PCPP importUpload an existing PCPP and reuse the structure.
Document checking
Data exportExcel exports natively.
AI chat
Site inspectionsPro/Enterprise add-on module.

Why this matters

RAMs App does a good job at what it does - a template-based library that has helped thousands of UK builders produce professional RAMS quickly. But every builder is different. Maybe you want site-specific documents generated from a job description instead of browsing templates. Maybe you need more than RAMS - your CPP, site inductions, and COSHH records all in one place. Maybe you are a sole trader looking for a free tier, a larger firm needing enterprise features, or a beginner who wants a free learning tool first. Every tool here has trade-offs. For sole traders and small builders we think The Site Book is the best option - we built it - but we believe in trying before you buy, which is why the free tier is there.

Who each tool is for

At-a-glance fit per product - pulled from the same data that drives the snapshot table.

The Site Book

Best for
Small-to-mid UK builders (1–50 users) who need a full CDM pack -RAMS, CPP, COSHH, site inductions, toolbox talks -without paying enterprise per-seat prices.
Not ideal for
New product (launched 2025) -smaller customer base and shorter track record than established tools like HandsHQ.
Team size
1–50

HandsHQ

Best for
Mid-to-large contractors (10+ people) with a dedicated health and safety manager who need enterprise-grade team collaboration, approval workflows, and a curated template library.
Not ideal for
Pricing starts at £44/mo for Basic with 1 RAMS; Advanced is £99/mo for 3 RAMS, Pro is £190/mo for 6 RAMS, and Teams starts from £275/mo.
Team size
10+

RAMS Pro

Best for
UK contractors who want AI RAMS on a low monthly tier, with COSHH, inductions, inspections, toolbox talks, and other modules from Pro upward.
Not ideal for
Document and back-office user limits apply on the lower tiers, so growing teams need to watch usage and plan fit.
Team size
Small-mid

RapidRAMS

Best for
Builders needing occasional RAMS on an ad-hoc basis who don't want a monthly subscription.
Not ideal for
£15 per document becomes expensive fast once you need more than two RAMS a month -flat-rate tools pay for themselves quickly.
Team size
Solo / occasional

Evalu-8

Best for
Large contractors and enterprise teams with 50+ people who need a broad EHS platform covering compliance, training, audits, and incident management.
Not ideal for
£295/mo is 10× The Site Book's entry price -prohibitive for 1–10 person firms that only need CDM compliance.
Team size
50+

CDM Wizard

Best for
Builders learning the basics of CDM 2015 who want a free checklist-style walkthrough before committing to paid compliance tooling.
Not ideal for
Does not produce site-ready RAMS, CPP, COSHH, or method statements -it's a learning tool, not a document generator.
Team size
Any -learning tool

Excel templates

Best for
Anyone willing to spend 1–3 hours per document on manual admin who already has Microsoft 365 and doesn't produce RAMS often.
Not ideal for
Each RAMS takes 1–3 hours to write from scratch -manual work that purpose-built tools do in minutes.
Team size
Any

The bottom line

Pick the option that matches how your team actually works.

Choose The Site Book if…

Choose The Site Book if you are a sole trader or running a one-to-ten-person firm. Flat-rate pricing from thirty pounds a month, a free tier to test on a real project, self-serve signup with no demo, and AI that drafts a site-specific RAMS from a plain-English brief in under five minutes. The full CDM 2015 suite - RAMS, CPP, COSHH, inductions, worker tracking - ships in one subscription, which is materially wider than RAMs App's RAMS-only scope.

Recommended for: Sole traders and 1–10 person builders on domestic or small commercial work

Choose HandsHQ if…

Choose HandsHQ if you are a mid-to-large contractor with a dedicated health and safety manager who wants enterprise-grade team collaboration, approval workflows, a curated template library, and demo-led onboarding. Per-seat enterprise pricing is workable once you have the scale, and the award-winning reputation carries weight on principal-contractor procurement. For this tier, HandsHQ is the natural upgrade from RAMs App rather than The Site Book.

Recommended for: Mid-to-large contractors with a dedicated H&S manager

Choose CDM Wizard if…

Choose CDM Wizard if you are brand new to CDM 2015 and want a free, CITB-backed walkthrough to understand the basics. It produces a basic CPP checklist and is genuinely free, which makes it a reasonable first stop before you commit to a paid tool. Outgrow it and The Site Book is the natural next step once you need actual RAMS, site inductions, COSHH records, and the wider CDM document pack.

Recommended for: Builders brand new to CDM 2015 who want a free learning tool

Why switch to The Site Book

  • Site-specific documents generated from a plain-English brief - not a template picker that still leaves you hunting and customising every time.
  • Full CDM 2015 suite in one flat-rate subscription: RAMS, CPP, COSHH, site inductions, emergency plans, and F10 checks.
  • Flat rate from thirty pounds a month - no per-seat scaling, no enterprise-only plans, no sales demo before you can use the tool.
  • Free tier with full feature access and no credit card - create your first real RAMS and CPP before deciding whether to upgrade.
  • Mobile-first authoring and a compliance dashboard that tracks everything in one place - features none of the narrow RAMS tools attempt.
  • Self-serve signup with no demo gate - sign up on Monday morning and have RAMS ready for a Monday afternoon site visit.

Full breakdown per product

Strengths, weaknesses, fit, and the sources every claim came from.

The Site Book

The Site Book Ltd

from £30/mo

Best for
Small-to-mid UK builders (1–50 users) who need a full CDM pack -RAMS, CPP, COSHH, site inductions, toolbox talks -without paying enterprise per-seat prices.
Team size
1–50
Sweet spot
A principal contractor on a £50k–£5m domestic or commercial project who needs ready-to-sign compliance docs and worker sign-off from a phone.

Strengths

  • Only UK construction compliance tool that ships RAMS + CPP + COSHH + inductions + worker sign-off in one flat-rate subscription.
  • AI-generated documents are site-specific from a natural-language brief, not a template library you hand-fill -cuts writing a RAMS from 2 hours to under 5 minutes.
  • Worker sign-off, PCPP import, cert tracking, and document checking are included at the entry tier, not locked behind an enterprise plan.
  • Transparent flat-rate pricing starting at £30/mo -no per-seat surprise as the team grows.

Weaknesses

  • New product (launched 2025) -smaller customer base and shorter track record than established tools like HandsHQ.
  • No Procore / Autodesk Construction Cloud integrations yet -compliance docs live inside The Site Book and export as PDFs rather than syncing into a wider PM stack.
  • UK-focused content (CDM 2015, HSE guidance) -international contractors on non-UK projects would need to adapt the output.

HandsHQ

HandsHQ Ltd

£44–275+/mo

Best for
Mid-to-large contractors (10+ people) with a dedicated health and safety manager who need enterprise-grade team collaboration, approval workflows, and a curated template library.
Team size
10+
Sweet spot
A firm running 10–500 people with dedicated H&S staff, complex projects, and budget for tiered RAMS subscriptions or team-plan pricing.

Strengths

  • Established enterprise compliance platform with proven track record and customer case studies at mid-to-large UK contractors.
  • Curated template library with a detail-rich editor -appeals to in-house H&S teams that want to control every section.
  • Published tiered pricing makes the entry-level cost clear before a sales call: Basic, Advanced, Pro, and Teams plans are listed publicly.
  • Team collaboration, approval workflows, and dedicated onboarding suit firms with 10+ people producing docs regularly.

Weaknesses

  • Pricing starts at £44/mo for Basic with 1 RAMS; Advanced is £99/mo for 3 RAMS, Pro is £190/mo for 6 RAMS, and Teams starts from £275/mo.
  • No built-in worker cert tracking, incident log, permits-to-work, site diary, or subcontractor tracking -features small builders need in one place.
  • Requires demo and guided onboarding -no self-serve signup, which slows down sole traders and micro firms.

Source basis

  • overview - https://www.handshq.com (fetched 2026-04-15) · Vendor homepage -enterprise compliance platform positioning.
  • pricing - https://www.handshq.com/pricing (fetched 2026-04-18) · Published pricing: Basic £44/mo (1 RAMS), Advanced £99/mo (3 RAMS), Pro £190/mo (6 RAMS), Teams from £275/mo.

RAMS Pro

RAMS Pro

Free; GBP15-45/mo

Best for
UK contractors who want AI RAMS on a low monthly tier, with COSHH, inductions, inspections, toolbox talks, and other modules from Pro upward.
Team size
Small-mid
Sweet spot
A small contractor writing regular RAMS that is happy with monthly document limits and can accept broader site modules being tier-gated.

Strengths

  • Low published entry point: free tier, Basic at GBP15/mo, Pro at GBP25/mo, and Enterprise at GBP45/mo.
  • Pro and Enterprise include a broad set of add-on modules: COSHH, toolbox talks, site inspections, site inductions, asset register, training matrix, accident records, site snagging, and environmental assessments.
  • AI RAMS positioning and digital signatures make it more modern than a static template library.

Weaknesses

  • Document and back-office user limits apply on the lower tiers, so growing teams need to watch usage and plan fit.
  • The broader site modules are tier-gated; Basic is still mainly RAMS, templates, notifications, engineers, signatures, contacts, and PDF export.
  • Permits to work and PCPP import are not clearly published in the current public pricing/module data.

RapidRAMS

RapidRAMS

£15 per document, no subscription

Best for
Builders needing occasional RAMS on an ad-hoc basis who don't want a monthly subscription.
Team size
Solo / occasional
Sweet spot
A sole trader who writes a RAMS a few times a year and wants pay-as-you-go pricing with no lock-in.

Strengths

  • Pay-per-document pricing is friction-free for builders who only need a RAMS occasionally -no monthly commitment.
  • Simple template-based workflow -quick turnaround for single documents without learning a compliance platform.

Weaknesses

  • £15 per document becomes expensive fast once you need more than two RAMS a month -flat-rate tools pay for themselves quickly.
  • No CPP, COSHH, site inductions, or any site management tools -RAMS-only scope.
  • Template-based -no AI site-specific generation, so every document is still manual work.

Source basis

Evalu-8

Evalu-8 EHS

£295/mo

Best for
Large contractors and enterprise teams with 50+ people who need a broad EHS platform covering compliance, training, audits, and incident management.
Team size
50+
Sweet spot
An organisation that needs EHS across multiple business units and can justify £295/mo for a full-stack platform with dedicated onboarding.

Strengths

  • Broad EHS platform covering compliance, training, audits, and incident management in one tool.
  • Suitable for large contractors and enterprise teams that need multi-module EHS across business units.
  • Includes site inductions, worker cert tracking, and toolbox talks -bigger functional spread than RAMS-only tools.

Weaknesses

  • £295/mo is 10× The Site Book's entry price -prohibitive for 1–10 person firms that only need CDM compliance.
  • Requires demo, onboarding, and configuration -slow to get running compared to self-serve tools.
  • Desktop-focused enterprise UI is not optimised for builders working from a phone on site.

CDM Wizard

CDM Wizard

Free

Best for
Builders learning the basics of CDM 2015 who want a free checklist-style walkthrough before committing to paid compliance tooling.
Team size
Any -learning tool
Sweet spot
A first-time principal contractor who needs to understand the CDM 2015 framework before producing site-ready documents.

Strengths

  • Free to use -a low-barrier way to learn CDM 2015 basics before picking a paid compliance tool.
  • Focused checklist format is straightforward for builders new to CDM regulations.

Weaknesses

  • Does not produce site-ready RAMS, CPP, COSHH, or method statements -it's a learning tool, not a document generator.
  • No site management features at all (inductions, permits, incident log, worker tracking).
  • Suits only the narrow learning-CDM-basics use case -builders still need a separate tool for actual compliance documents.

Source basis

Microsoft 365 licence (£7.90+/mo per user) + your time

Best for
Anyone willing to spend 1–3 hours per document on manual admin who already has Microsoft 365 and doesn't produce RAMS often.
Team size
Any
Sweet spot
A builder who only writes a RAMS once a quarter and has time to manually fill in and version-control spreadsheets.

Strengths

  • Near-zero incremental cost if the team already has a Microsoft 365 subscription.
  • Familiar tooling -no learning curve for builders comfortable with Word and Excel.

Weaknesses

  • Each RAMS takes 1–3 hours to write from scratch -manual work that purpose-built tools do in minutes.
  • Manual version control (v1, v2, v2-FINAL, v2-FINAL2) makes it easy to send the wrong document or miss required sections.
  • No COSHH substance database, no worker sign-off, no audit trail -missing every feature regulators expect on a principal-contractor workflow.
  • Excel on mobile is painful -unusable for builders working from a phone on site.

Frequently asked questions

Short, straight answers - the same questions real builders ask.

Why look for an alternative to RAMs App?

RAMs App is a template-based RAMS-only tool from around twenty-four pounds a month. As soon as you need CPPs, COSHH assessments, site inductions, or the wider CDM 2015 suite, you need a broader tool. The Site Book covers all of these in a single flat-rate subscription from thirty pounds a month, with AI generating site-specific documents from a brief instead of a template picker.

What's the closest like-for-like replacement?

For template-based workflows, RAMS Pro and RapidRAMS are the closest peers - same approach, similar pricing. For an upgrade path that keeps you on monthly flat-rate but adds the full CDM suite, The Site Book is the natural next step - same pricing band, materially wider scope, and AI-generated documents that are site-specific rather than copy-pasted from a generic library template every time.

Are there any free RAMS generators?

Yes. The Site Book offers a free tier that lets you create a full, site-specific RAMS for your first project with no credit card required. Describe your job and a complete Risk Assessment and Method Statement is produced, covering hazards, controls, method of work, PPE, and emergency procedures. CDM Wizard is free but CPP-only. Word and Excel templates are free but not site-specific and require manual effort.

Which alternative is cheapest?

It depends on usage. RapidRAMS is the cheapest if you only write one or two RAMS a month at fifteen pounds per document. The Site Book is the cheapest at any regular cadence at thirty pounds a month flat for the full CDM suite. RAMS Pro and RAMs App are similar in price but narrower in scope. HandsHQ and Evalu-8 are enterprise tier and quoted on request.

Which RAMS software is best for sole traders?

The Site Book is designed specifically for sole traders and small builders - transparent flat-rate pricing from thirty pounds a month, a free tier to test on a real project, mobile-first authoring for use on site, and site-specific documents created from a plain-English job description. It also covers more than RAMS, bundling CPP, site inductions, COSHH, and a compliance dashboard in one platform without any H and S qualifications required.

Can I migrate my existing RAMs App data?

Yes. The Site Book accepts PCPP uploads and reuses the structure, so existing RAMs App exports give you a head start on each new project. Day-to-day authoring then moves into the natural-language brief, which cuts a typical RAMS from about two hours to under five minutes. Most teams switch project by project rather than all at once, which keeps live work safe during the transition.

How we built this comparison

Based on publicly available vendor documentation and published pricing as of 2026-04-15.

Every pricing, feature, and fit claim in this comparison is pulled from public vendor documentation and cross-checked against independent sources. The “source basis” footer on each product card lists the exact URLs and the date we fetched them. We revisit this page at least every 90 days - last reviewed on .

Read our editorial process →

Why The Site Book

  • Only UK construction compliance tool that ships RAMS + CPP + COSHH + inductions + worker sign-off in one flat-rate subscription.
  • AI-generated documents are site-specific from a natural-language brief, not a template library you hand-fill -cuts writing a RAMS from 2 hours to under 5 minutes.
  • Worker sign-off, PCPP import, cert tracking, and document checking are included at the entry tier, not locked behind an enterprise plan.
  • Transparent flat-rate pricing starting at £30/mo -no per-seat surprise as the team grows.