Frequently asked questions

No. Posting a project, browsing plans and professionals, saving favorites, and reviewing proposals is free.

You pay when you choose to buy a plan package or fund a contract milestone through PlanGrounds checkout. See fees for clients & professionals for the current model.

When you pay for a plan package or fund a milestone through PlanGrounds, we retain 5% of that payment as a platform fee. The rest goes to the professional through our payment partner, minus any processor costs where applicable. No fee for browsing, posting a project, or reviewing proposals—that fee applies when a deal actually funds here.

Checkout is designed so the client sees one total up front, and the professional sees the fee and what they receive before money moves—not a surprise fee after the fact.

Yes—and it’s common. Many people use savings, HELOCs, or construction / renovation loans that release money in draws. A large single milestone can be hard to time; smaller milestones with clear scope often match real cash flow better.

Agree on amounts and timing with your professional; your lender’s rules may affect what’s possible on a given date. Every payment on PlanGrounds still shows one total at checkout before you confirm.

No. PlanGrounds is a marketplace: we help you discover plans, post structured open projects, compare professionals, and (when you choose) pay through checkout. Architects and designers are independent. They set scope, pricing, timeline, and deliverables.

We don’t guarantee outcomes—that’s between you and the professional you hire. Read proposals carefully, ask what’s included in each phase, and use the same judgment you would for any design contract.

Use Compare to put plans or professional profiles side by side. From there you can start a project tied to plans you’re weighing, or move into messaging and proposals.

On open projects, professionals submit structured proposals so you can line up scope, fee approach, and timeline without digging through endless email threads.

Open project: your project write-up (location, budget band, timeline, goals). Others can submit proposals on it when it’s open.

Inquiry: a first touch tied to a specific plan or profile—good when you’re exploring one listing.

Proposal: how a professional would approach your project, including scope, pricing model, and timing.

If you and a professional arrange payment entirely outside PlanGrounds, we don’t take a fee on money we never touch.

When you do pay here, you get transparent totals, milestone context, and a paper trail tied to the project. For edge cases and rules, read our Terms and Payments & risk policy.

Professionals complete Stripe Connect onboarding so payouts can settle to their business. When a client pays, PlanGrounds collects the full payment, keeps the 5% platform fee, and sends the rest to the professional per the numbers shown before the charge.

If you’re a professional setting up for the first time, use your dashboard to connect payouts before you expect your first payment through PlanGrounds.

It varies. Professionals choose what to respond to based on fit, capacity, and how clear your open project is. We don’t guarantee replies by a specific deadline.

You’ll generally get better engagement when your open project includes location, a realistic budget band, timeline, and enough description that someone can tell if they’re a match.