Home / Takeoff and estimating
Takeoff and estimating tools measure plans and turn quantities into costs. Per-user prices run from a few hundred dollars a year for a PDF markup tool to several thousand dollars per seat per year for commercial estimating, so the right pick depends on how many bids you price a month.
| Tool | Built for | Entry price | Who pays | Price source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluebeam Revu Takeoff and estimating | GCs and subs | $260 per user per year | Subscriber pays per user per year | Vendor-published |
| Buildxact Takeoff and estimating | Residential builders | Reported from $199 per month | Subscriber pays per month | Third-party reported |
| Handoff Takeoff and estimating | Residential builders | Quote; 7-day free trial | Subscriber pays; pricing not published | Quote only |
| On-Screen Takeoff Takeoff and estimating | GCs and subs | Reported about $87 per user per month | Subscriber pays per user | Third-party reported |
| PlanSwift Takeoff and estimating | Subcontractors | Reported $2,000 per year | Subscriber pays per user per year | Third-party reported |
| Sage Estimating Takeoff and estimating | General contractors | Quote; reported $4,000 to $8,000 per seat per year | Subscriber pays per seat; maintenance fees extra | Third-party reported |
| STACK Takeoff and estimating | GCs and subs | Free version; paid from $299 per user per month | Subscriber pays per user | Vendor-published |
| Togal.AI Takeoff and estimating | GCs and subs | $299 per user per month, billed yearly | Subscriber pays per user | Vendor-published |
A markup tool first and a takeoff tool second. Basics ($260 per user per year) measures length and area only; count, volume and angle need Core ($330), and Quantity Link to Excel needs Complete ($440). It is the cheapest takeoff route here per year, but the estimate itself still lives in a spreadsheet.
Best for: Small teams that already estimate in Excel and want to measure PDFs cheaply.
Takeoff and estimating are reported to be in every plan, so you do not climb a tier to unlock them the way you do with Buildertrend. Reported pricing is Foundation $199, Pro $399 ($339 billed annually) and Master $599 per month. It targets small to mid-size residential builders and remodelers, not commercial bid work.
Best for: Residential builders and remodelers who want estimating first.
The only tool here that builds an estimate from site photos or a walkthrough as well as from plans, and its own page says it is built for residential work, not general contractors or subcontractors. The results it advertises (revenue and time-saved figures) are the vendor's own and are not independently verified here.
Best for: Home builders, remodelers and handymen who quote from site visits.
ConstructConnect sells it alongside PlanSwift, so the same company offers two overlapping desktop takeoff products. The choice comes down to workflow, because On-Screen Takeoff leans on AI-assisted measuring and PlanSwift on building items by drag and drop. Reported pricing is around $1,044 per user per year, with training packages of $500 to $5,000 extra.
Best for: Estimators who want AI-assisted counting on large plan sets.
Trade plug-ins for roofing, concrete, earthwork and electrical are separate costs on top of the reported $2,000 per year Professional subscription. Third-party sources report that ConstructConnect ended perpetual licenses in 2025 and moved existing users to annual subscriptions, so anyone who owned PlanSwift outright should check what renewal now costs.
Best for: Trade subs who build their own assemblies and want desktop speed.
Worth it mainly for contractors already on Sage 100 Contractor or Sage 300, because budgets, purchase orders and subcontracts export without rekeying. It is still a server-based product with cloud-adjacent features, and reported costs run from $4,000 to $8,000 per seat per year before the separate RSMeans database subscription.
Best for: Commercial GCs and subs on the Sage accounting stack.
Offers a free version of Takeoff & Estimate, so you can run a live bid through it before paying the listed $299 per user per month. STACK says most teams are running in a few hours, which is its argument against desktop takeoff tools.
Best for: Estimators who want to test cloud takeoff on a real bid for free first.
List price matches STACK's takeoff tier ($299 per user per month, billed yearly) but includes unlimited automated takeoffs, and there is no free version or trial: you book a demo first. Trades named on its site range from painting, drywall and flooring to electrical and framing.
Best for: High-volume estimators in finish trades who want measurement automated.
