How we make this list: we compare pricing pages, product documentation and public user reviews. Rankite is independent; if a vendor ever pays for a featured spot, that listing is clearly labeled Partner.
Key takeaways
- AI takeoff tools (Togal.AI at $299 a user a month, Kreo from $35) now read drawings automatically; the question is accuracy, not possibility.
- Independent testing puts AI estimation within a few percent of manual baselines, with time savings of 50% or more on takeoff completion.
- The established tools (PlanSwift $2,000 a year, Bluebeam $260) still measure faster on huge plan sets and cost less for single estimators.
- Human review remains non-negotiable: the best AI tools flag low-confidence measurements instead of guessing.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|
 Togal.AI | AI takeoff with plan chat | $299 per user/month (Growth, billed yearly) | No |
 Kreo | Budget-friendly AI takeoff | $35 per user/month (Lite, billed annually) | Free trial (7 days) |
 Beam AI | Done-for-you AI takeoffs with human QA | See website | No |
 Handoff AI | AI estimating for residential contractors | $119 per month (Flex, billed annually) | Free trial (7 days) |
 CountBricks | AI takeoff plus invoicing and CRM | $30 per user/month | Free trial (7 days) |
 STACK | Cloud takeoff with AI assist | $299 per user/month (Pro) | Yes |
 PlanSwift | Manual takeoff speed on big plan sets | $2,000 per year (Essential, 1 seat) | Free trial (14 days) |
 Bluebeam Revu | PDF takeoff inside plan review | $260 per user/year (Basics) | Free trial (14 days) |
 eTakeoff | Affordable desktop takeoff | $795 per user/year (Advanced) | No |
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The best takeoff software
Starting price$299 per user/month (Growth, billed yearly)
Free planNo
Togal.AI is the flagship of the AI takeoff wave: upload a plan set, set the scale, and the AI returns gross and net square footage by room, wall linear footage, and counts for doors, fixtures and appliances in seconds rather than hours. Togal.CHAT lets you ask questions about the plans and draft RFIs from plan content, and Growth includes unlimited automated takeoffs and symbol searches.
The price is enterprise-grade at $299 per user per month billed yearly, with a Custom tier for teams over four users. Drawing quality matters: clean CAD exports perform better than scanned hand sketches. For the mid-size GC or subcontractor drowning in plan sets, Togal is the AI bet with the most momentum.
What we like- Computer-vision takeoff with unlimited automated takeoffs on Growth
- Togal.CHAT answers questions about your plans
- Independent testing shows 12-minute takeoffs
Watch out for- $299 a user a month is premium
- No free tier, demo-led buying
- Accuracy depends on drawing quality
Starting price$35 per user/month (Lite, billed annually)
Free planFree trial (7 days)
Kreo brings AI takeoff down to a price small firms can try. The Lite plan at $35 per user per month covers collaboration without AI, while higher tiers add Caddie AI for drawing detection, AI renaming and smart labels. Unlimited projects and storage remove the metering anxiety.
Read the tier table carefully: the AI features that justify Kreo sit above the Lite plan. For the budget-conscious firm that wants to experiment with AI takeoff without a $299 commitment, Kreo is the low-risk entry point.
What we like- AI takeoff from $35 a user a month
- Caddie AI drawing detection
- Unlimited projects and storage
Watch out for- Lite tier excludes the AI tools
- The cheapest AI tier costs more
- Newer vendor with a smaller track record
#3
Beam AI
Best for: Done-for-you AI takeoffs with human QA
Visit ibeam.ai
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Beam AI takes the service route: upload plans and get fully managed, human-reviewed takeoffs and Excel estimates back, with DIY options for HVAC and plumbing delivering outputs in as little as 10 minutes. The human QA layer is the differentiator: AI extracts, a person checks, and the contractor gets bid-ready quantities.
Pricing is custom and quote-based. The trade is control and turnaround versus effort: you do almost nothing, but you wait for delivery. For the contractor who wants takeoff capacity without hiring estimators, Beam AI's done-for-you model is the answer.
What we like- Done-for-you takeoffs delivered in 24 to 48 hours
- Every takeoff QA-checked by a human estimator
- Covers 15+ trades
Watch out for- No published pricing
- The service model means less control
- Turnaround time versus instant DIY tools
#4
Handoff AI
Best for: AI estimating for residential contractors
Visit handoff.ai
Starting price$119 per month (Flex, billed annually)
Free planFree trial (7 days)
Handoff AI is the AI teammate for residential contractors and remodelers: estimating, proposals, voice transcription to estimates, and a custom pricing catalog in one flow. The Flex plan at $119 a month billed annually includes AI usage credits, two users and mobile access, and the trial includes your first estimate free.
It is built for residential work, not commercial plan sets, and the credit model means very heavy months cost more. For the remodeler who wants to walk a job and send a proposal the same day, Handoff compresses the whole workflow.
What we like- AI teammate for the full residential workflow
- AI-generated proposals and voice-to-estimate
- 7-day free trial with the first estimate free
Watch out for- Residential and remodeling focus limits commercial fit
- AI usage credits cap heavy months
- $119 a month is more than pure takeoff tools
Starting price$30 per user/month
Free planFree trial (7 days)
CountBricks bundles AI-assisted takeoff with the business around it: proposals, invoicing, CRM and inventory, at $30 per user per month or $300 a year. For the small contractor who wants one system from measurement to invoice, the bundle is appealing.
The honest trade is depth: the takeoff module is one part of a suite, not a specialist's instrument. Test the AI accuracy on your own drawings during the 7-day trial. For the small shop that values one login over best-in-class takeoff, CountBricks is the pragmatic bundle.
What we like- AI takeoff plus invoicing, CRM and inventory in one
- $30 a user a month monthly or $300 yearly
- 7-day trial
Watch out for- The all-in-one scope means less takeoff depth
- Smaller vendor
- AI accuracy claims need your own testing
Starting price$299 per user/month (Pro)
Free planYes
STACK sits between the AI newcomers and the manual establishment: AI Assist speeds up the workflow, but the proven manual takeoff tools remain the core. The free-forever plan is genuinely useful, and cloud collaboration means the whole team works on live projects. Pro runs $299 per user per month.
It is not the automatic takeoff of Togal or Beam; the AI assists rather than replaces. For the team that wants AI acceleration inside a mature, collaborative takeoff platform, STACK is the balanced choice.
What we like- AI Assist plus proven manual workflows
- Free-forever plan
- Cloud collaboration across the team
Watch out for- $299 a user a month at the Pro tier
- AI features are assistive, not automatic
- Browser performance on huge sets
Starting price$2,000 per year (Essential, 1 seat)
Free planFree trial (14 days)
PlanSwift remains the manual takeoff benchmark: the desktop engine measures 400-page plan sets faster than anything in a browser, with condition-based takeoff and assemblies that turn measurements into estimates. Newer AI tools for auto-count, auto-scale and auto-bookmark close some of the gap with the AI natives.
It is manual at heart, and $2,000 a year per seat is priced for professionals. For the estimator whose competitive edge is measurement speed on massive commercial sets, PlanSwift's engine is still the one to beat.
What we like- The fastest manual measurement engine
- AI tools for auto-count, auto-scale and auto-bookmark
- Trade-specific plugins
Watch out for- $2,000 a year per seat
- Desktop-first
- The interface shows its age
Starting price$260 per user/year (Basics)
Free planFree trial (14 days)
Bluebeam Revu is the plan-review standard that also does takeoff: length, area, volume and counts inside the PDF workflow every contractor already uses, with Studio sessions for real-time team review. At $260 per user per year for Basics, the takeoff capability is effectively bundled with software you may already own.
There is no AI takeoff here, and dedicated tools measure faster. But if your team lives in Bluebeam for submittals and markups, the measurement tools handle most takeoff needs without a second subscription.
What we like- The industry standard for plan markup
- Measurement tools included from $260
- Studio collaboration
Watch out for- Takeoff is a feature, not the specialty
- No AI takeoff
- Advanced measurements need higher tiers
Starting price$795 per user/year (Advanced)
Free planNo
eTakeoff is the value desktop option: real measurement tools, overlays, drawing compare and Excel integration at $795 per user per year, less than half of PlanSwift. For the contractor who wants desktop speed and a perpetual-style value proposition, the math works.
There is no AI layer and no free tier for extended evaluation. For straightforward, affordable takeoff without the AI premium, eTakeoff delivers the core job.
What we like- Advanced plan at $795 a user a year
- Solid measurement with drawing compare
- Desktop speed at half PlanSwift's price
Watch out for- No free tier
- No AI takeoff features
- Smaller vendor with fewer resources
How we chose
We covered the AI takeoff wave and the established tools side by side in 2026, verified each product exists today (including Beam AI at its correct ibeam.ai home), and used only vendor-published pricing captured in October 2026. Where vendors do not publish pricing, the listings say so. We weighted measured accuracy, time savings and honest AI limitations over marketing claims.
AI takeoff vs manual takeoff: the honest comparison
AI takeoff tools promise to read drawings automatically, and independent testing suggests the promise is substantially real: completion times cut roughly in half, accuracy within a few percent of manual baselines, with the best tools flagging low-confidence measurements for human review. The ROI math is compelling at estimator billing rates.
But the honest limitations matter. AI accuracy depends on drawing quality: clean CAD exports outperform scanned sketches. Trade-specific nuances, existing conditions, and ambiguous details still need human judgment. And the AI tools cost two to four times the manual tools per user. The right comparison is not AI versus manual; it is your current cost per estimate versus the tool's cost per estimate, tested on your drawings.
What to check before you trust the AI
Run the trial on your ugliest plan set, not the vendor's demo drawings. Compare the AI's quantities against a manual takeoff you trust, and check specifically the items the AI flagged as low confidence: that flagging behavior is the difference between a tool and a liability.
Then test the workflow around the AI: how corrections feed back, how revisions are handled, and how quantities export to your estimating process. Ask what happens when the AI is wrong on bid day, because the answer reveals whether the vendor has thought about professional liability. The AI that admits uncertainty is the one to trust.
Frequently asked questions
How accurate is AI takeoff software?
Independent testing puts leading AI tools within a few percent of manual baselines on standard drawings, with some vendors claiming higher. Accuracy varies with drawing quality and trade complexity. Always verify against your own manual takeoffs during the trial.
Will AI takeoff replace estimators?
No, it changes what estimators do. The AI handles measurement; the estimator handles judgment: scope gaps, ambiguous details, pricing strategy and bid review. Firms report bidding more work with the same staff, not eliminating the role.
How much does AI takeoff software cost?
From $30 to $35 per user per month at the budget end (CountBricks, Kreo Lite) to $299 per user per month (Togal.AI, STACK Pro), with Beam AI quote-based. Manual tools run $260 to $2,000 per user per year. The AI premium is real; test whether the time savings justify it.
Do I need clean drawings for AI takeoff?
Clean CAD exports give the best results; scanned or hand-marked sheets reduce accuracy. Ask each vendor to test your actual drawing types during the trial, because your plan sets are the only benchmark that matters.
What is the difference between DIY and done-for-you AI takeoff?
DIY tools (Togal, Kreo) give you software that measures automatically; you review and correct. Done-for-you services (Beam AI) deliver finished takeoffs with human QA; you wait for delivery. DIY is faster per project once learned; done-for-you needs no learning and no staffing.
Can AI takeoff handle plan revisions?
The better tools compare drawing issues and flag changed areas, similar to manual overlay tools. Test the revision workflow explicitly: upload a revised set mid-trial and check how changes surface. Revision handling separates production tools from demos.
Sources we checked (9)
- https://www.togal.ai/pricing
- https://www.kreo.net/pricing
- https://www.ibeam.ai/
- https://www.handoff.ai/pricing
- https://www.countbricks.com/pricing
- https://www.stackct.com/pricing
- https://www.planswift.com/pricing
- https://www.bluebeam.com/pricing
- https://etakeoff.com/pricing
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Shihab Mia · Founder, Rankite
Shihab has spent more than a decade helping SaaS and e-commerce brands grow through search. He writes Rankite's software buying guides from pricing pages, documentation and public user reviews. More about Shihab.