Losing bids due to inaccurate takeoffs?
You’re spending hours manually measuring blueprints, only to second-guess your material costs and labor estimates. It’s a frustrating and time-consuming cycle.
Those small measurement errors add up quickly. Costly bidding mistakes can sink your project’s profitability before you even break ground on the site.
This manual process isn’t just slow; it introduces unnecessary financial risks that leave money on the table. Every single miscalculation directly impacts your bottom line.
But what if you could automate this entire process? The right software can eliminate these costly errors and dramatically boost your bidding accuracy.
In this guide, I’ll break down the best takeoff software available today. We will explore top-tier tools designed to help you create precise bids much faster.
You’ll find a solution that fits your workflow, helps you win more profitable jobs, and ultimately gives you a serious competitive edge.
Let’s dive in.
Quick Summary:
| # | Software | Rating | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | STACK → | Specialty & general contractors | |
| 2 | Square Takeoff → | Contractors & estimators | |
| 3 | Active Takeoff → | Estimators & paperless users | |
| 4 | PlanSwift → | Estimators & contractors | |
| 5 | Bluebeam → | Construction professionals |
1. STACK
Tired of manual takeoffs and bid errors costing you jobs?
STACK helps you calculate material and labor with quick, accurate digital measurement tools. This means you can handle changing scope requirements and juggle multiple projects more efficiently.
This enables you to prepare winning bids using integrated items, assemblies, and regional pricing, ensuring your project bids are precise. You can even achieve 50-75% better productivity!
Here’s how STACK helps.
STACK’s cloud-based construction software is accelerated with AI, combining powerful automation with your expertise to produce faster bids and more profitable projects. This allows you to evaluate new bid opportunities, search full plan sets, and compare plan versions.
You can streamline your processes with takeoff, estimating, building, and operating solutions that drive efficiency. This improves accuracy and doubles your win rate. This software helps specialty contractors, general contractors, suppliers, and even owners and developers to bid faster, win more, and build smarter.
Additionally, STACK offers robust security and data protection, addressing concerns about data integrity. It’s integrated with your team’s workflow in mind, powering seamless construction workflows and boosting customer success from preconstruction through closeout. The result? Accelerated workflows and increased bid accuracy.
While we’re discussing optimizing workflows for better outcomes, understanding the importance of email testing tools is equally crucial for any digital outreach.
Key features:
- Quantity & Material Takeoff: Calculate materials and labor with quick and accurate digital measurement tools, eliminating manual errors and boosting bid accuracy.
- Estimates & Proposals: Leverage integrated items, assemblies, and regional pricing to prepare winning bids and ensure higher profitability.
- Cloud Collaboration: Access your projects and data anytime, anywhere, enabling real-time teamwork and seamless collaboration across your teams.
Learn more about STACK features, pricing, & alternatives →
Verdict: STACK streamlines your workflow, helping estimators and project managers reduce takeoff time by up to 40% while improving bid accuracy. This comprehensive cloud-based platform is ideal for anyone seeking the best takeoff software to boost productivity and win more projects.
2. Square Takeoff
Frustrated by manual blueprint measurements and tight deadlines?
Square Takeoff helps you cut takeoff time from hours to minutes.
This means you can ditch the manual measuring tape and win more bids, saving precious time and money.
It’s time to streamline your estimating process.
Square Takeoff simplifies your workflow by letting you measure digital blueprints in minutes. This online software helps you eliminate printing costs while generating more accurate material estimates.
You can access everything online, as it works seamlessly on both Windows and Mac. Plus, it minimizes human error and keeps your entire team on the same page, ensuring increased efficiency and avoiding costly rework. The result is higher profitability and winning more projects.
Key features:
- Cut takeoff time: Transforms hours of manual work into minutes with digital blueprint measurements, improving your bid turnaround and overall productivity.
- Eliminate printing costs: Allows you to work with digital blueprints, removing the need for physical copies and reducing overhead expenses for your business.
- Generate accurate estimates: Delivers precise measurements for materials, helping you minimize waste and significantly boost your profit margins on every project.
Learn more about Square Takeoff features, pricing, & alternatives →
Verdict: Square Takeoff is ideal for contractors and estimators seeking to boost bid accuracy and profitability. Its ability to cut takeoff time, eliminate printing costs, and ensure precise material estimates makes it a strong contender for the best takeoff software to win more jobs and keep your team on track.
3. Active Takeoff
Tired of manual takeoffs eating into your valuable time?
Active Takeoff promises a breath of fresh air, designed to get you up and running in minutes. This means you can swiftly transition from paper plans to digital measurements.
Their elegant user interface and inherent simplicity mean you can boost your productivity on all estimating and takeoff jobs. You’ll save time, money, and space by going paperless.
Here’s how to boost your bid accuracy.
Active Takeoff eliminates paper plans and expensive digitizers, directly supporting PDF, scanned, or any image files. This means importing your plans is a breeze—just select your files and you’re set to go.
Measuring square footage, perimeters, and volumes is simply a matter of point and click. You can quickly measure ridge, eave, and valley lengths using their integrated pitch converter. Whether you’re estimating tiles, drywall, or concrete, handy estimating extensions will calculate everything for you.
Additionally, this software ensures you never forget a key element on your plan again; if it’s colored, it’s counted, providing accurate results in either imperial or metric systems. You can easily assign costs and markups to your takeoff and instantly generate a clean, precise estimating report.
The result is increased accuracy and saved time.
Key features:
- Intuitive Digital Takeoffs: Easily measure areas, perimeters, and volumes with simple point-and-click functionality, eliminating manual errors and boosting accuracy for walls, roofs, and more.
- Integrated Estimating Capabilities: Assign costs and markups directly within the software, instantly generating precise estimating reports for materials like tiles, drywall, or concrete.
- Go Paperless & Save Time: Import PDF or image plans with ease, eliminating costly printing and paper piles, which saves you time, money, and physical workspace.
Learn more about Active Takeoff features, pricing, & alternatives →
Verdict: Active Takeoff stands out as a top contender for best takeoff software due to its user-friendly interface and robust features. Customers consistently praise its ease of use, often stating they were “up and running in minutes,” significantly boosting accuracy and saving time on complex projects. This tool simplifies estimating for all your jobs.
4. PlanSwift
Tired of manual takeoffs eating into your valuable time?
PlanSwift is designed to simplify your preconstruction phase, letting you measure blueprints and create estimates with remarkable speed. This means you can bid more jobs and manage projects more efficiently.
This software tackles the common pain point of slow, error-prone manual calculations by allowing you to instantly measure areas, lengths, and volumes. You’ll dramatically reduce the time spent on estimations.
Here’s how PlanSwift transforms your workflow.
PlanSwift streamlines your process with point-and-click functionality, allowing you to instantly count colored items on your blueprints. You can also drag and drop pre-configured material and labor assemblies onto your takeoff items. This calculates costs automatically, ensuring a precise estimate.
PlanSwift instantly calculates material, waste, and labor, eliminating guesswork and ensuring accurate internal calculations as you work. This drastically improves the accuracy of your bids and reduces estimation time.
Additionally, PlanSwift offers full Excel compatibility for easy sharing and reporting, ensuring your entire job is calculated and ready to go. You can also customize it for your specific trade, from concrete to electrical, by creating unique assemblies for commonly used materials, waste, and labor.
The result is faster project turnaround and higher profitability.
For instance, if you’re also focused on client interactions, my guide on best cobrowsing software offers valuable insights for enhancing customer support and sales.
Similarly, understanding how to effectively manage client relationships is crucial. My comprehensive article on best customer service software can help you elevate your support efforts.
Key features:
- Point & Click Takeoff: Effortlessly measure complex areas, items, lengths, volumes, and perimeters by simply pointing and clicking on your blueprints.
- Drag & Drop Assemblies: Instantly calculate material, waste, and labor costs by dragging and dropping pre-configured assemblies onto your takeoff items.
- Export & Reporting: Easily share your estimates by printing or exporting to Excel, ensuring all calculations are ready for review and analysis.
Learn more about PlanSwift features, pricing, & alternatives →
Verdict: PlanSwift is an intuitive and powerful solution for estimators and contractors seeking to boost productivity. Its point-and-click and drag-and-drop features, combined with automated calculations and Excel integration, make it the best takeoff software for winning more bids and maximizing profit while avoiding costly errors.
5. Bluebeam
Tired of manual takeoff errors crippling your bids?
Bluebeam simplifies your takeoffs and estimations, boosting speed and accuracy significantly. Its smart markup and measurement tools ensure precise quantities every time.
This means you can build more winning bids and secure more projects, avoiding the costly miscalculations that erode your profitability.
Time to transform your estimating process.
Bluebeam helps you centralize projects in the cloud, allowing your team to access updates and collaborate in real-time from anywhere. This boosts communication and efficiency, keeping everyone on the same page from design to handover.
You can communicate project data clearly with industry-standard markup and measurement tools, streamlining your workflows. This ensures data integrity from the start, which is vital for precise estimates. Additionally, Bluebeam offers tailored training and a dedicated support site, making sure your team gets up to speed and utilizes the software effectively to win more jobs.
The result? Faster turnarounds and higher profitability.
Key features:
- Smart Markup & Measurement: Improve takeoff speed and accuracy for building winning bids, reducing errors from manual blueprint measurements.
- Real-Time Collaboration & Mobility: Centralize projects in the cloud, allowing your team to collaborate and access work on any device, anywhere.
- Streamlined Workflows: Manage processes like RFIs, submittals, and project handovers to keep the office and field in sync and projects on track.
Learn more about Bluebeam features, pricing, & alternatives →
Verdict: Bluebeam is a robust solution for construction professionals aiming to improve takeoff speed and accuracy, thereby building more winning bids. Its collaborative features and customizable tools make it suitable as the best takeoff software for boosting bid accuracy and winning more jobs.
6. PrebuiltML
Tired of inaccurate bids and manual takeoffs?
PrebuiltML provides powerful tools that make material estimates and project tracking easier.
This means you can say goodbye to paper plans and embrace a faster, more efficient workflow.
Here’s how to boost your bid accuracy.
PrebuiltML simplifies the takeoff process with intuitive controls. You can just point and click to measure linear footage, square footage, hardware counts, walls, roofs, and siding.
Built-in formulas optimize materials and quantities, accounting for waste, which is fantastic for ensuring you don’t overspend. The result is a more accurate material list.
Additionally, PrebuiltML offers cloud storage for file backup and seamless team collaboration, improving communication among all project contacts. You can export material lists to PDF, CSV, Excel, and popular Point of Sale systems.
Win more jobs with precise estimates.
If you’re also focused on boosting efficiency and accuracy in other fields, my article on best pathology lab software offers valuable insights.
Key features:
- Automated Takeoffs: Point and click measurement for linear footage, square footage, and counts, significantly reducing manual effort and errors.
- Material Optimization: Built-in formulas help you optimize material quantities and account for waste, ensuring precise and cost-effective estimations.
- Cloud Collaboration: Cloud storage and team collaboration tools streamline project flow and communication, enabling efficient remote teamwork.
Learn more about PrebuiltML features, pricing, & alternatives →
Verdict: PrebuiltML stands out as the best takeoff software for builders, framers, and general contractors due to its intuitive controls and intelligent features. It significantly boosts bid accuracy and project efficiency, allowing you to win more jobs and ensure precise material lists without the typical headaches of manual processes.
7. Buildxact
Tired of manual takeoffs and inaccurate bids?
Buildxact offers automated takeoffs and estimating to help you create precise, professional bids quickly, aiming to win you more jobs.
This means you can say goodbye to the headache of manual estimating, allowing you to build accurate estimates and send professional quotes.
Build smarter, not harder.
Buildxact tackles your project management needs from the first takeoff to the final invoice, consolidating estimating, scheduling, and job tracking into one powerful platform. This allows you to manage everything efficiently, keeping projects on time and within budget for both clients and contractors.
Additionally, with Buildxact’s dealer connection, you gain seamless online material dealer collaboration and live pricing at your fingertips. Plus, the AI-powered Blu assistant helps with accurate estimating for repeatable jobs and even reviews your estimates for common mistakes, providing a full toolbelt of helpful features. The result is higher productivity and greater profitability.
Before diving deeper, you might find my analysis of best client onboarding software helpful.
Key features:
- Automated Takeoffs & Estimating: Generate fast, accurate bids with AI-powered tools like Blu: Takeoff Assistant and Estimate Generator.
- Integrated Project Management: Manage your entire build, from customer communication and scheduling to cost tracking and site management.
- Material Dealer Connection: Access live pricing and collaborate seamlessly with material dealers directly within the platform to maintain profitability.
Learn more about Buildxact features, pricing, & alternatives →
Verdict: Buildxact is ideal for residential builders, remodelers, and estimators seeking to streamline operations. Its AI-powered takeoffs, comprehensive estimating, and project management tools, including dealer connections and Blu assistant, position it as a powerful contender for best takeoff software. Users like Joshua Bradley have doubled sales, seeing a return on investment within 8-12 months.
8. Contractor Foreman
Tired of manual takeoffs and bid errors?
Contractor Foreman offers robust financial tools like Estimates and Bid Management, directly addressing your challenges. This means you can create precise bids and manage financials efficiently, reducing costly errors.
Their real-time cost database and invoicing capabilities provide fast access to the numbers you need. This helps eliminate guesswork and improves bid accuracy significantly.
Here’s how to win more jobs.
Contractor Foreman streamlines your entire project workflow through integrated project management and financial features. This includes tools for Estimates, Bid Management, and Change Orders, centralizing your critical data.
You can also leverage their Drawings & PDF Markup tool to take off directly from blueprints, making project planning much simpler. This eliminates manual measurement errors and speeds up the entire bidding process.
Additionally, features like the Client Portal and Team Chat enable seamless collaboration across your projects. This means you can communicate effectively with your team and clients, ensuring everyone stays informed and connected, which is vital for successful project delivery and winning future bids.
It’s an all-in-one affordable solution.
While we’re discussing client interactions, my article on customer data platform covers how to unify your customer insights for better engagement.
Key features:
- Generate Estimates: Quickly create accurate project estimates with a real-time costs database, significantly boosting your bid precision and overall financial control.
- Bid Management: Streamline your bidding process with dedicated tools, helping you organize opportunities and submit competitive, error-free proposals.
- Drawings & PDF Markup: Mark up blueprints directly within the software, enabling precise takeoffs and visual collaboration for your project teams.
Learn more about Contractor Foreman features, pricing, & alternatives →
Verdict: Contractor Foreman is an affordable, all-in-one solution for small to medium contractors. Its strong estimating, bid management, and drawing markup capabilities make it an excellent choice if you’re seeking the best takeoff software to boost bid accuracy, streamline workflows, and win more jobs.
9. Clear Estimates
Tired of estimates taking forever?
Clear Estimates helps you create bids in minutes, not hours, so you can escape the keyboard and get back to the job site. This means it tackles the common frustration of time-consuming manual takeoffs.
It specifically addresses the need for speed and accuracy, empowering you to slash the time you spend on administrative tasks.
Here’s how you do it.
Clear Estimates solves the problem of inaccurate and slow estimations by providing a robust, user-friendly platform. It comes with over 12,000 pre-loaded parts, complete with regularly updated, locally adjusted material and labor costs for over 400 U.S. areas, ensuring you always have the most accurate estimates possible. This capability directly reduces costly errors and bid miscalculations. Additionally, with over 300 project templates, you can generate complete estimates in seconds by simply inputting square footage. Plus, you can customize any template by adding or removing parts and adjusting pricing to fit unique job requirements, boosting your bid accuracy and project success.
Win more jobs with precise estimates!
Speaking of leveraging digital tools for business growth, my article on best user generated content platform might interest you.
Key features:
- Locally adjusted costs: Access over 15,000 line items with material and labor costs updated quarterly for 400+ U.S. areas, ensuring your bids are always precise.
- Powerful project templates: Utilize 300+ customizable templates for common jobs, allowing you to generate comprehensive estimates in seconds and tailor them easily.
- Professional proposals: Automatically create polished proposals with pre-written contract language, custom boilerplate, and company branding, saving you typing time.
Learn more about Clear Estimates features, pricing, & alternatives →
Verdict: Clear Estimates provides accurate, localized cost data and an extensive library of templates, helping you create professional proposals quickly. With 400k+ projects created and over $17B in total bids, it’s a strong contender for the best takeoff software for boosting bid accuracy and winning more jobs.
10. Groundplan
Tired of inaccurate bids and missed deadlines?
Groundplan tackles these head-on with its cloud-based online takeoff features, allowing you to design, measure, and estimate plans.
This means you can accurately quantify materials and labour directly from your plans, reducing the errors and time waste of manual methods.
It’s time to streamline your workflow.
Groundplan allows you to upload various plan formats, then measure on-screen from any device, anywhere, and export your estimates to Excel or integrated software. This enables seamless remote collaboration, with real-time updates for your entire team. You can easily measure lengths, count items, and calculate surface areas, ensuring comprehensive and precise takeoffs.
Additionally, the Count Assist add-on automates symbol counting on large plans, drastically reducing errors and freeing your estimating specialists for more critical tasks. Plus, Groundplan’s integration capabilities with platforms like Simpro, Xero, and QuickBooks mean your estimates flow directly into your existing project management or accounting tools.
While managing your projects, safeguarding your valuable data is paramount. You might find my guide on data security software helpful.
The result? Faster, more accurate project bidding.
Key features:
- Online Takeoff & Plan Design: Accurately measure and quantify materials and labour directly on digital plans, designing and personalizing them for precise project cost estimation and planning.
- Automated Counting with Count Assist: Swiftly count symbols on large plans, minimizing manual errors and freeing up your time for higher-level estimating tasks, ensuring accuracy.
- Seamless Integrations & Exports: Connect with industry-leading job management and accounting software, and easily export bill of quantities to Excel for a streamlined end-to-end solution.
Learn more about Groundplan features, pricing, & alternatives →
Verdict: Groundplan truly shines by providing a comprehensive, cloud-based solution for accurate takeoffs and estimations across various trades. Its user-friendly interface, combined with powerful features like Count Assist and seamless integrations, makes it an ideal best takeoff software for winning more jobs and improving profitability, as evidenced by over 412,700 projects completed.
Conclusion
Ready to finally win more bids?
I know that relying on manual takeoffs is slow and risky, putting your project’s profitability on the line with every single calculation.
The right tool is a game-changer. Implementing construction takeoff software improves bid accuracy by 25% and reduces material waste. That’s a direct boost to your profitability on every project you undertake.
So what’s my top recommendation?
From all the tools I’ve tested, STACK stands out. It’s specifically designed to eliminate guesswork and dramatically increase your bidding accuracy.
Its AI-accelerated, cloud-based platform helps you produce faster bids and more profitable projects, even doubling your win rate. It’s the best takeoff software for serious growth.
If you’re also looking to boost overall business growth, my article on strategic planning software can provide valuable insights for cross-team alignment.
I highly recommend you book a free demo of STACK to see the powerful automation in action for yourself.
You will see the difference immediately.
