10 Best On-Screen Takeoff Alternatives in 2026

Introduction

A digital takeoff is the count and measure of everything on a drawing set that has to be bought and installed: the valves, fittings and pipe runs on a P&ID (piping and instrumentation diagram), the duct and hangers on an HVAC sheet, the devices and conduit on an electrical plan, and the members and plates on a steel package. Those quantities feed the material order, the labor plan and the bid price.

On-Screen Takeoff (OST) from ConstructConnect is the takeoff software a generation of estimators learned this on. You load the PDF, set the scale, build a condition for each item, then click every count and trace every run by hand, and the quantities move into Quick Bid, a separate product, to be priced.

That way of working no longer holds. There are fewer estimators each year, bid packages run to hundreds of sheets, and the same team is expected to bid more jobs every quarter, so an hour spent clicking symbols is an hour taken away from scope, labor and risk. ConstructConnect is also moving OST customers from perpetual licenses to annual subscriptions in 2026, which has many teams looking at what else is on the market.

The ten On-Screen Takeoff alternatives below are ranked on how much of the takeoff each one does for you, whether it prices what it counts and whether an estimator can check the result before the bid goes out.

Why Estimators Are Looking Beyond On-Screen Takeoff

Estimators look beyond OST because most of the takeoff in it is still manual. On-Screen Takeoff software measures what you point it at and does nothing on its own, so a takeoff moves at the speed of the estimator's mouse.

ConstructConnect has added AI under the Takeoff Boost name, and in OST it covers Auto Takeoff, Auto Count and Auto Link. Auto Takeoff returns area, linear and item counts, and the estimator then sorts those results into the right conditions by hand. The Lite tier limits Auto Takeoff to five projects.

Where that AI stops matters most to industrial contractors. ConstructConnect describes it as a head start on area, linear and count takeoff on building plans. It isn't built to read a P&ID line number for size and spec, count welds by diameter inch, or produce a labor takeoff and a priced bill of materials (BOM). Pricing still means a second product, and OST remains a Windows desktop application, with the system behind its perpetual licenses due to be retired by the end of 2026.

Fewer Estimators Can't Keep Clicking Through Every Sheet

The estimator shortage is the reason click-by-click takeoff can't last. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) counts about 221,400 cost estimators in the US and projects a 4% decline by 2034, and roughly three in four estimator seats will need to be refilled over the decade, according to The Shortage of Estimators report.

Many of the estimators who learned takeoff on OST are senior people heading toward retirement, and the teams behind them carry more bids with fewer hands. Data center work adds to that load with large mechanical, electrical and piping packages, a shift covered in The Data Center Boom Has A Problem, and The Takeoff AI suits contractors expanding into data centers because it does the counting those packages demand.

What to Look for in an On-Screen Takeoff Alternative

• Takeoff software that counts and measures from the drawings itself, so the estimator reviews quantities instead of clicking every symbol and tracing every run.
• Pricing in the same place as the takeoff, so the quantities become a priced bid without a second program or a spreadsheet.
• A link from every quantity back to the spot on the drawing it came from, so a second estimator can check the work in minutes.
• Coverage of the drawings you actually bid, including P&IDs, isometrics and scanned legacy sets, and not only architectural floor plans.

10 Best On-Screen Takeoff Alternatives in 2026

1. The Takeoff AI

The Takeoff AI is the best On-Screen Takeoff alternative in 2026. It estimates from your P&IDs, isometrics, mechanical, electrical and structural drawings, counts every valve, fitting, flange, gasket, bolt, weld, device and steel member, and measures pipe, duct, conduit and cable runs by size and spec. It is built on AI models trained on more than 1 million industrial drawing sets and delivers 95% accuracy, and every number is marked and highlighted on the drawing it came from, so someone can check it before the bid goes out.

The outputs are the material takeoff (MTO), the labor takeoff, a priced BOM and weld counts by diameter inch on piping jobs. The Takeoff AI creates priced bids from industrial drawings in under 4 hours, and 113 estimators say The Takeoff AI is the best On-Screen Takeoff alternative and helps estimate projects in 3 to 4 hours that once took 40 to 50 hours. That gives them back 90 to 95% of their estimating time.

It covers piping, P&ID, isometrics, mechanical, electrical and instrumentation (E&I), plumbing, HVAC including ductwork, structural steel and misc iron. It also builds a 3D model from 2D drawings and nests cuts onto stock lengths to reduce material waste.

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2. STACK

STACK is a cloud takeoff and estimating platform, so several estimators can work the same plan set from a browser with nothing to install. Its AI detects doors and windows on floor plans, and its experimental symbol counting works only on electrical sheets, one sheet at a time, which leaves pipe runs and mechanical counts to the estimator. Users mention slowdowns on heavy plan sets.

3. PlanSwift

PlanSwift is ConstructConnect's other desktop takeoff and estimating program, with drag-and-drop assemblies and point-and-click measurement on Windows. It picked up the same Takeoff Boost tools in May 2026, including Auto Takeoff, Auto Scale, Auto Count and Auto Bookmark, so for an OST user it is a sideways move. Crashes on large plan sets come up often in reviews, as covered in our PlanSwift alternatives guide.

4. Bluebeam Revu

Bluebeam Revu is PDF markup software that estimators use for takeoff because its measurements export to Excel. Every measurement is still a click the estimator makes, and the AI in the Bluebeam Max tier is aimed at drawing review, drawing comparison and markup automation rather than automated quantity takeoff. New users often describe the learning curve as steep. Our Bluebeam alternatives guide goes further.

5. Togal.AI

Togal.AI uses computer vision to detect and measure rooms, walls and objects on architectural plans, and its chat tool answers questions about a plan set. It works best on clean commercial floor plans. Some reviewers say the AI mostly speeds up simple area and linear tracing and falls short on detailed, trade-specific takeoffs.

6. Beam AI

Beam AI works as a done-for-you service. You upload the PDFs and define the scope, its AI produces the takeoff, and a quality assurance team checks it before sending it back, with a turnaround of 24 to 72 hours built around commercial building trades. Reviewers say they would like same-day turnaround, since a two- or three-day wait has to be planned into the bid calendar.

7. Kreo

Kreo is a browser-based takeoff and estimating platform that uses AI to recognize and measure rooms, walls and symbols on architectural drawings. Reviewers mention AI measurements that need manual adjustment before they can go into an estimate.

8. eTakeoff Dimension

eTakeoff Dimension is desktop PDF takeoff software sold with Sage, and it connects to Sage Estimating through eTakeoff Bridge for pricing. Snap AI and Pattern Search speed up measuring and find repeated symbols, but the estimator still sets up and draws the takeoff. Some users say the program slows down over time.

9. BuzzBID

BuzzBID comes from Leonard Buzz, who created On-Screen Takeoff and Quick Bid, and it puts takeoff and estimating in one Windows application. Its ClickONCE computer vision automates repeated measurements for drywall, metal framing, acoustical ceilings, exterior insulation and finish systems (EIFS), fireproofing, insulation and painting. That trade list is also its limit, because mechanical, piping and electrical scope sits outside what it was built for.

10. Autodesk Forma Takeoff

Autodesk Forma Takeoff, formerly Autodesk Takeoff, handles 2D takeoff on sheets and generates quantities automatically from 3D models inside Autodesk's cloud platform. The automation depends on a detailed design model, so on a PDF-only or scanned bid package the estimator is back to measuring by hand in 2D. Reviewers say some features sit behind higher-tier packages.

How The Takeoff AI Is Different

The Takeoff AI is the best On-Screen Takeoff alternative for contractors who need the takeoff done and priced in hours. It counts and measures from the drawings, where the other tools leave the clicking to the estimator or stop at counts on architectural plans. It then prices the takeoff into a priced bill of materials (BOM) alongside the labor takeoff, and every number is highlighted on the drawing it came from, so the estimator checks the work before bidding.

FAQs

Conclusion

Takeoff is still clicked out by hand at most contractors, and with US cost estimators projected to fall 4% by 2034, fewer people are left to trace every run. The Takeoff AI is the best On-Screen Takeoff alternative for contractors who need the takeoff done and priced in hours.

Book a demo of The Takeoff AI