Planning guide for 2027
How to budget for takeoff and estimating software in 2027
Budget from your own bid count: estimate how many takeoffs you will run in 2027, then compare a per-seat tool's fixed yearly cost with a per-takeoff price at that volume, using prices you have checked yourself.
Add the costs that are not on the price page, such as setup time, a Windows machine for Windows-only software and the hours someone spends measuring or reviewing, then pick the tool shaped for the person who does the takeoff.
Written to plan 2027 work. It describes what is true today and what to check during 2027, and it makes no forecasts. Portravo facts and prices are as of November 13, 2026; each competitor price and fact shows the date it was last checked on the vendor's own site. This guide will be revised when those facts are re-checked.
Portravo publishes this guide and is one of the tools in it.
Step 1: count your own work
Start from your own records, not a vendor's example customer. Everything in this step comes from your 2026 bids.
From your records
- Bids sent per month, and your busiest and slowest months.
- Trades per bid: the one trade you self-perform, or every trade on the job.
- Who does the takeoff: you between site visits, or a person whose job is estimating.
- How many people need to open the same plan set.
- The plan formats you receive: PDF only, or DWG and other CAD files as well.
- The computers in use: Windows, Mac, or a mix.
Treat your count as a range, not a forecast. Work out what each tool costs in your slow month and your busy month, and budget for both.
Step 2: know what each kind of tool does
Takeoff tools differ mostly in who makes the quantities and where the price comes from.
Five shapes of tool
- Measure on the sheet, installed: a trained estimator clicks to measure lengths, areas and counts and keeps assemblies. PlanSwift and On-Screen Takeoff.
- Cloud takeoff and estimating workspace: direct measurement plus estimates from pre-built or custom libraries, shared by a team. STACK.
- PDF markup with measurement: drawing review and markups, with measurements sent to Excel on some plans. Bluebeam Revu.
- AI measuring for a team: AI detects, measures, counts and classifies quantities across plan sets in a browser. Togal.AI.
- AI draft, human confirm, priced estimate: a quantity list drafted from the plan PDF, every line confirmed by a person, then priced with a dated basis and your labor rates, charged per takeoff. Portravo.
The comparisons walk through how each one gets from plan to price, with a source for every competitor fact.
Step 3: write down today's listed prices
Competitor facts are from each vendor's own site; the oldest check was , and each card shows its own date. Portravo prices are as of .
STACK
- What it is
- Cloud takeoff and estimating workspace with direct measurement, pre-built or custom libraries and an AI Takeoff feature.
- How it is sold
- Per user per month, billed annually on 12-month terms. A free plan allows 1 active project a month and 50 measurements per project.
- Listed price
- Takeoff & Estimate: Premium $299 or Pro $349 per user per month.
- Per person per year
- $3,588 (Premium) or $4,188 (Pro). Our arithmetic: the listed monthly price times 12, because STACK bills annually. Not a STACK quote.
- Where it runs
- Cloud-based.
- Checked
- November 12, 2026, on the vendor's own site.
PlanSwift
- What it is
- Installed takeoff software: point and click to measure on PDF, CAD or image plans, with material, labor and waste assemblies.
- How it is sold
- Per seat per year; additional seats are discounted. 14-day free trial, no credit card.
- Listed price
- Essential $2,000 a year or Core $3,000 a year, each for 1 seat.
- Per person per year
- $2,000 (Essential) or $3,000 (Core).
- Where it runs
- 64-bit Windows only. Its requirements say it cannot be installed directly on a Mac without Boot Camp or a Windows virtual machine.
- Checked
- November 12, 2026, on the vendor's own site.
On-Screen Takeoff (ConstructConnect)
- What it is
- Installed takeoff software for lengths, areas and counts on PDF, DWG and other formats, with plan overlays, Takeoff Boost and a link to Quick Bid.
- How it is sold
- Pricing varies by licensing option. 14-day free trial. Excel and Quick Bid need their own licenses.
- Listed price
- No list price on the product page.
- Per person per year
- No published figure; ask for a quote for your seat count.
- Where it runs
- Installed on Windows; current requirements list Windows 11 Pro or Enterprise.
- Checked
- November 12, 2026, on the vendor's own site.
On-Screen Takeoff product pageOn-Screen Takeoff system requirements
Bluebeam Revu
- What it is
- PDF markup and measurement. Quantity Link with Microsoft Excel is on the Complete and Max plans.
- How it is sold
- Per user, billed annually.
- Listed price
- Basics $260, Core $330, Complete $440, Max $590 (introductory) per user per year.
- Per person per year
- $260, $330, $440 or $590, by plan.
- Where it runs
- Revu for Windows desktop, plus web and mobile access on every plan.
- Checked
- November 12, 2026, on the vendor's own site.
Togal.AI
- What it is
- Cloud takeoff whose AI detects, measures, counts, classifies and compares quantities on construction documents.
- How it is sold
- Per user per month, billed yearly. Business, for 4 or more users, is custom. No free trial listed; getting started goes through a demo.
- Listed price
- Growth $299 a month per user.
- Per person per year
- $3,588 (Growth). Our arithmetic: the listed monthly price times 12, because Togal.AI bills yearly. Not a Togal.AI quote.
- Where it runs
- Cloud-based, in a browser.
- Checked
- November 12, 2026, on the vendor's own site.
Portravo (publisher of this guide)
- What it is
- A quantity list drafted by AI from the plan PDF, every line confirmed by you, then priced with a dated material basis and your labor rates.
- How it is sold
- Per takeoff, one trade on one project. No seats, no annual contract. Bought takeoffs do not expire.
- Listed price
- $75 per takeoff, $149 for the whole job, or Starter $199 a month for 5, Pro $399 a month for 15, Trade $699 a month for 30.
- Per person per year
- Depends on how many takeoffs you run; see step 4.
- Where it runs
- In a browser. PDF plans only, and no on-screen measuring tools.
- Checked
- November 13, 2026, from Portravo's own pricing settings.
The yearly figures for STACK and Togal.AI are our arithmetic, the listed monthly price times 12, shown only because each vendor says it bills annually or yearly. They are not quotes and leave out tax, discounts and add-ons. Each card shows the date its facts were checked. Vendors can change prices at any time, so read the price page again the week you buy.
Step 4: price Portravo at your own volume
Portravo charges per takeoff, one trade on one project, so the lowest-cost way to buy depends on how many you run. The table works it out for a range of months, from a slow month to a busy one.
Portravo at your volume, list prices as of November 13, 2026
- 2 a monthPay as you go, 2 x $75$150 a month$1,800 a year
- 5 a monthStarter plan$199 a month$2,388 a year
- 10 a monthStarter plan plus 5 extra at $35$374 a month$4,488 a year
- 15 a monthPro plan$399 a month$4,788 a year
- 30 a monthTrade plan$699 a month$8,388 a year
Single-trade takeoffs at list price as of November 13, 2026, using the lowest-cost listed option each month. The yearly figure is the monthly one times 12, as if every month looked the same. A whole job, every trade on one project, is $149 pay as you go or 3 plan takeoffs. Unused plan takeoffs roll over one month, which the table does not count. See pricing and How much does Portravo cost?
Step 5: match each tool to your computers and seats
Read the "Where it runs" line on each card against the computers you own. If your office runs on Macs, add a Windows machine or virtual machine to the cost of a Windows-only tool. Portravo reads PDF plans only and has no on-screen measuring tools, so DWG plans or measuring on the sheet point to another tool. If several people need the same plans, price every seat.
Step 7: time the decision
- 01List the renewal date and term of every license you hold now, and whether it renews on its own.
- 02Run any trial on a real plan set from a recent bid, before your busy season, so the test is a job you already know.
- 03Check the vendor's price page again the week you buy.
- 04Re-run this budget at mid-year against the takeoffs you actually ran.
When another tool is the better pick
Pick by the work, not the price alone. From the comparison pages:
Pick by the work
- A full-time estimator who measures on the sheet and keeps assemblies on a Windows PC: PlanSwift or On-Screen Takeoff.
- Several people working plans, takeoffs and estimates in one cloud workspace: STACK. Its free plan allows 1 active project a month and 50 measurements per project, which may cover an occasional takeoff.
- A team that already reviews drawings in Bluebeam and prices in Excel: Bluebeam Revu.
- AI measuring across larger plan sets, reviewed by a team in the browser: Togal.AI.
- DWG plans, revision overlays or a path into Quick Bid: On-Screen Takeoff. Portravo reads PDF only.
- Priced HVAC equipment: Portravo lists furnaces, air handlers and condensers but does not price them, so carry your supplier's quote or check whether another tool's libraries cover it.
- One contractor who needs one reviewed, priced bid at a time, with no seat and no annual contract: Portravo.
Each alternatives page on Compare says when to stay with the tool you have. The short versions are PlanSwift vs STACK vs a priced bid tonight and Portravo alternatives.
Questions
- Which takeoff software has a free option?
- STACK lists a free plan (1 active project a month, 50 measurements per project). PlanSwift and On-Screen Takeoff offer 14-day free trials, and Togal.AI lists no free trial. Competitor facts were last checked on the dates shown in step 3. Portravo has no free takeoff; your first takeoff has a 14-day money-back guarantee.
- Is per-seat or per-takeoff pricing cheaper?
- It depends on your count. A seat costs the same in a slow month as in a busy one; a per-takeoff price follows the work. Work out both at your own slow and busy month, as in steps 3 and 4.
- Can I run Windows-only takeoff software on a Mac?
- PlanSwift's requirements say it cannot be installed directly on a Mac and needs Boot Camp or a Windows virtual machine. On-Screen Takeoff's requirements list Windows 11 Pro or Enterprise. STACK and Togal.AI are cloud-based, and Portravo runs in a browser.
- Will these prices hold in 2027?
- Vendors can change prices, plans and trials whenever they like. Each competitor price shows the date it was last checked on the vendor's own site, Portravo's prices are as of November 13, 2026, and this guide is updated when they are re-checked. Read the price page again the week you buy.
What would change this advice
- A vendor changes a price, a plan, a free trial or a platform requirement. Competitor facts are re-checked on the vendor's own site, and the check date on this page moves with them.
- Portravo changes its prices or plans. The Portravo figures here are read from the same settings checkout uses, so they change with them.
- Your own count moves: more bids, more trades per bid, or a second person doing takeoffs.
- You start receiving DWG plans or need priced HVAC equipment, which points away from Portravo.
- You find something here that is wrong or out of date. Write to hello@portravo.com and we will check it, then correct and re-date the guide.