PlanSwift vs STACK vs getting one priced bid tonight
Seats vs one bid.
PlanSwift, STACK and Togal sell a seat to somebody whose job is estimating, and if that is your job they are probably the right answer; Portravo sells one priced bid to somebody who is running the crew and has to get a number out tonight.
What the platforms are actually good at
Speed in the hands of a trained estimator, national coverage, deep assembly libraries you can tune for years, multi-user takeoff on the same plan set, and integrations into accounting and project management. If you are pushing volume through an estimating department, that is real leverage and it is worth the seat.
They also win on breadth of trade coverage, including mechanical work Portravo does not do at all.
What that shape costs a small shop
A seat is a standing cost whether you bid four jobs this month or none. Most of these tools are sold annually, and the setup is real: you are building your library and learning the takeoff tooling before the first bid comes out faster than doing it by hand.
The honest failure mode is a subscription that renews while nobody has opened the software since the last busy season.
Where Portravo fits
Portravo is priced per estimate: $75 for one, or $199 a month for 5 and $399 a month for 15 if you are bidding most weeks. Credits from a single purchase do not expire, so a slow month costs nothing.
The scope is narrow on purpose. Upload the plan PDF, confirm the quantities, price them against the Portravo Sacramento benchmark with the source and as-of date printed on each line, apply your own labor rate card, then export Excel for you and a clean PDF for the customer. If you need seats, a shared library and a mechanical package, buy the platform.
Which shape fits you
Answer these honestly. Three or more on either side settles it.
- 01Do you or an employee estimate full time? Platform.
- 02Do more than two people need to work the same plan set? Platform.
- 03Do you need mechanical or HVAC takeoff? Platform. Portravo does not cover it.
- 04Do you bid outside California most of the time? Platform, or expect indexed pricing from Portravo.
- 05Do you bid a few jobs a month between site visits? Per-estimate.
- 06Does the customer need to see where each price came from? Per-estimate.
Signing up loads a sample duplex project and one estimate credit, granted when you finish onboarding. No card until you buy a second estimate.
Start with the free estimate- Is Portravo a replacement for PlanSwift or STACK?
- Not for a full-time estimator. Those tools win on seats, speed in trained hands, national coverage and trade breadth. Portravo is for a contractor who needs one priced bid without buying and learning a seat.
- What does Portravo cost?
- $75 per estimate pay as you go, $199 a month for 5 estimates on Crew, or $399 a month for 15 on Foreman. Pay-as-you-go credits never expire. Your first estimate is free and no card is required to see the product.