Beam AI pricing, untangled.
Look up what Beam AI costs and you will find $49.99 a month, $30 a sheet and $25,000 a year, all on the first page of results. Only one set of numbers comes from the vendor. Here it is, with the reason the others exist and the math for a real estimating team.
How much does Beam AI cost in 2026?
Beam AI pricing, from Attentive.ai's own pricing page, is an annual licence: the self-serve "Do It Yourself" tier starts at $8,000 per trade per year, and the "Done For You" takeoff service on construction plans starts at $25,000 per year. Aerial takeoffs for landscaping and paving start at $10,000 per trade per year. For comparison, Togal.AI is $3,588 per user per year and Pilars is $300 per user per month ($3,600 per year) for one trade with unlimited takeoffs.
Those are starting prices. The page says "from", the done-for-you figure depends on trade and volume, and the final number comes in a quote. Beam AI is the construction takeoff brand of Attentive.ai, sold at ibeam.ai.
| Beam AI at a glance | |
|---|---|
| What it is | Mainly a done-for-you takeoff service (AI plus a QA step), with a self-serve software tier for some trades. Includes in-platform estimates and bid management. |
| Who reads the drawings | Beam AI's AI and QA process on the done-for-you tier; your estimator, with the software, on Do It Yourself |
| Platform | Web |
| Pricing model | Annual licence, priced per trade and by volume |
| Public price | From $8,000 per trade per year (DIY); from $25,000 per year (done-for-you, plans); from $10,000 per trade per year (done-for-you, aerial) |
| Turnaround | 24 to 72 hours on done-for-you takeoffs |
| Best for | Contractors who want to outsource takeoff labour; landscape and paving contractors using aerial imagery |
Pricing reviewed 13 November 2026, based on public documentation as of Nov 2026. Beam AI, Attentive.ai, Togal.AI and Bobyard are trademarks of their owners; this is an independent comparison published by Pilars.
Why Beam AI prices are listed so differently on every site
Three separate things are tangled together in the search results.
- A different company with the same name. beam.ai is an unrelated AI-agent business. Its free tier and low monthly plans show up under "Beam AI pricing" and have nothing to do with construction takeoff. The takeoff product lives at ibeam.ai.
- Old pricing models. Third-party listings report credit-based plans, per-sheet rates of roughly $25 to $50 per measurable sheet, $2,599 a year and $49.99 a month. None of those figures is on the current vendor pricing page, which lists annual licences only.
- Estimates of the quote. A ConstructConnect guide puts Beam AI at $15,000 to $25,000 per trade per year. That is a third-party estimate from a competitor, and it is higher than the vendor's "from $8K" because the starting price is a floor.
The sensible reading: budget from the vendor's starting prices, expect the quote to land above them for anything beyond one trade at modest volume, and ignore any listing that shows a monthly price under a hundred dollars.
Beam AI plans
| Plan | Starting price | Trades | How it works |
|---|---|---|---|
| Do It Yourself | From $8,000 per trade per year | HVAC, plumbing and steel only | Your estimator runs the software |
| Done For You, construction plans | From $25,000 per year, based on trade and volume | All trades | You submit plans; takeoffs come back in 24 to 72 hours; up to two takeoffs in parallel |
| Done For You, aerial imagery | From $10,000 per trade per year | Landscaping, snow, paving, striping | Measurements from aerial imagery |
| Enterprise | Custom | By agreement | Quote |
Beam AI cost per user: what one, three and five estimators pay
Beam AI does not publish a per-user price. The licence is priced per trade and by volume, and the pricing page does not state how many logins a licence includes. So the honest worked example multiplies by trades, not heads, and every figure below is a floor.
| Scenario | Arithmetic at starting prices | Annual floor |
|---|---|---|
| 1 estimator, one DIY trade (say plumbing) | 1 × $8,000 | $8,000 |
| 3 estimators, two DIY trades (plumbing and HVAC) | 2 × $8,000 | $16,000, or about $5,333 per estimator if the quote adds no user fees |
| 5 estimators, three DIY trades (plumbing, HVAC, steel) | 3 × $8,000 | $24,000, or $4,800 per estimator on the same assumption |
| Any team size, done-for-you on plans | From $25,000, rising with trade and volume | $25,000 or more |
When you ask for the quote, get four things in writing: the number of user logins, the takeoff volume the price assumes, what happens when you exceed it, and the turnaround commitment. On the done-for-you tier the two-in-parallel limit matters more than headcount. If three bids are due the same Thursday, the third waits.
What is included and what is not
- Included: on done-for-you, the takeoff labour itself, which is the whole point; all trades on that tier; in-platform estimates and bid management.
- Not included or not public: instant results on the service tier; self-serve software for trades other than HVAC, plumbing and steel; monthly or pay-as-you-go billing; a published per-user or per-takeoff rate.
Beam AI pricing vs Togal.AI, Bobyard and Pilars
| Beam AI | Togal.AI | Bobyard | Pilars | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who reads the drawings | Beam AI's AI and QA process (service), or your estimator (DIY) | Software first pass, estimator cleans up | Software first pass with confidence scores, estimator reviews | Software reads the set and spec book; estimator reviews and edits |
| Time to a first result | 24 to 72 hours on the service tier | Software, no service queue | Software, no service queue | Minutes |
| Pricing model | Annual licence per trade | Per user, annual | Quote | Per user, monthly or annual billing; one trade per user |
| Public price | From $8,000 per trade per year; from $25,000 done-for-you | $3,588 per user per year | Pricing is not public; you get a quote | $300 per user per month ($3,600 per year); one trade per user, unlimited takeoffs |
| Best for | Outsourcing takeoff; aerial landscape and paving work | Area and space takeoff on architectural plans | Landscaping first, with newer MEP and finishes trades | Trade contractors who want the takeoff now and want to edit it themselves |
Beam AI vs Pilars for one, three and five estimators
Pilars is $300 per user per month, and each user covers one trade with unlimited takeoffs. Beam AI prices per trade and by volume. The like-for-like unit is therefore one estimator working one trade, and the rows below reuse the scenarios from the cost table above.
| Team | Beam AI Do It Yourself, annual floor | Pilars, per year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 estimator, one trade | 1 × $8,000 = $8,000 | 1 user: $300 × 12 = $3,600 |
| 3 estimators across two trades | 2 × $8,000 = $16,000 | 3 users: $900 × 12 = $10,800 |
| 5 estimators across three trades | 3 × $8,000 = $24,000 | 5 users: $1,500 × 12 = $18,000 |
On these scenarios Pilars costs less, by $4,400 a year for a single estimator. Two cautions keep that honest. The Pilars column assumes each estimator works one trade; an estimator who takes off both plumbing and HVAC is two users, $600 a month. And Beam AI's price follows trades, not heads, so if your quote lets a large department share a licence the sum turns around: ten estimators on three trades is $36,000 a year with Pilars against a $24,000 Beam AI floor. Ask how many logins the licence includes.
The done-for-you tier is a different purchase. Its $25,000 floor is about what seven Pilars users cost for a year (7 × $3,600 = $25,200), but it buys the takeoff labour and a QA step, not software your estimators run. If the labour is what you are short of, that comparison favours Beam AI.
Is Beam AI worth the price?
Beam AI is best for a contractor that is short of estimators rather than short of software. If the constraint is that nobody has time to do the takeoff, paying a service to hand back finished quantities is a rational buy, and Beam AI holds about 4.9 out of 5 on roughly 30 G2 and Capterra reviews (a small third-party sample). It is also the obvious pick here for landscape, snow and paving contractors measuring from aerial imagery.
Beam AI is a poor fit for a shop bidding a few sets a month, one that cannot commit five figures for a year, or one that needs a number the same afternoon the addendum lands.
Pilars is best for teams that want the result of a done-for-you takeoff without the wait or a five-figure annual licence. In order of what matters:
- Control. Pilars runs the takeoff automatically, but nothing is locked. Your estimator can open any detection, reclassify it, add or remove a device, or adjust a boundary or quantity, and the totals update. Automated first pass, estimator has the final say.
- Speed. The plan set and spec book are read in minutes. There is no service queue and no 24 to 72 hour turnaround.
- Accuracy, on one published test. In our duplex receptacle benchmark on one real power plan, Pilars counted 97.5% and Attentive 65%. That is one test of one device type; run your own set before generalising.
- Trades. 19 trades from one upload, where Beam AI's self-serve licence covers HVAC, plumbing and steel only.
- Price. $300 per user per month ($3,600 a year) for one trade with unlimited takeoffs, billed monthly or annually. For one estimator on one trade that is under half of Beam AI's $8,000 starting price.
What Pilars does not give you is a vendor's QA process doing the checking for you; the review is yours. Try it on a set you know at the live demo, or read Pilars vs Beam AI for the feature comparison.
Questions estimators actually ask
How much does Beam AI cost per year?
Beam AI annual licences start at $8,000 per trade per year for the self-serve Do It Yourself tier and at $25,000 per year for done-for-you takeoffs on construction plans, according to the vendor pricing page reviewed on 13 November 2026. Both are starting prices, and the final figure comes in a quote.
Why are Beam AI prices listed so differently on every site, and what does it really cost?
Beam AI prices differ because directories mix three things: an unrelated company called beam.ai, older credit and per-sheet pricing, and third-party estimates of the quote. The vendor page for the takeoff product at ibeam.ai lists annual licences from $8,000 per trade (self-serve) and from $25,000 (done-for-you).
What is Beam AI cost per user?
Beam AI does not publish a per-user price. Licences are priced per trade and by volume, and the pricing page does not say how many user logins are included, so ask for the user count in your quote.
Does Beam AI charge per sheet or per takeoff?
Beam AI's current pricing page lists annual licences, not per-sheet or per-takeoff rates. Third-party listings report older per-sheet figures of roughly $25 to $50, which are not on the vendor page today.
How long does a Beam AI takeoff take?
Beam AI done-for-you takeoffs are delivered in 24 to 72 hours, with up to two takeoffs running in parallel on the standard licence. The Do It Yourself tier is software your own estimator runs, available for HVAC, plumbing and steel.
Is Beam AI worth the price for a small subcontractor bidding three or four jobs a month?
Beam AI is hard to justify at that volume: the self-serve licence starts at $8,000 per trade per year and the done-for-you service at $25,000 per year. One Pilars user covering a single trade costs $300 per month, or $3,600 a year, with unlimited takeoffs, though the estimator reviews the result rather than a vendor QA team.
What is a cheaper alternative to Beam AI that does not need an annual contract?
Pilars costs $300 per user per month for one trade with unlimited takeoffs, can be billed monthly, and returns results in minutes that the estimator can edit; one user is $3,600 a year against Beam AI's $8,000 per-trade starting price. Togal.AI is another option at $299 per user per month, billed yearly.