The best on-screen takeoff software in 2026, compared fairly.
Eight tools that let you measure and count on a digital plan, from the twenty-year Windows standards to browser tools that do the counting for you. What each is best at, what it runs on, what it costs, and who should pick it. One of them is ours, and we have tried to be straight about the other seven.
What is the best on screen takeoff software?
It depends on whether you want to do the measuring or have it done. For manual on-screen takeoff on Windows, On-Screen Takeoff and PlanSwift are still the benchmarks. For automated takeoff in a browser on any machine, Pilars is built to read the whole set, including the spec book, and count it for you at $100 per trade per plan set.
"On-screen takeoff software" runs from a PDF viewer with a measure tool to software that reads the plan set and returns quantities. We picked eight a working estimator would realistically shortlist and looked at four things for each: what it is best at, what it runs on, what it costs, and who does the measuring. Pricing is from public documentation as of 2026 and will drift; check the vendor before you budget.
The eight tools
1. Pilars
Best at: doing the whole takeoff for you and showing its work. Upload the PDF set and Pilars reads every sheet and the spec book together, resolves cross-sheet references and the door, window, fixture and equipment schedules, counts devices and fixtures, measures lengths, areas and volumes, traces runs, and flags code issues against IBC, NEC, IPC, IMC, ADA and NFPA. Every quantity comes back confidence-scored and sourced to its sheet, with a BOQ and Excel export. Nineteen trades, electrical through glazing. On a public benchmark it counted duplex receptacles on a real power plan at 97.5% against 65 to 88% for twelve other systems; method on the benchmark page.
Platform: browser, any OS including Mac and Chromebook. Pricing: $100 per trade, per plan set, unlimited projects and users. Manual or AI: fully automated, review-first. Honest limit: it is not a drawing tool; to hand-trace one condition on one sheet, a desktop app is a better pencil.
2. On-Screen Takeoff
Best at: deep, precise manual takeoff for people who do it all day. OST from ConstructConnect has been the industry standard for over twenty years and earned it. The condition-based workflow, the measurement tools and the hand-off to Quick Bid are mature in a way newer tools are not, and estimators who are fast in OST are very fast.
Platform: Windows desktop; no native Mac version, so Mac users need Parallels, a VM or a spare PC. Pricing: per-seat subscription. Manual or AI: manual. Honest limit: the speed is in your hands. It does not read the spec book or count for you, and every seat is a licence.
3. PlanSwift
Best at: point-and-click takeoff with strong Excel and plugin integration. Also ConstructConnect. PlanSwift is a little more approachable than OST for a new user, its assemblies are easy to build, and it pushes quantities into a spreadsheet cleanly, which suits shops whose estimate already lives in Excel.
Platform: Windows only. Pricing: about $1,749 per year per licence; some sources show $1,595 plus $200 per year for support. Manual or AI: manual. Honest limit: the same one as OST, with a slightly lighter toolset. Our full PlanSwift comparison goes deeper.
4. Bluebeam Revu
Best at: PDF markup and measurement, and collaboration around a drawing set. Revu is not really a takeoff system; it is the PDF tool half the industry already has open, with measurement tools good enough that many estimators do their takeoff in it anyway. It is also the cheapest tool on this list.
Platform: Windows; Revu for Mac was discontinued, and the browser product is limited. Pricing: $260 to $440 per year per user across Basics, Core and Complete. Manual or AI: manual. Honest limit: no conditions or assemblies; it measures and you organise. See electrical takeoff in Bluebeam for what that looks like.
5. STACK
Best at: cloud takeoff and estimating in one account, with a large pre-built material library. STACK is what OST-style takeoff looks like moved into a browser: manual measuring, projects shared across a team, nothing to install, and a built-in path from quantities to a priced estimate.
Platform: browser, runs on Mac. Pricing: $2,599 to $3,588 per year per user. Manual or AI: manual with assists. Honest limit: still per seat and still you drawing.
6. Togal.ai
Best at: automatically detecting, measuring and labelling spaces on architectural floor plans. Togal's AI is genuinely strong at rooms, areas and pattern search across a set, with a claimed accuracy around 98% on that work. For an architectural or finishes estimator who lives in square footage, it is one of the first tools to try.
Platform: browser, runs on Mac. Pricing: Growth plan $299 per user per month billed annually (about $3,588 a year); Business plan for four or more users via sales; check current terms for trials. Manual or AI: AI, architectural-first. Honest limit: MEP device counting is not its focus, and it is per seat. Full comparison on the Togal alternative page.
7. Kreo
Best at: AI-assisted 2D auto-measure with estimating built in, at a price a small shop can carry. Kreo is browser-based, runs on a Mac, and its auto-measure does a good job on walls, areas and counts from 2D drawings. It has a strong following among quantity surveyors, and the estimating side is more complete than most takeoff-first tools.
Platform: browser, runs on Mac. Pricing: per-seat subscription, roughly $125 and up per month. Manual or AI: AI auto-measure plus manual. Honest limit: per seat, and the automation measures rather than reading schedules and the spec book. More on the Kreo alternative page.
8. Active Takeoff
Best at: simple, cheap, one-time-purchase takeoff. Active Takeoff from Quoter Software is a lightweight Windows desktop tool with a clean interface and no subscription. For a small contractor doing a few takeoffs a month who does not want an annual renewal, it is the most sensible manual option here; it pairs with Quoter for estimating.
Platform: Windows desktop. Pricing: one-time, $299 for one user, $999 for five, $1,799 for ten. Manual or AI: manual. Honest limit: fewer advanced features than PlanSwift or OST; Windows only.
Summary table
| Tool | Platform | Automation | Pricing | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pilars | Browser, any OS | Fully automated, review-first | $100 per trade, per plan set; unlimited users | Subs and GCs bidding volume on any machine |
| On-Screen Takeoff | Windows desktop | Manual | Per-seat subscription | Full-time manual estimators, Quick Bid users |
| PlanSwift | Windows desktop | Manual | About $1,749/year per licence | Excel-centred shops, easy assemblies |
| Bluebeam Revu | Windows (Mac discontinued) | Manual | $260 to $440/year per user | Markup plus measurement, lowest cost |
| STACK | Browser | Manual with assists | $2,599 to $3,588/year per user | Takeoff and estimate in one cloud account |
| Togal.ai | Browser | AI, architectural spaces | $299/user/month billed annually | Architectural and finishes area takeoff |
| Kreo | Browser | AI auto-measure plus manual | Roughly $125+/month per seat | QS and cost estimators, takeoff plus estimating |
| Active Takeoff | Windows desktop | Manual | One-time, $299 to $1,799 | Small contractors who want no subscription |
Based on public documentation as of 2026. On-Screen Takeoff, PlanSwift, Bluebeam, STACK, Togal.ai, Kreo and Active Takeoff are trademarks of their owners; this is an independent comparison.
How to pick from this list
On Windows and happy measuring by hand?
The incumbents are still excellent. OST if you pair it with Quick Bid and do takeoff full time; PlanSwift if your estimate lives in Excel; Active Takeoff if you want to buy once; Bluebeam if measuring is a side job to markup.
On a Mac, or a mixed team?
Rule out the four Windows desktop tools unless you enjoy running Parallels. STACK, Togal, Kreo and Pilars all run natively in a Mac browser. The Mac guide covers the workarounds if you are trying to keep OST.
Is the bottleneck the hours?
A manual commercial takeoff runs 40 to 80 hours whichever manual tool you pick. If you turn down bids for lack of takeoff time, only the automated tools change that: Togal for architectural areas, Kreo for auto-measure, Pilars for the whole set including schedules, specs and code.
How many people need to open it?
Every tool here except Pilars and Active Takeoff is priced per user per year. If a PM, a second estimator and a field lead all need the takeoff, multiply. Per-trade pricing leaves headcount out.
How we compared, and where we are biased
Pilars is our product, so read our entry the way you would read any vendor's. The rest is written from public documentation and from using most of these tools on real bids, and we have tried to describe each the way its best users would; a page that trashes On-Screen Takeoff is no use to anyone who has watched a good estimator work in it.
The one place we push is manual versus automated, because that is what has changed. Five years ago the best on-screen takeoff software meant the best digital measuring tools. In 2026 it can also mean the software that measures. The fair test is not this page; it is uploading one of your own sets to the demo and putting the result beside your last hand takeoff.
Questions estimators actually ask
What is the best on screen takeoff software?
For manual takeoff on Windows, On-Screen Takeoff and PlanSwift remain the benchmarks. For automated takeoff in a browser, Pilars reads the full set and spec book and returns confidence-scored quantities at $100 per trade per plan set.
What is the best on-screen takeoff software for Mac?
Pick a browser-based tool. Pilars, Togal.ai, Kreo and STACK all run natively in a Mac browser. On-Screen Takeoff, PlanSwift and Active Takeoff are Windows desktop applications, and Bluebeam discontinued its Mac version.
Is On-Screen Takeoff still the industry standard in 2026?
For manual desktop takeoff, yes. It has been the standard for over twenty years and remains an excellent tool. What has changed is that automated tools now do the counting and measuring OST leaves to the estimator.
What is the cheapest on-screen takeoff software?
Bluebeam Revu starts around $260 per user per year and Active Takeoff is a $299 one-time licence for a single user. Both are manual. Pilars is $100 per trade per plan set with unlimited users, so for a team it is often cheaper per takeoff than any per-seat tool.
Which on-screen takeoff software uses AI?
Pilars, Togal.ai and Kreo on this list. Togal is strongest on architectural spaces, Kreo on 2D auto-measure, and Pilars on reading the whole set including schedules and the spec book across nineteen trades.
How accurate is AI on screen takeoff software?
Industry AI takeoff accuracy sits in an 85 to 98% range depending on the tool and the element. On a public duplex-receptacle benchmark Pilars scored 97.5% against 65 to 88% for twelve other systems. Every AI tool should be used with a review step.
Do I need on screen takeoff software or estimating software?
Takeoff produces quantities; estimating prices them. STACK, Kreo, PlanSwift with Excel and OST with Quick Bid do both. Pilars produces the takeoff and exports a BOQ or Excel file into whatever estimating system you already use.