Best takeoff software for concrete contractors.

Best concrete takeoff software in 2026: the short answer

I have priced foundations out of all three kinds of tool: a PDF marker, a desktop takeoff program and an AI reader. The quantities never change: cubic yards by pour, formwork contact area, footing lengths by size, rebar by bar mark, embeds by count. What changes is how many hours it takes to get there.

Pricing reviewed 13 November 2026, based on public documentation as of Nov 2026. STACK, PlanSwift, Bluebeam, ConstructConnect, Togal.ai, Beam AI and Autodesk Forma are trademarks of their owners; this is an independent comparison.

Concrete takeoff and estimating software compared

How these were judged. Five things, in this order: who reads the drawings (you or the software), how well the tool fits concrete and rebar rather than interiors, platform, whether a real price is published, and what reviewers on G2 and Capterra say. Disclosure: Pilars publishes this page and is one of the eight products on it.

The eight tools, one at a time

1. Pilars

Pilars is the only tool here where nobody traces the first pass. You upload the PDF set, it reads every sheet together with the spec book in minutes, resolves schedules and cross-sheet references, measures lengths, areas and volumes, and returns confidence-scored quantities tied to the sheet they came from. Nothing is locked after that: open any detection, adjust a boundary or a quantity, and the totals update, so the estimator has the final say. Concrete and rebar are two of its 19 trades from the same upload, alongside earthwork, masonry and structural steel. It costs $300 per user per month, billed monthly or annually. Each user covers one trade with unlimited takeoffs, so an estimator who wants both concrete and rebar counts as two users. That is more per seat than Bluebeam or PlanSwift and about level with Togal. What it does not do is price the job: you get a takeoff summary and an Excel export, and your unit costs stay in your own estimate. Best for: commercial concrete subs and self-performing GCs who bid more sets than they have estimator hours for.

2. STACK

STACK is a browser takeoff and estimating product with a free version and paid plans advertised at "as low as $299 per user per month". The takeoff is manual. Its documented AI features (STACK Assist) cover doors, windows, symbols, walls and room areas, none of which is a footing or a grade beam, so plan on measuring concrete by hand. STACK earns its place after the measuring: quantities, estimate and proposal live in one seat. Best for: concrete subs who want a single cloud tool from takeoff to proposal.

3. PlanSwift

PlanSwift is the long-standing Windows desktop tool, now $2,000 per seat per year for Essential and $3,000 for Core, which adds the full Takeoff BOOST AI. Its strength is assemblies: trace a slab once and let your own assembly turn the area into yards, mesh, vapor barrier and labor. It runs on Windows only and has a 14-day free trial. Best for: residential and light-commercial concrete estimators on Windows who have assemblies worth keeping.

4. Bluebeam Revu

Revu is a PDF markup tool with measurement. Per Bluebeam's plan list, Basics ($260) measures length and area only, Core ($330) adds volume, count and perimeter, and Complete ($440) adds Quantity Link to Excel. The Max plan ($590) carries the AI features, which are aimed at drawing review and comparison, not automated takeoff. Best for: small concrete contractors who need accurate areas and volumes for the least money.

5. ConstructConnect Takeoff

This is the browser product from the company behind PlanSwift and On-Screen Takeoff. Its Takeoff BOOST AI runs a first pass on linear, area and count items, and the vendor lists concrete among its trades, though its own FAQ says it was built for interior trades. Pricing is not public; you get a quote. Best for: estimators who want an AI head start on areas and lengths in a browser, including on a Mac.

6. Togal.ai

Togal is the best-known AI takeoff tool and is good at what it was built for: measuring spaces on architectural floor plans. It costs $299 per user per month billed yearly. The vendor's trade list covers GCs, painting, drywall, framing, flooring, glazing, doors and electrical, and third-party reviews mention weaker results on civil and sitework. Best for: a GC who is buying Togal for interiors anyway and whose concrete scope is mostly slab area.

7. Beam AI

Beam AI is mainly a service: you send plans, and takeoffs come back in 24 to 72 hours after AI processing and human QA. Done-for-you plan takeoffs start at $25K per year and cover all trades. The self-serve tier (from $8K per trade per year) is limited to HVAC, plumbing and steel, so concrete means the service tier. Best for: concrete contractors with steady volume and no appetite to hire another estimator.

8. Forma Takeoff

Autodesk Takeoff was renamed Forma Takeoff in March 2026. It combines manual 2D takeoff with quantities pulled from a 3D model in one browser tool. Pricing is not public; you get a quote. Best for: concrete contractors and GCs already on Autodesk who receive a structural model with the bid documents.

Rebar takeoff software with AI: what is actually out there

Rebar is where most "AI concrete takeoff" claims run thin. Counting bars means reading the foundation plan, the footing and pier schedules, the typical details and the general notes together, then applying laps and hooks. A tool that only detects areas on a floor plan cannot do that.

Pilars lists rebar as its own trade and reads schedules and cross-sheet references as part of the takeoff. In the vendor documentation we reviewed for the other seven tools on 13 November 2026, none described a rebar-specific AI feature. That does not prove one does not exist, so ask each vendor to run your own S-sheets in a demo before you believe anybody, us included. In the manual tools, rebar is whatever you build: a PlanSwift assembly that converts footing length to bar footage, or a spreadsheet behind Bluebeam measurements.

To check any tool's tonnage by hand, use our free rebar takeoff calculator.

What concrete estimating software costs over a year

Take a concrete sub that bids 30 plan sets a year with two estimators.

• Bluebeam Revu Core: 2 seats at $330 is $660 a year, measured by hand.
• PlanSwift Core: 2 seats at $3,000 is $6,000 a year before any multi-seat discount.
• Pilars, concrete only: 2 users at $300 a month is $7,200 a year. One user is $3,600.
• Pilars, concrete and rebar for both estimators: 4 users at $300 a month is $14,400 a year.

Pilars is the most expensive line on that list, and the bid count does not change it: 30 sets or 300, the price is the same. The reason to pay it is that the hours move. The first pass takes minutes, and the estimator's time goes into review. Current figures are on the pricing page.

How to choose

• You bid commercial structural sets and time is the constraint: start with Pilars. Run one of your own sets through the live demo and compare it to a takeoff you already trust.
• You pour residential flatwork and foundations: PlanSwift on Windows, or Bluebeam Core if you only need the measurements.
• You want takeoff and proposal in one place: STACK.
• You would rather buy takeoffs than software: Beam AI.

Whatever you pick, test it on a set with stepped footings, a schedule and a few section cuts. Our concrete takeoff explainer covers what to check.

Questions estimators actually ask