Takeoff that lives
in the browser.
A lot of the old guard — On-Screen Takeoff, PlanSwift, the Accubid family — is still a Windows desktop install with a license tied to a machine. That's a tax on a modern estimating team. Pilars runs in the browser.
What 'desktop' actually costs you
Desktop takeoff means a Windows box, a per-seat license that lives on it, version updates, and an estimator who can't open a set from home or a job trailer without a VPN dance. It also means your Mac users are stuck. Cloud takeoff removes all of that: open a browser, upload the set, work from anywhere on any machine, and the version is always current. For a 15-plus person bench that flexibility is real money.
Cloud and automated, not just hosted
Plenty of tools call themselves cloud but still make you trace the takeoff by hand in a browser tab. Pilars is cloud and automated — upload the plans, it reads the full set and the spec book, returns confidence-scored quantities, and there's nothing to install or maintain. Security and access are handled centrally rather than on someone's desktop.
- Runs in any modern browser — Mac, Windows, Chromebook
- No install, no per-machine license, always current
- Open a set from the office, home or the trailer
- Automated takeoff, not manual tracing in a tab
Questions estimators actually ask
Do I need to install anything?
No. Pilars runs in the browser. There's no desktop app, no Windows requirement, and nothing for IT to push to each machine.
Does it work on a Mac?
Yes — it's browser-based, so Mac, Windows and Chromebook all work the same. Most legacy desktop takeoff tools are Windows-only; this isn't.
Can my team work from anywhere?
Yes — office, home, or a job trailer, any machine with a browser. No VPN-to-the-license-server routine.
Is cloud the same as automated?
No, and it's worth checking. Some cloud tools still make you trace by hand. Pilars is cloud and fully automated — it does the takeoff, you review it.
Pricing?
$100 per trade, per plan, no per-seat fees, unlimited projects.