Pilars vs PlanSwift.
PlanSwift has been the point-and-click takeoff tool on Windows desktops for a long time, and in 2026 it gained AI tools of its own. Pilars comes at the same job from the other end: upload the set, get quantities back, review them. This comparison is written for the estimator deciding whether to renew a PlanSwift seat, add Pilars beside it, or switch.
Pilars or PlanSwift: which is the better fit?
PlanSwift is a Windows desktop takeoff and estimating program from ConstructConnect, priced at $2,000 per year for one Essential seat or $3,000 per year for Core, which adds the full Takeoff BOOST AI tools. Pilars is browser-based automated takeoff at $300 per user per month ($3,600 a year), with one trade per user, unlimited takeoffs and monthly billing available. PlanSwift is the cheaper seat and the better fit if your estimates are built on PlanSwift assemblies and you work on Windows; Pilars is the better fit if you want the first pass done for you, on any computer, and editable afterwards.
Three things decide this one for most shops: the operating system on the estimator's desk, how much has been invested in assemblies, and how many of the estimator's hours go into measuring. Each gets its own section below.
Pricing reviewed 13 November 2026, based on public documentation as of Nov 2026. PlanSwift is a trademark of its owner; this is an independent comparison written by Pilars. Confirm current terms with the vendor.
The comparison in one table
| Pilars | PlanSwift | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Automated AI takeoff with code-compliance flags | Desktop point-and-click takeoff plus estimating with trade assemblies, now with Takeoff BOOST AI tools |
| Who reads the drawings | The software reads every sheet and the spec book; the estimator reviews and edits | The estimator. Auto Count and Auto Scale help on Essential; Auto Takeoff is on Core |
| Platform | Browser on Windows, macOS or Chromebook | 64-bit Windows only |
| Pricing model | Per user; each user includes one trade, with unlimited takeoffs. Monthly or annual billing | Per seat, per year |
| Public price | $300 per user per month ($3,600 per user per year) | Essential $2,000 per year; Core $3,000 per year, one seat each |
| Trial | Demo on your own plan set; no free tier | 14-day free trial, no card |
| Assemblies and pricing | No. Exports a takeoff summary and BOQ or Excel file | Yes. Drag-and-drop assemblies and strong Excel integration |
| Best for | Subs who want an automated first pass across 19 trades, on any machine | Windows estimators in residential and light commercial who rely on assemblies |
Windows, Mac and where the estimator sits
This is the least glamorous difference and often the deciding one. PlanSwift's system requirements call for 64-bit Windows. Its help documentation says PlanSwift cannot be installed directly on a Mac and that you must use Boot Camp or a Windows virtual machine. If the whole estimating department is on Windows towers with two monitors, none of that matters and you can skip to the next section.
If it is not, it matters every day. An estimator on a MacBook is running a second operating system to do takeoff. A project manager who wants to check one quantity from a tablet on site cannot. Pilars runs in Safari or Chrome with nothing to install, so the takeoff opens wherever the person is. The takeoff software for Mac page lists the other browser-based options if this is your main constraint.
One note for fairness: PlanSwift's owner, ConstructConnect, also sells a separate browser product called ConstructConnect Takeoff that runs on Mac or Windows. Its pricing is not public; you get a quote. It is a different product from PlanSwift, not a Mac version of it.
Assemblies are the reason people stay on PlanSwift
Ask a long-time PlanSwift user what they would miss and the answer is rarely the measuring tools. It is the assemblies. Trace a wall once and PlanSwift can break it into studs, plates, board, fasteners and labour, using rules somebody in your shop spent years tuning. Those quantities then flow into Excel through an integration that reviewers consistently praise. For a framer or a residential builder, that is most of an estimate produced from one drag.
Pilars does not replace that. It returns measured and counted quantities, a takeoff summary and a BOQ or Excel export, and you price them in the system you already have. If your assemblies are the heart of how you bid, keep them. The practical question is whether a person needs to do the measuring that feeds them.
PlanSwift has started answering that question itself. Essential now includes Auto Count, Auto Scale and Auto Bookmark, plus two hours of one-on-one training. Core adds Auto Takeoff, the full Takeoff BOOST set. That is a genuine improvement to a tool many estimators already know, and if you are on Windows it is worth using the 14-day trial to see how far Auto Takeoff gets on your own drawings.
What Pilars does differently
PlanSwift's AI helps inside a session the estimator is running. Pilars takes the whole set at once. Upload the PDFs and in minutes it has read every sheet together with the spec book, resolved cross-sheet references and the door, window, fixture and equipment schedules, counted devices and fixtures, measured lengths, areas and volumes, and traced runs. It also flags code-compliance issues against IBC, NEC, IPC, IMC, ADA and NFPA. A manual commercial takeoff commonly runs 40 to 80 hours; the aim is to turn most of that into review.
PlanSwift users tend to ask one thing straight away: can I fix it when it is wrong? Yes. Every quantity is confidence-scored and sourced to its sheet, and any detection can be opened and changed. Retype a wall, add a missed device, remove a false one, adjust an area boundary or overwrite a number, and the totals update. The software does the first pass and the estimator keeps the final say, which is the same authority you have in PlanSwift without the hours of clicking that come before it.
Pilars covers 19 trades from one upload, including electrical, plumbing, HVAC and fire protection alongside framing, drywall, concrete, roofing and the finishes trades. On accuracy, the only figure Pilars publishes is a single test: 97.5% on duplex receptacle counts on one real power plan, described on the benchmark page. PlanSwift was not part of what we can cite from that test, so there is no head-to-head number here.
Cost: PlanSwift is the cheaper seat
A PlanSwift Essential seat is $2,000 a year and a Core seat is $3,000. A Pilars user is $300 a month, which comes to $3,600 over a year. So Pilars costs $600 more than Core and $1,600 more than Essential for one estimator on one trade. ConstructConnect also offers discounts for additional seats and volume pricing at ten or more licences, so larger shops should get a quote.
| Shop | PlanSwift Core per year | Pilars per year |
|---|---|---|
| Roofing sub, 1 estimator | $3,000 | 1 user: $300 a month, $3,600 |
| Electrical sub, 3 estimators | 3 x $3,000 = $9,000 before multi-seat discount | 3 users: $900 a month, $10,800 |
| Home builder, 1 estimator on framing and drywall | $3,000 | 2 users (one per trade): $600 a month, $7,200 |
The third row is PlanSwift's home ground. A PlanSwift seat is not tied to a trade, so a residential estimator running two or more trades on every plan gets far more out of it, especially with assemblies doing the material breakdown. A Pilars user covers one trade.
What Pilars charges more for is the measuring itself. Takeoffs are unlimited on each user, so the price is the same in a month with two bids or twenty, and it can be billed monthly, where a PlanSwift seat is bought by the year. If the estimator spends most of the week tracing and counting, the $600 to $1,600 a year is small next to those hours. If measuring is already quick because the jobs are small or the assemblies do the heavy lifting, PlanSwift is the better buy.
Verdict, and the case for running both
PlanSwift is best for Windows-based estimators in residential and light commercial work who have built assemblies they trust, bid at high volume, and want measuring and pricing in one program.
Pilars is best for subcontractors and precon teams who want an automated first pass they can correct, who have Macs or mixed hardware, or whose bid volume is held back by the hours spent measuring.
Plenty of shops will do both for a while: Pilars produces the quantities, and PlanSwift stays installed for the assemblies and the one-off measurement. Run the Pilars demo on a set you have already taken off in PlanSwift and compare line by line. If you decide to move, the PlanSwift alternative page covers the switch.
Questions estimators actually ask
Is Pilars better than PlanSwift?
Pilars is better if you want the plan set and spec book read automatically in a browser, with a first pass you can edit, at $300 per user per month. PlanSwift is better if you work on Windows, rely on PlanSwift assemblies and Excel integration, and want the lower seat price of $2,000 to $3,000 a year.
How much does PlanSwift cost compared with Pilars?
PlanSwift costs $2,000 per year for one Essential seat and $3,000 per year for one Core seat. Pilars costs $300 per user per month, or $3,600 a year, with one trade per user and unlimited takeoffs, so PlanSwift is the cheaper seat.
Does PlanSwift have AI takeoff now?
Yes. PlanSwift Essential includes Auto Count, Auto Scale and Auto Bookmark, and PlanSwift Core adds Auto Takeoff as part of Takeoff BOOST. Pilars differs in that it reads the whole set and spec book and returns quantities without the estimator running a session.
Can I run PlanSwift or Pilars on a Mac?
PlanSwift requires 64-bit Windows and cannot be installed directly on a Mac; you need Boot Camp or a Windows virtual machine. Pilars runs in the browser on macOS with nothing to install.
I have years of PlanSwift assemblies. Do I lose them if I use Pilars?
No, because you do not have to give up PlanSwift. Pilars exports quantities as a takeoff summary and BOQ or Excel file, and many estimators keep PlanSwift for assemblies and pricing while Pilars produces the measured quantities.
Can I edit a Pilars takeoff the way I edit one in PlanSwift?
Yes. Pilars runs the first pass automatically, then the estimator can open any detection to reclassify it, add or remove items, adjust boundaries or change quantities, and the totals update.
Which is cheaper for a two-estimator electrical shop bidding 40 jobs a year, PlanSwift or Pilars?
Two PlanSwift Core seats cost $6,000 a year before any multi-seat discount, or $4,000 on Essential. Two Pilars users cost $600 a month, or $7,200 a year, with unlimited electrical takeoffs, so PlanSwift is cheaper on licence cost and Pilars is aimed at the hours spent measuring those 40 jobs.