Pilars vs Togal.AI.

Pilars vs Togal.AI: which one should you buy?

Pricing reviewed 13 November 2026, based on public documentation as of Nov 2026. Togal.AI is a trademark of its owner; this is an independent comparison written by Pilars. Confirm current terms with each vendor before you buy.

Control: an automatic first pass that you can overrule

Estimators are right to be wary of a tool that hands over a number and asks for trust. Pilars runs the takeoff on its own, and then nothing is locked. Open any detection and change it: reclassify a partition the architect tagged two different ways, add the floor box the model missed, delete a device that sits in a detail rather than on the plan, pull an area boundary back to the right grid line, or overwrite a quantity. The totals update as you go. Each quantity arrives confidence-scored and sourced to its sheet, so you know where to spend your review time first.

Togal gives the estimator control from the other direction. You work in the drawing from the start: run the AI on the sheets you choose, search the set for an image or a symbol, compare drawing versions, and build up your scopes as you go. Estimators who think by measuring often prefer that, and it is a real strength of the product.

Both tools leave the final say with the estimator. In Togal some of your hours go into producing and organizing the first pass. In Pilars they start at checking it.

Speed: minutes to a first pass

Pilars reads the full PDF set and the spec book in minutes, resolving cross-sheet references and the door, window, fixture and equipment schedules along the way. Nobody draws or clicks the first pass, and there is no queue or service turnaround to wait on.

Togal is also fast compared with tracing by hand, and its seat includes unlimited automated takeoffs, as a Pilars user does. The time that remains is operator time: choosing sheets, running detection, grouping results and cleaning up. Third-party listings report that some G2 reviewers mention manual clean-up of AI results, rework on Excel exports and slowdowns at peak times, on a product those same listings report at about 4.8 out of 5 across roughly 60 reviews.

Accuracy: one published test, stated narrowly

Togal does not publish an accuracy figure on its current site, so there is no vendor number to quote for it. Pilars has published one benchmark: on a single real power plan, counting duplex receptacles, the Pilars fine-tuned model scored 97.5%, Togal scored 84% and Attentive (the maker of Beam AI) scored 65%. The method and the sheet are on the duplex receptacle benchmark page.

That is one device type on one drawing, run by Pilars. It is not a claim about overall accuracy, and it says nothing about room areas on an architectural plan, the work Togal is best known for.

Trades: 19 from one upload versus an architectural-first tool

Togal earned its reputation on floor plans: detecting, measuring and labelling spaces. Its site lists general contractors, painting, drywall, framing, flooring, glazing, doors and hardware, and electrical.

Pilars covers 19 trades from the same upload: electrical, plumbing, HVAC, fire protection, drywall, framing, painting, flooring, finishes, millwork, glazing, doors and windows, insulation, concrete, rebar, structural steel, masonry, roofing and earthwork. The MEP trades depend on reading panel and fixture schedules and following a run from sheet to sheet. Pilars also flags code-compliance issues against IBC, NEC, IPC, IMC, ADA and NFPA as part of the takeoff, which Togal's public pages do not describe.

Price: the same per seat, counted differently

Togal's public Growth plan is $299 per user per month billed yearly, which is $3,588 per user per year. Pilars is $300 per user per month, or $3,600 over a year, and can be billed monthly or annually. Twelve dollars a year is not a reason to pick either one. Both include unlimited takeoffs, so neither bill moves with the number of sets you bid.

What differs is what a seat covers. A Pilars user includes one trade of their choice. A Togal seat is not sold per trade. That changes the count as soon as one person takes off more than one trade.

In the first two rows the two products cost the same, and the decision comes down to the sections above. The last two rows favour Togal on price. A general contractor who quantifies most of the building needs a Pilars user for every trade, while a few Togal seats can be pointed at any scope. If that is your shop, weigh the extra Pilars users against the hours an automated first pass saves on each of those trades.

The other difference is the commitment. Togal's public plan is billed a year at a time. Pilars offers monthly billing, and users can be added or changed at any time. The full breakdown is on the Pilars pricing page.

When Togal.AI is the better choice

• You are a GC quantifying most of the building. A Togal seat is not tied to a trade, so one estimator can take off six scopes on one licence. Pilars needs a user for each trade.
• Your work is mostly area and linear off floor plans. Flooring, paint, drywall and ceilings are the scopes Togal was built around.
• You want to live in the drawing. If an interactive workspace with plan search and version comparison open all day is how you estimate, Togal is that product.
• Outside reviewers need to see your takeoff. Togal states that external collaborators do not need an account.

Shops already on eTakeoff Dimension have one more route: Togal is sold there as an add-on at $1,800 per user per year.

And when Pilars is

• Each estimator works one trade. A Pilars user then costs the same as a Togal seat, and the first pass is already done when the estimator opens the job.
• Your trade is MEP, fire protection or structural. Counts, runs and schedule reconciliation are where an automated first pass saves the most hours.
• The spec book changes your quantities. Pilars reads the specifications with the drawings.
• You do not want to pay a year up front. Pilars can be billed monthly; Togal's public plan is billed yearly.

How to test both on the same bid

Pick a set you have already taken off by hand, so you know the right answers. Ask Togal for a demo on it and run the same PDF through the Pilars demo. Pilars has no free tier, but the demo on your own plans costs nothing. Score three things: how many known quantities each tool matched before correction, how long it took from upload to a number you would sign, and how easy it was to fix what was wrong. Every AI takeoff has errors, so the third matters most. If you are replacing Togal outright, see the Togal alternative page.

Questions estimators actually ask