Togal vs Attentive.ai vs Pilars: three different deals.
All three are called AI takeoff, and they are not the same kind of product. One is a workspace you operate, one is a service that operates for you, and one runs the first pass alone and hands you an editable result. Pick the working model first and the brand follows.
Togal vs Attentive AI vs Pilars: the short answer
Togal.ai is AI-assisted takeoff software the estimator operates, at $299 per user per month billed annually, strongest on architectural and interior scopes. Attentive.ai's Beam AI is mainly a done-for-you service that returns takeoffs in 24 to 72 hours, on annual licences from $8,000 per trade (self-serve) or $25,000 (done-for-you). Pilars runs the first pass automatically in minutes across 19 trades, lets the estimator edit any detection, and costs $300 per user per month for one trade with unlimited takeoffs, billed monthly or annually.
So the best AI takeoff, Togal or Beam AI or Pilars, depends on a question that has little to do with AI: who do you want doing the takeoff? If you want your estimator inside it sheet by sheet, that points to Togal. If you want it done outside the office, Beam AI. If you want the software to do the first pass and your estimator to check and correct it, Pilars.
Pricing reviewed 13 November 2026, based on public documentation as of Nov 2026. Togal.ai, Attentive.ai and Beam AI are trademarks of their owners; this is an independent comparison published by Pilars, one of the three products compared.
Togal, Beam AI and Pilars side by side
| Togal.ai | Attentive.ai (Beam AI) | Pilars | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | AI-assisted takeoff software with AI plan search and drawing comparison; takeoff only | Done-for-you takeoff service with AI plus QA, a self-serve tier for some trades, estimates and bid management | Automated takeoff software that reads the set and spec book; estimator reviews and edits |
| Who reads the drawings | The estimator runs the AI and finishes the takeoff | Beam AI's software and QA team | The software; the estimator has the final say |
| Time to quantities | Fast per sheet, at the estimator's pace | 24 to 72 hours on done-for-you | Minutes for the set, plus review |
| Changing a result | Estimator edits in the workspace | Produced by the service team on done-for-you | Estimator opens any detection and changes it; totals update |
| Trade focus | GC and architectural or interior trades: painting, drywall, framing, flooring, glazing, doors and hardware; electrical also listed | All trades on done-for-you; HVAC, plumbing and steel on self-serve; aerial tier for landscape and paving | 19 trades; each user works in one trade of their choice |
| Platform | Browser | Web | Browser, any operating system |
| Pricing model | Per user, annual billing | Annual licence, per trade or by trade and volume | Per user, one trade per user, unlimited takeoffs; monthly or annual billing |
| Public price | $299 per user per month billed yearly; custom for teams of four or more | From $8,000 per trade per year self-serve; from $25,000 per year done-for-you | $300 per user per month ($3,600 a year) |
| Best for | GCs and interior subs with estimators in takeoff every day | Teams outsourcing takeoff labour; landscape and paving contractors | MEP and trade bidders who want speed, control and the option of monthly billing |
Pick Togal.ai if
Togal is the best fit of the three for a general contractor or an interior subcontractor whose estimators live in takeoff. It detects, measures and counts on floor plans. It adds AI plan search and drawing comparison. One seat price covers unlimited automated takeoffs, and outside collaborators can join without accounts of their own. Third-party listings report a G2 rating of 4.8 out of 5 from about 60 reviews.
- Your work is mostly areas, walls and finishes on architectural sheets
- You want the estimator driving every sheet, with AI as the accelerator
- One estimator takes off several trades, since a Togal seat is not sold per trade
- You share takeoffs with people outside the company
Be ready for annual billing per user, and for some clean-up. Reviewers on G2 mention tidying AI results by hand and reworking exports for Excel. More at what is Togal.ai and Pilars vs Togal.
Pick Attentive.ai's Beam AI if
Beam AI is the only one of the three that takes the labour away. You upload the plans and get a takeoff back that a QA team has already checked. For an estimating department that is short of people more than it is short of software, nothing else in this comparison solves the same problem. Third-party listings report ratings of about 4.9 out of 5 from roughly 30 reviews.
- You would rather outsource takeoff than hire for it
- Your bid calendar allows one to three days per takeoff
- Your volume is steady enough to use an annual licence all year
- You measure landscapes, lots or pavement from aerial imagery
The costs are the turnaround, a five-figure annual commitment and a cap of two takeoffs in parallel on the standard licence. If you want to operate it yourself, the self-serve tier covers HVAC, plumbing and steel only. More at what is Beam AI and the Beam AI review.
Pick Pilars if
Pilars sits between the other two. Like Beam AI, it does not ask the estimator to draw or click the first pass. Like Togal, it is software in your own hands with nobody else's queue to wait in. You upload the plan set and spec book, it reads them together, and quantities come back in minutes with a confidence score and a sheet reference on each. Then the estimator takes over. Any detection can be opened and changed, whether that means reclassifying a wall type, adding or removing a device, or adjusting a boundary or a quantity, and the totals update.
- You want an automated first pass and the final say over every number
- You bid MEP or several trades from the same set
- Deadlines and addenda leave no room for a multi-day turnaround
- You would rather pay month to month than sign an annual contract
- You bid a lot and want a flat price with no meter on takeoffs
Be ready for what Pilars leaves out, and for how it is sold. Each user covers one trade, so a general contractor taking off many trades needs a user per trade, where a Togal seat is not tied to a trade. It does not do the takeoff for you the way a service does. It has no aerial-imagery measurement, no bid management and no permanently free tier. You can run your own set in the live demo before paying anything.
What each costs a three-estimator shop
Take a subcontractor with three estimators, all working in one trade.
| Togal.ai | Beam AI | Pilars | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How it is charged | 3 users at $299 a month, billed yearly | One annual licence for the trade | 3 users at $300 a month, billed monthly or yearly |
| Year one | $10,764 | From $8,000 self-serve (HVAC, plumbing or steel) or from $25,000 done-for-you | $10,800 |
| If bid volume doubles | $10,764 | May change, since done-for-you pricing depends on volume | $10,800; takeoffs are unlimited |
| If one estimator adds a second trade | $10,764; a seat is not sold per trade | A further licence, from $8,000 per trade self-serve | $14,400; the second trade is a fourth user |
| Smallest commitment | One year | One year | One month |
For this shop Togal and Pilars cost the same to within $36 a year, so price should not decide between them. Both charge by headcount and neither meters takeoffs, which means a busy year costs no more than a slow one. They part ways on terms. Togal bills annually and one seat can take off any trade. Pilars can be paid month to month, and each user is tied to one trade, so a team that spreads its estimators across several trades pays more on Pilars than on Togal. Beam AI's cost is fixed up front and partly buys labour; its self-serve tier has the lowest starting figure here, for HVAC, plumbing or steel only. Scaled down, one Pilars user is $300 a month ($3,600 a year), and five are $1,500 a month ($18,000 a year). Pricing detail is on the Togal.ai pricing and Beam AI pricing pages.
Accuracy: the one number we publish
We have not found an independent, audited accuracy figure for any of the three, and you should be wary of any percentage that arrives without a method. The one figure we publish is a single test. On a duplex receptacle count on one real power plan, Pilars scored 97.5%, Togal 84% and Attentive 65%. The sheet, the prompt and the scoring rules are on the benchmark page.
Read it for what it is: one electrical sheet and one device type. It says nothing about how Togal measures flooring areas, which is the centre of Togal's product, and it does not capture the human QA that Beam AI applies before delivery. A fair evaluation uses a set you have already taken off by hand, run through each tool you are considering. Our editable AI takeoff page covers what to check once the first pass is in front of you.
Questions estimators actually ask
Which is the best AI takeoff, Togal or Beam AI or Pilars?
Togal.ai is best for GCs and interior trades whose estimators want to drive the takeoff, Attentive.ai's Beam AI is best for contractors who want takeoff done for them, and Pilars is best for multi-trade and MEP bidders who want an automated first pass they can edit. The right choice depends on who should do the takeoff work.
What is the difference between Togal and Attentive AI?
Togal.ai is self-serve AI-assisted software at $299 per user per month billed annually. Attentive.ai's Beam AI is mainly a done-for-you service on annual licences from $25,000, with a self-serve tier from $8,000 per trade per year for HVAC, plumbing and steel.
Which is cheaper for a three-estimator shop: Togal, Beam AI or Pilars?
For three estimators in one trade, Togal.ai costs $10,764 a year and Pilars costs $10,800 a year, so the two are effectively the same price. Beam AI starts at $8,000 a year for one self-serve trade (HVAC, plumbing or steel) or $25,000 for done-for-you. Pilars can be billed monthly and each Pilars user covers one trade, while a Togal seat is billed annually and is not sold per trade.
Which of Togal, Beam AI and Pilars is fastest?
Pilars returns quantities for the whole plan set in minutes without the estimator drawing the first pass. Togal.ai is fast per sheet but works at the estimator's pace, and Beam AI's done-for-you tier quotes 24 to 72 hours.
Can I edit the AI results in Togal, Beam AI and Pilars?
Togal.ai and Pilars are both self-serve, so the estimator edits results directly; in Pilars any detection can be opened and changed and the totals update. Beam AI's done-for-you takeoffs are produced by its service team, so ask Attentive.ai how corrections are handled.
Which is better for electrical, plumbing and HVAC: Togal, Beam AI or Pilars?
Pilars covers electrical, plumbing and HVAC among 19 self-serve trades. Beam AI's self-serve tier covers HVAC and plumbing but not electrical, which goes through its done-for-you service, and Togal.ai lists electrical but is strongest on architectural scopes.
Is there an accuracy comparison of Togal, Attentive AI and Pilars?
Pilars publishes one benchmark, a duplex receptacle count on a real power plan, where Pilars scored 97.5%, Togal 84% and Attentive 65%. The benchmark is a single sheet and device type, not an overall accuracy rating for any of the three.