"Was paying $450 per takeoff to an estimating service. Turnaround was 3 days. Now I get counts in 20 minutes for a fraction of the cost. I stopped outsourcing after my second takeoff."
Estimating Services vs. Doing It Yourself in 15 Minutes.
Estimating services charge $300-800 per takeoff and take 2-3 days. TakeoffBuilder costs a few credits and delivers in ~15 minutes. You keep control of your numbers and your margins.
DIY AI Takeoffs
Faster than outsourcing. Cheaper. You stay in control.
Manual takeoffs are the most expensive hour you do not bill.
A commercial plan set takes 8 to 40 hours to count by hand. At estimator rates of $75 to $150 per hour, that is $600 to $6,000 in labor on every bid. Most contractors do not skip bids because the work is not there. They skip bids because the counting takes too long to make the turnaround worth it. TakeoffBuilder does not replace your judgment. It eliminates the hours you spend before your judgment ever gets to work.
- 8 to 40 hours per plan set at $75 to $150 per hour equals $600 to $6,000 in labor
- One TakeoffBuilder credit: $199. Any size plan. 15 to 30 minutes.
- The math works on the first job. Every job after that is margin.
What You Get That Estimating Services Don't
Speed, cost, control, and trade-specific accuracy — without outsourcing your institutional knowledge.
~15 Minutes vs. 2-3 Days
TakeoffBuilder delivers initial counts in about 15 minutes. Most estimating services take 2-3 business days — which means you either rush your review or miss bid day. Speed is a competitive advantage.
- Same-day counts on plans received that morning
- Bid jobs your competition can't turn around
- No waiting for a 3rd party to prioritize your job
Credits vs. Per-Takeoff Fees
A typical estimating service charges $300-800 per takeoff. TakeoffBuilder costs a few credits — sign up free to see a real example plan and takeoff output before spending anything. Credits never expire. No subscription.
- Sign up free — see a real example plan and takeoff
- Typical job costs a fraction of outsourced rates
- Credits don't expire — pay when you bid
Your Numbers, Your Review
With an estimating service, you get a spreadsheet and hope it's right. With TakeoffBuilder, you see exactly what was counted, where it came from, and what was flagged for your judgment. You stay in control.
- Flagged items show exact page and location
- You review and adjust before exporting
- Your field knowledge stays in the estimate
95%+ Accuracy on Standard Plans
On commercial plans with standard symbols, TakeoffBuilder runs 95%+ accuracy. Lower-confidence items get flagged — not silently estimated. Comparable to a trained estimating service, delivered faster.
- 95%+ accuracy on standard commercial plans
- Flagged items surfaced for manual review
- First takeoff free to verify for yourself
Manual takeoffs are the most expensive hour you do not bill.
A commercial plan set takes 8 to 40 hours to count by hand. At estimator rates of $75 to $150 per hour, that is $600 to $6,000 in labor on every bid. Most contractors do not skip bids because the work is not there. They skip bids because the counting takes too long to make the turnaround worth it. TakeoffBuilder does not replace your judgment. It eliminates the hours you spend before your judgment ever gets to work.
Any PDF format works — CAD exports, scanned drawings, permit sets up to 150MB. Drag and drop or browse. We've processed 47-page commercial permit sets, multi-building residential packages, and hand-drawn TI plans.
Construction-trained AI reads your legends, schedules, notes, and drawings — understanding trade-specific symbols the way an experienced estimator would. Not generic object detection. Trade-specific symbol recognition trained on thousands of real plan sets.
Anything the AI isn't confident about gets flagged — with the exact page and location shown. You verify flagged items manually. Everything else ships in your Excel. Most contractors check flagged items in 5-10 minutes.
Download as Excel, CSV, or JSON. Import directly into PlanSwift, Accubid, or your estimating software. Or price it right there — the counts are organized exactly the way suppliers need them.
Every hour you count is an hour you are not bidding.
The bottleneck is not the pricing. It is the counting.
Contractors Who Switched From Outsourcing
Contractors who used estimating services and switched to TakeoffBuilder for speed, cost, and control.
6 reviews
"The problem with estimating services is the wait. By the time the estimate came back, I'd already missed some bids. TakeoffBuilder same day, every time."
"I still use an estimating service for the big complex jobs. But 80% of what I bid is standard commercial — TakeoffBuilder handles that. Saved thousands per month."
"Use it to verify sub bids. Caught a 20% undercount on a recent electrical sub package. Paid for a month of credits on that one catch. Now I run every sub bid through it before signing."
"Sprinkler layouts are complex — density zones, obstruction calcs, riser diagrams. The AI catches head counts and pipe footage I'd need hours to verify manually. Especially useful on large commercial projects."
"No subscription is the key for me. I pay credits when I bid, not monthly whether I use it or not. Slow months cost me nothing. Busy months I load up credits at the 10-pack rate and save 25%."
TakeoffBuilder vs. Estimating Services — Questions
What contractors ask before switching from outsourced estimating to AI takeoffs.
Is TakeoffBuilder as accurate as a human estimating service?
On standard commercial plans with clear symbols, yes — 95%+ accuracy comparable to most estimating services. The difference: TakeoffBuilder flags low-confidence items so you know exactly what to review. An estimating service may not flag those.
- 95%+ accuracy on standard commercial plans
- Flagged items visible to you — not silently estimated
How much does it cost compared to estimating services?
Estimating services typically charge $300-800 per takeoff depending on complexity. TakeoffBuilder uses credits — sign up free to see a real example plan and takeoff before buying. Larger commercial plan sets cost a fraction of outsourced rates.
- Sign up free — see a real example plan and takeoff
- Fraction of outsourced estimating service rates
How long does it actually take?
About 15 minutes for a typical 30-page commercial set. Larger plan sets — 80-100 pages — run 25-40 minutes. You'll get an email when results are ready. Upload before lunch, have counts before you leave the office.
- 30 pages: ~15 minutes
- Email notification when complete — no waiting at the screen
What exactly do I get back?
An Excel spreadsheet (or CSV) organized by trade category — circuits, devices, wire footage by gauge, conduit runs with sizing. The same format you'd hand to a supplier or import into your estimating software. Plus a flagged items list with page references.
- Excel, CSV, or JSON — your choice
- Organized by category, ready to import or price
How do I get started?
Create a free account with one Google click and we’ll show you a real commercial plan set alongside the AI-generated takeoff from it. See the output format, accuracy, and how flagged items work — before uploading any of your own plans. No credit card required.
- One Google click — no credit card required
- See a real example plan and takeoff output immediately
I already use PlanSwift / Bluebeam. Will this replace it?
No — and we're not trying to. TakeoffBuilder handles the counting. Your existing software handles pricing, markup, and workflow. We export to the formats your software imports. Think of it as a counting layer on top of what you already use.
- Exports to PlanSwift, Accubid, and Excel
- Complements your existing tools — doesn't replace them
Visit our complete FAQ page or contact support for specific questions about your projects
More Questions?Try It Free. See If It Replaces Your Estimating Service.
Sign up free. See a real example plan and the AI-generated takeoff from it. Then decide if it replaces your estimating service.
- Sign up free — see a real example plan and AI takeoff output
- Results in about 15 minutes, not 3 days
- Works on your existing plans — PDF, scanned, or CAD export
AI Takeoffs vs. Estimating Services
Faster, cheaper, you stay in control