"First takeoff I ran, I checked every count manually. It caught outlets I missed on a 47-page commercial set. Checked out. Now I trust the counts and just verify flagged items — takes 10 minutes instead of 3 days."
Every Trade. One Platform.
Upload your plans and get accurate material counts in about 15 minutes — across all major trades.
Electrical Takeoffs
Complete circuit-by-circuit counts from your electrical plans — panels, devices, wire footage, conduit runs, and junction boxes.
- Device counts: outlets, switches, dimmers, receptacles
- Panel schedules organized by circuit
- Wire footage estimates by gauge and type
- Conduit runs with sizing and length
- J-box locations and device counts
- Load calculations per circuit
- Export to Excel, CSV, or PDF
HVAC Takeoffs
Comprehensive ductwork and mechanical counts — equipment schedules, diffuser locations, duct footage, and insulation requirements.
- Duct runs with dimensions and footage
- Diffuser and grille counts by type
- Equipment schedules: AHUs, VAVs, RTUs
- Insulation quantities and R-values
- Controls and thermostat locations
- Pipe runs for hydronic systems
- Export ready for ordering and bidding
Plumbing Takeoffs
Fixture counts, pipe routing, and material lists from your plumbing plans — residential and commercial.
- Fixture counts: toilets, sinks, showers
- Pipe runs by material, size, and footage
- Valve and fitting schedules
- Water heater and equipment locations
- Drain and vent system quantities
- Backflow preventers and cleanouts
- Isometric and riser diagram analysis
Fire Protection Takeoffs
Sprinkler head counts, pipe sizing, alarm device locations, and suppression system quantities from your fire protection plans.
- Sprinkler head counts by type and coverage
- Pipe footage by size and material
- Alarm devices: pulls, horns, strobes
- Suppression system components
- Riser and backflow assembly counts
- Inspection and test connection locations
- NFPA 13 and 13R compliance support
Low Voltage & Data Takeoffs
Data drops, cable runs, rack equipment, and AV system counts from your low voltage and structured cabling plans.
- Data drops and port counts by location
- Cable footage: Cat6, fiber, coax
- Rack and enclosure equipment lists
- Camera and access control device counts
- AV system component schedules
- Conduit and pathway footage
- Panel and switch locations
Mechanical Piping Takeoffs
Pipe footage by size and material, fitting schedules, valve counts, insulation quantities, and equipment connections — for steam, chilled water, hot water, condensate, and compressed air systems.
- Pipe footage by system (steam, CHW, HHW, CDA)
- Fitting schedules: elbows, tees, reducers, flanges
- Valve schedules by type and size
- Insulation quantities by system and thickness
- P&ID cross-reference for system boundaries
- Specialties: strainers, expansion tanks, PRVs
- Export to Excel or CSV for material ordering
Concrete Takeoffs
Concrete volumes, rebar schedules, and formwork quantities from your structural and foundation plans — organized for your concrete sub or GC self-perform scope.
- Slab-on-grade and elevated slabs: SF by thickness, CY calculated
- Footings and foundation walls: dimensions and volumes
- Rebar by bar size (#3–#11): spacing, lap lengths, total LF
- Columns and grade beams: volumes and reinforcement
- Anchor bolts and embed plates from details
- Formwork area by pour type
- Export organized for concrete sub pricing
Structural Steel Takeoffs
Steel member counts by size, metal deck area, open web joist counts, and connection hardware quantities from your structural engineering drawings — for fabricators and erectors.
- Wide flange beams (W8–W36) by size and length
- HSS columns and tubes by size and height
- Angles, channels, and plates from connection details
- Metal deck area by gauge and flute profile
- Open web joists (K, LH, DLH) by count and span
- Bridging, joist seats, and bearing plate schedules
- Export for steel fabricator or estimating software
What You Get Back
Not a vague estimate. Not a rough count. A contractor-ready Excel spreadsheet organized by category, location, and trade — the same format you'd hand to a supplier or use in your bid.
- Material counts by component type, room, and floor
- Panel schedules, wire footage by gauge, conduit runs with sizing
- Flagged items highlighted — you decide on anything the AI isn't certain about
What You Get Back
Not a vague estimate. Not a rough count. A contractor-ready Excel spreadsheet organized by category, location, and trade — the same format you'd hand to a supplier or use in your bid.
- Material counts by component type, room, and floor
- Panel schedules, wire footage by gauge, conduit runs with sizing
- Flagged items highlighted — you decide on anything the AI isn't certain about
What You Get Back
Not a vague estimate. Not a rough count. A contractor-ready Excel spreadsheet organized by category, location, and trade — the same format you'd hand to a supplier or use in your bid.
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.
TakeoffBuilder vs PlanSwift: Feature Comparison
Manual counting takes 2-3 days on a typical commercial set. Here is what that costs you.
Feature
TakeoffBuilder
Manual Counting
Time per takeoff
~15 minutes for a 30-page set
8-40 hours of estimator time
Bids per week
10x more proposals with same team
Limited by manual counting bottleneck
Error risk
95%+ accuracy, flagged items highlighted
Human fatigue causes counting errors on long sets
Weekend work
Upload Friday, counts ready Monday AM
Estimator working weekends to meet deadlines
Cost per takeoff
Credits — no subscription, pay per project
Estimator salary or expensive sub-out
Cost Model
Works on scanned, hand-drawn, and CAD exports
Same effort regardless of plan quality
What Contractors Are Saying
We don't have celebrity endorsements. We have plumbers, electricians, and HVAC guys who needed to submit more bids without hiring another estimator.
6 reviews
"The AI handles ductwork counts while I focus on pricing strategy and equipment specs. Exports directly to my estimating software. Cut my takeoff time from 2 days to about 2 hours on a typical commercial job."
"Pays for itself on the first job. I was spending weekends counting fixtures. Now I upload the plans Friday, have counts Monday morning, and actually have a weekend. Sign up free to see a live example takeoff — just try it."
"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%."
Every Trade. One Platform.
Upload your plans and get accurate material counts in about 15 minutes — across all major trades.
Electrical Takeoffs
Complete circuit-by-circuit counts from your electrical plans — panels, devices, wire footage, conduit runs, and junction boxes.
Drag and drop your PDF plans or click to browse. Works with any PDF format - CAD exports, scanned drawings, or contractor-provided plans. No file size limits.
Select your trade from the dropdown. Choose project type and code year. The AI adjusts recognition for your specific trade and compliance requirements.
Typical turnaround is 10-15 minutes for a 50-page set. You'll receive an email when your takeoff is ready to download and review.
HVAC Takeoffs
Comprehensive ductwork and mechanical counts — equipment schedules, diffuser locations, duct footage, and insulation requirements.
Claude AI reads your plans page by page - understanding legends, schedules, notes, and drawing symbols. It recognizes components in context, not just pattern matching.
The AI extracts every component, counts quantities, measures distances, and organizes everything by category. Wire runs, device counts, equipment schedules - all automatically tallied.
Items with lower confidence get flagged automatically. The system shows you exactly which components need verification so you can focus your expertise where it matters.
Plumbing Takeoffs
Fixture counts, pipe routing, and material lists from your plumbing plans — residential and commercial.
Review flagged items first - the AI shows why it's uncertain. Then spot-check sections you know are complex. Most contractors complete review in 15-20 minutes.
Use simple toggles to adjust quantities up or down. Add markup percentages. The interface makes corrections frictionless - no manual recounting required.
Most contractors add 10-12% markup based on job complexity. You know your projects - the tools make applying your judgment fast.
Fire Protection Takeoffs
Sprinkler head counts, pipe sizing, alarm device locations, and suppression system quantities from your fire protection plans.
Download as Excel (.xlsx) or CSV for import into your estimating software. Material counts are organized by category matching standard workflows for your trade.
Import counts into PlanSwift, Accubid, or your preferred estimating tool. Use the material list as-is for supplier quotes. The output works with your existing process.
Apply your pricing, add margins, adjust for labor rates in your market. TakeoffBuilder handles the counting - you handle the business strategy.
Still Have Questions?
Everything you need to know about AI-assisted takeoffs. From accuracy rates to pricing, we cover the questions contractors ask most.
Will it catch everything, or will I miss items?
Accuracy runs 95%+ on standard commercial drawings. Anything the AI isn't confident about gets flagged — with the exact page and location. You review flagged items manually. Most contractors find the spot-check takes 5-10 minutes and catches less than 5% edge cases.
- 95%+ accuracy on standard commercial plans
- Flagged items show exact page and location for manual review
What if my plans are old, scanned, or hand-drawn?
We've processed 47-page scanned permit sets, faded drawings from the 80s, and hand-drawn TI plans. Accuracy may be slightly lower on degraded scans — the AI flags anything it's uncertain about rather than guessing. You get honest results, not inflated claims.
- Works on scanned, hand-drawn, and CAD exports
- Lower confidence items flagged, not silently guessed
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?See a Real Takeoff Before You Buy
Upload your first plan and see results in about 15 minutes
- 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
