10 Best Construction Estimating Software of 2026

STACK ranks first because it covers the full path from a plan set to a priced proposal and lets you start for free. The free plan gives 7 days of Pro, then keeps 1 active project a month with up to 300 plan pages and 50 measurements per project, which is enough for an occasional small bid. Premium at $299 per user a month billed annually removes those limits and adds the full takeoff toolset, a pre-built item and assembly library, overlay comparison of drawing versions, automatic plan naming and hyperlinking, symbol recognition, AI takeoffs and the STACK IQ chat assistant. Pro at $349 adds worksheet-style estimating with items and assemblies, a regional BNI cost library, automatic checks for missing materials, native proposals and a STACK for Excel integration. The trade-off is per-user cost: a team of estimators pays for every seat, and ERP connectors and aerial takeoffs cost extra.

Buildxact is built for builders and remodelers who estimate their own jobs rather than employ a preconstruction department. The Foundation plan at $199 a month includes unlimited users, lead management, digital takeoffs, the Blu Assembly Assistant, customizable quote letters, digital signatures, dealer integration and purchase orders. Takeoffs can use your own supplier price files uploaded from Excel, and you can copy an estimate and save multiple versions for one job when the client changes the scope. Pro at $399 adds the Blu Estimate Generator, job management, schedules and the Onsite mobile app, while Master at $599 adds the Blu Takeoff Assistant, the Blu Estimate Reviewer, user access controls and priority support. The AI tools can also be bought as add-ons on lower plans. Paying annually saves 15%. The main limits are that scheduling waits for Pro and that the product targets residential rather than large commercial bids.

JobTread is the runner-up because its estimating does not stop at the bid: the estimate feeds the budget, purchase orders and job costing once the customer signs. Estimators start from budget templates, calculate quantities with onscreen takeoff, and use formulas and parameters so that changing one measurement updates the related line items. Real-time supplier pricing, including Home Depot, keeps material costs current, and target margins per item work for fixed price, cost-plus or time and material jobs. Selections and upgrades let you show the client good, better and best options with photos, which helps sell larger jobs. Pricing is a flat $199 a month with one internal user and every feature included, then $20 a month for each additional internal user, with tiered breaks after 10 and 20% off on an annual plan. There is no free trial, so lean on the demo and the 30-day money-back guarantee on monthly plans.

Clear Estimates is the quickest route from a site visit to a priced remodeling estimate. Instead of measuring drawings, you build estimates from a Part Library with local material and labor prices that are updated quarterly, or start from preloaded project templates. The AI Estimator drafts an estimate from a written scope, picks parts from the library and shows the source of every line so you can review it. Every plan includes unlimited estimates and customers, built-in e-signature and payable invoices. Standard costs $79 a month or $59 billed annually for one login. Pro at $119, or $99 billed annually, adds estimates from photos and plans, the Buildertrend integration, Zapier, custom reports, ATTOM property data and extra users for $9 a month each. It is a narrower tool than the takeoff platforms above, but it is the easiest to learn here.

Kreo covers both halves of the job, measuring and pricing, at a lower seat price than most plan-based tools here. The Essential plan at $100 per user a month, billed as $1,200 a year, reads PDF, CAD and image files, measures area, length, volume and count, and shows takeoffs in 2D and 3D. Estimates are live-linked to measurements, so quantities update as the takeoff changes, and custom assemblies and a shared company cost database keep pricing consistent across estimators. Drawing comparison, annotations, Excel import and export and unlimited guests round out the plan. Pro at $175 adds the AI features: one-click area and line measurements, automatic symbol counting, AI takeoff of rooms, walls, doors and windows, scale detection and batch takeoff across sheets, plus the Caddie AI assistant. Business adds SSO, API access and IFC export. The free trial is only 7 days, so plan a real bid for that week.

PlanSwift is one of the longest-running takeoff tools for trade estimators, and its plan now bundles AI help into the measuring work. Essential costs $2,000 a year for one seat and combines takeoff and estimating, with pre-built assemblies for each trade and three AI tools: Auto Count finds every match of a symbol across the plan set, Auto Scale reads title blocks to set the scale on every sheet, and Auto Bookmark links plan sheets to their detail sheets. Core at $3,000 a year adds Auto Takeoff, which builds a first-pass takeoff of areas, lengths, counts and wall types for you to review. It reads PDF, JPG, TIFF and CAD plans, and trade plugins, labor calculations and Excel import extend the estimate. The annual plan includes updates, priority support and two hours of live training. The cost is the downside: it is billed once a year per seat, so it suits estimators who bid every week.

Houzz Pro treats the estimate as one step in running a remodeling or design business, so estimating sits beside takeoffs, 3D floor plans, selections, bid management and budgets. The Pro plan at $199 a month for one user includes estimates, invoices and online payments, takeoffs, 3D floor plans, selections, bid management and budget management, and the platform adds a cost catalog, assemblies, purchase orders, change orders and a QuickBooks Online integration. Teams at $399 a month includes five users and adds AI note-taking, a premium Houzz profile, email marketing and a custom website. A free basic plan covers estimates, invoicing and the 3D floor planner for firms just starting out. The 30-day free trial is followed by an annual subscription, and extra users cost $50 each a month, so the price climbs quickly for larger offices. Trade subcontractors who bid from commercial plan sets will find the takeoff platforms above a better fit.

Togal.AI is a takeoff specialist: its AI detects, measures and compares quantities directly on drawings, and Togal reports up to 98% accuracy on floor plans and takeoffs about five times faster than manual work. The Growth plan at $299 per user a month billed yearly includes unlimited automated takeoffs, unlimited chat prompts through Togal.CHAT, unlimited image and symbol searches, and collaboration with anyone inside the account plus unlimited external users who do not need a Togal license. Drawing sets can be compared with one click to quantify changes between revisions. Business is priced on request for teams of four or more and adds onboarding, a dedicated support representative, a classification library template, quantity discounts and SSO. The pricing page describes takeoff, search and chat features rather than cost databases or proposals, so most teams will still price the quantities in a separate estimating tool or spreadsheet.

Bluebeam is less an estimating program than the place many estimators already open drawings, and its measurement tools make it a capable, low-cost takeoff option. Basics at $260 per user a year covers PDF creation, editing, markups and length and area measurement, but it leaves out perimeters and advanced measurements. Core at $330 adds perimeters, counts, angles and volume, overlay and comparison of drawings, and hosting of Studio collaboration sessions, which is the realistic starting point for takeoff work. Complete at $440 adds Dynamic Fill for complex regions and Quantity Link, which sends measurement totals from multiple PDFs into Excel worksheets for automatic bid calculations. Every plan includes Revu for Windows desktop plus web and mobile access, phone and email support and unlimited cloud storage. You still need a spreadsheet or estimating tool for costs and proposals, so Bluebeam ranks below the all-in-one picks.

Autodesk ProEst is the commercial estimating option on this list, built for contractors whose bids run through a preconstruction department. It combines cost estimating, 2D takeoff and bid-day analysis in one cloud tool, with flexible cost database options for labor and materials and takeoff units that update the estimate as soon as quantities change. Proposals can use standard templates or a custom company format, and reports benchmark results by project type, client, estimator or other criteria so you can see which kinds of work you win. Once a job is awarded, the estimate converts to a project budget in Autodesk Forma Build, and integrations push data to select ERP and accounting systems. ProEst is now sold only inside the Forma for Preconstruction bundle, alongside BuildingConnected Pro, Bid Board Pro, TradeTapp, Forma Takeoff and Forma Estimate, and Autodesk does not publish prices, so its value score is conservative.