Yes, we make one of these tools, so you know where we stand. But this list plays it straight: what each product actually does, who it's really for, and — where vendors publish it — what it costs. Half the frustration in this market is that "AI takeoff" means five different things and most vendors make you book a demo to find out which one they sell. Here's the map.
The quick answer
| Tool | What the "AI" actually is | Published pricing | How you buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreman AI | Reads the full plan set + specs, answers questions with citations, AI wall tracing, cut/fill from contours | From $399/mo | Free trial, self-serve |
| Togal.AI | AI room/space detection on drawings | Not published | Book a demo |
| Kreo | AI takeoff with an "agentic" assistant | From $35/user/mo | 7-day trial |
| Beam AI | AI-assisted takeoff + done-for-you takeoff service | Not published | Book a demo |
| STACK | Cloud takeoff, AI features arriving | Free tier; ~$2,599/yr/user list | Freemium |
| PlanSwift | Desktop takeoff + AI point-and-click assists | ~$1,749/yr list | 14-day trial |
| Bluebeam Revu | PDF markup & measurement (not AI takeoff) | ~$260–$440/yr | Self-serve |
| Measure Square | AI takeoff for flooring | Not fully published | Demo/trial |
| Attentive.ai | Automated takeoffs, strong in sitework/landscaping | Not published | Book a demo |
List prices as published by vendors, July 2026. Confirm current pricing with each vendor.
1. Foreman AI — best if you want the AI to actually read the plans
Every other tool on this list starts from the same place: a viewer where you measure. Foreman AI starts one step earlier — upload the PDF plan set and the AI reads every sheet and the specs before you measure anything. Then you work inside that understanding:
- Ask anything, get cited answers. "What f'c is specified for the footings?" "Which walls are 1-hour rated?" "Where do the mechanical and structural drawings conflict?" Answers come with the sheet reference so you can verify.
- Verified takeoff tools. Lengths, areas, named counts, cubic yards with swell factors — every measurement is an on-sheet object you can audit, on calibrated sheets.
- AI wall tracing. A trained model detects the walls on floor plans; you review the trace and use the linear footage. There's even an instant 3D framing preview to sanity-check it.
- Cut/fill earthwork from the PDF. Trace existing and proposed contours on the grading plan and get cut, fill, and net export with a heat map — no CAD surfaces, no outsourced earthwork service.
- Quantities flow into pricing. A budget builder prices lines from your approved cost catalog, your historical documents, AI market estimates, or web pricing — labeled by source.
Pricing: from $399/month, published on the pricing page, with a free trial and no charge today. Best for: GCs and trade contractors who want plan reading, takeoff, and estimating in one loop — and want to try it without a sales call.
2. Togal.AI — best for fast space detection on commercial sets
Togal made its name auto-detecting rooms and spaces on architectural drawings in seconds, and it's genuinely fast at that job. It's sold demo-first to commercial estimating teams, pricing isn't published, and the AI is detection-focused — it's not reading your specs or answering questions. If your bottleneck is strictly "get the areas off 80 sheets fast," it belongs on your shortlist.
3. Kreo — best budget entry into AI takeoff
Kreo is a UK-born cloud takeoff tool that's leaned hard into AI positioning, with transparent pricing that starts around $35/user/month — the lowest published entry point in the category. Its AI assists with detection and it has solid trade coverage. The workspace is takeoff/estimating only; there's no plan Q&A, field, or project layer.
4. Beam AI — best if you'd rather have takeoffs done for you
Beam AI blends software with a service: alongside the tool, their team can deliver completed takeoffs in 24–72 hours. If you want to outsource the work entirely, that's a legitimate model. It's demo-led with unpublished pricing, so plan for a sales process rather than a same-day start.
5. STACK — best free on-ramp to traditional cloud takeoff
STACK is the established cloud takeoff/estimating platform, and it's the only major player with a real free tier. The takeoff tools are mature and the resource ecosystem is huge. The AI layer is arriving on top of a fundamentally manual product — you still do the reading — and published list pricing for paid tiers runs around $2,599/user/year.
6. PlanSwift — best for desktop die-hards
PlanSwift has been the Windows desktop takeoff standard for years, now with "Takeoff Boost" AI-assisted clicking. It's a one-machine, one-license model (~$1,749/yr list) with a big plugin ecosystem. If you live in a desktop workflow and want familiar point-and-click takeoff, it still delivers; it won't read a spec or leave that one PC.
7. Bluebeam Revu — best PDF markup (but it's not AI takeoff)
Bluebeam is on every takeoff list because everyone already has it, and as PDF markup/collaboration software it's excellent. But be clear about the category: Revu measures what you click and displays what you open. No plan reading, no detection, no AI. At ~$260–$440/yr it's cheap enough to keep alongside a real AI tool — which is exactly what many teams do.
8. Measure Square — best for flooring contractors
Measure Square's AI takeoff is purpose-built for flooring, with detection tuned to that trade's patterns and estimating workflows to match. If flooring is your business, a trade-specialist tool beats a generalist; if it isn't, look elsewhere on this list.
9. Attentive.ai — best for sitework and outdoor trades
Attentive.ai came up through landscaping and site services and has expanded into general automated takeoffs with a BIM copilot. Strong automation pedigree for outdoor/sitework scopes; demo-led sales and unpublished pricing.
Best AI tools for wall and floor takeoffs
Walls and floors are where most residential takeoff time goes, so they're the first thing to test. What to look for:
- Wall linear footage in one step, split into exterior and interior, drawn on the sheet so you can see what was counted. Foreman AI's one-click wall tracer does this, with an AI clean-up pass you review before accepting.
- Room square footage measured to the inside face of the walls, not the centerline. That's the number flooring and finish trades actually buy. See one-click room square footage.
- Doors and windows found and counted, so wall area can be netted out for drywall, sheathing and siding.
Space-detection tools (Togal, Kreo) are also strong on floors and rooms, especially on commercial sets. Run the same sheet through two tools and compare the totals against a few rooms you measure by hand.
Best AI takeoff software for landscaping and sitework
Outdoor work is mostly areas (sod, mulch, paving), lengths (edging, curb, silt fence) and volumes (topsoil, cut and fill). Look for a tool that measures on the civil and landscape sheets, not just floor plans, and handles earthwork from the grading plan. Foreman AI computes cut and fill straight from a PDF grading plan with a heat map, 3D view and PDF report. Attentive.ai (above) focuses on outdoor trades from aerial imagery. Our landscape takeoff guide walks through a full example.
Which AI takeoff tools offer a free trial or demo?
Pricing pages change often, so check each vendor's site before you decide. What we can say for certain: Foreman AI lets you start free with AI credits on your own plan set, no card required (pricing). Several tools in this list are demo-first, meaning you book a call before you get access. If two tools look equal, the one you can test on your own plans today is usually the better bet.
How to actually choose
- Decide what "AI" you need. Detection speed (Togal, Kreo), outsourced takeoffs (Beam), or a system that reads and understands the whole set (Foreman AI). They're different products wearing the same label.
- Refuse to shortlist anything you can't try today. Half this market hides behind demo calls. A tool you can test on your own plans this afternoon tells you more than three sales presentations.
- Audit the output. Whatever the AI produces, you're signing the bid. Pick a tool where every quantity is verifiable on the sheet — if you can't audit it, you can't bid it.
- Count the whole workflow. A takeoff number that has to be re-typed into your estimate, then into your field docs, isn't saving what it claims. Tools that connect quantity → price → project win on total time, not takeoff time.
The fastest comparison is an upload: start a free takeoff with your own plan set and ask the AI something you'd normally spend an hour finding.
FAQ
What is the best AI takeoff software?
It depends on the work. For reading whole plan sets and getting quantities you can audit, Foreman AI. For fast space detection on commercial sets, Togal or Kreo. For having someone else do the takeoff, Beam AI. Test two on the same plan set before you buy.
Is there free AI takeoff software?
Truly free AI takeoff is rare. Foreman AI starts free with AI credits and no card, which is enough to run a real plan set. Most other tools offer a trial or a demo.
Can AI do wall and floor takeoffs?
Yes. AI wall tracing and room detection can produce wall linear footage and room square footage in one step. Review the result on the sheet before it goes into a bid.