PlanSwift

PlanSwift is digital takeoff and estimating software for general contractors and trades, built around point and click measurement directly on drawings. It is sold as a perpetual licence rather than a subscription, which increasingly separates it from competitors that have moved to recurring billing.

The product is organised by trade, and the trade specific detail is what distinguishes it from generic measuring tools. Concrete takeoff handles footings, walls and foundations, with single click selection for slab dimensions and custom prebuilt assemblies that project rebar, membranes and other materials and labour from the measured quantity. Drywall takeoff measures walls, ceilings and partitions by point and click, calculating square footage and surface areas through area and linear tools with materials computed automatically.

Costs and margins are calculated instantly from the takeoff, then printed or exported to Excel. That Excel path is important in practice: many estimators keep their pricing logic in spreadsheets they have refined over years, and a takeoff tool that feeds those sheets is easier to adopt than one demanding the whole estimate move inside it.

PlanSwift Professional is listed at 2,000 US dollars through the company's own web store, with updates and support offered as a separate annual item. A free trial is available for download before purchase.