Stop rebuilding the same formulas. Stop tracing what's already written. Whether you're quoting from a plan, a site visit, or a napkin sketch — type the dimension, get a complete BOM. No PDF upload. No calibration. No formulas to maintain.
Architects write every key dimension on the plan — because that written number is the legally binding source of truth. Takeoff software ignores it and makes you re-measure the same dimension by tracing pixels on a screen. Vestimate skips the middleman.
Takeoff tools were built for offices with junior estimators who need to re-verify everything from the PDF. Vestimate was built for the architect, designer, or site estimator who already knows the plan — and just needs the math done fast, correctly.
No PDF tracing. No calibration steps. Just the dimension from the drawing, the formula engine, and a complete BOM.
Estimating takes too long regardless of your tool. Excel users rebuild the same formulas every project. Takeoff users re-trace every drawing revision. Everyone copies numbers from one place to another. Vestimate ends that loop — the dimension is already written on the plan. Just type it once.
On a tested 200 sq.m industrial concrete building — Vestimate Smart Calculators vs a professional hand-estimate, same scope, same materials. Variance: 1.2%. Industry standard tolerance is ±15%. For complex or irregular structures, professional QS review is always recommended.
"I didn't build this to replace the big corporate tools. I built it for the person who is tired of coloring in PDFs for 4 hours just to get a number they already read on the plan in 4 seconds."
CHB walls, concrete slabs, footings, roofing, tiles, plumbing rough-in, electrical — the construction formulas are built in. Type the dimensions from your plan, and the material quantities compute instantly.
Your Material Library holds your local prices. Every estimate pulls from it automatically — no re-entering CHB prices or rebar rates per project. Update once, every estimate reflects it.
From a branded client proposal to a government-standard BOQ — Vestimate has every output format a construction professional needs.
No plan yet? No problem. Describe your project in plain language and the AI generates a complete material list — phases, quantities, units — in seconds. Start your estimate in under a minute.
Works with Groq (free, no account needed) or your own Anthropic Claude API key. We never store your key or touch your data.
AI also syncs your Material Library prices to current market rates with one click — Pro only.
Every estimator eventually lands on one of these three workflows. The differences aren't just about speed — they're about what each tool thinks of your expertise.
|
The Spreadsheet Era
Excel / Spreadsheet
|
The Tracing Era
Takeoff Software
|
The Scope Era
Vestimate
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
| What it does | A blank sheet — you build the logic | Converts clicks into a quantity list | Applies built-in construction logic to your scope — quantities, waste factors, deductions, all done |
| Method | Build all formulas manually | Upload PDF → calibrate scale → trace walls | Read the written dimension → type it in → done |
| The calibration problem | None | One pixel off during calibration = every measurement in the project is wrong | No calibration. No ruler. No drift. |
| Works on scanned PDFs? | N/A | No — snapping requires clean vector PDFs. Scanned plans turn into pixel-guessing. | Yes — any plan, any quality. Even a napkin sketch. |
| When the plan is revised | Update your formulas manually | Re-upload, re-calibrate, re-trace every changed element. Full session, every revision. | Update the changed dimension. BOM recalculates instantly. Nothing else to touch. |
| Source of truth | Whatever formula you wrote | The scale of the PDF (subject to calibration error) | The written dimension — the legally accepted truth in construction |
| Speed | Slow — you build the math | Medium — upload, calibrate, trace, then calculate | Fast — scope in, BOM out. No file, no ruler, no waiting |
| Best for | Those who enjoy building spreadsheets | Large firms with clean CAD-exported plans and time to burn | Architects, designers, and contractors who know their project and want accurate estimates fast |
| Formula maintenance | Every project — rebuild or update formulas as specs change | Not applicable — quantities come from tracing | Zero — 22 trade formulas are built in. They never change. |
| Room-by-room input | Manual — you set it up yourself | Yes — measured from the PDF plan | Yes — name each room, enter L × W. Floor area and wall perimeter auto-calculate. |
"Built for the person who is tired of re-tracing what the architect already wrote on the plan."
Download Free — Try It NowSix guided steps. Each section feeds the next — client details, dimensions, BOM, labor, and a finished export — in one straight line, no jumping around.
| Capability | Spreadsheet | Takeoff Software | Vestimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Works on scanned / printed PDFs | ⊘ | ⚠ | ✓ |
| No calibration step required | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Revisions update BOM instantly | ⊘ | ✗ | ✓ |
| DPWH BOQ / Government format | ⊘ | ✗ | ✓ |
| AI BOM generation | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| 100% offline · data stays local | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
Start free. Upgrade when you need the full toolkit. Or buy it once and own it — no subscription required.
Prices shown in USD · Change currency in app Settings after install
Download free. No credit card, no signup, no cloud account. Just open and start estimating.