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Performing accurate cost estimating is critical to the success of your construction business. Estimate too high and you win fewer jobs, too low and your profits disappear. That’s why it’s so important to get it right the first time.
Estimating by hand is time-consuming, so at some point, you may consider using software to bid more jobs in less time. Although software can be a big investment, not every tool has to break the bank.
In this guide, we highlight five free and open source estimating and takeoff products to try if you’re considering this type of solution for your construction business. We chose products that offer a stand-alone free or open source version, meet our definition for construction estimating software, and rank highly in search. (Learn more about how we chose featured products here.)
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Here’s what we’ll cover:
- Free construction estimating and takeoff software
- Open source construction estimating and takeoff software
Free construction estimating and takeoff software
In most cases (but not all), free construction estimating and takeoff software options earn revenue by offering a basic free version to entice users to download, with premium features available for a price.
As a result, you should note that the free version of the products listed below may not have all the features you need.
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Easy-Pro Builders Estimator
N/A
No reviews yet
Overview: This is a 100% free tool that is based entirely on the Apache OpenOffice spreadsheet program Calc. It has two dozen worksheets that report back to a summary page in order to provide updated estimates.
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Easy-Pro Builders Estimator was created by a construction manager who wanted to serve smaller construction firms looking for an accurate and simple program that was free.
The software also comes with a 20-page manual so you can get up to speed on how the program works and you’re not simply left in the dark to figure it out yourself.
Some features include:
- Adjustable taxation rates depending on which country you are in
- Client unbilled reporting
- Printable project reports
- Compatible with Windows, Linux
- 24 trade worksheets available
Estimator 2.0
5.0/5
1 review
Overview: Estimator 2.0 is aimed at architects, builders, engineers, and construction companies that want to create detailed estimates for residential and commercial buildings. Estimator 2.0 allows users to prepare tenders, a cost abstract, purchase orders, and other documents needed for a proper estimation.
The free program lets you create an estimation and then print it out, ideal for those who are pressed for time and want to quickly make an estimation without having to spend a lot of money on premier software.
Estimator lets construction companies create estimates for a host of construction projects, including concrete structures, earth work, masonry, plastering, and more.
Some features include:
- An extensive tutorial for new users
- Quickly generate an estimate and then print it out
- Prepares tenders, cost abstracts, and purchase orders
- Compatibility with Windows
STACK Takeoff & Estimating Software
4.46/5
950+ reviews
Overview: STACK offers free construction software aimed at firms looking to streamline the bid process and accurately estimate materials, equipment, and labor. The software also provides access to an “extensive library of prebuilt, industry-specific material libraries,” according to its website. It generates an estimate based on your input of how much of each material will be needed and what labor, equipment, and overhead will be involved.
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The software is cloud-based and therefore can be accessed from anywhere there is an internet connection. It is also compatible with all types of platforms, from smartphones to desktop computers.
STACK also includes training with the software for free. A full-featured version is available for purchase.
Some features include:
- Ability to upload digital plans
- Takeoff tools that provide shortcuts for measurements, making it quicker to produce a takeoff
- Prebuilt reports to provide insights to inform your estimates
- Cloud-based
- Free training
Open source construction estimating and takeoff software
Open source construction estimating and takeoff platforms are also free, but they have an additional wrinkle: the original source code is available. There are some benefits and drawbacks to this you should be aware of.
The benefits are that in addition to being free, you will be able to customize and adapt the software to fit your individual business.
The drawback comes up if you don’t have the know-how to mess with original source code. Lack of technical ability could become a problem if the software needs improvement down the road to fit your firm.
2-plan Team Software
4.50/5
5 reviews
Overview: 2-plan Team is a project management platform geared toward construction firms, and among its three PM tools is an open-source desktop system that can be used for multiple projects and teams. It is mostly meant for managing the entirety of a construction project as opposed to just estimating and takeoff, but there are tools available for that purpose as well.
The source code for 2-plan Team has been published at SourceForge, where you can download it for free. It can be installed on any LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL-4 or higher, PHP-5.1) server, and it may work on some Windows servers.
Some features include:
- Manage virtual teams with shared online workspaces
- View the status of multiple projects at the same time with the Project Dashboard
- Tracks time on mobile devices
- Ability to share estimates and budgets with clients, partners, teams, and staff
- Ability to manage teams via mobile devices
ESTIMATE
N/A
No reviews yet
Overview: ESTIMATE is a cloud-based, open-source option that has been released under GNU Affero General Public License. It’s a community-support project, which means the source code is freely available to anyone who wants to customize it for their own construction firm—ideal for construction managers with a little coding know-how.
ESTIMATE aims to be a simple and fast tool that can be adapted to any firm’s size.
Some features include:
- Ability to archive projects and documents for reference
- Can have up to 200 users
- Can create reports in PDF, complete with tables and charts
- A centralized database for backup
Why you must also consider paid solutions
Free and open source estimating software is a great stepping stone for many small construction firms—especially those using software for the first time. But as job volume increases, paid software often becomes the better choice.
Why? Higher job volume and company growth means more people, processes, and training are necessary to estimate and complete projects. Paid software offers more “out-of-the-box” functionality than free software, as well as training, support, and integration with other critical applications, such as accounting and construction management software.
Fortunately, there are affordable estimating and takeoff products that also offer free trials. With a free trial, you can try before you buy and avoid purchasing a product your team won’t like.
You’ll get more functionality
When you opt for free and open source platforms, you get what you pay for a lot of the time. There are a lot of special features that can really take your business to the next level—like customized reports and detailed time tracking—that you may not get with a free option. So while you may save a few bucks on software, you’re spending a lot more in lost savings and opportunities.
The software will be more usable
Free and open source platforms can also be a lot more challenging for an organization to use. You’ll have to do your own troubleshooting and maintenance, and you may have a hard time just learning the software with no help.
To help ensure your software search is sufficiently thorough, download this list of top-rated paid software systems and their offerings:
3 Best Construction Estimating and Takeoff Systems Backed by User Reviews
Download this guide to see top construction estimating and takeoff systems based on real user reviews.
How we chose featured products
For the purposes of this article, we classified a product as free if it offers a free, stand-alone version of the software, and it is not just a trial version of the software that requires you to purchase it after a period of time.
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The products that met the above criteria were then evaluated against our construction estimating software definition: Construction estimating software helps estimators calculate material and labor costs for a job and then produce a detailed, professional bid proposal from those estimates. Specialized estimating tools are often used to handle trade-specific requirements, such as electrical, HVAC, plumbing, or earthworks/excavating estimating.
We determined the most popular products to feature by choosing those highest ranked in Google search results for “free construction estimating software” during the week of Aug. 5, 2019.
Basic Viewer
Plan Viewing and Printing for everyone in the Office
Basic is a FREE viewing, printing and takeoff tool. Its purpose is two-fold. First, it’s an excellent introduction to eTakeoff and provides simple measurement capabilities on its own. If you aren’t an estimator or only have simple takeoff needs, then Basic may be all you need. However, Basic is actually a powerful complement to our Advanced and Premier products. Basic is perfect as a free add-on for everyone else in your office who needs to view or print plans. All information created with the Advanced or Premier versions of eTakeoff can be viewed with Basic. Estimators can thus share their takeoff detail, annotations and issues with Project Managers and others without having to pay for additional copies of eTakeoff.
Electronic Planroom Integration
A simple click on a drawing name in an integrated planroom displays and saves the drawing on your computer. Switch from plan to plan without going back to the planroom. Download multiple plans in the background while you’re viewing.
Easy Scaling and Measuring Set the drawing scale by selecting from a list of scales, setting a custom scale or calibrating from a length shown on the drawing. Measure count, length, perimeter and area in one pass. The close-up window shows the area under the cursor for absolute precision. Combine multiple groups of points in a single measurement. Cut out parts of an area. Digitize arcs with just three points. Transfer quantities to other applications via the clipboard. Measurements cannot be saved with the Basic version of eTakeoff.
Dimension – Advanced
Superior Technology
eTakeoff is written utilizing advanced database technology for speed and efficiency. There’s no time-consuming conversion to other file formats to improve performance. Whether you’re using a single page TIF file, or a 200 page PDF file with color photos, your takeoff won’t slow down.
Advanced Measuring and Scaling
Measurements can be saved, printed, and displayed in a list. They can be edited, moved or copied. Two point line and rectangle takeoff lets you digitize a collection of lines or rectangles by clicking on the end points. Display the pitch and angle for measurement lines. Pre-defined Measurement Assemblies (Extensions) are included for roof areas, volumes, wall areas and more. Measurements can be displayed in an infinite variety of colors and styles (traces). Detail scales let you set a special scale for an area within a drawing.
Flip/Rotate Measurements
In some estimating environments such as hotels or office buildings, a row of rooms or other objects may be repeated on opposite sides of a hall. It can save time to takeoff one side of the hall, then copy, move and flip the takeoff to do the second side.
Advanced Viewing Tools
The Control Panel provides quick access to lists of layers, drawings, measurements, quantities, traces and other convenient tools. You can open an unlimited number of drawing windows to display multiple drawings simultaneously across multiple monitors.
Measurement List
All measurements for a project can be shown in a printable list. Each measurement contains 4 separate quantities to be displayed in the Measurement List. The list can be sorted by one or more column values and subtotals can be displayed. Cells in the list can be dragged and dropped into other applications such as Excel.
Layers
Measurements and annotations can be assigned to one of an unlimited number of layers. The visibility of layers can be turned on and off to show or hide the assigned items.
Bid Codes
Bid codes can be assigned to traces or measurements to enable merging takeoff information into other applications such as Excel. Standard bid codes can be created or imported with extensive control over bid code formatting. Drawing Legend Each drawing can display a “legend”. This is a table of the traces used in the drawing with the trace description, unit of measure, all measurement details or total quantity of measurements using that trace.
Annotations
Annotate drawings with text, lines, rectangles, ovals, clouds, freehand lines and arrows. Create bi-di-rectional hyperlinks that connect a link on one drawing with a view of another drawing.
Issue Management
During the takeoff process issues may arise that need to be resolved later. The Issue Management feature allows you to define issues and assign annotations, drawings and measurements to them. Issues can be flagged as open, critical or resolved. The issue list can then be displayed to see what items still need to be resolved.
FTP Integration
FTP is an Internet protocol that allows a web site to work much like a file server. Many general contractors are using FTP sites for plan distribution. FTP Integration simplifies working with FTP protocols. When the FTP information is entered for a project, the drawings on the web site appear automatically in the drawing list. Selecting a drawing downloads it (unless previously downloaded), adds it to the project and displays it for viewing and takeoff.
Drawing Comparison
Drawing comparison allows you to overlay two different drawings and see the differences between them. Markings that are common to both drawings are shown in black. Markings that exist in the old drawing but are missing in the new drawing are shown in red. Markings that are added in the new drawing are shown in blue. Drawing comparison can be used to compare an original drawing to a revised drawing, compare different floors in a multi-story building or compare a specific unit to the original model in residential and other types of construction.
Dimension – Premier
All Advanced features plus:
Pattern Search (Autocount)
Very few takeoff products perform a Pattern search as quickly and elegantly as eTakeoff. Pattern Search can be used to find multiple occurrences of symbols representing components that need to be quantified. These symbols can represent material in any trade including door & wall types, fixtures & receptacles, signs, fire alarms, piers, and even landscape material such as trees & shrubs. A symbol is selected in the drawing. eTakeoff then searches the entire drawing (or user defined area) for other occurrences of the symbol. The results are sorted and displayed in a window for review. You can easily select and deselect matches which are then converted into a count measurement.
User defined Assemblies , Formulas and Variables
Assemblies can be created for measurements or for an entire project. Measurement assemblies are called Extensions and allow you to create variables and formulas to calculate quantities based on measurements. This is a powerful capability that lets you completely customize takeoff input to match your own estimating workflow. For example a Wall Extension would assemble the parts of a wall like track, studs, insulation and drywall from the measured length and user input variables such as Wall Height, OC distance, insulation type and track type. Extensions can be as simple as entering the slope for roof pitch or as complicated as assembling all material needed for a concrete slab. Project assemblies accumulate all the measurement assemblies so you can have totals for all necessary materials. Project assemblies can perform further calculations using formulas and variables. Project assemblies are created using the Quantity Worksheet.
Advanced Excel Integration
Instead of transferring quantities to Excel, formulas can be transferred that refer back to eTakeoff measurements. If the measurements change, the value in Excel is updated to reflect that change. Formulas based on bid codes can also be transferred. The formula calculates the total quantity for all measurements with that bid code. From Excel, the user can drill down on a formula to see the measurement it uses in eTakeoff.
Quantity Worksheet
The quantity worksheet is a powerful tool that employs a user-defined structure (such as WBS) to organize and summarize all takeoff measurements, quantities and annotations across the entire project. This provides a complete audit of all takeoff for further analysis and reporting. From the quantity worksheet you can then easily transfer quantities to other applications such as Excel.
Advanced Project & Drawing Management
Project and drawing management tools allow you to perform tasks on multiple items. You can view all your projects at once and sort them by Bid date, Description or Plan Source. Select to Auto Backup, hide or delete multiple projects. Purge unused drawings from a project in one simple pass. Generate scaled grid drawings for field sketches.
Advanced Measuring Tools
Premier offers additional measuring tools to make takeoff more efficient, such as two point takeoff, extending measurements across multiple pages and more. You can even create and edit annotations in an extra drawing window, allowing you to take measurements in the main window and mark them off a schedule in the second window.