PlanSwift alternatives: 11 construction estimating tools compared
Estimators leave PlanSwift when they need an estimating side deeper than takeoff, when their market uses local price catalogues or standards, or when a browser tool would let several people work on the same drawings. Others want a cost database, a bid format or an accounting link the tool does not provide.
Short answer: Cubit Estimating, STACK and EG Sigma head the list of PlanSwift alternatives drawn from our construction estimating ranking. The first three places are kept for challengers when the category has enough of them; the best-known brands come after that, in ranked order. Cubit Estimating is the one to try if you want takeoff and pricing together on a monthly per-user plan. These 11 products are all in Best Construction Estimating Software in 2026; the notes say how each one compares with PlanSwift.
Vendors can pay for more visibility on this website, for example a higher place in a ranking or more room on a page. Commercial relationships can also affect which products we feature and how prominently. Every vendor link is marked the same, whatever the arrangement behind it. How that works.
Pricing: Annual plan per seat, published; volume pricing quoted from ten seats
Established in: United States
Built for: Trade contractors who price the work while measuring from PDF drawings
Not for: General contractors needing resource build-ups and a maintained cost library
01
Why buyers look past PlanSwift
01
The estimate stays plain
PlanSwift puts measuring and pricing in one window, with trade assemblies that total as you trace. Our category record says the estimating side is plain, so larger bids often finish in Excel or another system, which splits the job across two tools.
02
Plans are annual and priced per seat
PlanSwift Essential is listed at 2,000 dollars a year and Core at 3,000 dollars, each with one seat and discounted extra seats. Volume pricing is mentioned for teams of 10 or more. A small team pays by the year before it knows how much takeoff it will do.
03
One product among several in a group
PlanSwift's legal links point to ConstructConnect, which also sells On-Screen Takeoff. A buyer who wants a single roadmap, or a vendor in their own country, may look at tools tied to local cost data or standards.
you bid civil work priced by crews, fleets and production rates
#16
03
What each one does differently
1
Cubit Estimating
Australia · Published
From Australia, with the measured quantity and the priced line sitting in the same window, so nothing travels between a takeoff tool and an estimate. Prices are per user per month and published. The rate library starts empty and is yours to fill, which front-loads work. Reporting is plainer than in enterprise products.
Switch from PlanSwift if you want takeoff and pricing together on a monthly per-user plan.
Measuring from a PDF in the browser is the whole idea, so two estimators can mark up one drawing set without a file server. Pricing is per user per month and published, and the Takeoff and Estimate product has a free plan. The cost side is thinner than the takeoff side, and its item database is American.
Switch from PlanSwift if you want browser-based takeoff that several people can share.
Now sold as EG Sigma by the Danish group EG. The estimate is a live spreadsheet over a rate library, so someone used to Excel is productive in days. It takes takeoff through free links to PlanSwift and Revit, which means a PlanSwift user can keep measuring while the estimate moves. Price catalogues are Danish.
Switch from PlanSwift if you want to keep measuring in PlanSwift but estimate in a spreadsheet-like tool.
Aimed at residential remodellers: choose a kitchen, bathroom or deck template and priced line items appear for your US area. A proposal can go out the same afternoon. Plans are monthly or annual and published, with no contract or setup fee and a 30-day free trial. It does no takeoff from drawings.
Switch from PlanSwift if you quote remodelling jobs from templates rather than measure drawings.
Comes with a UK material and labour database kept current by a price-tracking tool. It is sold as an annual subscription or a perpetual licence with monthly support and updates, both published. Windows only and single-user by default, with build-up templates written for domestic and small commercial jobs.
Switch from PlanSwift if you are a UK builder who wants a maintained rate database.
Reads quantities straight from an IFC or Revit model and keeps them linked, so a design revision shows up as a quantity change rather than a full re-measure. Built in Brisbane and owned by RIB Software of Germany. Licences are standalone or network, quoted, and module-based quotes are hard to compare.
Switch from PlanSwift if your drawings arrive as models and you want revisions to update quantities.
A Swedish estimating product that builds estimates from resources rather than flat unit rates, so a bid can be repriced quickly when wage agreements change. It links to Eleco's planning tool. Licences are annual and quoted, with data libraries extra, and sales are concentrated in Sweden, Norway and the UK.
Switch from PlanSwift if wage and resource changes make you reprice bids often.
Designed for estimates running to tens of thousands of lines, taking quantities from 3D models and point clouds as well as drawings. Pricing is quoted per organisation, and the third-party cost databases are licensed separately by region, which is where the annual bill sits. It needs a trained estimator.
Switch from PlanSwift if your estimates are very large and need cost databases by region.
A US estimating product that carries a job from conceptual budget to detailed estimate within one database. It rewards a preconstruction department that keeps its own cost history clean. The licence is quoted, it is one product among many in Trimble's portfolio, and setup takes months before bidding gets easier.
Switch from PlanSwift if you run a preconstruction team with its own cost history.
The assembly database and the link into Sage construction accounting keep it in use, more than its interface does. Licences are per user per year, with cost data subscribed separately and priced for North America. It runs on Windows and SQL Server that you maintain.
Switch from PlanSwift if your accounts run on Sage construction software.
Prices work in terms of a crew and a fleet reaching a production rate, and it exports into US state highway bid formats. That focus is its limit: earthworks, paving and utilities fit, other trades do not. Subscriptions are per user per year and quoted.
Switch from PlanSwift if you bid civil work priced by crews, fleets and production rates.
You want measuring and pricing in one window on a monthly plan
Cubit Estimating: Per user per month and published, with quantity and priced line in the same window.
02
You want several estimators on one browser drawing set
STACK: Takeoff and Estimate has a free plan, and paid plans are per user per month.
03
You want to keep measuring in PlanSwift but estimate in a spreadsheet
EG Sigma: EG Sigma takes takeoff through free links to PlanSwift and Revit.
04
You quote remodelling jobs from templates
Clear Estimates: Plans are published with a 30-day trial and no contract or setup fee.
05
Your drawings arrive as IFC or Revit models
RIB CostX: Quantities stay linked to the model, and licences are standalone or network, quoted.
04
When PlanSwift is still the right choice
PlanSwift is a good fit for trade subcontractors such as drywall, flooring and electrical, who drop a material and labour assembly onto the drawing and watch the estimate total as they trace. Its pricing page lists a 14-day trial without a card, AI tools for counts and scale, and 2 hours of training on Essential. If your estimates are small and quick, staying is easy to justify.
05
What moving off PlanSwift involves
01
Rebuild assemblies before bid day
Your trade assemblies are the asset. List them with their materials, labour and waste factors, and test each in the new tool against a past estimate.
02
Run both tools on one live bid
Measure a current bid in PlanSwift and the replacement and compare quantities and totals before you commit.
06
Questions about replacing PlanSwift
6 answers
How much does PlanSwift cost?
The pricing page lists Essential at 2,000 dollars a year and Core at 3,000 dollars a year, each with one seat. Teams of 10 or more can ask for volume pricing.
Does PlanSwift have a free trial?
Yes, a 14-day trial with full PlanSwift Core and its AI tools, with no credit card required and no automatic charge afterwards.
Who owns PlanSwift?
The pricing page names PlanSwift Software, and its privacy and terms links point to ConstructConnect, which also sells On-Screen Takeoff.
Which alternative has a free plan?
STACK lists a free plan for Takeoff and Estimate, and Clear Estimates offers a 30-day free trial.
Can I keep measuring in PlanSwift and estimate elsewhere?
EG Sigma takes takeoff through free links to PlanSwift and Revit, so the estimate can move to a rate library while measuring continues.
Which options suit UK or German-speaking markets?
HBXL EstimatorXpress carries a UK database, and Nomitech CostOS licenses regional cost databases separately. Check each vendor for local standards.
—
Sources
Checked 10 November 2026
PlanSwift pricing: Essential 2,000 dollars, Core 3,000 dollars, 14-day trial, volume terms from 10 seats, AI tools, training.
ConstructConnect: Sells On-Screen Takeoff, linked from PlanSwift legal pages.
Cubit Estimating: Takeoff and estimate in one window, per user per month pricing.
STACK pricing: Free plan for Takeoff and Estimate, per user per month plans.
EG Sigma: Spreadsheet estimate, links to PlanSwift and Revit, Danish catalogues.
Founder of The Knowledge Engineers and of 2 Steps Ahead, an AI search visibility agency. Editorially responsible for every page on this site; research and drafting are AI-assisted.
Written, edited and fact-checked by Sebastiaan Smits. Last reviewed 10 November 2026. How we review.
