EG Sigma vs STACK

EG Sigma and STACK approach the same estimating job from opposite ends, which shows in almost every round below. EG Sigma is an estimating spreadsheet with a rate library behind it, and drawings reach it through linked tools such as PlanSwift or Revit. STACK is the reverse, a browser takeoff tool with estimating attached, billed from $299 per user per month for Takeoff and Estimate. EG Sigma prices could not be read for this page, while STACK publishes its figures and a free version, so budgeting is far easier on the STACK side today.

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Both are reviewed in full in our construction estimating ranking: EG Sigma and STACK.

1. 01

   A spreadsheet with a database underneath, or a drawing with prices attached

   EG Sigma behaves like a live spreadsheet with a rate library behind it, so formulas, columns and pasted data work as an estimator expects. The vendor page names calculation flows with built-in validation and materials, labor and prices in one place. STACK starts from the drawing and rolls measured quantities into an estimate, but our data calls its estimating half thinner, with simple assemblies and no crew production rates. Choose by whether the estimate or the drawing is your starting point, and expect to compare against a dedicated takeoff tool.

   Depends on the buyer

2. 02

   What STACK publishes and what Sigma left unreadable

   STACK shows starting-at prices in dollars: Takeoff and Estimate from $299 per user per month with unlimited plans and projects, Build and Operate from $49, and the Full STACK Platform from $348 through a Build Your Price option. Takeoff and Estimate also has a free version, although its limits are not stated. For EG Sigma, the pricing address redirected to a Danish page that returned 404, so we saw no figures, currency or licence limits. Budgeting for EG Sigma therefore starts with a request to the vendor.

   Edge: STACK

3. 03

   Where the measurements come from

   EG Sigma does not measure drawings natively. Takeoff arrives through free links to PlanSwift and Revit, which means two products to learn and a hand-off between them. STACK lists Quantity, Labor and Material Takeoff in its Takeoff and Estimate plan, and its homepage names AI Takeoff and Auto Plan Organization. Two estimators can mark up the same drawing set remotely without a file server. On built-in takeoff STACK is clearly ahead, and EG Sigma depends on whatever you link to it.

   Edge: STACK

4. 04

   Price books: Danish catalogues against American items

   EG Sigma's maintained price catalogues, Molio among them, are Danish and bought per catalogue, so outside Denmark you build the library yourself. That keeps the data under your control but adds setup work. STACK ships a cost database of American items and units, which a contractor working in metric materials has to adapt. Neither tool hands a non-North-American, non-Danish estimator a ready local price book, so this round ends level, with the work landing on a different side of the desk.

   Depends on the buyer

5. 05

   Cloud statements and the silences

   STACK's homepage says it is 100 percent cloud-based and built for collaborating from anywhere, and our data notes it has no offline mode when the connection drops, which matters on a site with poor signal. For EG Sigma we found no stated hosting model, and no owner is named for either product. A buyer who needs a written hosting answer can get one from STACK's pages today, and has to ask EG for it directly before signing anything.

   Edge: STACK

6. 06

   Trial routes and the company behind each

   EG Sigma offers a 14-day free trial or a demo first, and no free plan is named. The listed operator is EG Danmark A/S, and our data places the product in Denmark. STACK offers a free Takeoff and Estimate version and a two-week trial of Build and Operate, with a Cincinnati, Ohio address in the pricing page footer and the United States in our data. For a buyer who prefers a Danish vendor, EG Sigma wins this round on the facts listed.

   Edge: EG Sigma

Does EG Sigma do takeoff from drawings by itself?

Not in the core product, according to our data. Takeoff comes in through free links to tools such as PlanSwift or Revit. The vendor page we read lists calculation, materials and labor but no drawing measurement.

What does STACK cost for one estimator?

The pricing page shows Takeoff and Estimate from $299 per user per month, in dollars with no currency code. A free version of that plan exists, with limits that the pricing page leaves unstated. Build and Operate starts at $49 per user per month.

Is EG Sigma still sold under that name after the domain change?

Yes, on what we read. sigmaestimates.com redirects to egsoftware.com, where EG Sigma is still listed as a current product under the same name. The pricing page behind the redirect returned 404 when we read it.

• EG Sigma product page: the 14-day trial and demo offer, the named calculation and materials functions, and the EG Danmark A/S operator.
• Sigma Estimates pricing address: the redirect to a Danish EG pricing page that returned 404 with no readable plan list.
• EG Software homepage: EG Sigma still being listed as a current product after the domain redirect.
• STACK pricing page: the three starting-at monthly prices, the free Takeoff and Estimate version, the two-week trial and the Cincinnati address.
• STACK homepage: the 100 percent cloud-based statement, AI Takeoff and Auto Plan Organization.