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Construction · head to head

B2W Estimate vs On-Screen Takeoff

B2W Estimate logo

B2W Estimate

Construction

Heavy civil estimating and bidding built on crew, equipment and production rates rather than unit prices

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
On-Screen Takeoff logo

On-Screen Takeoff

Construction

Digital quantity takeoff from drawings, now subscription only and bundled rather than sold alone

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: B2W Estimate pricing is not published anywhere, and the quote depends on estimator seats plus which of the four other B2W modules you take, so like-for-like comparison with HeavyBid or spreadsheets is impossible without going through a sales cycle; On-Screen Takeoff perpetual licensing is no longer offered on current releases, so long-standing users who paid once now face a recurring annual cost they never budgeted, and staying on an old version means no support for newer PDF formats
  • They diverge on capability: B2W Estimate covers Production-rate estimating, On-Screen Takeoff covers Drawing takeoff.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which B2W Estimate and On-Screen Takeoff actually diverge.

Attributes where B2W Estimate and On-Screen Takeoff differ
AttributeB2W EstimateOn-Screen Takeoff
PlatformsWindows, WebWindows

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Construction).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in B2W Estimate

  • Production-rate estimating
  • Central resource database
  • Concurrent bidding
  • DOT bid file export
  • Alternates and addenda
  • Field feedback loop
  • Bid analysis

Only in On-Screen Takeoff

  • Drawing takeoff
  • Revision overlay
  • Condition libraries
  • Automatic scaling
  • Bid zones and phases
  • Quick Bid handoff
  • Excel export

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

B2W Estimate

  • A grading contractor bids a 40 million dollar DOT job and needs to test three crew configurations against the same quantities before the bid deadlinenot On-Screen Takeoff
  • A utility contractor wants the production rates used in the winning bid pushed into field logging so the superintendent is measured against the estimatenot On-Screen Takeoff
  • An estimating department with four estimators needs several people working on separate sections of one bid without merging spreadsheets by handnot On-Screen Takeoff
  • A contractor moving off HeavyBid wants a resource database it can reuse across estimating, dispatch and fleet maintenancenot On-Screen Takeoff

On-Screen Takeoff

  • A drywall contractor measuring wall area and openings across a 300 sheet set where manual takeoff would take a weeknot B2W Estimate
  • An estimator who receives a late addendum and needs to know which rooms changed rather than re-measuring the whole floornot B2W Estimate
  • A flooring subcontractor maintaining reusable conditions with waste factors so quantities and material orders stay consistent between estimatorsnot B2W Estimate
  • A trade contractor that wants takeoff quantities split by phase so progress billing matches the way work is actually releasednot B2W Estimate

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

B2W Estimate

  • Pricing is not published anywhere, and the quote depends on estimator seats plus which of the four other B2W modules you take, so like-for-like comparison with HeavyBid or spreadsheets is impossible without going through a sales cycle
  • The system is worthless until your own crews, equipment and production rates are loaded, which is typically several months of a senior estimator's time before the first bid comes out
  • It is aimed squarely at heavy civil self-performing work, so a general contractor whose bids are mostly subcontractor quotes gets very little from the production-rate engine
  • The Trimble acquisition means the product now competes internally with other Trimble civil estimating assets, and buyers should ask directly about the long term roadmap for overlapping products before signing a multi-year term
  • Reporting outside the Inform module is limited, so organisations that want bid analytics across years typically end up buying another module or extracting to a warehouse

On-Screen Takeoff

  • Perpetual licensing is no longer offered on current releases, so long-standing users who paid once now face a recurring annual cost they never budgeted, and staying on an old version means no support for newer PDF formats
  • ConstructConnect does not publish a price, and the product is increasingly sold inside a bundle with lead data and estimating, so buyers who want takeoff alone often find the quote priced around a package they do not need
  • It is Windows desktop only, with no macOS version and no meaningful browser or tablet workflow, which rules it out for firms standardised on Apple hardware
  • The interface has changed little in years and estimators coming from browser-based tools find the condition setup and layer management slow to learn, so onboarding a new estimator takes longer than the software cost would suggest
  • ConstructConnect sells lead data, takeoff and estimating as a portfolio and has consolidated several acquired products, so a buyer committing to On-Screen Takeoff should ask directly where it sits against the newer cloud takeoff products in the same portfolio

Pricing, plan by plan

B2W Estimate

On request
  • B2W Estimate$undefined/year
    • Priced per estimator seat with a separate server or hosting component
    • Additional B2W modules quoted separately
    • Implementation and resource database setup billed as a project

On-Screen Takeoff

On request
  • On-Screen Takeoff$undefined/year
    • Annual subscription per seat on version 4 and later
    • Sold increasingly as part of a ConstructConnect takeoff and estimating bundle
    • Perpetual licensing not offered on current releases

Which should you pick?

Choose B2W Estimate if

  • You need production-rate estimating.
  • You work on Windows, Web.
  • You also want central resource database.
B2W Estimate review

Choose On-Screen Takeoff if

  • You need drawing takeoff.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want revision overlay.
On-Screen Takeoff review

Questions people ask

Is B2W Estimate or On-Screen Takeoff better?
Neither clearly leads. B2W Estimate starts at On request and On-Screen Takeoff at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, B2W Estimate or On-Screen Takeoff?
B2W Estimate starts at On request and On-Screen Takeoff at On request.
Does B2W Estimate or On-Screen Takeoff run on more platforms?
B2W Estimate runs on Windows, Web. On-Screen Takeoff runs on Windows.
What is B2W Estimate best used for?
B2W Estimate is most often used for a grading contractor bids a 40 million dollar dot job and needs to test three crew configurations against the same quantities before the bid deadline, a utility contractor wants the production rates used in the winning bid pushed into field logging so the superintendent is measured against the estimate, an estimating department with four estimators needs several people working on separate sections of one bid without merging spreadsheets by hand, a contractor moving off heavybid wants a resource database it can reuse across estimating, dispatch and fleet maintenance. Of those, a grading contractor bids a 40 million dollar dot job and needs to test three crew configurations against the same quantities before the bid deadline and a utility contractor wants the production rates used in the winning bid pushed into field logging so the superintendent is measured against the estimate are not what On-Screen Takeoff is typically brought in for.
What can B2W Estimate do that On-Screen Takeoff cannot?
B2W Estimate covers Production-rate estimating, Central resource database, Concurrent bidding, DOT bid file export. On-Screen Takeoff covers Drawing takeoff, Revision overlay, Condition libraries, Automatic scaling.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

B2W Estimate: Is B2W Estimate still sold under its own name?

Yes. Trimble acquired B2W in 2022 and continues to sell it as B2W Estimate within the Trimble Construction portfolio.

On-Screen Takeoff: Can I still buy a perpetual licence?

No. Current releases are annual subscription. Older perpetual licences continue to run but do not receive updates.

B2W Estimate: Is there a perpetual licence?

Current sales are subscription based. Existing perpetual customers have been migrated toward subscription, so treat a perpetual arrangement as something to negotiate rather than assume.

On-Screen Takeoff: Is it sold separately from Quick Bid?

It can be, but ConstructConnect increasingly quotes it as part of a takeoff and estimating package. Ask explicitly for standalone pricing if that is what you want.

B2W Estimate: How does it compare with HeavyBid?

Both are production-rate estimators for heavy civil. B2W's argument is the shared resource database across estimating, field tracking, dispatch and maintenance; HeavyBid's is depth of bidding features and a large installed base in highway work.

On-Screen Takeoff: Does it run on a Mac?

Not natively. It is a Windows application and Mac users run it under virtualisation, which is unsupported in practice for large drawing sets.

B2W Estimate: Does it work for building construction?

Poorly. It assumes self-performed work priced by crew output. Vertical builders bidding mostly subcontracted scopes should look elsewhere.

On-Screen Takeoff: Will it read a scanned drawing?

Yes, but measurement accuracy on a scanned raster set depends entirely on the scan quality and on setting scale from a verified dimension.

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