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Construction · head to head

Kahua vs On-Screen Takeoff

Kahua logo

Kahua

Construction

Cloud platform for construction and capital projects

From
$400/month
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: Kahua no standard pricing tiers published; all pricing is custom and quote-based; 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: Kahua covers Project management, 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 Kahua and On-Screen Takeoff actually diverge.

Attributes where Kahua and On-Screen Takeoff differ
AttributeKahuaOn-Screen Takeoff
Starting price$400/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWindows
Founded2007Unknown

Identical on both: 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 Kahua

  • Project management
  • Document control
  • Collaboration
  • Issue tracking
  • Reporting
  • Microsoft 365
  • Slack
  • Box

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.

Kahua

  • Acting as the system of record for a capital construction program across the asset lifecyclenot On-Screen Takeoff
  • Public agencies and program managers tracking portfolios of projectsnot On-Screen Takeoff
  • General contractors standardising project delivery and cost control across active projectsnot On-Screen Takeoff
  • Specialty contractors managing crews, work orders and project financialsnot 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 Kahua
  • An estimator who receives a late addendum and needs to know which rooms changed rather than re-measuring the whole floornot Kahua
  • A flooring subcontractor maintaining reusable conditions with waste factors so quantities and material orders stay consistent between estimatorsnot Kahua
  • A trade contractor that wants takeoff quantities split by phase so progress billing matches the way work is actually releasednot Kahua

Where each one falls short

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

Kahua

  • No standard pricing tiers published; all pricing is custom and quote-based
  • Pricing varies by organization type, program or construction scale, selected package, and deployment environment
  • Implementation costs for data migration, integrations, training, and configuration scoped separately and included in quote

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

Kahua

$400/month
  • Professional$400/month
    • Project management
    • Document control
    • Collaboration
  • EnterpriseFree
    • Advanced analytics
    • Custom workflows
    • API access

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 Kahua if

  • You need project management.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want document control.
Kahua 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 Kahua or On-Screen Takeoff better?
Neither clearly leads. Kahua starts at $400/month 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, Kahua or On-Screen Takeoff?
Kahua starts at $400/month and On-Screen Takeoff at On request.
Does Kahua or On-Screen Takeoff run on more platforms?
Kahua runs on Web, Ios, Android. On-Screen Takeoff runs on Windows.
What is Kahua best used for?
Kahua is most often used for acting as the system of record for a capital construction program across the asset lifecycle, public agencies and program managers tracking portfolios of projects, general contractors standardising project delivery and cost control across active projects, specialty contractors managing crews, work orders and project financials. Of those, acting as the system of record for a capital construction program across the asset lifecycle and public agencies and program managers tracking portfolios of projects are not what On-Screen Takeoff is typically brought in for.
What can Kahua do that On-Screen Takeoff cannot?
Kahua covers Project management, Document control, Collaboration, Issue tracking. On-Screen Takeoff covers Drawing takeoff, Revision overlay, Condition libraries, Automatic scaling.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Kahua: How much does Kahua cost?

Kahua does not publish standard pricing. Costs vary by organization type (Owners/Program Managers, General Contractors, Specialty Contractors), program scale, selected package, deployment environment, and implementation requirements. Customers must request pricing quotes.

Source
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.

Kahua: What package options does Kahua offer?

Kahua offers three main package categories: Owners and Program Managers, General Contractors, and Specialty Contractors. Additional specialty apps and suites including capital planning, analytics, asset management, and safety can extend the base solution.

Source
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.

Kahua: Are implementation and integration costs included in Kahua pricing?

Implementation details including data migration, integrations, training, and configuration are scoped based on requirements and clearly identified in the custom quote provided.

Source
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.

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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