Softwr

Construction · head to head

Microsoft Project vs Togal.AI

Microsoft Project logo

Microsoft Project

Construction

Keep projects organized and on track

From
$10/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Togal.AI logo

Togal.AI

Construction

Automated drawing takeoff that measures and labels spaces without manual tracing

From
$299/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Microsoft Project performance degrades with large projects over 400 tasks, becoming slow and unstable; Togal.AI annual billing is mandatory at $299 per user per month, so an estimating team that ramps up and down for bid seasons pays a full year for seats it uses intermittently.
  • They diverge on capability: Microsoft Project covers Gantt charts, Togal.AI covers Automatic space detection.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Microsoft Project and Togal.AI actually diverge.

Attributes where Microsoft Project and Togal.AI differ
AttributeMicrosoft ProjectTogal.AI
Starting price$10/month$299/month
Pricing modelUnknownPer user per month
PlatformsWeb, Windows, macOSWeb
Founded1975Unknown

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 Microsoft Project

  • Gantt charts
  • Resource management
  • Budget tracking
  • Timeline views
  • Task dependencies
  • Critical path
  • Earned value analysis
  • Portfolio management

Only in Togal.AI

  • Automatic space detection
  • Drawing comparison
  • Natural language search
  • Automated counts
  • Excel export
  • Plan set management
  • Team sharing

What people use each for

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

Microsoft Project

  • Project schedulingnot Togal.AI
  • Resource allocationnot Togal.AI
  • Portfolio managementnot Togal.AI
  • Budget trackingnot Togal.AI
  • Enterprise project managementnot Togal.AI

Togal.AI

  • A commercial general contractor bidding repetitive multifamily or hospitality floor plates where room-by-room area takeoff dominates the effortnot Microsoft Project
  • An estimating team that needs to requantify quickly when an architect issues a revised set two days before a bidnot Microsoft Project
  • A finishes subcontractor pricing flooring, paint and ceiling areas across hundreds of roomsnot Microsoft Project
  • A preconstruction group producing early order-of-magnitude budgets from schematic plans before a full estimate is justifiednot Microsoft Project

Where each one falls short

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

Microsoft Project

  • Performance degrades with large projects over 400 tasks, becoming slow and unstable
  • Limited Agile methodology support, primarily designed for waterfall project management
  • Proprietary .mpp file format creates compatibility issues on non-Windows systems
  • No offline mode, limiting users without reliable internet connectivity

Togal.AI

  • Annual billing is mandatory at $299 per user per month, so an estimating team that ramps up and down for bid seasons pays a full year for seats it uses intermittently.
  • Detection is tuned to architectural floor plans and space-based quantities; civil, structural detail and MEP riser takeoff still need a conventional tool, so most firms end up paying for two.
  • Automatically generated quantities still require estimator review before they enter a bid, so the saving is in tracing time rather than in checking time, and firms that skip the check are exposed on a hard-money bid.
  • The company spun out of a single general contractor, and drawing conventions that differ from that firm's typical project types produce weaker detection until the set is cleaned up.
  • It is a takeoff tool, not an estimating system, so pricing, rate build-up and bid assembly still happen elsewhere and the Excel handoff is the seam where errors get introduced.

Pricing, plan by plan

Microsoft Project

$10/month
  • Plan 1$10/month
    • Task and project management
    • Grid views
    • Timeline features
  • Plan 3$30/month
    • Desktop client
    • Resource management
    • Advanced scheduling
  • Plan 5$55/month
    • Portfolio management
    • Demand management
    • Enterprise capabilities

Togal.AI

$299/month
  • Growth$299/month
    • One or two licences
    • Unlimited AI takeoffs
    • Drawing comparison and search
  • Business$undefined/year
    • Three or more licences
    • Quoted by the vendor
    • Team administration and shared takeoffs

Which should you pick?

Choose Microsoft Project if

  • You need gantt charts.
  • You work on Web, Windows, macOS.
  • You also want resource management.
Microsoft Project review

Choose Togal.AI if

  • You need automatic space detection.
  • You also want drawing comparison.
Togal.AI review

Questions people ask

Is Microsoft Project or Togal.AI better?
Neither clearly leads. Microsoft Project starts at $10/month and Togal.AI at $299/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Microsoft Project or Togal.AI?
Microsoft Project starts at $10/month and Togal.AI at $299/month.
Does Microsoft Project or Togal.AI run on more platforms?
Microsoft Project runs on Web, Windows, macOS. Togal.AI runs on Web.
What is Microsoft Project best used for?
Microsoft Project is most often used for project scheduling, resource allocation, portfolio management, budget tracking. Of those, project scheduling and resource allocation are not what Togal.AI is typically brought in for.
What can Microsoft Project do that Togal.AI cannot?
Microsoft Project covers Gantt charts, Resource management, Budget tracking, Timeline views. Togal.AI covers Automatic space detection, Drawing comparison, Natural language search, Automated counts.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Microsoft Project: What are the different Microsoft Project plans and pricing?

Microsoft Project offers Plan 1 at $10/user/month for basic project management, Plan 3 at $30/user/month with desktop client and resource management, and Plan 5 at $55/user/month for enterprise portfolio management. Desktop licenses (2024) start at $679.99 for Standard and $1,129.99 for Professional.

Source
Togal.AI: What does Togal.AI cost?

$299 per user per month billed annually for one or two licences. Three or more users are quoted individually.

Microsoft Project: Does Microsoft Project support Agile methodology?

Microsoft Project was primarily designed for traditional waterfall project management. While it has some Agile features, it is not optimized for Agile workflows compared to dedicated Agile tools like Jira or Monday.com.

Source
Togal.AI: Can I pay monthly?

No. The published Growth plan requires annual billing.

Microsoft Project: Can multiple teams collaborate in real-time on Microsoft Project?

Yes, Microsoft Project for the Web provides real-time collaboration through cloud-based access. However, collaboration is noted as harder compared to modern cloud-native tools due to its file-based architecture.

Source
Togal.AI: Does it replace an estimating system?

No. It produces quantities. Rates, markup and bid assembly still happen in your estimating software or a spreadsheet.

Togal.AI: Who owns the drawings and takeoffs I upload?

You do, and quantities export to Excel, but check the contract for how uploaded drawing sets are retained and whether they inform model training.

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