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Construction · head to head

On-Screen Takeoff vs Togal.AI

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
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: 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; 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: On-Screen Takeoff covers Drawing takeoff, 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 On-Screen Takeoff and Togal.AI actually diverge.

Attributes where On-Screen Takeoff and Togal.AI differ
AttributeOn-Screen TakeoffTogal.AI
Starting priceOn request$299/month
Pricing modelquotePer user per month
PlatformsWindowsWeb

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 On-Screen Takeoff

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

Only in Togal.AI

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

Both cover

  • Excel export

What people use each for

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

On-Screen Takeoff

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

Togal.AI

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

Where each one falls short

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

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

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

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

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 On-Screen Takeoff if

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

Choose Togal.AI if

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

Questions people ask

Is On-Screen Takeoff or Togal.AI better?
Neither clearly leads. On-Screen Takeoff starts at On request and Togal.AI at $299/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, On-Screen Takeoff or Togal.AI?
On-Screen Takeoff starts at On request and Togal.AI at $299/month.
Does On-Screen Takeoff or Togal.AI run on more platforms?
On-Screen Takeoff runs on Windows. Togal.AI runs on Web.
What is On-Screen Takeoff best used for?
On-Screen Takeoff is most often used for a drywall contractor measuring wall area and openings across a 300 sheet set where manual takeoff would take a week, an estimator who receives a late addendum and needs to know which rooms changed rather than re-measuring the whole floor, a flooring subcontractor maintaining reusable conditions with waste factors so quantities and material orders stay consistent between estimators, a trade contractor that wants takeoff quantities split by phase so progress billing matches the way work is actually released. Of those, a drywall contractor measuring wall area and openings across a 300 sheet set where manual takeoff would take a week and an estimator who receives a late addendum and needs to know which rooms changed rather than re-measuring the whole floor are not what Togal.AI is typically brought in for.
What can On-Screen Takeoff do that Togal.AI cannot?
On-Screen Takeoff covers Drawing takeoff, Revision overlay, Condition libraries, Automatic scaling. Togal.AI covers Automatic space detection, Drawing comparison, Natural language search, Automated counts. Both handle Excel export.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

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.

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.

Togal.AI: Can I pay monthly?

No. The published Growth plan requires annual billing.

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.

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.

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.

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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