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Construction · head to head

On-Screen Takeoff vs Reconstruct

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
-
Reconstruct logo

Reconstruct

Construction

Reality capture and progress tracking that aligns site imagery to the model and the schedule

From
On request
Rated
-

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; Reconstruct pricing is quoted with nothing published, so a buyer cannot sanity-check a proposal against a list rate and has no way to know whether the price scales with projects, square footage or users until deep in the sales process.
  • They diverge on capability: On-Screen Takeoff covers Drawing takeoff, Reconstruct covers Device-agnostic capture.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where On-Screen Takeoff and Reconstruct differ
AttributeOn-Screen TakeoffReconstruct
PlatformsWindowsWeb, iOS, Android

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 On-Screen Takeoff

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

Only in Reconstruct

  • Device-agnostic capture
  • Photogrammetry and mesh generation
  • 4D schedule alignment
  • Design overlay
  • Time slider
  • Measurement tools
  • Issue tracking
  • Remote walkthrough

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 Reconstruct
  • An estimator who receives a late addendum and needs to know which rooms changed rather than re-measuring the whole floornot Reconstruct
  • A flooring subcontractor maintaining reusable conditions with waste factors so quantities and material orders stay consistent between estimatorsnot Reconstruct
  • A trade contractor that wants takeoff quantities split by phase so progress billing matches the way work is actually releasednot Reconstruct

Reconstruct

  • A general contractor whose monthly progress claim is regularly challenged by the owner, needing dated visual evidence tied to schedule activities rather than a folder of photosnot On-Screen Takeoff
  • An owner running projects in several countries who wants to cut executive site visits without accepting the contractor’s self-reported percentage completenot On-Screen Takeoff
  • A healthcare or data centre fit-out where above-ceiling services must be recorded before they are closed up, so later maintenance does not require demolitionnot On-Screen Takeoff
  • A delay or defect dispute where the decisive question is what was physically in place on a specific date and the only other evidence is contested emailnot 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

Reconstruct

  • Pricing is quoted with nothing published, so a buyer cannot sanity-check a proposal against a list rate and has no way to know whether the price scales with projects, square footage or users until deep in the sales process.
  • The whole value depends on disciplined recurring capture, and site teams treat walking the building with a camera as a low-priority chore, so datasets go stale exactly when a dispute makes them valuable.
  • Photogrammetry from handheld footage is less accurate than laser scanning, so it is fine for progress and coordination but should not be relied on for tight as-built tolerances or prefabrication dimensions.
  • Schedule alignment requires a well-structured schedule with activities that map to physical locations; on projects where the programme is a coarse rolled-up bar chart the progress calculation is close to meaningless.
  • It is another platform alongside Procore or Autodesk Construction Cloud rather than a replacement, so buyers add a subscription and a workflow rather than consolidating one, and the business case has to survive that.

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

Reconstruct

On request
  • Reconstruct$undefined/year
    • Quoted per project or per portfolio
    • Unlimited capture devices
    • 4D schedule alignment

Which should you pick?

Choose On-Screen Takeoff if

  • You need drawing takeoff.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want revision overlay.

Choose Reconstruct if

  • You need device-agnostic capture.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want photogrammetry and mesh generation.

Questions people ask

Is On-Screen Takeoff or Reconstruct better?
Neither clearly leads. On-Screen Takeoff starts at On request and Reconstruct at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, On-Screen Takeoff or Reconstruct?
On-Screen Takeoff starts at On request and Reconstruct at On request.
Does On-Screen Takeoff or Reconstruct run on more platforms?
On-Screen Takeoff runs on Windows. Reconstruct runs on Web, iOS, Android.
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 Reconstruct is typically brought in for.
What can On-Screen Takeoff do that Reconstruct cannot?
On-Screen Takeoff covers Drawing takeoff, Revision overlay, Condition libraries, Automatic scaling. Reconstruct covers Device-agnostic capture, Photogrammetry and mesh generation, 4D schedule alignment, Design overlay.

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.

Reconstruct: How much does Reconstruct cost?

Not published. It is quoted per project or portfolio. Ask specifically whether the price scales by project count, square footage or capture volume, because those give very different totals.

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.

Reconstruct: Do we need a drone or a laser scanner?

No. It works from 360 cameras and even smartphone video. Drones and scanners improve exterior and accuracy-critical coverage.

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.

Reconstruct: How accurate is it?

Accurate enough for progress, coordination and dispute evidence. It is not a substitute for survey-grade laser scanning where tolerances matter.

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.

Reconstruct: Who owns the captured data at closeout?

The customer. Confirm the export format and retention terms in the contract before handover, because a reality archive is only useful if you can still open it in five years.

Reconstruct: Does it replace Procore?

No. It integrates with Procore and Autodesk Construction Cloud and adds the visual as-built layer.

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