--- title: "PlanSwift Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra" description: "Is PlanSwift the right Takeoff solution for you? Explore 402 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice." source_url: "https://www.capterra.com/p/70808/PlanSwift/reviews/" page_type: "reviews" language: "en" publication_date: "2026-10-19" --- PlanSwift 4.3 (402) [View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/70808/PlanSwift/alternatives/) Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/) * * * Last updated October 19th, 2026 # Reviews of PlanSwift Ease of use 4.4 Customer Service 4.1 ## Pros and Cons in Reviews CC Caleb C Estimator- Project ManagerConstruction, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: I used a free trial. “The software makes it easy to measure quantities directly from plans, build assemblies, and organize takeoff data, helping improve estimating efficiency and consistency.“ July 14, 2026 KAREEM A RepresentativeAccounting, Self-employedUsed the software for: I used a free trial. “Review Tip: Mention the lack of real-time collaboration. If two people need to work on the same takeoff, you have to pass files back and forth rather than working simultaneously in a browser.“ March 23, 2026 KAREEM A RepresentativeAccounting, Self-employedUsed the software for: I used a free trial. “Unlike complex CAD programs, PlanSwift feels intuitive for anyone who has spent time looking at physical blueprints. Why it’s great: You can measure areas, linear totals, and unit counts simply by clicking on the digital plan. As one user put it, "If it's colored, it's counted."“ March 23, 2026 KAREEM A RepresentativeAccounting, Self-employedUsed the software for: I used a free trial. “This means you can’t just log in from any laptop and see your plans; you usually have to be at your specific workstation where the software is installed.“ March 23, 2026 Adella G ConstructionArchitecture & Planning, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: Less than 6 months. “I found the drag-and-drop functionality and customization options useful for adapting to different project types.“ April 20, 2026 EB Elizabeth B Multifamily Sales and SchedulingConstruction, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “Sometimes it takes a while to upload large plans and sometimes the pan tool gets stuck, and you have to CTRL ALT DELETE for it to unstick.“ May 13, 2025 Adella G ConstructionArchitecture & Planning, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: Less than 6 months. “After the initial learning curve, it becomes an efficient part of the workflow, though improvements in usability and integrations would enhance the experience further.“ April 20, 2026 AH Andrew H Senior Engineering EstimatorCivil Engineering, 10,001+ employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Unfortunately both methods are raster based so there is no intelligence for selecting lines, planes etc.“ July 8, 2025 ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 1-25 of 402 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use John Armon O. Civil Engineer Civil Engineering Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great Takeoff Software!" July 14, 2022 5.0 As an estimator, I would definitely choose PlanSwift all the time when it comes to construction estimation and takeoffs. It is very efficient and user-friendly, making me more productive in my work. Pros What I like the most about this software is its takeoff accuracy. I can even set my own scale depending on the plans I have, especially if my Client/Consultant did not give the preset scale. Cons Even with its efficient features, PlanSwift is not exempted from having drawbacks, just like any other software. Being able to markup shapes like arrows and circles might be more useful for estimators like me since I won't have to transfer to other PDF readers just to put shape markups. Review Source SL Sam L. Office Manager Architecture & Planning Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Estimations made easy!" May 1, 2026 5.0 Pros PlanSwift has the best value for cost of any program we've tried previously. The workflow for our company has improved vastly. Also, the takeoff, estimate creation, and overall estimating is so easy to use that it's cut our work time in half. Cons In the beginning I had a couple of issues with the workflow processes, but someone from their awesome customer support team walked me through a learning session and It's been great ever since! Review Source BR Ben R. Outside sales Utilities Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Takeoffs and estimating" June 6, 2026 3.0 Overall experience was ok. The customer support was not as good as other softwares i have used. But not bad enough to say its a bad product Pros Its easy to go right from construct connect into plan swift to get your takeoffs done. The layout is also very nice Cons I think there are alot better options on the market that have the same functions like estimating and takeoffs Review Source Mary April K. Cost Engineer cum Quantity Surveyor cum Procurement Officer Construction Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Planswift TakeOff Review" November 9, 2022 5.0 Always a great Take Off tool to rely on and depend on Pros Planswift has been built its good name as one of the best user friendly Estimating Tool in the Construction Industry for a long time. I have been a user since 2012 and it was a great help for my everyday Take-Off requirement since then. Cons Since I was an employee I was equipped with Planswift in my laptop via the company's subscription, and now that I started my own consultancy firm I find Planswift pricey compared to other Estimating tool which can also give the same output. Review Source Ahmed A. Freelancer Civil Engineering Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "PlanSwift is my partner for my freelance work for Estimating Civil Works Quantities" July 6, 2022 5.0 Pros PlanSwift is a best software for quantity estimation for Civil Works . PlanSwift has made my work so easy, and you I don't have to do manual hand calculation that is time-consuming, and handling drawings is also not an easy task. In PlanSwift, you can attach pdf drawings and scale them according to your needs and calculate quantity of each activities from Excavation to finishing of the project and the best part is that it integrate well with excel and make BOQ at the backend on excel Cons I get hang when switching tabs also it does not remember the last drawing you were working so you have to open every time when you restart the software. Review Source Steve B. Homebuilding Project Consultant Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Estimating 2.0" July 16, 2018 4.0 Pros Drawing tools are easy to use. Assemblies make the process simple as a single line can capture multiple items at one time. The reporting functions make it easy to review the results and modify the assemblies as a whole as standards change. Cons The updating process is very slow. As more assemblies are added to the file, the software gets bogged down and glitchy. Review Source Zachary O. Project Manager Construction Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Best On Screen Take Off Software. Period. " October 12, 2018 5.0 Highly recommend Planswift to General Contractors and Specialty Contractors alike. Best On-Screen Take Off software available. Pros Ease of use, very user-friendly interface. Quickly rip takeoffs. Great reporting and customization capabilities. Cons One time fee may be expensive for some, but it is well worth the investment! Review Source Justine L. Flooring and Paint Director Design Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Easy to use but I know it can do even more" August 28, 2018 4.0 Great tool. I use it daily for quickly estimating flooring needs on jobs. Pros I like how fast i can create take-off's Cons Trying to create full estimates through the software is a very lengthy process. It also doesn't accurately pick up points when I do the "one-click" feature. Review Source Tamara A. Project Estimator Construction Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Always a Favorite" November 20, 2018 4.0 Pros Planswift makes quantity take off much easier and more effective. The ability to create files and folders helps to keep your information sorted and organized. Cons I feel that their are many features offered in this program that I am most likely not utilizing. While I realize that there are most likely many tutorial options, it would be nice to have a way to see quickly the types of features available. Review Source Nathan K. Project Engineer Construction Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "PlanSwift Review" November 21, 2018 5.0 It makes takeoffs very easy which makes us more productive Pros I love how easy it makes plans to read and how fast takeoffs can be with this. Cons I didn't like how my computer will slow down and it bogs down with more takeoff items in it. Review Source EB Elizabeth B. Multifamily Sales and Scheduling Construction Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "PlanSwift is so easy to use" May 13, 2025 5.0 I love PlanSwift. It keeps track of what I mark, and my estimating button keeps a running total. Pros It is so easy to mark what I need on plans. The scale and dimension tools are very helpful. Cons Sometimes it takes a while to upload large plans and sometimes the pan tool gets stuck, and you have to CTRL ALT DELETE for it to unstick. Review Source SG Scott G. Owner/estimator/project manager Construction Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Robust Potential, glitchy programming" February 17, 2017 3.0 I've been a Planswift user for last 8 years. The program has a lot of bells and whistles with so many custom options. Its a rather incredible concept but some of the tools like hip/valley tool, comparative overlay and auto count don't work properly. My number one issue with plan swift is the code. I complained about how slow the program would get after just a few hours of measurements, especially when using a lot of joint tool and overlays. I would mostly get silence from customer support when making that comment, it seemed odd but I didn't put much thought into it and just kept upgrading hardware on my PC to compensate. Well, now I have a computer that could animate for Pixar yet Planswift still shows me its hourglass mocking the value of my time. I also noticed it would crash more often than I find reasonable and will also crash excel when open even if not using Planswift at the time. When this would happen, excel was unable to recover my progress in that worksheet. VERY frustrating. So, I started to look into composing better spreadsheet design do compensate. I went to an excel guru with estimating background and after just several hours we were both unsure of how we were to make chicken salad out of the fodder. I decided to go shopping, there are tons of in screen programs out there but if you want takeoff with legends to be able to efficiently convey that fancy estimate you spent hours and days putting together to a team on the forld, there are very few that do it well. Most do not have a joist tool or hip/valley intelligence and many other features Planswift has. But most all the others are faster than P.S. and will allow you to work on multiple jobs at same time (P.S. does not). For the light user on a budget, this could be your ticket and I will gladly sell you one of the four P.S. Licenses I am currently sitting on. But if you want to do whole project estimating that is visually auditable with reliable output that won't slow you down and actually speed this boring, low-to-no paying process down then I suggest you search elsewhere. I found my dream software by mixing tei that have most of what Planswift does combined. But mega faster, without crashing or ever hour classing and better reports I do t have to spend hours cleaning up after exporting. Pros Features, easy to learn, lots of customization options Cons Glitchy, crashy, ruined my day far too many times with lost/disconnected data & subsequent reduced productivity Review Source JJ Juan J. Vice President East Coast Operations Glass, Ceramics & Concrete Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Excellent Value for the Money - Full take off AND estimating capabilities" September 15, 2017 4.0 We are a medium size concrete and masonry subcontractor. We have used another estimating software for about 17 years, but no on screen take off abilities and very little flexibility in creating your own assemblies or unit prices. It is more of a general GC type of software. It was time for a change. I am very happy with Planswift. No software is perfect, but definitely Planswift makes easy taking off and estimating a job. If you plan on using it just for take off purposes, you can start as soon as you buy it. But if you plan on using it as an estimating tool, my suggestion is to give yourself at least 1 month so your most trusted estimator builds the assemblies (full time job). With only 2 or 3 hours of training a smart techy estimator can do it. But it is a long process. And the more you learn about assemblies, the more you have to go back and improve the ones you already built. Based on what I have seen so far, I think Planswift was created as a take off software and then adapted to an estimating one. This is somehow inconvenient, but not a deal breaker. Like every software, there are things it can not do, or at least not in the way a user would like to see them. But overall, it works just fine. We have now a full database with our custom made assemblies and 5 people using Planswift. Pros Take off portion is super user friendly. You learn how to use it in a couple of hours. Price is very reasonable. Huge savings in prints to bid jobs. Database can be shared among all users. You can create as many assemblies and unit price templates as you want. You have access to formulas to calculate material quantities based on the take off. Customer support is excellent and unlimited for simple take off questions. Training is excellent My sales person, Conner Livingston, still assists me when I need his help. Cons To use the pricing portion you have to create your own assemblies. They are not pre-built. Lacks security features to prevent deleting custom made reports. You have to back them up. Lacks security features to prevent others to modify your database and custom made reports. You have to back them up. Only two people at Planswift have knowledge about building reports and is not part of the regular customer support. Either you buy a Training package or pay by the hour so they can help you build the reports you need. Review Source CC Cody C. Estimator Construction Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great for Takeoffs, Not for Estimating" July 21, 2023 2.0 Pros The takeoff side of the program was easy to use. Cons Uploading plans was time consuming, and no work could be done in the program until the upload is complete. No automatic plan page naming. The estimating side of the program is not user friendly at all. We use an Excel spreadsheet instead. Review Source MS Mario S. Project Estimator Construction Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Mario's Review" February 7, 2020 5.0 Pros When it comes to estimating, I have not used a better software for quantity take-off on plans. You have the option to purchase packages that fit the scope of work of your company, or if you want to save money, you can build the assemblies yourself for free. Cons The only thing that needs to be optimized is the time it takes to import PDF plans and convert it to a TIF file when setting up a new job. A 100 page PDF might take up to 30 minutes to import and convert. Alternatives considered [On-Screen Takeoff](https://www.capterra.com/p/121585/On-Screen-Takeoff/) Switched from [Bluebeam Revu](https://www.capterra.com/p/121586/Bluebeam-PDF-Revu/) Planswift offered more for the money. Review Source MW MIKE W. Senior Estimator Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing Used the software for: 2+ years ### "EC using Planswift versus others" June 27, 2019 4.0 Good, little glitches here and there, appreciate the ability to float the license from terminal to terminal Pros Value of the product and intuitive design for getting started for a beginner, easy to teach Cons Autocount is not very accurate It would be good to see some feature that auto-centers your takeoff mark over the object since you can fly through a takeoff if you could rely on the computer to center your marks, somehow integrated with the OCR it should be able to do that Alternatives considered [Trimble Accubid Anywhere](https://www.capterra.com/p/193712/Trimble-Accubid-Anywhere/) Reason for choosing PlanSwift Cost / Value Switched from [Trimble Accubid Anywhere](https://www.capterra.com/p/193712/Trimble-Accubid-Anywhere/) Value / Cost Review Source Todd H. Project Manager Construction Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Quantitive Take Off Software" June 15, 2017 3.0 A more efficient and economical way to accomplish QTO Pros PLanSwift is a great alternative to other overly priced and complicated to use software. The technical support team is quick to help and knowledgable. Cons Some of the import features are difficult to maneuver and sometime the software crashes. That being said the software is continually saving so you don't lose work in progress. Review Source MD Matt D. Estimator Construction Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Very easy tool for accurate quantity takeoffs, but has not improved features in awhile" August 17, 2018 3.0 Pros Low learning curve, very easy to use. Accurate quantities generated, and graphical representations of takeoff items (color-coding items on drawing sheets). Can be very flexible if you want to create custom takeoff tools or templates Cons Since purchased by Textura and then Oracle, the product has not improved at all. There is a clear limit to the number of drawing sheets that can be published; the program freezes or crashes if too many drawings loaded- this makes it a poor choice for large construction projects. Can be difficult to copy/paste transfer takeoff items between drawing versions, and can't transfer at all between project files. Also, navigability of drawing sheets could be easier- providing links to open additional sheets for referencing sections/details/callouts, etc. Review Source JF Jeff F. President Construction Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Disappointing over the long run" February 17, 2016 2.5 Pros I found it easy to learn and it became the go-to program for viewing, measuring, and recording any info relating to architectural drawings. On many occasions, if I thought of some action I would like to see the program perform, a little research revealed that it was already built into the program. I have been surprised many times by the wealth of things this program can do. Cons One thing the program doesn't do well anymore is load drawings. When I first purchased about two years ago, the drawings loaded very well, and viewed as clearly as the source pdf file. But after a month or so, and a couple of hundred drawings later, the program began to have trouble loading drawings. Sometimes the program would just stall during upload, or if it did upload, a lot of lines would be missing from the drawing. It was possible to still do take-offs, but I would often have to keep the source pdf drawing open on another monitor. The latest batch of drawings I loaded were a real mess. Internet forums discuss this problem, but last time I looked no one had a solution. I contacted the company when this problem first appeared, but they were no help. I now regard a take-off program as indispensable, so I'm now shopping around for something to replace the Planswift program. Review Source PM Paul M. IT System Administrator Construction Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Planswift is Great" June 28, 2021 5.0 Overall has been great! ran into a licensing issue with one of my computers but it was the computer itself that was an issue rather than Planswift so once I had fixed the issue with the computer everything got better. Pros What I like about this software is that it is easy to install and manage. I also like the online portal where I can see all my licenses as well as what computers they are installed in and how long the license is valid for until it reactivates itself. The customer support is also great as I had remote support from them and they really stayed on there trying to solve the issue and escalated it to a supervisor when needed, Cons Not much to say about what I don't like since they did a really good job when I needed support with fixing an issue as well as it is overall easy to administer Review Source TD Trey D. HR Manager Construction Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great Tool" March 5, 2019 5.0 Able to do our job quicker and more accurate with this product Pros Easy to take of square footage, significantly faster than the old way of doing it by hand. It provides a one stop shop where all the drawings are. Customer service/training is available which is nice when you're trying to learn the program. Cons The only con we've found is that it takes a while to get set up Review Source CM Charlie M. Application Engineer Construction Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Solid Takeoff Software " January 4, 2017 4.0 Used this software for two years for Mechanical/Air Distribution Equipment Takeoff. It is quick and easy to perform counts and linear/area takeoffs. There were some minor glitches, but once I learned how to avoid them I had no problems with accuracy/ease of use. The software has a lot of potential for speeding up takeoff with custom columns/properties, templates, that require some set-up by the user. When I first got the software there was a great plug-in store that provided added features, but unfortunately, that has been taken down for the foreseeable future. My biggest complaint is that support does not seem to respond to many of my emails or takes a long time which is unacceptable given the cost of yearly maintenance/support. I did not use some of the tools like parts and reports, so I can't comment on those. Pros Easy to get started with takeoff (counts, linear, area) and organize your takeoff items Fast takeoff, quick to load new pages/zoom in and out Custom columns/properties allow for in software calculations Cons Have to import pages to the software, has proprietary plan swift job files that make sharing a bit harder. Some glitches such as takeoff items getting jumbled when exporting/importing Have to create folders for breakouts/separating takeoff by page (without plugins at least) which can make things like room schedules a bit tedious. Review Source mP mark P. Estimator Construction Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Problems with planswift" April 12, 2017 3.0 Over all it is a pretty good program I use it on a daily basis. Pros Easy to use, I like the many features and the overall functionality. The value is pretty good accept for the fact that you can no longer download previous versions. Cons Program crashes frequently Gets really slow when using Joist tool Sometimes when I do a measuring tool it skips back to another page. Don't like the way the program jumps around like when you start a takeoff item it will jump to another corner of the plans. Review Source MC Michael C. Operations Manager Construction Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Honest Review" August 8, 2019 5.0 Great. Getting quotes out in no time Pros It will allow you to take off plans in a fraction of the time compared to doing it with pen and paper. It can export all of your takeoff to Excel and makes sending quotes a breeze. Cons That i did not find out about this software sooner Review Source DL Derek L. PM Construction Used the software for: 2+ years ### "My Favorite Takeoff Software" November 22, 2018 4.0 Great! Its helped to increase productivity with takeoffs! Pros Its easy to use, intuitive, and great for any estimator with very little experience. Cons Often times you cannot overlay drawings how you'd like. Review Source Similar Products Featured ## Send me user reviews about this product ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox.