Both tools let you take off a set of plans in the cloud. Only EstiMate turns that takeoff into a priced estimate, a scope of work, an invoice and a QuickBooks sync — without ever leaving the app.
No credit card required. Upload a PDF plan set and measure in minutes.
A takeoff is a means to an end — the number you hand the client. In EstiMate the measurement and the money live in the same job.
Upload your PDF drawing set, calibrate scale, and drop count pins, linear lengths and area regions — grouped into zones as you draw.
Turn quantities into line items with your labor rates, assemblies and margins — no re-keying into a second app.
Parse the spec book into CSI sections and auto-generate a scope of work that matches what you measured.
Send an invoice with AIA-style progress billing and sync it to QuickBooks Online.
Where the two tools overlap, and where the job continues after the takeoff is done.
| Capability | zzTakeoff | EstiMate |
|---|---|---|
| Cloud PDF takeoff | Yes | Yes — upload your PDF plan set |
| Snap, ortho & measurement aids | Yes | Yes |
| Count, linear & area measurement | Yes — incl. box mode & cutouts | Yes — count pins, measured LF lines, SF areas |
| AI assistance on drawings | Yes — AI page renaming & auto-scaling | Yes — AI device counting with human review + cost preview, plus free offline Auto Count |
| Scale calibration | Yes — auto page scaling | Yes — two-point and title-block calibration |
| Real-time team collaboration | Yes | No — single editor today |
| Priced estimate from the takeoff | Export quantities to Excel, then price elsewhere | Built in — push to labor rates, assemblies & margins |
| Scope of work | — | Auto-generated from your takeoff & spec book |
| Invoicing & progress billing | — | Built in — AIA-style progress billing |
| QuickBooks Online sync | — | Yes |
zzTakeoff is built to measure and hand clean quantities to whatever estimating tool you price in. EstiMate keeps the priced bid in the same place you measured it. A “—” means the capability sits outside zzTakeoff's takeoff-focused scope, based on its public materials.
Similar starting price. Very different scope of what is included.
Cloud takeoff and measurement, priced per user. Quantities export to Excel, then you price and invoice the job in a separate tool.
Takeoff, priced estimating, scope of work, invoicing with progress billing and QuickBooks sync — included, not add-ons. Professional is $99/mo when you need more.
You upload your PDF plan set straight into EstiMate and take off from there. EstiMate does not read proprietary zzTakeoff or PlanSwift project files — those stay inside their own tools. Since drawing sets are almost always shared as PDFs, you're ready to go either way.
Both, and that's the point. You measure on the plans — counts, linear lengths, areas and zones — then push those quantities into a priced estimate with your labor rates, assemblies and margins. There's no export-and-re-import round trip to a separate estimating app.
No. EstiMate carries the job from takeoff to a priced bid to an invoice, including AIA-style progress billing, and syncs to QuickBooks Online.
No. Every AI run shows a cost preview before it fires, so vision never spends without your go-ahead. Counts land flagged for your review, and EstiMate warns you before any unreviewed AI count reaches an estimate. There's also a free, offline Auto Count for symbols that costs nothing to run.
Upload a PDF drawing set, measure it, and watch it become a priced, invoiceable estimate — all in EstiMate.