Performing accurate cost estimating is critical to the success of your construction business. Estimate too high and you win fewer jobs, too low and your profits disappear. That's why it's so important to get it right the first time.
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Estimating by hand is time-consuming, so at some point, you may consider using software to bid more jobs in less time. Although software can be a big investment, not every tool has to break the bank.
With interindividual variability of MAC of 10% and a starting concentration of 1.3%, 4% of 500 replicates yielded MAC estimates that differed more than 10% from the true value; 1% of the 500 replicates yielded a MAC estimate that differed more than 15% from the true value. With interindividual variability of MAC of 30%, approximately one third.
In this guide, we highlight five free and open source estimating and takeoff products to try if you're considering this type of solution for your construction business. We chose products that offer a stand-alone free or open source version, meet our definition for construction estimating software, and rank highly in search. (Learn more about how we chose featured products here.)
Here's what we'll cover:
- Free construction estimating and takeoff software
- Open source construction estimating and takeoff software
Free construction estimating and takeoff software
In most cases (but not all), free construction estimating and takeoff software options earn revenue by offering a basic free version to entice users to download, with premium features available for a price.
Focusrite saffire pro 40 driver for mac. As a result, you should note that the free version of the products listed below may not have all the features you need.
Easy-Pro Builders Estimator
N/A
No reviews yet
Overview: This is a 100% free tool that is based entirely on the Apache OpenOffice spreadsheet program Calc. It has two dozen worksheets that report back to a summary page in order to provide updated estimates.
Easy-Pro Builders Estimator was created by a construction manager who wanted to serve smaller construction firms looking for an accurate and simple program that was free.
The software also comes with a 20-page manual so you can get up to speed on how the program works and you're not simply left in the dark to figure it out yourself.
Some features include:
- Adjustable taxation rates depending on which country you are in
- Client unbilled reporting
- Printable project reports
- Compatible with Windows, Linux
- 24 trade worksheets available
Estimator 2.0
5.0/5
1 review
Overview: Estimator 2.0 is aimed at architects, builders, engineers, and construction companies that want to create detailed estimates for residential and commercial buildings. Estimator 2.0 allows users to prepare tenders, a cost abstract, purchase orders, and other documents needed for a proper estimation.
The free program lets you create an estimation and then print it out, ideal for those who are pressed for time and want to quickly make an estimation without having to spend a lot of money on premier software.
Estimator lets construction companies create estimates for a host of construction projects, including concrete structures, earth work, masonry, plastering, and more.
Some features include:
- An extensive tutorial for new users
- Quickly generate an estimate and then print it out
- Prepares tenders, cost abstracts, and purchase orders
- Compatibility with Windows
STACK Takeoff & Estimating Software
4.46/5
950+ reviews
Overview: STACK offers free construction software aimed at firms looking to streamline the bid process and accurately estimate materials, equipment, and labor. The software also provides access to an 'extensive library of prebuilt, industry-specific material libraries,' according to its website. It generates an estimate based on your input of how much of each material will be needed and what labor, equipment, and overhead will be involved.
The Logitech G Pro is ambidextrous, which means you won't find any curves on this mean beast. Best wireless gaming mouse multi button. What's more, if the charge runs out, you can connect it via the USB-C charger and go about your business.Users recommend it for its ergonomic design and comfortable fit, and so far it has managed to collect an average of 4.3-stars out of 5 on Amazon.
The software is cloud-based and therefore can be accessed from anywhere there is an internet connection. It is also compatible with all types of platforms, from smartphones to desktop computers.
STACK also includes training with the software for free. A full-featured version is available for purchase.
Some features include:
- Ability to upload digital plans
- Takeoff tools that provide shortcuts for measurements, making it quicker to produce a takeoff
- Prebuilt reports to provide insights to inform your estimates
- Cloud-based
- Free training
Invoices And Estimates For Mac
Open source construction estimating and takeoff software
Open source construction estimating and takeoff platforms are also free, but they have an additional wrinkle: the original source code is available. There are some benefits and drawbacks to this you should be aware of.
The benefits are that in addition to being free, you will be able to customize and adapt the software to fit your individual business.
The drawback comes up if you don't have the know-how to mess with original source code. Lack of technical ability could become a problem if the software needs improvement down the road to fit your firm.
2-plan Team Software
4.50/5
5 reviews
Overview: 2-plan Team is a project management platform geared toward construction firms, and among its three PM tools is an open-source desktop system that can be used for multiple projects and teams. It is mostly meant for managing the entirety of a construction project as opposed to just estimating and takeoff, but there are tools available for that purpose as well.
The source code for 2-plan Team has been published at SourceForge, where you can download it for free. It can be installed on any LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL-4 or higher, PHP-5.1) server, and it may work on some Windows servers.
Some features include:
- Manage virtual teams with shared online workspaces
- View the status of multiple projects at the same time with the Project Dashboard
- Tracks time on mobile devices
- Ability to share estimates and budgets with clients, partners, teams, and staff
- Ability to manage teams via mobile devices
ESTIMATE
N/A
No reviews yet
Overview: ESTIMATE is a cloud-based, open-source option that has been released under GNU Affero General Public License. It's a community-support project, which means the source code is freely available to anyone who wants to customize it for their own construction firm—ideal for construction managers with a little coding know-how.
ESTIMATE aims to be a simple and fast tool that can be adapted to any firm's size.
Some features include:
- Ability to archive projects and documents for reference
- Can have up to 200 users
- Can create reports in PDF, complete with tables and charts
- A centralized database for backup
Why you must also consider paid solutions
Free and open source estimating software is a great stepping stone for many small construction firms—especially those using software for the first time. But as job volume increases, paid software often becomes the better choice.
Why? Higher job volume and company growth means more people, processes, and training are necessary to estimate and complete projects. Paid software offers more 'out-of-the-box' functionality than free software, as well as training, support, and integration with other critical applications, such as accounting and construction management software.
Fortunately, there are affordable estimating and takeoff products that also offer free trials. With a free trial, you can try before you buy and avoid purchasing a product your team won't like.
You'll get more functionality
When you opt for free and open source platforms, you get what you pay for a lot of the time. There are a lot of special features that can really take your business to the next level—like customized reports and detailed time tracking—that you may not get with a free option. So while you may save a few bucks on software, you're spending a lot more in lost savings and opportunities.
The software will be more usable
Free and open source platforms can also be a lot more challenging for an organization to use. You'll have to do your own troubleshooting and maintenance, and you may have a hard time just learning the software with no help.
To help ensure your software search is sufficiently thorough, download this list of top-rated paid software systems and their offerings:
3 Best Construction Estimating and Takeoff Systems Backed by User Reviews
Download this guide to see top construction estimating and takeoff systems based on real user reviews.
How we chose featured products
For the purposes of this article, we classified a product as free if it offers a free, stand-alone version of the software, and it is not just a trial version of the software that requires you to purchase it after a period of time.
The products that met the above criteria were then evaluated against our construction estimating software definition: Construction estimating software helps estimators calculate material and labor costs for a job and then produce a detailed, professional bid proposal from those estimates. Specialized estimating tools are often used to handle trade-specific requirements, such as electrical, HVAC, plumbing, or earthworks/excavating estimating.
We determined the most popular products to feature by choosing those highest ranked in Google search results for 'free construction estimating software' during the week of Aug. 5, 2019.
Select version: Select version:Use Calculator to perform basic, advanced, or programmer calculations. If your Mac has a Touch Bar, you can easily do quick calculations—without even moving the pointer.
Tip: To learn a key's function, hold the pointer over the key to see its help tag.
Change the calculator
In the Calculator app on your Mac, choose an option from the View menu:
Basic: Perform simple arithmetic operations.
Scientific: Use memory functions and perform advanced calculations involving fractions, powers, roots, exponents, logarithms, trigonometry, and more.
Programmer: Perform binary, octal, decimal, and hexadecimal calculations, including bitwise operations. You can also view the ASCII and Unicode characters represented by the current value.
Convert values
In the Calculator app on your Mac, enter the original value, choose Convert in the menu bar, then choose a category, such as Temperature or Currency.
Note: You must be connected to the internet to get the most recent currency conversion rate.
Round results
In the Calculator app on your Mac, choose View > Decimal Places, then choose the number of decimal places to display. Calculator stores the full value and displays the rounded value. If the displayed value shows fewer decimal places than you specified, the undisplayed decimal places are zeros.
Enter complex equations using Reverse Polish Notation (RPN)
In the Calculator app on your Mac, choose View > RPN Mode.
The stack is shown in Calculator's display, the Equal Sign key (=) becomes the Enter key, and four keys appear for manipulating numbers on the stack.
Do any of the following:
Swap the bottom two numbers on the stack: Click the Exchange Registers key .
Move the most recently entered number up or down on the stack: Click the Roll Up key or Roll Down key .
Remove the bottom number from the stack: Click the Drop key.
Correct unexpected results
In the Calculator app on your Mac, do any of the following:
Repeat the calculation, keeping in mind that Calculator uses the fundamental order of operations to evaluate expressions. For example, multiplication operations are completed before addition and subtraction.
If the programmer calculator displays numbers in an unexpected format, change to octal, decimal, or hexadecimal format: click the 8, 10, or 16 key, respectively, under the calculator's display. Or use the basic or scientific calculator.
If the result contains no decimal points:
Choose View > Basic or View > Scientific, because the programmer calculator truncates all digits after the decimal point. For example, if you enter 99 / 10 =, the result is 9. Use the basic or scientific calculator to get more precise results.
Choose View > Decimal Places (in any calculator), because the number of decimal places may be set incorrectly and the calculator rounds the result. For example, if decimal places is set to zero and you enter 99 / 10 =, the result is 10.
If you're not sure you entered the calculation correctly, use the Paper Tape (choose Window > Show Paper Tape) to review what you entered.
If you prefer to display a comma separator, choose View > Show Thousands Separators to display the comma in larger numbers.
Use keyboard shortcuts
In the Calculator app on your Mac, use keyboard shortcuts to quickly enter calculations; the shortcuts vary based on the type of calculator you're using.
All calculator types
Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
Clear | Esc C key |
Clear All | Option-Esc |
Negate the displayed value | Option-Minus Sign (–) |
Percent | Percent Sign (%) |
Divide | Forward Slash (/) |
Multiply | Asterisk (*) |
Subtract | Minus Sign (–) |
Add | Plus Sign (+) |
Equal | Equal Sign (=) |
Remove the most recently entered digit or letter | Delete key |
Scientific calculator
Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
Raise the displayed value to the power of the next value entered | Caret (^) |
Calculate the natural logarithm of the displayed value | E key |
Calculate the factorial of the displayed value | Exclamation Point (!) |
Exponential notation | Shift-E |
RPN Mode
Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
Swap the bottom two numbers on the stack | Command-E |
Move the most recently entered number up on the stack | Command-Up Arrow |
Move the most recently entered number down on the stack | Command-Down Arrow |
Remove the bottom number from the stack | Command-Delete |
Free Calculator For Mac
To show a running list of your calculations, choose Window > Show Paper Tape.
When you opt for free and open source platforms, you get what you pay for a lot of the time. There are a lot of special features that can really take your business to the next level—like customized reports and detailed time tracking—that you may not get with a free option. So while you may save a few bucks on software, you're spending a lot more in lost savings and opportunities.
The software will be more usable
Free and open source platforms can also be a lot more challenging for an organization to use. You'll have to do your own troubleshooting and maintenance, and you may have a hard time just learning the software with no help.
To help ensure your software search is sufficiently thorough, download this list of top-rated paid software systems and their offerings:
3 Best Construction Estimating and Takeoff Systems Backed by User Reviews
Download this guide to see top construction estimating and takeoff systems based on real user reviews.
How we chose featured products
For the purposes of this article, we classified a product as free if it offers a free, stand-alone version of the software, and it is not just a trial version of the software that requires you to purchase it after a period of time.
The products that met the above criteria were then evaluated against our construction estimating software definition: Construction estimating software helps estimators calculate material and labor costs for a job and then produce a detailed, professional bid proposal from those estimates. Specialized estimating tools are often used to handle trade-specific requirements, such as electrical, HVAC, plumbing, or earthworks/excavating estimating.
We determined the most popular products to feature by choosing those highest ranked in Google search results for 'free construction estimating software' during the week of Aug. 5, 2019.
Select version: Select version:Use Calculator to perform basic, advanced, or programmer calculations. If your Mac has a Touch Bar, you can easily do quick calculations—without even moving the pointer.
Tip: To learn a key's function, hold the pointer over the key to see its help tag.
Change the calculator
In the Calculator app on your Mac, choose an option from the View menu:
Basic: Perform simple arithmetic operations.
Scientific: Use memory functions and perform advanced calculations involving fractions, powers, roots, exponents, logarithms, trigonometry, and more.
Programmer: Perform binary, octal, decimal, and hexadecimal calculations, including bitwise operations. You can also view the ASCII and Unicode characters represented by the current value.
Convert values
In the Calculator app on your Mac, enter the original value, choose Convert in the menu bar, then choose a category, such as Temperature or Currency.
Note: You must be connected to the internet to get the most recent currency conversion rate.
Round results
In the Calculator app on your Mac, choose View > Decimal Places, then choose the number of decimal places to display. Calculator stores the full value and displays the rounded value. If the displayed value shows fewer decimal places than you specified, the undisplayed decimal places are zeros.
Enter complex equations using Reverse Polish Notation (RPN)
In the Calculator app on your Mac, choose View > RPN Mode.
The stack is shown in Calculator's display, the Equal Sign key (=) becomes the Enter key, and four keys appear for manipulating numbers on the stack.
Do any of the following:
Swap the bottom two numbers on the stack: Click the Exchange Registers key .
Move the most recently entered number up or down on the stack: Click the Roll Up key or Roll Down key .
Remove the bottom number from the stack: Click the Drop key.
Correct unexpected results
In the Calculator app on your Mac, do any of the following:
Repeat the calculation, keeping in mind that Calculator uses the fundamental order of operations to evaluate expressions. For example, multiplication operations are completed before addition and subtraction.
If the programmer calculator displays numbers in an unexpected format, change to octal, decimal, or hexadecimal format: click the 8, 10, or 16 key, respectively, under the calculator's display. Or use the basic or scientific calculator.
If the result contains no decimal points:
Choose View > Basic or View > Scientific, because the programmer calculator truncates all digits after the decimal point. For example, if you enter 99 / 10 =, the result is 9. Use the basic or scientific calculator to get more precise results.
Choose View > Decimal Places (in any calculator), because the number of decimal places may be set incorrectly and the calculator rounds the result. For example, if decimal places is set to zero and you enter 99 / 10 =, the result is 10.
If you're not sure you entered the calculation correctly, use the Paper Tape (choose Window > Show Paper Tape) to review what you entered.
If you prefer to display a comma separator, choose View > Show Thousands Separators to display the comma in larger numbers.
Use keyboard shortcuts
In the Calculator app on your Mac, use keyboard shortcuts to quickly enter calculations; the shortcuts vary based on the type of calculator you're using.
All calculator types
Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
Clear | Esc C key |
Clear All | Option-Esc |
Negate the displayed value | Option-Minus Sign (–) |
Percent | Percent Sign (%) |
Divide | Forward Slash (/) |
Multiply | Asterisk (*) |
Subtract | Minus Sign (–) |
Add | Plus Sign (+) |
Equal | Equal Sign (=) |
Remove the most recently entered digit or letter | Delete key |
Scientific calculator
Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
Raise the displayed value to the power of the next value entered | Caret (^) |
Calculate the natural logarithm of the displayed value | E key |
Calculate the factorial of the displayed value | Exclamation Point (!) |
Exponential notation | Shift-E |
RPN Mode
Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
Swap the bottom two numbers on the stack | Command-E |
Move the most recently entered number up on the stack | Command-Up Arrow |
Move the most recently entered number down on the stack | Command-Down Arrow |
Remove the bottom number from the stack | Command-Delete |
Free Calculator For Mac
To show a running list of your calculations, choose Window > Show Paper Tape.
To perform advanced calculations involving equations and graphs, use the Grapher app.
Estimates For Cars
