# Page 2 | On-Screen Takeoff Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra > Page 2 - Is On-Screen Takeoff the right Takeoff solution for you? Explore 155 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/121585/On-Screen-Takeoff/reviews --- On-Screen Takeoff 4.3 (155) [View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/121585/On-Screen-Takeoff/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 March 13th, 2026 # Page 2 - Reviews of On-Screen Takeoff ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 26-50 of 155 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use CV Chris V. Senior Project Manager Construction Used the software for: 2+ years ### "On Screen Takeoff Review from a Construction Professional" April 30, 2025 5.0 Overall, I really enjoy using On Screen Takeoff. This software is a great tool for those looking for an easy use and learn estimating software. Pros Very easy to use platform for doing your takeoffs digitally. Working in Multifamily construction, this software is a must have for estimating. Cons Learning how to import your blueprints into the software was a little tricky at first. Luckily, On Screen Takeoff has great customer service and help videos within the software itself. Switched from [Bluebeam Revu](https://www.capterra.com/p/121586/Bluebeam-PDF-Revu/) After learning what On Screen Takeoff capabilities were during the demo stage, it was an easy decision to switch to On Screen Takeoff Review Source ME Marvin E. Estimator - Project Manager Construction Used the software for: 2+ years ### "The Best Estimating Software" January 20, 2025 5.0 I have been using this software for almost five years, and it's been the correct tool to get the work done, bids have been awarded, and the results have been great. Software is easy to use and with the right training and knowledge, which is very well provided, we can provide accurate budgets for our customers. Pros What I like most about On-Screen Takeoff is its capability to work on server level, that has allowed the team to work more efficiently and share information, and review projects, all in the same place. Cons Although this is optional, but we got the Takeoff Boost, but personally, I haven't used it a lot, I prefer to do the job manually because of different reasons. Review Source AC Andy C. Estimator Construction Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Behind the times" September 6, 2024 3.0 It was suitable for an inexperienced estimator but not for long term use. Pros I liked the ability to accurately estimate radius' and curved structures. Cons The thing I liked the least about On-Screen Takeoff was the speed to download. Review Source Jeff E. Senior Estimator Construction Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Used to be the bomb!" July 25, 2019 4.0 I used it regularly for more than 2 years and the company considered me a 'power user. Unfortunately, when I changed companies, I could not justify the pricing for the result it produced compared to other programs available now. Pros I't fairly easy to learn and integrate. It's visual and it's fairly robust. If you also pay for QuickBids, it integrates well with that. The tech help service is outstanding. Cons It's limited on what it can do. It must convert a PDF file, with it's rich underset of information, to a TIF file, which is just an overlay. The reports are basic at best and there is no help with modifying those at all. Review Source Mark D. Estimator Used the software for: 2+ years ### "The best takeoff software I've used, albeit a little pricey." December 19, 2017 5.0 Fast reliable estimates Pros It's fast and easy to use once it's setup. Does most things well. For most estimators, this is the software you want. If you have the funds, it's worth getting On-Screen Takeoff & QuickBid together. When you start to delve into it's various features you really see some great ways to save time. E.g. Typical Areas, Style Sets, Layers, Copying Bids, etc. I'd highly advise setting up one or more Template bids and copying the relevant one every time you have a new bid to do. Saves a ton of time. I'd highly recommend this software. Cons There are some features it could have which would make it better. E.g. Auto-Page labeling, automatic page links, etc. Database has issues from time to time. E.g. It disconnects from it's sister software QuickBid - which can cause problems. But that's not too often and possibly related to my computer? On it's own it's just OK, but with QuickBid it's really great. Quickbid is a separate purchase. The price would be the biggest issue I see with this software. It's quite expensive. Kind of precludes smaller businesses from buying it. Which is unfortunate, since it's possibly the best takeoff software out there. I could have bought a small family car for the price of the two licenses I purchased for my business (that was along with sister software QuickBid) Review Source KL Klaus L. Project Estimator Construction Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Great Takeoff Software" May 8, 2018 5.0 Great software if you need to do professional quantity takeoffs Pros This product offers you a lot of options to structure your takeoff: - Conditions: This is the main structure to organize your takeoff. Fully customizable, conditions can be used as a CSI-Code structure. - Layers: Similar to CAD-Software, you can create layers (even as Master layers which will be available for all projects) and assign a layer to each takeoff. Turning layers on/off helps you to work with multiple takeoffs on one drawing. - Zones: Creating zones (and organize them on a separate layer) helps to split your takeoff according to the zones - fully automated! - Takeoffs: Each takeoff can have up to three different quantities - whatever you need. Takeoff description: each takeoff (condition) has a name as well as a field for notes where you can put a full description of your item. - Multi-takeoff: This is an outstanding feature, saving a lot of time: mark several conditions (takeoff-items) and do your takeoff: the takeoff will be done for each of the simultaneously! - Second window: the program allows you to open a second window, to have another drawing (details etc.) open while you work on your first drawing. - Overlay: changes in drawings can made visible by using the new drawing as an overlay on top of the old drawing: you will automatically see, what changed. There are much more pros and features available than any other takeoff software. This is the great thing about a software that is a takeoff software and nothing else: the software does not pretend to be an estimating software and by focusing on takeoff, the software does a great job. Online descriptions are available for almost every issue you might run in. Cons The software is missing only one feature: to assign a different condition to a specific takeoff is not available (up to now). Review Source TH Tamera H. Sr. Preconstruction Manager Construction Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Preferred over Plan Swift" August 20, 2018 5.0 I work in multi-family construction and need to be able to do quick conceptual estimates and the later detailed estimates that require more takeoff. I've been using OST for the takeoff for the last 11 years. I love it. Pros OST is easy to get up and running. It's intuitive and user friendly. I was recently introduced to PlanSwift - a competitor to OST and it was overly complicated. It was hard to figure out how to go in and just take the SF of a room. With OST it's a breeze to take a simple measurement or do more extensive takeoff without needing an owners manual or even a tutorial. Cons Is the difficulty in naming sheets that are imported in. It's cumbersome and time consuming. It also makes it hard to relink to a different folder location. The high cost for a single license is prohibitive to the freelance estimator and forces us to use alternative programs that aren't as efficient. I wish there was a way to make it cheaper for sole proprietorship businesses in the construction industry. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Estimator Construction Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Best Take off software I have ever used" January 23, 2019 5.0 Speed, performance & accuracy Pros It takes just as I need it and whenever I want to push it further I find it already does what I want it to. the updates are often and always work. Cons If I were looking for a CON really hard I would have to say the only thing that fails this software is look. the user interface is dated and could use some bringing into the modern age Review Source Quinn K. Estimator/Project Manager Construction Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great for large Jobs" December 10, 2018 5.0 at first i did not stick to a specific process and my take-off got messy and difficult for others to understand. Once i figured out a system, I stuck to it and the results were clear. My take-offs are clean and easy to understand. My production has more than doubled and the results are better. Pros The organization of the take-off items is great. Easy to export the results and easy to use...once you have learned the software. As long as i stick to my workflow i created i do not have any problems. Cons If you get off you order of operations or workflow...it can get a bit messy. Use the layers and stick to a color scheme that fits the jobs. figure it out and be consistent with it and it will work amazing. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Project Manager Construction Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Good quality and easy to use." November 14, 2017 4.0 Pros Most of my customers use this. Which allows me to export the OSP file and send to them to review. Easy to export and categorize areas. Cons Can't have multiple people log in to the software at one time to have a compiled take off. So after a project is complete with multiple people working on it. I need to compile all of the files into one OSP file. Review Source Response from ConstructConnect November 15, 2017 Thank you for your feedback. We are proud to have customers like you as part of the On Center family. If you are looking for a way to have multiple people login and compile a takeoff, you should look at Oasis Takeoff to see if it might fit you needs. Oasis Takeoff allows for "team estimating" inside the same project. TR Tim R. Estimating Manager / Lead Estimator Construction Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Horrible customer service" October 3, 2016 3.0 I have used both Quick bid and Ost for about 4 years now and the company i work for has used it a bit longer. The person who trained me was a very early user of the product. Compared to a scale and a spread sheet this product is awesome. However as we started growing as a company and getting more users product became glitchy. at that time we where told to move to a sql database (They do not support SQL but do recommend it as a solution to issues.) Since this time the support that we pay quite well for yearly is about useless as they go thru the motions like they want to help then say we do not support sql so we can not help you. At one point i had issues approving a change order that i made called support they mentioned yes that is an issue here is a workaround because that feature only works about half the time.(Really!) Basically it seems that whenever we have an issue their "Excellent" support team has issues telling us anything other than it is somehow our fault, yet every time they recommend us to do something a specific way we oblige. In short this product could be amazing however they need to get with the times and start supporting what they recommend. Pros Takeoff program works very well, lots of different options to show differences in conditions. Quick bid works well sometimes. and you can customize the naming conventions, link items, and do multi condition takeoff. As i mentioned if it wasn't for the poor support and the horrible recommendation to switch to sql that they do not support i would probably be writing a completely different review. Cons Customer service they will answer phone and call you back. I think it's so they can tell you that they cant help or support you. Review Source RS Ryan S. Construction Estimator Architecture & Planning Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Custom Home Builder Review" August 14, 2018 5.0 I love OST it can be used in so many different ways it's my favorite program for manipulating just about any type of file. Pros OST is flexable software, meaning it can be manipulated to conform to any/every trade. It is an amazing tool that makes any estimators take-off portion of the job quick and easy. Cons There is not much I do not like about OST, but... - some times I could more color selections differentiation for take-off conditions - Also it would be nice if i could freeze dimension takeoffs to either only move vertically or latterally respectively. - Also if dimensions could be a default layer separate from annotation that would be awesome. Sometimes i want to have annotations but do not need the dimensions and i have to delete all the dimensions on the page to only show the annotation that i want. Review Source TC Tim C. Senior Estimator Construction Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Satisfied Customer" June 7, 2017 5.0 I've used OST for 10 years and overall satisfied. I think for the annual service fee, there should be more upgrades than once every 2 years or so. We have used tech support maybe once a year if that and the owner of the business doesn't think that justifies the annual cost. Pros It's easy and quick to use and easy to train others. I like and use the overlay function a lot. I also like the intelligent paste function as well for repetitious items. Cons Only 1 overlay possible, needs ability to remove the original plan and add an additional overlay as plans change (i.e.,80% dwgs to 90% dwgs to final dwgs. The 90% supersede the 80% and now we have final. A new bid file has to be created and the takeoff copied to the new file for adjustments) Database bogs down on very large projects Auto count feature doesn't work very well on scanned plans Review Source CB Chris B. Estimating Warehousing Used the software for: 2+ years ### "On Screen Takeoff the Equilizer" August 17, 2018 5.0 The On Screen Takeoff program along with the support provided by On Center is a great combo for anyone looking to standardize and get better control of their takeoff and bids. My experience has been nothing but the best from Training, to implementation, and support throughout the past few years. Pros Allows me to constantly and quickly take off plans that used to take all day to provide. Cons The software has been awesome for me in many ways but I wish it was more report friendly for people who are working outside of the standard databases and reporting schemes. I had to build my database from the ground up and how we export and report that information isn't typical for OST. Trying to build custom reports and exports has been challenging but On Center support was always there to help or at least let me know that I have hit a dead end. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Quantity Surveyor Construction Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Ideas going forward" August 15, 2018 4.0 Support is outstanding and helpful. And learning a new system to bring into our business has been awesome for job understanding and reviewing especially back costing Pros I like the changeable nature of the plan take offs. I can adjust quickly and return to understanding where I was up to quickly Cons I believe it need to have a time measure on working on each project so it can be tracked Review Source JU Jeffrey U. Principal Architecture & Planning Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Misleading Company" August 26, 2019 1.0 Pros Nothing is wrong with the software. I only have a problem with their unfair policy and practices. Cons I was promised that the on-center takeoff software could work with their cloud platform Oasis before I purchased. I found out afterwards this wasn't true. But their policy was not to refund although they made a promise that was false showing they value money over principles. Very misleading and I am sickened by the way they do business. Be very careful when dealing and purchasing their products. Better yet don't get involved in the first place. Review Source LC Lorna C. Senior Estimator Construction Used the software for: 2+ years ### "I love OnScreen" October 29, 2018 5.0 Very positive experience. It's made my life a whole lot easier. I can easily take off concrete, steel, MEP, etc., and it's a very organized program. It's like coloring for adults. Pros This software has made estimating so much more efficient, accurate, and easy. I learned to estimate by hand, and those days were so much harder than now. I can handle so many more trades and estimates alone that I would have been able to just a decade ago. Cons There needs to be more symbols available for our use such as Mechanical, Fire Suppression Piping, and Electrical symbols. That would be helpful. Review Source MA Muhammad A. Landscape estimator Construction Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Easy to use but has an upfront cost" August 7, 2020 5.0 So far it has been a very useful and easy program to use you can break down items based on categories you want and have sub categories it Also has a built in labor and price calculator if you want to use it. i usually count in OST then take it to excel. Pros OST is a very easy to use tool to do take offs with and what we like most about it is : 1- Fast Counts for areas, Linear feet, And counts. 2- you can overlay different versions of the plan on top of each other the old will be red and new blue that way you can see purple if noting changed or moved and blue if something changed. 3- easy to export to excel or other programs. 4- quick click links so you can jump between plan and detail fast. Cons 1-2 people cant be in the same file at the same time and edit. 2- gets laggy with larger files and count items ( over 700 in one page from what i have seen) 3- Price. 4- cant Layer more than 2 drawings at the same time Reason for choosing On-Screen Takeoff fast to use for counts Review Source LL Les L. Senior Estimator Construction Used the software for: 2+ years ### "The best takeoff I have ever used." August 15, 2018 5.0 I have been using On-Screen Takeoff for about 16 years and I have always been impressed with the ease of use, support and the upgrades that have been made through the years. I can do a takeoff of a large commercial building in a fraction of the time it would take me to do it with a ruler or takeoff wheel and it is extremely more accurate. I am able to bid a lot more work with the On-Screen Takeoff program. Another benefit is you end up with a color-coded plan that you or someone else such as a project manger can look at and see what you did. Pros Its easy to learn to use and if you get stuck on something the support staff are there to help and they have never laughed at my dumb questions. Cons I don’t know if there is anything I don’t like about it, but I wish you could copy text or images from a plan sheet and past them into a word document. Review Source JM Jaime M. Chief Estimator Construction Used the software for: 2+ years ### "As an estimator this program makes my life much easier. Can breakdown my estimate any way I want." May 23, 2017 5.0 It not possible to mention them all here. Better accuracy in our estimates. Greater flexibility with our estimates too. Can change conditions very easily if necessary. Our field personnel loves it too. Were able to print all of the plans from any project and breakdown the estimate by floor or zone or phase. Pros This program is great for our office and field personnel. Both can see the entire scope of work to be performed and know where each condition is to be applied on each floor of our jobs. Allows for better management of our labor hours and cost accounting too! Cons That I cannot download it on my iPhone! I have absolutely no complaints, I love, I use it everyday and I enjoy all of the features too! Just wish I could take it with me everywhere I went. Review Source Joshua D. Application Support Engineer II Construction Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Efficient and accurate estimation made easy" August 22, 2019 5.0 Estimating/Bidding/Takeoff. I primarily supported the roll-out and work with support if any issues come up. Pros The most obvious feature of OST is the intuitive user interface. This allows for easy use by estimators and project managers as it requires little to no training to be up and running and utilizing the calculation and estimation features. Auto-count with OCR saves tons of time by automatically counting all similar objects. So a plan with 100 plus fixtures will calculate easily and seamlessly. Another feature that is incredibly useful is the overlay functionality. Allowing architects/estimators/project managers to compare plan iterations and instantly see what's changed between two specs. Cons I haven't experienced or heard of anyone experiencing any difficulty with OST. Reason for choosing On-Screen Takeoff OST had the best features for us. Review Source mario P. Managing Member Construction Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Works well Easy to use" August 17, 2018 5.0 Allows drawing takeoffs to be completed very quickly. Pros Captures take off data which is easily inserted into excel for you to use in a standard spreadsheet. Cons It is not truly backwards compatible. Newer takeoff data will not work in an older version of the software. Review Source JL Joey L. Estimator Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Been using QB since 03 started using OST in 14, CAN NOT imagine going back to ole manual method!" May 31, 2017 5.0 Pros In OST it is possible to become very creative in how you make conditions, it allows you to build your take-offs in a manner that makes sense to you, and you are able to constantly refine and make adjustments to the way you do things, which allows for faster take-offs. And the progression just continues. Also the tech team that comes with the subscription cannot be beat, those people are the best software fix my stuff in a heartbeat group...period paragraph no more conversation about it!!! Cons Sometimes the General Exceptions box pops up and when it closes it resets some of my preferences, however its very simple to readjust and be moving again. Review Source MA Muhammad A. Landscape estimator Construction Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "When you need a simple and easy to use takeoff program" November 3, 2019 4.0 We use OST to count items on landscape plans we get the plans from the landscape architect and civil engineer, we import them and count the conditions then after that we take the counts from excel and price every line in excel OST has a feature to do that but not as easy to mainupulate Pros What I like about OST is it’s easy to use you can get the hang of the Badi oh very quickly and it helps you count items onscreen from a pdf plan or TIFF file. Measures distances, counts and areas. Cons Sometimes it freezes on some plans that are heaven such as a lot of counts (over 6000) items on on plan, and crashes even when it can’t convert a file from a civil engineer Review Source JS Jeff S. Project Manager Construction Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Accurate and easy to use" September 18, 2017 5.0 The ability to quickly and accurately develop complete estimates for our clients. Pros The accuracy and ease of use to get started has been great and then once you get into it you realize that there is so much more to the program and that you are only scratching the surface of what the software can do. Cons The feeling that if I only had more time to commit to explore the software I would be able to do so much more with it. 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.