Square & Level / Guides
Estimating guides for contractors
Plain answers about takeoffs, estimate pricing and outsourcing your estimating.
- How much does a construction takeoff cost?
What outsourced construction takeoffs and estimates cost in 2026, how services price them (hourly, per trade, per project or monthly) and how to choose the right option for your bid volume.
- What is a construction takeoff?
A construction takeoff is the list of materials and quantities measured from a set of plans. Learn what goes into a takeoff, how it differs from an estimate, and what a good takeoff includes.
- Outsourcing your construction estimating: what to send and what to expect
How outsourced construction estimating works: what drawings to send, how fast you get a quote, what you receive and how to check the numbers before you bid.
- How to bid a drywall job, step by step
A step-by-step guide to bidding commercial and residential drywall jobs: reading the partition schedule, measuring walls and ceilings, converting to board and studs, labor, and markup.
- Residential vs. commercial estimating: what is different
How residential and commercial construction estimates differ: plans and specs, pricing methods, labor, schedules, bonds and markup, and what that means for your bids.
Need a takeoff this week? Send your plans and get a fixed quote in 2 hours. Single-trade takeoffs are $99, full estimates $249–$499, and monthly plans start at $299 for 4 takeoffs.
Send your plansSee pricingRequest a quote
Have a bid coming up? Send the plans.
Include the project address or city, the drawings, and your bid due date. You'll get a fixed quote within 2 hours during business hours.
See the format before you order. Each sample has marked-up plan sheets, a quantity takeoff by CSI section and a priced estimate:
Need another trade? Email us and we'll send a sample.