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Part of: What Is a Takeoff in Construction? How to Do One From Plans

Takeoff vs Estimate: What's the Difference?

The difference between a takeoff and an estimate comes down to quantities vs pricing. A takeoff measures how much of each item the job needs: square feet of drywall, linear feet of base, the number of doors. An estimate takes those quantities and prices them, adding material cost, labor, overhead and profit until you have a number to bid.

What is the difference between a takeoff and an estimate?

A takeoff answers "how much?" and an estimate answers "how much will it cost?" The takeoff is a list of measured quantities pulled from the plans. The estimate applies unit costs, labor, overhead and markup to that list. You always do the construction takeoff first, because the estimate is built on its numbers.

Wikipedia's entry on cost estimates describes the same order of work. The estimator first takes off the project scope by "itemizing it into line items with measured quantities," then applies costs to each line and adds them up.

What goes into a takeoff?

A takeoff holds quantities and nothing else. Every line is an item, an amount and a unit: 1,240 SF of wall, 265 LF of base, 9 EA doors. There are no dollar signs on it.

Wikipedia defines a quantity takeoff as "a detailed measurement of materials and labor needed to complete a construction project." A material takeoff is the narrower version, covering materials only. Most takeoffs measure four kinds of things:

• Areas in square feet, such as floors, walls, ceilings and slabs
• Lengths in linear feet, such as base, trim, fence and curb
• Counts in each, such as doors, windows, fixtures and outlets
• Volumes in cubic feet or cubic yards, such as concrete and fill

How you get those numbers is a separate choice. Some estimators still work from paper with a scale ruler and highlighters, and others measure the PDF on screen. The tradeoffs are covered in manual vs digital takeoff.

What does an estimate add on top of the quantities?

An estimate adds every cost the quantities do not show. That starts with material cost per unit and labor per unit, then picks up the costs that are not tied to one line item.

The cost estimate entry splits these into two groups. Direct costs can be tied to the project itself, including general requirements such as project management and temporary facilities. Indirect costs include overhead, profit, sales or use taxes, bonds, escalation and contingency.

The same source draws a line between cost and price: "the cost is what something costs you to build, and price is what you charge another party." The takeoff feeds the cost side. Your markup turns cost into price.

How does a takeoff turn into an estimate?

Each takeoff line becomes an estimate line. You multiply the quantity by your material and labor cost per unit, then add the job-level costs and markup once at the bottom. One clean way to run it:

1. Measure the plans and record each quantity with its unit (SF, LF, EA).
2. Add your waste allowance to the material quantities, not to the labor quantities.
3. Convert to purchase units: square feet to sheets or boxes, square feet to gallons, cubic feet to yards.
4. Multiply each line by your material cost per unit and your labor cost per unit.
5. Add job costs that do not belong to a single line, such as permits, equipment and mobilization.
6. Add overhead and profit, check the total against similar past jobs, and write the proposal.

A painter, for example, might take off 1,240 SF of walls, 610 SF of ceilings and 265 LF of base from one floor. The estimate then prices each of those three lines at that painter's own rates. The takeoff does not change if the painter raises prices next month. The estimate does.

Why does a takeoff error carry straight into the bid?

Every estimate line is quantity times unit cost, so a quantity that is 10% short makes that line's material and labor 10% short too. Your rates can be perfect and the bid still loses money.

Wikipedia's quantity takeoff entry lists a "lack of accuracy in quantity takeoff and estimates" among the reasons projects run over budget and schedule. So check the takeoff before you open the pricing sheet: scale on every sheet, all pages and addenda counted, openings handled the same way each time.

It helps to keep the two documents separate. When a bid comes in high or low, you can tell whether the problem was a measurement or a price.

How is a bill of quantities different from both?

A bill of quantities sits between the two. It is a list of quantities, with no prices yet, that goes out to every bidder so each one can price it. According to the bill of quantities entry, it is prepared by quantity surveyors and building estimators, and each contractor prices the same listed quantities instead of measuring the drawings on their own. The details are in bill of quantities vs takeoff.

Which tools handle takeoff and which handle estimating?

Takeoff tools measure. Estimating tools price. Some suites do both. You can also measure in one tool and price in a spreadsheet you already trust. The options are compared in takeoff and estimating software.

MeasureFloorPlan sits on the takeoff side. You set the scale from one printed dimension, click runs for linear feet, trace areas and count fixtures, then export the quantities to Excel or PDF. Paint, drywall, flooring and trim presets turn the numbers into gallons, sheets and boxes at your own waste and rates. It does not do assembly-based estimating, so the pricing stays in your spreadsheet. See takeoff software for contractors for how it fits each trade, or the pricing page: $9 per plan, a $15 Day Pass for 24 hours, or Pro at $29 a month.

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