Quick Answer: Free AI takeoff access can mean a recurring page allowance or a short trial of a paid product. CyanBuild currently lists three PDF pages per month on Free. STACK, Kreo and Countfire advertise seven-day trials with different signup and feature conditions. Check the exact offer, the drawing work it covers and the export you need before uploading a project.
Terms reviewed: October 2, 2026. This guide is published by CyanBuild and compares published access terms. We have not run a comparable accuracy benchmark across these products. The linked product pages and the offer shown during signup are the places to confirm current eligibility, limits and payment conditions.
Free AI takeoff plans and trials compared
| Tool | Published free access | What to check | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|
| CyanBuild | Three PDF pages per month on the current Free plan; no credit card required. | AI PDF takeoff and quantity review use the page allowance. Project Agent has separate paid-plan requirements. | CyanBuild plans |
| STACK | The dedicated AI Takeoff page advertises a seven-day trial without a credit card. | The general Free-account FAQ lists different feature limits. Confirm which signup offer applies, especially for export. | AI Takeoff offer and Free-account FAQ |
| Kreo | A seven-day trial may be available to an eligible account at checkout; its instructions select Pro. | Payment details are required. Check the next charge date and cancel in time if you do not want the subscription. | Kreo trial instructions |
| Countfire | Seven-day access to its electrical takeoff and estimating features, including AI Smart Select. | The US site advertises no card or contract for the trial. Confirm regional eligibility and the offer for your account. | Trial features and US trial terms |
These offers have different scopes. A recurring allowance can suit occasional drawing work; a trial gives you a limited period to evaluate a larger workflow. A free account, a free viewer seat and a free AI takeoff allowance are not interchangeable. None of the trial offers above establishes unlimited, permanent free AI access.
What CyanBuild Free includes
The current CyanBuild pricing page lists three PDF pages per month on Free. You can upload a drawing and review the returned takeoff quantities. Each PDF page counts toward the allowance: a four-page file needs four pages of available capacity, even though it is one upload. Check the remaining allowance in your account before sending a drawing set.
PDF takeoff and Project Agent are separate features. The free page allowance should not be read as access to every AI feature. Project Agent requires an eligible paid plan. Review the quantities against the drawing and account for omissions or duplicates before using them in a bid.
Read the trial conditions before starting
STACK: its specific AI Takeoff page advertises a seven-day trial. Its general FAQ describes a Free account limited to two concurrent projects and ten takeoffs per project, with Autocount and export excluded. Those pages describe different access scopes. Confirm the features attached to your account instead of assuming that a Free-account label includes the AI trial or the export you need.
Kreo: trial availability depends on the account and checkout offer. The instructions require a payment method and explain that a charge follows unless the subscription is cancelled. Check the next billing date displayed in the account. Enterprise trial access follows a separate request process.
Countfire: the published trial is for electrical takeoff and estimating. Use an electrical drawing with symbols and scope you can check manually to decide whether the workflow fits your work. Published trial access is not evidence of accuracy on your drawing set.
A practical test to run on your own drawings
Choose a small drawing set you are permitted to upload and have already measured. Keep its revision, scale, units and included scope fixed while evaluating each tool. This is a suggested evaluation procedure; the comparison above does not claim that we performed it across the products.
- Write down a reference result. Record the counts, areas or lengths you have checked manually, with sheet references and exclusions. Review the reference too: a previous estimate is not automatically correct.
- Confirm access before processing. Note the trial end date or remaining page quota, the selected plan and which AI tools are enabled. Check how multiple PDF pages are counted.
- Set and verify the scale. Check a known dimension on every sheet you intend to measure. Keep counts separate from lengths and areas; a plausible count does not validate a measured area.
- Compare individual items. Record missed items, duplicates, wrong classifications and measurements that need correction. Look beyond a similar grand total, which can hide offsetting errors.
- Measure the whole review effort. Include setup, processing, corrections and export. A quick first pass has value only if the reviewed output fits your estimating workflow.
- Try the required export. Open the actual exported file in your next tool and check units, quantities and sheet references. Confirm what remains accessible when the trial ends or the page allowance runs out.
Keep a short record for each tool: drawing revision, plan or trial, quantities checked, errors corrected, review time and export result. This gives your team evidence for its own choice without relying on an unsupported accuracy percentage or a universal “best” label.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there free AI takeoff software?
Some products provide a limited recurring allowance and others offer a temporary trial. CyanBuild currently lists three PDF takeoff pages per month on Free. Check the specific plan, enabled features and remaining allowance; a free login does not establish unlimited AI access.
Does CyanBuild require a paid plan for every AI feature?
The current Free plan includes a PDF takeoff page allowance. Project Agent is a separate feature with paid-plan requirements. Compare the current plan details for the workflow you need.
Do free takeoff trials require a credit card?
It varies. STACK’s specific AI trial and Countfire’s US trial page advertise no credit card. Kreo’s trial instructions require payment details. Check the offer and next billing date shown for your account before starting.
Can I export a takeoff during a free trial?
Verify the exact offer and file format. For example, STACK’s general Free-account FAQ excludes export. Before relying on any trial for a live bid, export a small result and open it in the spreadsheet or estimating system you will use.
Which free takeoff tool is the most accurate?
This guide does not establish an accuracy ranking. Use the same checked drawings, units and scope to compare omissions, duplicates, measurement errors and correction effort. Review the result before pricing or ordering materials.
Try a small drawing set with CyanBuild
Review the current Free allowance, upload a drawing you can check and assess the returned quantities against your own reference.
Create a free account