Best Commercial Electrical Estimating Software for 2026

The best commercial electrical estimating software is still one of the three suites built for it: Trimble Accubid for large commercial contractors and the deepest bid breakdowns, ConEst IntelliBid for the biggest prebuilt database and supplier price comparison, and McCormick for contractors on Foundation accounting. Procore Estimating fits contractors already on Procore. Countfire and Drawer AI add AI counting on large sets. For small commercial and tenant-improvement work without a full-time estimating team, SparkQuote is free during its beta.

We make SparkQuote, so read its entry with that in mind. Every other fact on this page comes from the vendor's own pages or review sites, checked October 15–18, 2026. Sources are at the end.

The 8 tools at a glance

Most commercial suites don't publish prices. Where a directory lists one, it's marked as a listing the vendor doesn't confirm.

What commercial bids need that residential bids don't

1. A deep item and assembly database. Feeders, gear, conduit and fittings in every size, so the estimator isn't building items mid-bid.
2. Labor factoring. Difficulty, height, floor and access adjustments on top of base labor units. See NECA labor units.
3. Supplier price services. Trade Service (TRA-SER), EPIC or NetPricer, so copper and gear prices are current on bid day.
4. Breakdowns. Price by floor, building, system or phase for GC bid forms and alternates.
5. Multi-user estimating and change-order handling once the job is awarded.

1. SparkQuote: best for small commercial and tenant-improvement bids

SparkQuote does the takeoff from your PDF plans and builds the priced estimate and proposal in the browser. The AI reads the legend and counts devices, fixtures by type tag, panels and disconnects, and marks every count on the sheet. Estimates have three labor columns (normal, difficult, very difficult), labor factors by job, area or line, add and deduct alternates, unit prices, and breakdowns by area, system, phase, cost code and drawing.

• Price: free during the beta, with 5 AI takeoffs a month and no credit card. Planned plans from $99 a month; see pricing.
• When it's not the right choice: large commercial and industrial bids. The beta is one user per account, there's no licensed supplier price service (prices come in by CSV), the item database is far smaller than the suites below, and there's no change-order workflow.

2. Trimble Accubid: best for large commercial contractors

Accubid is the tool many commercial estimators learned on. Classic runs on Windows; Accubid Anywhere is the cloud subscription with multi-user and multi-branch estimating. LiveCount AI counts receptacles, switches and fixtures in Anywhere and the hosted Classic Estimating Essentials subscription.

• Strengths: a very large database, labor factoring, multi-level bid breakdowns, Trade Service pricing, and Supplier Xchange for bid-time vendor quotes on Anywhere. Experienced commercial estimators often already know it.
• Price: not published for any Accubid product. Trimble's only public estimating price is Estimation MEP, at $1,950 per user per year.
• Watch for: training time; ChangeOrder is a separate module on Classic. Accubid Anywhere rates 3.6/5 on Capterra (71 reviews).
• Full comparison: Accubid alternative.

3. ConEst IntelliBid: best for the biggest prebuilt database

IntelliBid, with the SureCount takeoff app, ships with 140,000+ items and 500,000+ assemblies, six labor difficulty levels and NEC-oriented feeder assemblies.

• Strengths: supplier price comparison across up to 10 local distributors, with NetPricer, EPIC and TRA-SER licensed separately. Hosted on CE Cloud, it can be reached from Mac, Chromebook and tablets.
• Price: not published; Standard, Plus and Pro editions are quoted by sales.
• Watch for: setup time and two separate apps. Capterra 4.6/5 (24 reviews).
• Full comparison: ConEst alternative.

4. McCormick: best for contractors on Foundation accounting

McCormick Systems, now part of Foundation Software, has sold estimating software since the late 1970s. It includes digital takeoff with auto-count and its patented Auto Home Run, NECA labor units and prevailing-wage tables for all 50 states.

• Strengths: estimate-to-job-cost hand-off into Foundation, change orders with cost impact, estimate-vs-actual reports, and low-voltage and transmission and distribution editions.
• Price: not published. Software Advice lists $300 per user per month ($3,600 a year), which McCormick doesn't confirm.
• Watch for: reviewers describe a dated interface. Capterra 4.4/5 (113 reviews).
• Full comparison: McCormick alternative.

5. Procore Estimating: best for contractors already on Procore

Procore Estimating, formerly Esticom, began as a cloud tool for electrical and low-voltage contractors. It does takeoff and estimating in the browser with iOS and Android apps, and estimates flow into Procore budgets and bid packages.

• Price: not published. Procore sells annual contracts priced on annual construction volume, with unlimited users.
• Watch for: most of the value comes with the rest of Procore. Capterra 4.5/5 (117 reviews, listed as Esticom).
• Full comparison: Esticom alternative.

6. Countfire: best AI counting for large building-services sets

Countfire counts a symbol across every drawing in a project, auto-counts revised drawings, and shows spec differences. It covers electrical, lighting, fire, security and low voltage, which suits commercial jobs with several systems.

• Price: not published; per user, after a 7-day trial. Capterra 4.8/5 (243 reviews).
• Watch for: it's takeoff first. Large shops often count in Countfire and price in their estimating suite.
• Full comparison: Countfire alternative.

7. Drawer AI: best for circuits, home runs and wire on large sets

Drawer AI is electrical only. It reads the legend, links every device to its panel and circuit, routes home runs and sizes wire with voltage drop and derating. Multi-sheet plans are stitched into one layout so overlapping sheets aren't double counted.

• Price: not published; Starter and Enterprise annual plans priced by team size and project volume, with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
• Watch for: the output is an Excel report and a marked-up PDF; pricing happens in your estimating software.

8. STACK: best for multi-trade teams

STACK is a cloud takeoff and estimating platform used across trades, with Autocount, Floor Plan AI on higher tiers, plan version comparison, and integrations with Procore, Dodge and ERP systems.

• Price: Takeoff & Estimate from $299 per user per month; the full platform from $348.
• Watch for: electrical labor units and assemblies are yours to build, and some reviewers report slowdowns on large plan sets. Capterra 4.5/5 (1,399 reviews).
• Full comparison: STACK alternative.

How to choose

1. Start with your price service. If you price every bid against Trade Service, EPIC or NetPricer, shortlist the suites that support yours: Accubid (Trade Service), ConEst (all three, licensed separately), McCormick (Trade Service and NetPricer, per Software Advice).
2. Match your accounting. McCormick goes to Foundation; Procore Estimating goes to Procore budgets.
3. Count the seats and the training. Ask for per-user prices, training, support and price-service fees as separate lines. Our comparison hub has the questions to ask each vendor.
4. Test the takeoff on a real set. Run a commercial set you've already bid through the AI counting (see the best AI electrical takeoff software) and compare the counts.

If you're a smaller shop that bids some commercial work, see the best estimating software for small contractors.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best commercial electrical estimating software?

For large commercial and industrial contractors, Trimble Accubid, ConEst IntelliBid and McCormick are the standard, for their databases, labor factoring and supplier price services. Procore Estimating fits Procore users, and SparkQuote suits small commercial and tenant-improvement work.

What estimating software do commercial electrical contractors use?

Most commercial electrical estimators use Accubid, ConEst IntelliBid or McCormick. Some count in Bluebeam or an AI tool such as Countfire first, then price in the suite.

How much does commercial electrical estimating software cost?

Accubid, ConEst, McCormick, Procore and Countfire don't publish prices. Software Advice lists McCormick at $300 per user per month (unconfirmed), Trimble lists Estimation MEP at $1,950 per user per year, and STACK starts at $299 per user per month.

Which commercial estimating software has supplier price services?

Accubid supports Trade Service, ConEst supports NetPricer, EPIC and TRA-SER, and McCormick gets updates from Trade Service and NetPricer according to Software Advice. Price services are usually licensed separately.

Is there cloud-based commercial electrical estimating software?

Yes. Accubid Anywhere, ConEst on CE Cloud, McCormick's hosted version, Procore Estimating and STACK all run in the cloud. See the best cloud-based electrical estimating software.

---

Sources (checked 2026-10-15 to 2026-10-18): vendor pages and review listings cited on each comparison page in our comparison hub; Drawer AI; Trimble Estimation MEP. Accubid, IntelliBid, McCormick, Procore, Countfire, Drawer AI and STACK are trademarks of their owners; SparkQuote is not affiliated with any of them.