Best Electrical Estimating Software for 2026
The best electrical estimating software depends on the size of your shop and the work you bid. Trimble Accubid, ConEst IntelliBid and McCormick are the standard for large commercial and industrial contractors with trained estimators. STACK and PlanSwift suit multi-trade shops that mainly need quantities. Countfire and Drawer AI lead on AI counting. TurboBid fits residential and service work on Windows. For a small or mid-size electrical shop that wants AI takeoff, its own labor units and a finished proposal without a long setup, 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, and every entry says who the tool is for. Sources are at the end.
Narrowing it down? See the shortlists for small contractors, for commercial work, cloud-based tools and what's actually free.
The 10 tools at a glance
| Tool | Best for | Platform | Published price (October 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| SparkQuote | Small and mid-size electrical shops | Browser, phone and tablet | Free during the beta; planned from $99/month |
| Trimble Accubid | Large commercial electrical contractors | Windows (Classic); cloud (Anywhere) | Not published |
| ConEst IntelliBid | Commercial shops that want the biggest database | Windows or hosted CE Cloud | Not published |
| McCormick | Contractors on Foundation accounting | Cloud-hosted or on-premises | Not published; directories list $300/user/month |
| STACK | Multi-trade teams in the browser | Browser | From $299/user/month; limited free version |
| PlanSwift | Fast on-screen takeoff on Windows | Windows | $2,000–$3,000 per seat per year |
| Countfire | AI counting across a whole drawing set | Browser, PC or Mac | Not published |
| TurboBid | Residential, remodel and service work | Windows | $135/month + $350 setup, or $1,395 |
| Procore Estimating | Contractors already on Procore | Browser and mobile | Not published; priced by construction volume |
| Drawer AI | AI electrical takeoff with circuits and home runs | Browser | Not published; annual plans |
Prices are the vendors' own list prices or, where marked, directory listings the vendor doesn't confirm. Check with the vendor before you buy.
1. SparkQuote: best for small and mid-size electrical shops
SparkQuote does the takeoff from your PDF plans and builds the priced estimate and proposal in one browser app. The AI reads the legend on your drawings and counts receptacles, switches, fixtures by type tag, panels, disconnects and data outlets, then marks every count on the sheet so you can check it. Where it isn't sure what a symbol is, it asks. Click one symbol and "find all like this" finds the rest.
- Estimating: a starter library of labor units and assemblies you edit to match your shop, supplier price lists by CSV, alternates and unit prices, and a proposal with your logo, inclusions and exclusions. Exports to Excel and PDF.
- Price: free during the beta, with 5 AI takeoffs a month, unlimited estimates and no credit card. Planned plans after the beta are $99, $199 and $399 a month; see pricing.
- Also free: NEC calculators for wire size, voltage drop, conduit fill and box fill, and an MCP server that puts them in Claude and ChatGPT.
- Limits: it's new. The beta is one user per account, there's no licensed supplier price service (TRA-SER, EPIC, NetPricer), and the item database is far smaller than the legacy suites'.
2. Trimble Accubid: best for large commercial electrical contractors
Accubid is the tool many commercial estimators learned on. Classic runs on Windows; Accubid Anywhere is the cloud subscription with multi-user, multi-branch estimating. Trimble's LiveCount AI counts receptacles, switches and fixtures in Anywhere and the hosted Classic Essentials subscription.
- Strengths: a very large item and assembly database, labor factoring, breakdowns by floor, system or area, and Trade Service pricing.
- Price: not published for Accubid. The only public Trimble estimating price is Estimation MEP, at $1,950 per user per year.
- Watch for: training time and a learning curve; 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, is built around 140,000+ items and 500,000+ assemblies, six labor difficulty levels and supplier price comparison across up to 10 local distributors.
- Strengths: depth. Feeders, assemblies and labor factoring are all there out of the box.
- Price: not published; quoted by sales.
- Watch for: setup time and two separate apps. Capterra reviewers mention "too many clicks" at first. 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 for Foundation users; low-voltage and transmission and distribution editions.
- Price: not published. Software Advice lists $300 per user per month, which McCormick doesn't confirm.
- Watch for: reviewers describe a dated interface. Capterra 4.4/5 (113 reviews).
- Full comparison: McCormick alternative.
5. STACK: best for multi-trade teams in the browser
STACK is a cloud takeoff and estimating platform used across many trades, with Autocount for plan symbols and Floor Plan AI on higher tiers.
- Strengths: runs in any browser, plan version comparison, integrations and an open API.
- Price: Takeoff & Estimate from $299 per user per month. A limited free version allows 2 concurrent projects for 7 days, without Autocount or export.
- Watch for: electrical labor units and assemblies are yours to build. Capterra 4.5/5 (1,399 reviews).
- Full comparison: STACK alternative.
6. PlanSwift: best for fast on-screen takeoff on Windows
PlanSwift is one of the best-known takeoff tools in construction: quick to learn, multi-trade and tied closely to Excel. Takeoff BOOST (May 2026) added Auto Count, Auto Scale and Auto Bookmark.
- Price: Essential $2,000 and Core $3,000 per seat per year, with a 14-day free trial. One of the few tools with a published price.
- Watch for: Windows only. Capterra 4.3/5 (402 reviews).
- Full comparison: PlanSwift alternative.
7. Countfire: best for AI counting across a whole drawing set
Countfire, a UK company in Valsoft's TAG group, is built for building services: electrical, lighting, fire, security and low voltage. Smart Select counts a symbol across every drawing in a project, revised drawings are auto-counted, and spec compare shows the differences.
- Price: not published; per user, after a 7-day trial.
- Ratings: Capterra 4.8/5 (243 reviews), with strong marks for support.
- Watch for: reviewers say results depend on drawing quality.
- Full comparison: Countfire alternative.
8. TurboBid: best for residential, remodel and service work
TurboBid from Advanced Electrical Technologies covers residential and light commercial estimating with room-by-room takeoff, flat-rate pricing and a material database updated weekly.
- Price: $135 per month plus a $350 setup fee, or $1,395 to buy, with a 14-day trial and no refunds after purchase.
- Watch for: Windows only; on-screen takeoff comes through a PlanSwift bundle. Capterra 4.6/5 (29 reviews).
- Full comparison: TurboBid alternative.
9. Procore Estimating: best for contractors already on Procore
Procore Estimating, formerly Esticom, does takeoff and estimating in the browser and on mobile. AI detects floor plan areas and auto-counts repeated symbols, and estimates flow into Procore budgets and bid packages.
- Price: not published. Procore sells annual contracts priced on your annual construction volume.
- 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.
10. Drawer AI: best for AI takeoff with circuits and home runs
Drawer AI is electrical only. It reads the legend, detects devices and fixtures on every sheet, links them to their panel and circuit, routes home runs and sizes wire with voltage drop. Multi-sheet plans are stitched into one layout so overlapping sheets aren't double counted. The output is an Excel report and a marked-up PDF.
- Price: not published; Starter and Enterprise annual plans priced by team size and project volume, with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Watch for: it's a takeoff tool. Pricing and the proposal happen in your estimating software through the Excel report.
How to choose
Ask four questions before you book demos:
- Who does the estimating? A full-time estimating team can absorb the training that Accubid, ConEst and McCormick need. An owner who bids at night needs something learnable in a day.
- What do you bid? Commercial and industrial work rewards deep databases and labor factoring. Residential and service work rewards flat-rate pricing and fast quotes.
- Where is the time going? If counting is the bottleneck, test the AI counting on one of your own plan sets. If pricing is, look at labor units and supplier prices first. See NECA labor units.
- What does it cost for your seats? Get the per-user price, setup fee, minimum term and price-service fees in writing. Our pricing comparison has dated prices and first-year costs for each tool.
The best test is your last job. Run a plan set you've already bid through two or three tools and compare the counts and the hours against what you sent.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best electrical estimating software for small contractors?
A browser tool with a published price, AI takeoff and editable labor units usually fits best, because it needs no setup team. SparkQuote is free during its beta; STACK and PlanSwift publish prices; TurboBid suits residential and service work. See the best estimating software for small contractors.
What electrical estimating software do big contractors use?
Large commercial and industrial contractors mostly use Trimble Accubid, ConEst IntelliBid or McCormick, for their databases, labor factoring and supplier price services.
Is there free electrical estimating software?
SparkQuote is free during its beta, with 5 AI takeoffs a month and unlimited estimates. STACK has a limited free version. Free tiers generally limit projects, exports or automation; see what's actually free.
How much does electrical estimating software cost?
Published prices range from about $135 a month (TurboBid) to $299 per user per month (STACK) and $2,000–$3,000 per seat per year (PlanSwift). Accubid, ConEst, McCormick, Countfire, Procore and Drawer AI quote prices through sales. See electrical estimating software pricing for first-year costs by seat count.
Which electrical estimating software uses AI?
Countfire, Drawer AI, STACK, Procore Estimating, PlanSwift (Takeoff BOOST), Trimble Accubid (LiveCount AI) and SparkQuote all count symbols automatically. See the best AI electrical takeoff software for how they differ.
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 estimating AI blog. Accubid, IntelliBid, McCormick, STACK, PlanSwift, Countfire, TurboBid, Procore and Drawer AI are trademarks of their owners; SparkQuote is not affiliated with any of them.