Vertigraph Products

Vertigraph Products is a construction estimating suite covering drawing takeoff, earthwork, bid coordination, and revision control. It best suits commercial contractors whose estimating process needs one or more specialized tools rather than a generic project app. The main decision is whether your team needs browser collaboration or Windows software tied to Excel and desktop workflows.

Overview

Founded in 1991 and headquartered in Spokane, Vertigraph sells a family of products for commercial contractors. The portfolio ranges from a capped free cloud tier to perpetual Windows licenses, so buyers can select a focused tool instead of paying for every part of the suite. That flexibility is useful, but each product has its own platform and pricing implications.

Key features

BidScreen XL measures areas, lengths, and counts from PDF, DWG, DXF, and TIF drawings inside Excel, writing quantities back as formulas. Estimators already building bids in spreadsheets get a direct bridge from drawing measurement to calculations. It is Windows-only and requires Excel 2016 or later, so it is a poor fit for teams that need a browser or non-Excel workflow.

SiteWorx/OS creates 3D existing and proposed site surfaces and calculates cut, fill, sub-grade, trench, and related earthwork quantities. This is the specialist choice for site-preparation and civil estimating; a contractor needing only 2D plan measurement would be paying for capabilities outside that job.

BidScreen Cloud provides browser-based takeoff with live team collaboration, auto trace, company classes, and Excel exports. Its cloud delivery removes the desktop requirement and supports shared estimating, while the free tier is deliberately limited to two projects per month, two users, 1 GB of storage, and three saves per page.

Pursuit organizes bids, correspondence, bid dates, quotes, follow-ups, and win/loss tracking in one workspace. Its Nanodoc question-and-answer feature searches plans, specifications, emails, and notes and cites the source document and page, giving teams a way to trace answers back to project material. Outlook and Gmail correspondence can be handled per project.

Drawing Compare overlays revisions, highlights additions and removals, and saves a marked-up file for BidScreen XL or SiteWorx/OS. It supports PDF, TIFF, and PNG raster revision comparison, making it a focused companion when plan changes are the main problem.

Across the suite, measurement is available in 2D and 3D, with exports to Excel, Word, PDF, DWG, and CSV. BidScreen XL can work with drawings stored in OneDrive, SharePoint, and Dropbox. Full Serve adds unlimited US-based phone and email support, scheduled web training, software releases, and priority response for active bid emergencies.

Pricing

BidScreen Cloud Starter is free, with two projects per month, two users, 1 GB of storage, and three saves per page. It is suitable for occasional estimating or evaluating the workflow, not a busy team’s uncapped workspace.

BidScreen Cloud Pro costs $16.66 per user per month, billed annually at $199.90 per year, with 25 GB per user and a 30-day trial requiring a card. BidScreen Cloud Pro Intelligence is $32.50 per user per month, billed annually at $390 per year, with the same storage and trial terms. The higher tier is for teams that specifically need its Intelligence level; the published storage allowance does not increase.

Pursuit Pro+ costs $39.17 per user per month, billed annually at $470 per year, includes 50 GB per user and onboarding, and has a 30-day card-required trial. Pursuit Pro+ Intelligence costs $65.83 per user per month, billed annually at $790 per year, with the same storage, onboarding, and trial terms.

Drawing Compare is $150 per year. BidScreen XL annual rental is $400 per year with Full Serve bundled; its perpetual license is $799 once, with $199 per year for Full Serve from year two and a 14-day trial. SiteWorx/OS annual rental is $1,499 per year with Full Serve bundled. Its perpetual license is $2,999 once, then $199 per year for Full Serve from year two, with a 14-day trial.

Platforms

BidScreen Cloud and Pursuit run on the web. BidScreen XL and SiteWorx/OS are Windows products; BidScreen XL requires Excel 2016 or later, while SiteWorx/OS supports Windows 10 and 11. The desktop products therefore suit office-based Windows estimating teams better than mixed-device organizations.

Who it's for

Choose Vertigraph when commercial construction estimating is your core workflow and you need dedicated 2D takeoff, 3D earthwork, bid administration, or revision comparison. It is especially compelling for Excel-centered estimators, sitework contractors, and teams that need bid correspondence and document-grounded project answers. It is less suitable when you require one inexpensive, platform-neutral product covering every function.

Pros and cons

• Pro: Separate products let a contractor buy specialized takeoff, earthwork, pursuit, or revision tools instead of adopting an oversized all-in-one system.
• Pro: BidScreen XL returns measurements to Excel as formulas, preserving a spreadsheet-based estimating process.
• Pro: Pursuit combines bid administration with cited question answering from project documents.
• Con: Desktop choices require Windows, and BidScreen XL additionally requires Excel 2016 or later.
• Con: The free cloud plan’s project, user, storage, and save limits make it unsuitable for sustained team production.
• Con: Full-featured desktop products carry substantial annual or perpetual costs, with Full Serve fees applying after the first year on perpetual licenses.

Alternatives

For a broad directory of options, see Construction Takeoff Software.

• TakeCost is a freemium, cross-platform option with a free core allowing one new takeoff file each month and full area, length, and count tools.
• usBIM.platform suits teams wanting free online applications and 10 GB of cloud storage across web and mobile platforms.
• Bidwright is a free desktop or self-hosted choice across Windows, macOS, and Linux, with AI disabled until you add your own key.
• OpenTakeoff is free, open-source, and requires no account, making it preferable for users prioritizing software freedom over Vertigraph’s support model.
• MeasureSquare offers mobile and web options, including a $54-per-month retail mobile plan for one user.
• STACK has a free plan capped at one active project per month, 300 plan pages, 50 measurements per project, and one viewer seat.
• eTakeoff provides a free viewer and Windows advanced plans starting at $795 per user per year.
• The EDGE is an alternative whose pricing is supplied through a demo request.

Verdict

Vertigraph is a strong choice for commercial contractors who want purpose-built estimating components, particularly Excel-linked takeoff, 3D earthwork, or bid administration with document citations. Choose it when those specialized workflows justify Windows requirements or recurring costs. Look elsewhere if you need a single low-cost, cross-platform system with fewer product boundaries and lighter commitments.