STACK vs Easy Takeoffs
STACK and Easy Takeoffs are both cloud takeoff tools that run in the browser on Mac and Windows, built for different sizes of business. STACK is a feature-rich platform with built-in estimating and proposals aimed at larger teams. Its core plans include symbol recognition, automatic plan naming, and unlimited viewer seats, while several AI-assisted takeoff products remain add-ons. Easy Takeoffs covers a more focused cloud takeoff workflow at a fraction of the price and with far less to learn.
Why Contractors Switch from STACK
If you are searching for a STACK alternative or evaluating STACK competitors, the reason is usually price. STACK is $2,988 to $3,588 per user per year (Premium at $249 per user per month, Pro at $299, billed annually). Symbol Search & Recognition, Automatic Plan Naming, and unlimited viewer seats are included in the core plans; AI-assisted area, wall, door and window, and aerial takeoff products are listed separately as add-ons. The introductory account is a 7-day trial limited to 2 projects. Users on G2, Capterra, and Trustpilot report aggressive price increases at renewal, sometimes 40% to 50% higher than the original quote.
Easy Takeoffs is built to be the cheapest and simplest cloud construction takeoff tool on the market. It runs in the same kind of browser STACK does, on the same Mac or Windows machine, at a much lower yearly cost. A separate group lands on this page searching specifically for a STACK alternative for Mac. The honest answer is that STACK already runs on Mac because it is a web app. The real question is not "which one runs on macOS" but "which one runs on macOS without charging me $3,000 a year." Easy Takeoffs is the answer to that question.
What Is STACK?
STACK Construction Technologies is a cloud-based takeoff and estimating platform used by contractors and estimators across the construction industry. It offers 2D takeoff tools, AI-powered symbol recognition, estimating worksheets, proposal generation, and team collaboration features. STACK is the most direct cloud competitor to Easy Takeoffs, as both are browser-based tools for measuring construction drawings.
What Is Easy Takeoffs?
Easy Takeoffs is a simple, low-cost cloud construction takeoff tool with no project caps on the core workflow. Unlike STACK's 7-day trial capped at 2 projects, you can sign up and immediately work on real bids. It runs in any browser on Mac, Windows, ChromeOS, Linux, and iPad with Apple Pencil, with the same cloud convenience as STACK: upload PDFs, set your scale, measure, export. You get linear, polyline, polygon, rectangle, circle, freehand, count, and angle tools with true curved segments, automatic scale detection with a one-run option that sets every page, snap to drawing geometry, color-coded groups with sub-groups, and live group totals across square feet, linear feet, count, perimeter, volume, and wall area. Symbol search is included: box one example, review or uncheck any confirmed result, then add the checked set as counts in one step. Text search covers every sheet too, scanned pages included. Apply any of the 43 built-in material templates to turn measurements into drywall sheets, paint gallons, concrete cubic yards, or any custom formula you write. Browse the community library for trade-specific templates other contractors have shared. Export to annotated PDF and CSV with material totals included.
What STACK Users Run Into
The most common reasons contractors look for a STACK alternative, drawn from verified reviews on G2, Capterra, Trustpilot, and Reddit.
Aggressive price increases at renewal
STACK has a documented pattern of raising prices on existing customers. Contractors report receiving renewal quotes 40% to 50% higher than their original contract, sometimes with minimal notice. Once your team is trained and your projects are inside STACK, switching feels painful, and STACK uses that leverage at renewal time. Users on Trustpilot describe the experience as being "held for ransom."
“Jacked the price up 50% after the first year. Then when we decided to go to another program, Stack locked us out of all our estimates and held it for ransom.”
Capterra Review
Data lock-in makes switching painful
When you build your takeoff data inside STACK, getting it out in a usable format is limited. Users report difficulty extracting measurement data when they want to switch to another tool or cancel their subscription. Your work lives inside their platform, and that dependency gives STACK pricing leverage. Easy Takeoffs exports to standard CSV and annotated PDF formats that work with any system.
“Tried to export our data when we wanted to switch. Getting anything usable out was a nightmare.”
Capterra Review
No real ongoing introductory plan
STACK advertises an introductory account, but in practice it is a 7-day trial limited to 2 projects with Pro-level features. After 7 days, you lose access unless you subscribe to the full plan. There is no ongoing entry-level option that lets a contractor do real work. Easy Takeoffs takes a different approach: a single, much more affordable product: a 14-day free trial of the full product, then one price that lets any contractor keep working on real projects.
Per-seat pricing adds up fast for teams
At $2,988 to $3,588 per user per year before separately listed automated takeoff products and onboarding, a small team of 5 estimators costs roughly $15,000 to $18,000 annually for the core takeoff and estimating subscriptions. For small and mid-size contractors competing on tight margins, that is a significant overhead line item.
Easy Takeoffs vs STACK
A side-by-side look at what each tool offers. We include features where STACK has the advantage, because an honest comparison builds more trust than a cherry-picked one.
No credit card, no install, no enterprise contract.
Far Cheaper than $2,988–$3,588 per Seat per Year
STACK Premium is $249 per user per month and STACK Pro with estimating is $299 per user per month, both billed annually, about $2,988 and $3,588 a year per seat. Symbol Search & Recognition, Automatic Plan Naming, and unlimited viewer seats are included. AI-assisted area, wall, door and window, and aerial takeoff products are paid add-ons, and STACK also lists onboarding separately. A team of five on Pro runs $17,940 a year before add-ons and onboarding, and renewal increases of 40% to 50% have been reported by customers across G2 and Trustpilot. Easy Takeoffs is $39 a month or $399 a year, saving $2,520 a year per seat vs STACK Premium on monthly billing, or $2,589 on annual. For a team of five switching from STACK Premium, that is $12,945 a year back in your pocket. Easy Takeoffs includes a 14-day free trial with no credit card required.
Easy Takeoffs
Cheapestin the category
- ✓$39/mo or $399/yr
- ✓Simple, easy to learn in minutes
- ✓Runs on Mac, Windows, iPad
- ✓Every measurement tool included
STACK
$2,988–$3,588/year
Per user, per year. Annual contract.
STACK product and pricing facts checked against first-party pages in August 2026.Sources: STACK pricing and plan features
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What STACK Does Better
STACK is the closest competitor to Easy Takeoffs in terms of being cloud-native, and its real depth is on the estimating side. The estimating module lets you build complete cost estimates alongside your takeoffs, with estimating worksheets, proposal generation, and BNi cost libraries, and the platform carries bid management features aimed at teams running high volumes of bids. STACK also includes Symbol Search & Recognition, Automatic Plan Naming, and unlimited viewer seats in its core plans. Its AI-assisted area, wall, door and window, and aerial takeoff products are separate add-ons. For companies that need integrated cost estimating, proposals, broad collaboration, and optional automated takeoff products in one cloud platform, STACK offers capabilities that Easy Takeoffs does not yet have. If you need a focused cloud takeoff and material-quantity workflow and handle pricing separately, Easy Takeoffs costs much less.
Who Easy Takeoffs Is Built For
Easy Takeoffs is built for contractors and estimators who want the convenience of cloud-based takeoffs without the enterprise price tag. You liked the idea of STACK when you saw the demo, but the $2,988 to $3,588 per seat price did not fit your business. You want to access takeoffs from any device, including the MacBook you already work on, share them easily, and never worry about local files. You do not need bid management, proposal generation, or optional AI takeoff products bundled into the same platform. You need accurate measurements and material quantities at a price that fits a small or mid-size construction business.
How to Switch from STACK
If you are currently using STACK, switching to Easy Takeoffs feels immediately familiar. Both tools are cloud-based, both run in the same browser on the same Mac or Windows machine, and both follow the same core workflow: upload PDFs, set your scale, draw measurements. The transition is natural because the user experience is similar. Upload your plan PDFs to Easy Takeoffs, calibrate your scale, and start measuring. There is no data migration from STACK, and no takeoff tool supports importing measurement data from another. But you can work through your active projects in Easy Takeoffs going forward while wrapping up existing STACK projects before your subscription renews.
STACK vs Easy Takeoffs FAQ
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