PDF take-off and measurement, straight in your browser.
Calibrate any PDF drawing, measure lengths and areas with snap-to-geometry precision, and export a structured schedule of marked-up quantities ready to price. Built for quantity surveyors and estimators — currently in public beta and free to use while we collect feedback.
Everything a take-off should be.
Calibrate, measure, tag, total, export — free and in the browser.
Calibrated measurement
Two calibration methods — click a known dimension or specify a 1:n drawing scale. Per-page, so multi-sheet projects work cleanly.
Snap to drawing geometry
The PDF's vector content is indexed for endpoints, edges and intersections. The cursor locks onto wall corners and openings — like a CAD snap.
Six measurement tools
Length, perimeter, area, rectangle, count and calibrate. Live readouts while drawing. Enter to finish, Backspace to undo a vertex.
Per-tool unit defaults
Length tool defaults to mm, Area to m², Perimeter to m — and each markup can be switched independently in the properties panel.
Structured markups list
Every measurement carries subject, trade, location and custom columns. Filter, sort, total by unit — your take-off becomes a schedule.
CSV export
Download the full markups list, including custom columns, for pricing in Excel. The data structure is yours; the tool just shapes the take-off.
Cloud projects
Save take-offs to your account and pick them up on any device. The PDF itself stays local; only the markups and calibration are stored.
Local-first processing
PDFs never leave your browser. Rendering, parsing and measurement all happen client-side. Cloud storage holds only your markups data.
No install, no learning curve
Open the page, sign in, drop a PDF. Familiar interface inspired by tools QSs already use — the workflow is the same, the price isn't.
From drawing to schedule in four steps.
Open a PDF
Drag a layout drawing onto the app or browse for it. Multi-page PDFs are supported.
Calibrate the page
Click the two ends of a known dimension (or set a 1:50 / 1:100 scale). Per-page calibration handles multi-scale jobs.
Measure and tag
Pick a tool, set a subject and trade, then click. Snap-to-geometry locks to wall corners and openings.
Export to Excel
Filter the markups list, total by unit, then export to CSV with all your custom columns intact.
See it in use.
Calibrate against any printed dimension.
The two-click calibration tool turns any printed dimension into a real-world reference. Snap-to-geometry locks onto the dimension witness lines so you get corner-to-corner accuracy without zooming to pixel level.
- Per-page calibration — multi-scale sheets handled cleanly
- Or specify a 1:n ratio when no printed dimension is available
- Calibration unit decoupled from display unit (calibrate in mm, display in m)
Snap to wall corners, openings and existing markups.
The PDF's vector operator stream is parsed into thousands of snap targets — every endpoint, edge and rectangle corner the original CAD export drew. Hold Shift to bypass for free placement.
- Orange box: PDF endpoints and existing markup vertices
- Green diamond: nearest perpendicular foot on a PDF edge
- Index size shown in the sidebar after each page renders
Filter, total, export.
Tag every markup with subject, trade, location and any custom column you need (SOR codes, rates, status). Filter the list by trade or location, see live totals per unit, then export the whole table to CSV.
- Filter by free text, trade, location or page
- Per-unit totals — areas in m², lengths in m, counts in ea
- Custom columns persist across CSV exports and saved projects
Free during the public beta.
QS Takeoff is at v0.9 beta. The core take-off workflow is feature-complete and stable, but we're gathering real-world feedback before locking down a 1.0 release. Sign up and use it free in the meantime — the tool only gets better with surveyors actually using it.
Beta access
Full functionality. No card. No time limit during beta.
- Every measurement tool, calibration method and export feature
- Save and load take-off projects to your account
- Generous storage allowance while in beta
- Direct line for feedback — what you raise shapes what gets built
We'll eventually need to charge to keep the lights on, but pricing won't be introduced until the tool is fully production-ready, and you'll have plenty of notice before that happens. Until then it's free.
Join the beta — freeCommon questions.
Is this really free?
Yes. The take-off tool is free for individual surveyors during the beta period with generous quotas (200 projects, 5 MB each).
Where are my drawings stored?
Drawings are not uploaded. The PDF is opened locally in your browser and rendered with PDF.js. Only the take-off data — calibration, markups, custom column values — is stored on the server, attached to your account. To resume a project on another device, you re-open the same PDF locally and load the saved markup data on top.
How accurate is the take-off?
As accurate as your calibration. Measurements are computed in PDF user-space units (1/72 inch) and converted via the calibration factor you set. Snap-to-geometry locks onto vector endpoints and edges from the PDF's content stream, so corner-to-corner accuracy is preserved when the source PDF was vector-published from CAD. Image-only / scanned PDFs have no vector data and rely on free pointing.
Can I use it on confidential drawings?
Yes — the drawings never leave your browser. PDF.js loads its worker from a public CDN so the JavaScript that reads PDFs is delivered remotely, but the file content stays local. If your IT policy requires an air-gap, the self-host option lets you run the entire stack on your own server.
Does it work on a tablet?
Best on a laptop / desktop today — the precision tools assume a mouse or trackpad. A tablet-optimised layout is on the roadmap.
What happens to my data if I delete my account?
Account deletion removes all your saved projects from the database. There are no backups retained beyond standard host snapshots. We don't sell or share any user data.
Can I export to anything other than CSV?
CSV is the format today, which Excel and Google Sheets both open directly. JSON export of the full project (for re-import) is available too. If your estimating system has a structured input format, get in touch.
I'm a developer — is the source available?
The take-off tool is a single static HTML + JS file (no build step) using PDF.js. The auth + cloud-storage layer is PHP + MySQL, designed for shared hosting. Source is available on request — see the contact link in the footer.
Ready to take off?
Sign up free, drop in a PDF, calibrate, and start measuring. No card, no install, no commitments.