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Comparison · Updated August 2026

A PlanSwift alternative — including when it isn't one.

PlanSwift is a capable multi-trade takeoff and estimating package. TitanBQ is a narrow MEP takeoff tool. They overlap, but they are not the same product, and for a decent share of estimators PlanSwift is genuinely the right purchase.

This page lays out where each one wins so you can work out which side of the line you are on — rather than finding out after you have paid.

Short version

Which one should you buy?

Stay with PlanSwift if…
You need an estimating system
  • You use assemblies with embedded labour and material costs, not just quantities
  • You take off multiple trades — concrete, drywall, framing, flooring — not only MEP
  • You need bill-of-materials generation and accounting integration
  • Your team is already trained on it and productive
  • You want one tool that spans takeoff and priced estimate
Look at TitanBQ if…
You need MEP quantities, fast
  • You mainly take off pipe and duct, and price in a spreadsheet you already trust
  • Manual elbow and fitting counting is where your time goes
  • You price insulation and need surface area, not just length
  • Your estimators are on Mac or iPad, or you don't want desktop installs
  • Uploading confidential tender drawings to a cloud is not acceptable
  • A four-figure annual licence has never made sense for your volume
The part most comparison pages leave out

TitanBQ produces quantities, not a priced bid. There are no assemblies, no labour units, and no priced material database. If those are load-bearing in your process, nothing below changes that — PlanSwift does something we deliberately do not.

We would rather you know that now than discover it three weeks into a trial.

Side by side

Feature comparison.

CapabilityPlanSwiftTitanBQ Pro
PlatformWindows desktop applicationAny modern browser — Windows, macOS, Linux, iPad
InstallationRequiredNone
Linear, count & area takeoffYes — multi-tradeYes — MEP scope
Assemblies with labour & material costsYesNo
Bill of materials generationYesQuantities only
Cost estimating & priced bidYesNo — export to your own pricing sheet
Automatic elbow counting from turn geometryVia configured assembliesBuilt in, no setup
Duct length + surface area in one passNot as a single operationYes
Trades coveredMulti-trade — concrete, drywall, framing, MEP and moreMEP piping & ductwork only
Excel exportYesYes — page breakdown + summary sheet
Drawings uploaded to a serverNo — desktop applicationNo — processed in your browser
Time to productive useTraining typically requiredTypically within the first session
Free trialYes — short60 days, no credit card
Indicative cost~US$1,595–2,000 per user / year
(third-party listings; perpetual licence discontinued 2025)
From S$12 per month

Comparison reflects publicly documented capabilities as at August 2026 and is our own assessment, not ConstructConnect's. ConstructConnect does not publish public PlanSwift pricing — the figures above come from third-party software directories and vary between them. Confirm current features and pricing directly with ConstructConnect.

Where it actually differs

Breadth versus depth.

PlanSwift is broad

It covers many trades, and its assembly system is the real product — attach rules to a takeoff and it generates materials and costs, not just measurements. For a general contractor or a multi-trade estimator, that breadth is exactly the point, and no narrow tool competes with it.

TitanBQ is narrow on purpose

It does one job: turn a PDF drawing into piping and duct quantities. That narrowness buys two things a general tool cannot easily offer.

Elbow counting comes free. Because it only ever deals with pipe and duct, it can treat every direction change in a traced polyline as a fitting and count it — no assembly configuration, no rules to maintain. In a general multi-trade tool that logic has to be set up, because the tool cannot assume the line you drew is a pipe.

Duct surface area comes with the length. Draw a duct run and you get length and surface area together, because insulation is billed on area. General tools measure the line; the area is a second exercise.

The honest framing: this is not "better than PlanSwift". It is a different shape. A specialist tool beats a generalist inside its specialism and loses everywhere else.

If your work is 80% MEP takeoff and 20% everything else, the specialist is probably the better daily driver. Flip those numbers and it isn't.

Cost, honestly

The price gap here is large enough to be suspicious of, so treat it as scope rather than a bargain. PlanSwift is priced as a professional multi-trade estimating package with support and training behind it. TitanBQ is priced as a single-purpose measuring tool. You are not getting the same thing cheaper — you are getting less, for much less, and for some estimators "less" is precisely the right amount.

If you're switching

How to test it properly.

  1. Pick a sheet you have already taken off in PlanSwift. A real one, with a number you trust — not a simple drawing.
  2. Take it off again in TitanBQ. Do not look at your old figures while you work.
  3. Reconcile. Compare pipe length by size and elbow count. If they disagree, find out which one was wrong — occasionally it is the original.
  4. Time both. Wall-clock, honestly, including setup.
  5. Check the export. Open the Excel output and see whether it drops into your pricing workbook without reformatting. If it doesn't, that friction is the real cost.

The trial runs 60 days with no credit card, which is deliberately long enough to cover a full tender cycle rather than a demo drawing.

FAQ

Common questions.

Is TitanBQ a full PlanSwift replacement?

No. PlanSwift is a multi-trade takeoff and estimating package with assemblies, cost databases and bill-of-materials generation. TitanBQ produces piping and duct quantities and exports them to Excel.

If you rely on assemblies with embedded labour and material costs, PlanSwift does something TitanBQ does not.

Does PlanSwift run on Mac?

PlanSwift is a Windows desktop application. Mac users generally run it under virtualisation or on a separate Windows machine. TitanBQ runs in any modern browser, including macOS, Linux and iPad.

How much does PlanSwift cost?

ConstructConnect does not publish public pricing. Third-party directories list it around US$1,595–2,000 per user per year as at 2026, and report the perpetual licence option was discontinued in 2025. Confirm directly with ConstructConnect — directory figures are frequently out of date.

Does PlanSwift count pipe elbows automatically?

PlanSwift measures linear runs, counts and areas, and its assemblies can attach fitting quantities according to rules you configure. TitanBQ derives elbow counts directly from the turn geometry of the polyline as you trace, with no assembly setup. Different routes to a similar outcome — the difference is how much configuration sits in front of it.

Can I use both?

Some estimators do. PlanSwift handles general trades and the priced estimate; a dedicated MEP tool handles piping and duct quantities that feed into it. TitanBQ exports to Excel, so the quantities drop into whatever workbook or estimating system you already run.

What about STACK, Bluebeam or Square Takeoff?

Same logic applies. STACK and Square Takeoff are multi-trade cloud takeoff platforms; Bluebeam is a PDF markup tool with measurement built in. The question is always whether you need breadth across trades and a priced estimate, or depth in MEP quantities. See our Bluebeam Revu 20 end-of-life guide if that is the decision in front of you.

Test it against your own numbers.

Take a sheet you have already taken off in PlanSwift and run it through. Reconciling against a figure you trust is the only comparison worth anything.

No credit card · No installation · Drawings never leave your computer
Sources

Where these figures come from.

PlanSwift platform, feature and pricing information is drawn from ConstructConnect's own product pages and from third-party software directories including Capterra, SoftwareAdvice, TrustRadius and SelectHub, reviewed August 2026. Directory pricing for PlanSwift varies between sources, which is why a range is quoted rather than a single figure.

TitanBQ is an independent product and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by ConstructConnect or PlanSwift. "PlanSwift" and "ConstructConnect" are trademarks of their respective owners and are used here solely to identify the products being compared. Comparisons reflect our own assessment of publicly available information as at 4 August 2026 and may become outdated — verify current features and pricing with the vendor before purchasing. Nothing on this page is legal or procurement advice.