SimplyCount
SimplyCount

SimplyCount vs Autodesk Takeoff: Symbol Takeoff Without Uploading Your Plans

Choosing between SimplyCount and Autodesk Takeoff (cloud takeoff software) is mostly a question of where your drawings are allowed to live. Cloud tools process plan sets on vendor infrastructure — fine for some shops, a hard no for others' IT policies and NDA'd jobs. SimplyCount runs the count on the estimator's own machine: nothing is uploaded, results sit in an encrypted local database, and the number that leaves the app is one a person approved.

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Windows 10/11 · 16 GB RAM minimum · no GPU required — full requirements

When estimators compare SimplyCount to Autodesk Takeoff, the difference is where the counting — and the trust in the count — lives. SimplyCount finds and marks every symbol automatically, then puts a person in the loop: you review each symbol's detections and unverified counts show as a floor (≥), never dressed up as a total. It runs entirely on your own machine, so your drawings and IP never upload to anyone's cloud — most tools force everything through theirs. And it learns your custom symbols so the next job is faster than the last.

Why it's hard by hand

Your plan sets sit on someone else's servers — a question IT must answer for every NDA'd job.

No network, no takeoff — jobsite trailers and locked-down environments are out.

When a cloud subscription ends, access to the workflow ends with it.

How SimplyCount handles it

What you get

  • Automatic symbol detection across the whole plan set — not manual clicking.
  • You review each symbol's detections and accept or reject them; unverified counts show as a floor (≥).
  • SimplyCount runs on your own machine: counting is local, plan sets are never uploaded, and results live in an encrypted local database inside your firewall. The license is checked once, at app launch, over HTTPS — after that, counting runs fully offline; a fully offline build with no license check is available for air-gapped environments at negotiated pricing, and firms that want one shared install can run SimplyCount on a server inside their own firewall.
  • Self-learning: teach a symbol once and count it on every future job.
  • Exports to Excel, CSV and PDF. SimplyCount's benchmark is 60 unique symbols across 168 pages in about an hour, including review — roughly 168× faster than counting by hand. How we measured it.
168×
faster than hand-counting — 168 pages, 60 symbols, in about an hour
100%
of detections you review & sign off — you bid, not the model
0
uploads during counting — it runs on your own machine
Watch it count

Drag the line. See every symbol get found.

A real plan sheet — slide to reveal what SimplyCount marks.

A plan sheet before counting The same sheet with every symbol detected and marked Your planCounted Every symbol on this sheet — found & marked
Example: a real plan sheet.
Questions

Common questions

How is SimplyCount different from Autodesk Takeoff?
SimplyCount finds and marks every symbol automatically, then puts a person in the loop — you review each symbol's detections, and unverified counts show as a floor (≥), never dressed up as a total. You also get a tool that runs on your own machine — your drawings never leave it.
What does SimplyCount cost compared to Autodesk Takeoff?
For Autodesk Takeoff pricing, check their site — we don't quote other products' numbers. SimplyCount is free during early access (full features, no credit card); when early access ends, Pro is a paid subscription whose price is published on the pricing page before checkout opens — you always see the number before you pay.
Can we keep everything inside our network?
Your plan sets, yes: detection runs locally, results sit in an encrypted local database, and there is no upload step. SimplyCount checks its licence once, when the app launches — that check needs an internet connection and carries licence state only, never your drawings; after launch, counting runs fully offline. For environments that cannot allow any outbound connection, a fully offline build with no licence check is available at negotiated pricing — see the system requirements page.
How fast is it, really?
SimplyCount's benchmark is 60 unique symbols across 168 pages in about an hour — roughly 168× faster than counting by hand. Most sheets go from open plans to a draft count in minutes.
Can it learn our custom or non-standard symbols?
Yes. SimplyCount is self-learning: teach it a symbol once from your own legend and it counts that symbol on every future job, getting more accurate the more you use it.
Keep exploring

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Autodesk Takeoff is a trademark of its respective owner. SimplyCount is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by them; the name is used only to identify the product being compared. Product details reflect our understanding at publication — check their site for current specifics.

Never manually count another symbol

Request early access with your work email — the team reviews every request, nearest bid deadlines first — then run your first plan and see a number you can defend. 168 pages · 60 symbols · ~1 hour.

Request Early Access

Free during early access · Your work email · No credit card · Counting runs on your machine

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