Drywall Estimating Software Built for Subbies
ContractorCounter is drywall estimating software for drywall and plastering contractors who price their own work: take off quantities from the drawings, let the AI suggest rates you review, and send a priced quote — one browser workspace, on site or in the office.
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Verdict
Choose ContractorCounter if you are drywall pricing your own jobs and you want takeoff, rates, and the quote in one place at US$14/month (or a US$249 one-time one-time license). Stay with a specialist estimating suite like PlanSwift if your estimating depends on deep pre-loaded drywall databases maintained for you — that depth is real, and we do not pretend to replace it.
01
What a drywall estimate is made of here
The quantities come off the drawing, not a spreadsheet. Wall areas from measured wall lengths × heights, per wall type from the schedule (single, double, fire-rated, acoustic); Ceiling areas as calibrated polygons per ceiling type — flush set, grid, bulkheads measured separately; Framing derived per m² by system, with stud spacing carried in the rate rather than re-measured; Openings deducted honestly — doors and windows over the threshold size, with reveals counted where they return; Access panels, control joints, and cornice runs counted or measured as their own lines — each one measured or counted on the calibrated sheet, each one a line in a live Bill of Quantities that stays tied to the markup that produced it.
02
A worked example
An office fit-out level: partition plan plus ceiling plan, calibrated against the 2,700 mm ceiling grid noted on the sheet. Partition runs total 214 m across three wall types, which at 2.7 m height gives 578 m² of wall lining per side with type splits kept; ceiling polygons total 640 m² of grid and 85 m² of flush-set bulkhead; the AI counts 14 access panels — every quantity visible on the sheet before it enters the bill. The BoQ prices lining per m² by wall type, ceilings per m² by system, bulkheads per metre, panels per item — and when the tenant moves a wall, the polygon moves and the bill follows. Every number traces back to a markup on the sheet, so when the scope changes the estimate follows.
03
AI takes the first pass — you keep the judgement
The AI assistant can count the repetitive items, measure runs, and set the drawing scale, with every result reviewed before it commits. Then the rate side: ask for a rate on "supply and fix 13 mm plasterboard, fire-rated wall, per m²" and it proposes one with reasoning — interpretation, labour-and-material split, your market — against the lining rates already in the bill. Never a bare number — a proposal you accept, revise, or dismiss.
04
Honest about PlanSwift, STACK, On-Screen Takeoff
**PlanSwift** — Windows desktop takeoff with drywall assemblies and a per-seat licence an established office already owns. **STACK** — cloud plan rooms and multi-estimator pipelines for interior contractors bidding at volume. **On-Screen Takeoff** — long-established desktop takeoff workflows a commercial drywall office has built its process around. ContractorCounter wins on the other side of that trade-off: speed to a priced quote, working anywhere, and a price a drywall outfit can carry (US$14/month) instead of an enterprise licence.
Common questions
Questions about Drywall estimating
Is this full drywall estimating software or just takeoff?
Both halves, in one flow: measure and count on the calibrated drawings (the [drywall takeoff](/drywall-takeoff-software) side), then price the resulting Bill of Quantities with your own rates or AI-suggested ones, and issue the quote. What it is not: a pre-loaded drywall cost database — your rates are yours.
Do the AI suggestions replace my drywall rates?
No. Every AI count, measurement, and rate is a proposal you accept, revise, or dismiss — with the reasoning shown. Your drywall rates stay yours; the AI removes the repetitive clicking, not the judgement about what a drywall item is worth in your market.
What does drywall estimating software cost compared to PlanSwift?
US$14/month, or a US$249 one-time one-time license, with a free trial (card required). Specialist drywall estimating suites like PlanSwift, STACK, On-Screen Takeoff typically run to thousands per seat per year — worth it for their maintained databases if you use them, hard to justify for a small drywall team pricing from its own rates.
Can it keep wall types separate in the bill?
Yes — measure each wall type as its own runs (colour-coded on the drawing) and the Bill of Quantities holds a line per type, so fire-rated and acoustic walls never average into the standard-wall rate. The type split survives export to PDF and spreadsheet.
