HVAC Estimating Software Built for Subbies
ContractorCounter is hvac estimating software for HVAC and mechanical 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 HVAC 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 FastDUCT / FastEST if your estimating depends on deep pre-loaded hvac databases maintained for you — that depth is real, and we do not pretend to replace it.
01
What an HVAC estimate is made of here
The quantities come off the drawing, not a spreadsheet. Ductwork measured as calibrated runs by size and gauge, with fittings counted where the run turns or branches; Grilles, registers, and diffusers counted by type from the mechanical legend; Indoor and outdoor units counted per system, with refrigerant pipe runs measured between them; Flues, exhaust runs, and roof penetrations taken off the sections, not guessed from plan; Controls and dampers counted per zone alongside the ductwork that serves them — 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
A childcare centre mechanical layout: one plan sheet and one section, calibrated against the 6,000 mm column grid. Duct runs total 240 m across three sizes; the AI counts 38 diffusers and 12 return grilles off the legend symbols; 6 wall-mounted splits pair with their condensers at a combined 84 m of refrigerant pipe — every mark reviewable on the sheet before it commits. The BoQ prices duct per metre by size, terminals per unit, splits as supply-and-install pairs, and the quote versions itself when the mechanical engineer revises zone three. 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 install 300 mm rigid duct, per metre" and the proposal arrives with its reasoning — the item as read, labour-and-material split, your market — against the duct rates already in the bill. Never a bare number — a proposal you accept, revise, or dismiss.
04
Honest about FastDUCT / FastEST, Trimble AutoBid, Wendes
**FastDUCT / FastEST** — dedicated sheet-metal and mechanical estimating with maintained labour tables for full-time mechanical estimators. **Trimble AutoBid** — enterprise mechanical contractors whose estimating plugs into a wider Trimble stack. **Wendes** — HVAC-specific databases and MCAA-aligned labour units for commercial bid work. ContractorCounter wins on the other side of that trade-off: speed to a priced quote, working anywhere, and a price a HVAC outfit can carry (US$14/month) instead of an enterprise licence.
Common questions
Questions about HVAC estimating
Is this full hvac estimating software or just takeoff?
Both halves, in one flow: measure and count on the calibrated drawings (the [hvac takeoff](/construction-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 hvac cost database — your rates are yours.
Do the AI suggestions replace my HVAC rates?
No. Every AI count, measurement, and rate is a proposal you accept, revise, or dismiss — with the reasoning shown. Your HVAC rates stay yours; the AI removes the repetitive clicking, not the judgement about what a HVAC item is worth in your market.
What does HVAC estimating software cost compared to FastDUCT / FastEST?
US$14/month, or a US$249 one-time one-time license, with a free trial (card required). Specialist HVAC estimating suites like FastDUCT / FastEST, Trimble AutoBid, Wendes typically run to thousands per seat per year — worth it for their maintained databases if you use them, hard to justify for a small HVAC team pricing from its own rates.
Can it handle duct by size and fittings?
Measure each size as its own run so the BoQ lines split per size, and count fittings as symbols where runs turn or branch. It is a measured takeoff, not a pattern-cutting engine — sheet-metal shops needing developed patterns still use their fabrication software downstream.
