The ability to overlay conditions, track changes, and organize takeoffs with precision saves hours on every project. I also appreciate how easy it is to review quantities, export data, and keep everything consistent across multiple drawings. It reduces errors, boosts confidence, and genuinely streamlines the estimating process. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The UI feels old‑school compared to newer estimating platforms. Some menus and workflows aren’t as streamlined as they could be, which slows down navigation when you’re working through dozens of drawings. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I find On-Screen Takeoff easy to use. I like how easy it is to highlight certain areas. I also found the initial setup very easy. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Hard to open files Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

This program has proven to be incredibly useful for tracking production, especially with its feature that allows us to physically mark completions and percentage completion on every item in our takeoff. I use it most days and really appreciate being able to pick up exactly where I left off, even when I don't have an internet connection. Since our company adopted this software, our work has become much easier, as integrating this production tracking system is far more efficient than relying on traditional paper and pen takeoff methods. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

If it were possible to use this program on an iPad instead of having to carry a laptop while walking around my project sites, it would be a significant improvement in terms of ease of use. This would be especially beneficial if foremen and field personnel could access and utilize it directly themselves. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

It seems easy to use, I like the set out of the HDR Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Sometime it can be very laggy when I have multiple drawings Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What is most helpful is the ability to create and customize my takeoff conditions and assign them to groups and sections. Also having OST in conjunction with Quickbid is a very powerful way to create a bid. And once I have bid something, I can track plan changes fairly easily. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What I dislike the least is handling a masonry takeoff, which I sometimes have to do. Specifically CMU walls and such items. There is a lot of customizing I have to do and often enough it doens't work the way I want it to. Like rebar takeoffs are very easy or accurate.

Another dislike, which is linked to masonry takeoffs, is the inability to have multiple scale on the same page and/or split horizontal v vertical scales. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I use OST for lath and plaster takeoffs, which can be very detailed and have a lot of different components. One of the most useful features is the ability to have a quantity two and quantity three all in one condition, it is efficient and leaves my takeoff looking clean and easy for the field to understand. Using the layers feature is also helpful in isolating certain aspects of my takeoff so I can check their accuracy quickly and provide specific material layouts to the field. Overall, my takeoffs can be extremely accurate, which allows for me and my team to know our exact costs and manipulate profit margins to land jobs and stay profitable in the process. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

There aren't many downsides to using OST, although there are some features that I think can be improved. One of the things that impacts me the most is the measurement tool's tendency to auto-snap to measurements and other linear condition takeoffs on an elevation. For example if I am trying to measure a building height in order to figure out a hidden wall's height the measurement will snap into a bunch of different sections because I also have an expansion joint takeoff where I am trying to measure. While I did reach out to OST and request a feature, no progress has been made and the only solution I was offered was to turn all my other layers off. I think another feature that could be useful in saving time is an auto-scale feature, currently we rename and rescale all our plan sets. I know the technology is out there, it just hasn't yet made it to this program, I think in that regard OST is a little behind. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What I like best about OST is how well it handles complex estimating setups. I work in stucco, which means I’m constantly juggling a ton of different wall types, metals, and conditions, and OST lets me build out all of that without getting bogged down. Once you’re familiar with the workflow, it speeds up takeoffs dramatically and helps keep everything consistent and accurate from job to job.

I also really appreciate the people behind the software. The in-person OST/QuickBid training was genuinely helpful—they actually understand estimating, not just the program. Any issue I brought up, they tried to solve right there, and if there wasn’t an immediate fix they helped push a feature request through. Their phone support has been just as solid; most of the time they can either walk me through the solution or remote in and fix it directly. That level of support makes the learning curve feel a lot less steep. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What I dislike most about OST is the measuring behavior. The auto-snap feature sounds helpful in theory, but in practice it constantly snaps to other takeoff or even the page itself. When I’m trying to measure something in clean segments—like laying out 20-foot increments for scaffolding—it breaks the line into a bunch of small, useless measurements. I brought this up during the in-person training, and even the trainers couldn’t find a way to disable or adjust it. We submitted a feature request, but it still hasn’t been resolved.

The other big drawback is the lack of meaningful AI integration. They’ve started adding some AI tools like Takeoff Boost and page renaming, but they’re very limited compared to what’s possible today. Boost doesn’t help at all with elevation takeoffs, which make up a large part of stucco estimating, and even on floor plans the results are only useful in very specific situations. The AI page renaming is slow and not very accurate, even though that kind of tech has been around for years.

Overall, the core program is strong, but the slow pace of updates—especially around AI—makes it feel like it’s falling behind modern tools. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I use On-Screen Takeoff® for my take-offs of blueprints, and I really appreciate that I do not have to manually measure and figure out square footage. I like the ease of use it offers, and I enjoy the options to figure different conditions at the same time. The initial setup was very easy too. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I find it would be nice to have a curve function when tracing lines. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Ease of use. UI. Integration with Takeoff Boost. Fast takeoff. Affordable pricing. Onboarding and training support. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Ai Integrations to the UI is not available. Product could be improved to become a one-stop solution for all estimation needs like accepting material properties. Giving quantities by understand material properties. Integration with standard pricing information/custom pricing index. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

After near 21 years using OST exclusively, what I like best is that I've been able to grow with each new release. The evolution of both my level of proficiency and depth of knowledge contained within my database has been able to occur right alongside the evolution of the platform. The fact I've always been able to keep my data local, is high-level priority and important to maintaining confidence in the platform. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The only negative I would point out, is that the development and intergration of AI (Boost) has lagged behind certain competing platforms, almost causing me to move on from OST. Local vs. cloud based data storage is important to me. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.