Togal.AI and BidFlow solve different problems. Togal automates quantity takeoff from construction drawings. BidFlow automates cost estimation and bid assembly from your past bids. If your bottleneck is measuring plans, Togal is the right tool. If your bottleneck is pricing and assembling competitive bids, BidFlow is.
Most firms that bid commercial work need both capabilities, but they don't need them from the same vendor. This comparison covers what each tool actually does, where each one wins, and the workflow for firms that end up running both.
For the broader field of estimating and takeoff tools commercial GCs evaluate in 2026, see the construction estimating software overview. For how Togal's category (AI takeoff) stacks up against the other major takeoff platform, see STACK vs PlanSwift vs ProEst vs BidFlow, since STACK is Togal's closest direct competitor on quantity takeoff.
What Togal.AI Actually Does
Togal.AI is an AI-powered takeoff tool, founded in 2019, focused on automating quantity measurement from construction drawings. Upload a plan set and Togal's AI identifies rooms, walls, doors, and other elements, then produces area, linear, and count measurements without the estimator manually tracing every line.
This is a genuinely hard problem and Togal is genuinely good at it. Manual takeoff is one of the most time-consuming parts of building an estimate, often eating hours per bid for a complex commercial set. Togal's AI takeoff cuts that time significantly for firms doing heavy plan measurement. The speed gain is real, not a marketing exaggeration.
Per-seat pricing typically runs $300 to $500 per user per month, which is meaningfully higher than STACK or PlanSwift's per-seat licensing. That premium buys AI-driven measurement instead of manual digital takeoff.
Where Togal stops is the estimate itself. It's a takeoff tool, not a full estimating platform. Togal doesn't carry a cost library, doesn't apply your unit costs or markup structure, and doesn't assemble a priced, bid-ready estimate. It hands you quantities. Turning those quantities into a number you'd actually put in front of an owner is a separate step that happens somewhere else, usually back in Excel or in a dedicated estimating system.
What BidFlow Actually Does
BidFlow is AI-powered estimating, not takeoff. The core bet is that most of the cost intelligence a commercial GC needs already lives in their past bids. Upload 3 to 5 of your past estimates in whatever Excel format your firm uses, and BidFlow's calibration model extracts your unit costs, your markup structure, your cost categories, and your typical assemblies in roughly 3 minutes.
BidFlow does not measure plans. It has no takeoff engine and makes no attempt to read a drawing set and count doors or calculate square footage. If quantities are the bottleneck, BidFlow doesn't touch that problem.
What BidFlow does is take quantities (however you got them, by hand, in Excel, or from a takeoff tool) and turn them into a priced, bid-ready estimate using a cost structure that mirrors how your firm already bids. Single flat pricing: $199 per month (or $1,990 per year), unlimited users, no per-seat charges, and 3 free estimates to start.
Where Each Fits
| Dimension | Togal.AI | BidFlow |
|---|---|---|
| Primary function | AI-powered takeoff | AI-powered estimating |
| What it measures | Quantities from drawings | Costs from past bids |
| Output | Quantity lists | Priced estimates |
| Pricing | ~$300 to $500/user/mo | $199/mo flat (all users) |
| Setup time | Hours (upload plans) | ~3 minutes (upload past bids) |
| Best for | Firms doing heavy plan takeoff | Firms pricing from experience |
The pricing gap is worth sitting with. Togal's per-seat cost, at $300 to $500 a month per user, means a 3-estimator firm pays $900 to $1,500 a month before any estimating tool is even in the picture. BidFlow's $199 flat covers the whole company regardless of headcount. These aren't competing for the same budget line item; a firm can reasonably run both and the combined cost is still driven mostly by Togal's per-seat model, not BidFlow's.
When You Need Both
The honest answer for most commercial GCs bidding off drawings is that Togal and BidFlow solve sequential problems, not competing ones. Togal takes a plan set and produces quantities: square footage of flooring, linear feet of wall, count of doors and fixtures. That's the takeoff step.
Once you have quantities, someone has to price them: apply unit costs, add markup, assemble line items into a coherent bid, and reconcile the total against what similar jobs actually cost your firm to build. That's the estimating step, and it's the step Togal explicitly doesn't do.
A firm running both tools uses Togal to generate quantities off a new plan set, then feeds those quantities into BidFlow, which prices them against the cost structure BidFlow already extracted from the firm's past bids. Togal answers "how much material and labor quantity does this job need?" BidFlow answers "what should we bid, based on what jobs like this have actually cost us before?"
Firms that don't do heavy plan takeoff (conceptual budgeting, negotiated work, repeat clients where the scope is well understood before drawings are final) may not need Togal at all. Firms that do heavy competitive-bid takeoff off complex plan sets but already have a cost-pricing workflow they trust may not need BidFlow. The overlap case, where a firm needs both fast takeoff and fast, accurate pricing calibrated to their own numbers, is where running both tools together makes sense.
See BidFlow vs STACK for how this same takeoff-plus-estimating question plays out against STACK, which bundles a takeoff layer with a lighter estimating layer rather than keeping the two fully separate.
Try BidFlow on a Past Bid
The cleanest evaluation is a real bid you've already sent. Upload a past commercial estimate to BidFlow and see what comes out the other side in 3 minutes. If the cost structure matches your bid within 5%, you have your answer. If it doesn't, you've spent 3 minutes and you walk away with your data intact. For a quick sanity check on bid pricing math without committing to a tool, the bid price calculator is free to use.
Upload one of your past estimates. 3 free estimates, then $199/month flat. No per-seat charges. Cancel any time.
FAQs
Is Togal.AI a replacement for a full estimating system?
No. Togal.AI is a takeoff tool. It measures quantities from drawings using AI but doesn't carry a cost library, apply unit costs and markup, or assemble a priced bid. Firms using Togal for takeoff still need a separate estimating step (Excel, a dedicated estimating platform, or BidFlow) to turn quantities into a number they'd actually submit.
Does BidFlow do takeoff like Togal.AI?
No. BidFlow doesn't measure plans, count doors, or calculate square footage from drawings. BidFlow's job starts where takeoff ends: it takes quantities, however you produced them, and prices them against a cost structure calibrated from your firm's past bids. If takeoff is your bottleneck, BidFlow doesn't address that.
How much does Togal.AI cost compared to BidFlow?
Togal.AI typically runs $300 to $500 per user per month. For a 3-estimator firm, that's $900 to $1,500 monthly, or roughly $10,800 to $18,000 a year, before any estimating tool. BidFlow is $199 per month flat for the whole company, or $1,990 per year, regardless of how many estimators use it. The two aren't really competing for the same budget: Togal's cost is driven by per-seat takeoff licensing, BidFlow's is a flat estimating fee.
Can I use Togal.AI and BidFlow together?
Yes, and for firms doing heavy plan takeoff on competitive bids, this is the most common fit. Togal generates quantities off the plan set, and those quantities get priced inside BidFlow using the cost structure BidFlow extracted from the firm's past estimates. The two tools cover sequential steps in the same bid: takeoff, then pricing.
Which tool is better for a small commercial GC in 2026?
Depends on the actual bottleneck. If your estimators are spending most of their time measuring plans and your pricing workflow already works, Togal is the better investment. If your team already gets to quantities fast enough (or doesn't do heavy plan-based takeoff) and the real problem is assembling a consistent, accurately priced bid, BidFlow fits more directly. Most firms bidding competitive commercial work eventually need both capabilities.
Does Togal.AI handle cost libraries or markup?
Not in the way a full estimating platform does. Togal's product is built around quantity takeoff, not cost management. Applying unit costs, tracking a cost library, and building in markup and fees is estimating-layer work that Togal doesn't perform. That's the gap BidFlow or a traditional estimating system fills.
How does Togal.AI's takeoff compare to STACK's?
Both are AI-assisted or digital takeoff tools competing for the same buyer, alongside PlanSwift and Bluebeam. Togal leans harder into AI-driven automatic measurement; STACK pairs strong cloud takeoff with a fuller (though still lighter than dedicated estimating platforms) estimating layer bundled in. See the STACK vs PlanSwift vs ProEst vs BidFlow comparison for the fuller breakdown of the takeoff-tool field.
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