Civils.ai vs STACK
STACK is an all-in-one, self-service takeoff-to-proposal platform. Civils.ai is narrower and QA-reviewed. Here is how the two actually compare.
STACK is a broad, self-service takeoff-and-estimate platform — a $0 free plan that includes seven days of Pro, paid Premium and Pro seats billed annually, and an integrated path from measured quantities to a proposal. AI Takeoffs and STACK IQ are included in the paid plans: STACK IQ, launched in September 2026, lets users direct takeoff and estimating work in plain language through AI tools such as Claude and ChatGPT. Civils.ai is narrower on the delivery side: every takeoff is QA-reviewed before delivery rather than run and checked by your own team, and the document-intelligence layer extends into full spec/contract search and civil engineering data, including borehole logs from geotechnical reports. STACK's own sitework page covers trench volumes, cut and fill, and underground utilities, so it is not absent from civil work; some STACK reviewers on Capterra have nonetheless flagged its AI as weaker on civil and underground-utility projects (we could not re-confirm those reviews on 15 Oct 2026). Pick STACK if you want one platform covering takeoff through proposal that your team runs directly; pick Civils.ai if you want the takeoff and document review done for you, especially on earthworks and civil scope.
How each one frames itself.
Each product's own positioning, in its own terms — before the feature-by-feature detail below.
Civils.ai
Civils.ai positions itself around AI-first, QA-reviewed takeoffs plus a document-intelligence layer that searches specs, contracts and civil engineering data (boreholes, reinforcement, subsurface utilities, volumes) — a checked deliverable rather than a self-service estimating platform.
STACK
STACK positions itself as an all-in-one, cloud-based takeoff-and-estimate platform — Premium at $299/user/month and Pro at $349/user/month, billed annually per their pricing page, plus a $0 Free plan that includes seven days of Pro, with AI Takeoffs and STACK IQ included in the paid plans on a largely self-service workflow.
Feature by feature.
Every claim below is sourced from STACK's own public pages where possible — see the "source" link on any row.
| Feature | Civils.ai | STACK |
|---|---|---|
| Reads & measures quantities directly from PDF drawings | Built-in Type your scope in plain English; AI measures the drawing, with a further quality-assurance step before delivery. | Built-in Core takeoff tools plus AI Takeoffs and symbol search included in the paid plans; AI Aerial Image Takeoff is a separate add-on. source |
| Takeoff requests via plain-English prompts (not manual clicking) | Built-in Describe the scope in plain English; no manual boundary-drawing required. | Built-in STACK IQ (launched 1 Sep 2026) lets users "complete takeoff, estimating and other preconstruction tasks by describing what they need in plain language" through AI tools such as Claude and ChatGPT, at no extra charge. Their early examples include building takeoff libraries, auditing estimates and generating proposals. source |
| Every takeoff goes through a further quality-assurance step before delivery | Built-in Standard on every plan. | Not built-in Self-service software — a $0 Free plan and paid seats your own team runs; no QA-reviewed delivery service is published on their plans page. source |
| AI search & Q&A across contract, spec & bid documents, with citations | Built-in Unlimited documents, always cites and opens the source. | Partial Their plan and spec page says you can "search by keyword, specification section, or section number" across a plan set, and their pricing page lists a "GPT-powered AI chat to quickly understand project details". Not confirmed as cited AI search across a full specs and contracts set. source |
| Civil engineering data extraction (boreholes, reinforcement, subsurface utilities, volumetrics) | Built-in Extracts borehole logs from geotechnical reports, reinforcement/rebar schedules from structural drawings, buried/subsurface utilities, and volumetric takeoffs (concrete volumes today; earthworks cut-and-fill volumes coming soon). | Partial Their sitework page covers calculating trench volumes, cut and fill, and underground utilities and excavation. We found no mention of borehole-log extraction or reinforcement-schedule extraction. source |
| Reliable AI support for civil, earthworks & underground-utility takeoffs specifically | Built-in Built ground-up for civil and earthworks — this is the core use case, not an edge case. | Partial Real, named users report this as a specific weak spot in verified Capterra reviews: "I like the idea of an AI feature but for civil the plans can get pretty messy" (Michael L., Account Manager) and "I would honestly say the lack of AI support for underground utilities projects and waterworks" (Jeffery H.). Held at "partial," not "no," since this is user-reported rather than STACK's own material. We could not re-check these reviews on 15 Oct 2026 (Capterra blocks automated access), and STACK's own sitework page now covers underground utilities. source |
Pricing and feature claims about STACK Construction Technologies are drawn from its own public pricing and product pages, checked 15 Oct 2026. Civils.ai is not affiliated with or endorsed by STACK Construction Technologies. Software changes fast — if something here is out of date, tell us and we’ll fix it.
Who each one is for.
Pick Civils.ai if…
- You want takeoffs delivered with a further quality-assurance step, not just software you run yourself
- You need full-text AI search with citations across specs and contracts, not a project-chat assistant
- You need civil engineering data extraction (boreholes, reinforcement, subsurface utilities, volumes) alongside your takeoffs
- Your work is earthworks, civil or underground-utility heavy and you want a QA-reviewed result — some STACK reviewers flag its AI as weaker on that kind of work
Pick STACK if…
- You want an all-in-one takeoff-to-estimate-to-proposal workflow in one seat license
- You want a $0 free plan and a 7-day Pro trial to test before buying
- You want to direct estimating work in plain language through Claude or ChatGPT using STACK IQ, which is included at no extra charge
- Your team is comfortable running and checking AI-assisted takeoffs itself rather than receiving a QA-reviewed deliverable
See a real, QA-reviewed takeoff
Every Civils.ai takeoff is measured by AI, checked by a person, and delivered as an annotated PDF plus a clean Excel export — not a self-service result you have to verify yourself.
Get startedWhat our clients say
Frequently asked questions.
Can't find what you're looking for? Get in touch.
STACK's Takeoff & Estimate plans list at $299 (Premium) and $349 (Pro) per user per month, billed annually, plus a $0 Free plan, per stackct.com/takeoff-and-estimate-pricing as of 15 Oct 2026. Civils.ai's plans are on /pricing — see current pricing there.
STACK has a $0 Free plan (one active project a month, up to 300 plan pages per project) that includes seven days of Pro, per their pricing page. Civils.ai's trial/plan terms are on /pricing.
Mixed. STACK's own sitework page covers trench volumes, cut and fill, and underground utilities, but some Capterra reviewers flagged its AI as weaker on this kind of work — one said "for civil the plans can get pretty messy" and another cited "the lack of AI support for underground utilities projects and waterworks." We could not re-check those reviews on 15 Oct 2026. Civils.ai is built specifically for civil and earthworks takeoffs.
Not quite. STACK's AI Takeoffs detect specific categories like doors, windows, walls and areas, and its STACK IQ connector lets you direct work in plain language through AI tools such as Claude or ChatGPT. Civils.ai's takeoffs run from a plain-English scope you type, and every result is QA-reviewed before delivery.
STACK's plan and spec page describes searching a plan set by keyword, specification section or section number, and its pricing page lists a GPT-powered AI chat for understanding project details. We could not confirm whether it does full-text search with citations across a full set of specs and contracts the way Civils.ai does.
Partly. STACK's sitework page covers trench volumes, cut and fill, and underground utilities, but we found no mention of borehole-log or reinforcement-schedule extraction. Civils.ai reads borehole logs from geotechnical reports, extracts reinforcement schedules, and takes off subsurface utilities and volumes.
Start using Civils.ai today.
Join 200+ contractors and consultants cutting takeoff time by up to 90%. No setup fees, cancel anytime.
Get started