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 — unlimited projects, a free trial, and an integrated path from measured quantities to a proposal, with optional AI add-ons for specific takeoff categories (doors, windows, walls, areas) and a plan-chat assistant. Civils.ai is narrower and deeper on the AI side: every takeoff is QA-reviewed before delivery, prompts are plain-English rather than category-specific add-ons, and the document-intelligence layer extends into full spec/contract search and civil engineering data — boreholes, reinforcement drawings, subsurface utilities and volumetric calculations. Real, verified STACK users on Capterra also specifically flag its AI as weaker on civil and underground-utility work — exactly the projects Civils.ai is built around. 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 — $249–$299/user/month per their pricing page, with unlimited projects, a free 7-day trial, and optional AI add-ons layered onto 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 optional AI add-ons for areas, doors/windows, walls and aerial images. source |
| Takeoff requests via plain-English prompts (not manual clicking) | Built-in Describe the scope in plain English; no manual boundary-drawing required. | Partial AI Takeoffs add-on auto-detects specific categories (doors, windows, walls, areas); not a general natural-language prompt system. source |
| Every takeoff goes through a further quality-assurance step before delivery | Built-in Standard on every plan. | Not built-in Self-service software with a free trial and unlimited viewer seats — no QA-reviewed delivery service is published. source |
| AI search & Q&A across contract, spec & bid documents, with citations | Built-in Unlimited documents, always cites and opens the source. | Partial "STACK Assist Plan Chat" answers questions about project details; not confirmed as full-text search with citations across a full specs/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 Not mentioned anywhere in their public materials; product appears scoped to above-ground drawing takeoffs, with no evidence of borehole, reinforcement, subsurface-utility or volumetric-calculation extraction. |
| 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. source |
Pricing and feature claims about STACK Construction Technologies are drawn from its own public pricing and product pages, checked 28 Jul 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 — real STACK users report exactly this as a weak spot for its AI takeoffs
Pick STACK if…
- You want an all-in-one takeoff-to-estimate-to-proposal workflow in one seat license
- You want a 7-day free trial with unlimited viewer seats to test before buying
- 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.
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Frequently asked questions.
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STACK's Takeoff & Estimate plans list at $249–$299/user/month billed annually, per stackct.com/takeoff-and-estimate-pricing as of 28 Jul 2026. Civils.ai's plans are on /pricing — see current pricing there.
Yes — STACK offers a free 7-day trial with Pro-level features and unlimited viewer seats, per their pricing page. Civils.ai's trial/plan terms are on /pricing.
Mixed, per STACK's own verified Capterra reviewers — one flagged that "for civil the plans can get pretty messy" for its AI feature, and another cited "the lack of AI support for underground utilities projects and waterworks." Civils.ai is built specifically for civil and earthworks takeoffs.
Not quite — STACK's AI add-ons auto-detect specific categories like doors, windows, walls and areas. Civils.ai's takeoffs run from a plain-English scope you type, covering a broader range of trades in one flow, and every result is QA-reviewed before delivery.
STACK Assist Plan Chat answers questions about project details, per their pricing page. 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.
No mention of borehole, reinforcement, subsurface-utility or volumetric-calculation extraction in STACK's public materials. Civils.ai reads borehole logs from geotechnical reports, extracts reinforcement schedules, and takes off subsurface utilities and volumes.
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