SitesAI Features For estimators
SitesAI Estimate · For estimatorsSitesAI for estimators
For an estimator, SitesAI Estimate turns a set of plans into cut and fill quantities and a priced estimate, in a browser. You load a PDF, DWG or DXF plan, calibrate it, trace the work area, set the existing and design levels, check the result as 3D terrain, then price the lines and export the estimate to Excel or PDF.
What does an estimator do in SitesAI Estimate?
Measure from the file the engineer sent
PDF, DWG and DXF plans all open in the browser. A CAD file carries its own units and often its own levels, and a PDF is calibrated from a known distance. DWG and DXF takeoff in the browser.
Calibrate, then check the scale
Click two points a known distance apart and type the real length, then measure a second dimension somewhere else on the sheet to confirm it. How to calibrate a PDF site plan.
Get cut and fill from two surfaces
Trace the boundary, give the app the existing levels and the design levels, and it calculates the cut and fill between them. The volumes are geometric, so bulking and compaction are your own priced lines. Cut and fill from a PDF plan.
Check it in 3D before you price it
The 3D terrain view shows levels, batters and pad shape, which is the quickest way to catch a level that was typed wrong. SitesAI Estimate.
Price the lines and export
The quantities become lines in an estimate you can price, group into stages and export to Excel or PDF. On the AI plan, AI auto-takeoff drafts a first pass for you to review before it is applied. AI auto-takeoff and how you check it.
What does it cost?
SitesAI Estimate has a Free plan at US$0 for viewing, markup and the 3D view. Pro, which adds cut and fill volume quantities and exports, is US$39 per user per month, or US$390 per year. The AI plan, which adds AI auto-takeoff, is US$99 per user per month, or US$990 per year.
30-day money-back guarantee on any paid plan. Plans and current prices are on the pricing page.
Guides that go deeper
- Cut and fill from a PDF plan in about ten minutes. Step by step: get cut and fill volumes from a PDF site plan in SitesAI Estimate — scale, boundary, existing and design levels, a 3D check, then export.
- How to calibrate a PDF site plan so the quantities are right. Scale bars lie. How to calibrate a PDF or scanned plan, check it with a second dimension, and spot the reissue that was printed at the wrong size.
- Earthworks estimate in Excel — strip, cut, fill, haul, compaction. The lines an excavation estimate in Excel needs, which volume each line is priced on, and how to keep the quantities tied to the takeoff.
- Run your earthworks takeoff from Claude or ChatGPT. SitesAI Estimate has an MCP connector. Ask an AI assistant to open a plan, set the scale, draw the takeoff and price the estimate — while you watch and approve.
More about SitesAI Estimate. All features and roles.
Questions from estimators
Which plan files can I take off from?
PDF, DWG and DXF. DXF from R12 to 2018 opens in the browser, and DWG from R14 to 2018 is converted on our server and opens the same way.
Are the volumes bank or loose?
They are geometric: the difference between the existing surface and the design surface. Add your own bulking, compaction and haul allowances as priced lines. See soil bulking and shrinkage factors.
What does the Free plan leave out?
The Free plan covers markup, drawing boundaries and surfaces, and the 3D view, on one sheet. Cut and fill volume figures, unlimited design sheets, Excel and PDF export and cloud sync are part of Pro.
Can an AI assistant do the takeoff?
On the AI plan, AI auto-takeoff proposes takeoff geometry and nothing is applied until you accept it. The MCP connector also lets Claude or ChatGPT drive the same tools. See the AI connectors page.
Try it on your next plan set
Open SitesAI Estimate in your browser, sign in with Google or Microsoft and add a PDF, DWG or DXF plan.