Is pdf2takeoff really free?

Yes. It is free to use, Apache-2.0 licensed open source, with no account, no file limits and no paid tier. The source code is on GitHub.

Are my drawings uploaded to a server?

No. pdf2takeoff runs entirely in your browser. Your PDFs are rendered and measured on your own machine and never leave it, so it is safe for confidential tender documents.

Do the markups open in Bluebeam Revu or Adobe Acrobat?

Yes. Saved markups are written into the PDF as standard Line, PolyLine, Polygon and FreeText annotations with the measurement in the comment, so they appear in Bluebeam's markups list and in Acrobat.

What measurements can it do?

Lengths (including segmented runs), areas with perimeter, and counts, on any page you calibrate. Metric and imperial units are both supported.

What is the licence and can I contribute?

Apache-2.0 licence. Contributions, feature requests and trade-specific ideas are welcome on GitHub.

Takeoff complete: this is the output

Same numbers the CSV / Excel exports contain, grouped by label with totals.

Item	Type	Total

The measurements on the drawing are live: rename labels, drag them, measure more, or export again.

Free & open source · runs in your browser

Turn any PDF drawing into measured quantities

Calibrate the scale, measure lengths, areas and counts, and export the markups list to CSV, or save it back into the PDF so it opens in Bluebeam and Acrobat.

Files never leave your machine · open source · no account, ever

What is pdf2takeoff?

pdf2takeoff is a free, open-source tool that turns construction PDF drawings into measured quantities. Calibrate the scale from any printed dimension, measure lengths, areas and counts, then export the list to Excel or save it back into the PDF. It runs entirely in your browser, so drawings are never uploaded.

Free, no account Files never uploaded Open source · Apache-2.0 Metric & imperial Markups open in Bluebeam & Acrobat

How to do a takeoff from a PDF, free

Open the drawing. Drag any PDF into the window. Rendering happens on your machine; nothing is sent to a server.

Calibrate the scale. Click both ends of a printed dimension, type its real length, or pick a standard scale like 1:100 or 1/4″ = 1′-0″.

Measure. Trace wall runs with the Length tool, outline rooms and slabs with Area, and click Count for fixtures, columns and sockets. Each page keeps its own scale.

Export quantities. The markups list groups by label with running totals. Copy it into Excel or download the CSV.

Save into the PDF. Markups are written as standard PDF annotations, so the annotated file opens cleanly in Bluebeam Revu, Adobe Acrobat and every other PDF app.

Why open source?

Estimators shouldn't need a per-seat licence to count light fixtures. An open core means builders and developers can add trade-specific tools (HVAC, rebar, electrical) and AI takeoff helpers without asking permission. The roadmap includes revision overlay compare, live multi-user sessions, and a plugin API for auto-counting.

Frequently asked questions

Is it really free? What's the catch?

There is no catch and no paid tier. The project is Apache-2.0 licensed open source; hosting is a static page, so there is nothing to meter.

Are my drawings private?

Yes. The tool is a static web page: your browser renders the PDF and computes every measurement locally. Tender documents never leave your machine.

Will my markups show up in Bluebeam Revu?

Yes, that's the point. Measurements are saved as standard Line, PolyLine, Polygon and FreeText annotations with values in the comments, so they appear in Bluebeam's markups list and can be exported from there to Excel as usual.

What can't it do yet?

Live multi-user sessions and ML detection for cluttered sheets are on the roadmap. Today it covers calibrated measurement of lengths, areas and counts, CSV export, annotation round-tripping, revision overlay compare, and a click-to-teach Scan that auto-counts repeated symbols locally in about a tenth of a second.

Does it work offline?

Once the page has loaded, no network access is needed. You can keep working through an outage.