Electrical Bidding Software: 11 Tools Compared (2026)

Electrical bidding software is any program an electrical contractor uses to win work from drawings: finding invitations to bid, taking off the plans, pricing material and labor, and sending the proposal. No single tool does all four well, and most "best of" lists mix tools that do completely different jobs. This guide sorts 11 tools by the part of the bid each one does, with the prices each vendor publishes (read on November 3, 2026) and a plain "quote only" where they publish none.

A note on who wrote this: we make electricaltakeoffsoftware.com, an AI electrical takeoff product, and it is one of the 11. We put it in its own category, say what it does not do, and link every competitor fact to the vendor's own page so you can check it.

What Is Electrical Bidding Software?

"Bidding software" gets used for three different kinds of product. Knowing which one you need saves you from paying for the wrong one.

The third kind is service quoting: field service platforms such as ServiceTitan, where a technician prices a service call on site from a flat-rate pricebook. ServiceTitan sells per technician and publishes no dollar figures (servicetitan.com/pricing). That is a different job from bidding a plan set, and this guide leaves it out. If service work is most of your business, our electrical pricing software guide covers pricebooks.

ConEst, which sells estimating software, makes a useful distinction on its own bidding software page: estimating is building the cost, and bidding is the last stage, where quotes, labor adjustments, overhead, profit, bond and the proposal turn that cost into a number you can send. A good estimating suite does both. A takeoff tool does neither on its own.

How Is an Electrical Bid Built, Step by Step?

Software choices make more sense once you see where the hours in a bid go. On a plan-and-spec commercial job, an electrical bid goes through these steps whatever tools you use:

1. Go or no-go. Read the invitation, the bid date, the bid form and the GC's scope sheet. Decide if the job fits your crews, your bonding and your backlog. A bid you should not have chased costs the same hours as one you win.
2. Scope review. Read the electrical specifications (Division 26, plus 27 and 28 if low voltage and fire alarm are yours), the general notes, the legends and the other trades' sheets. Mechanical equipment schedules, kitchen equipment plans and reflected ceiling plans all hide electrical scope.
3. Takeoff. Count every device by type on every plan sheet. Measure branch circuits, homeruns and feeders. Take the gear off the one-line and the panel schedules. This is where most of the estimator's time goes.
4. Labor. Apply labor units to every item: hours per device, per foot of conduit, per termination. Then adjust for job conditions.
5. Material pricing. Price commodity material (wire, conduit, boxes, devices) from a price service or your distributor. Get quotes for the big packages: switchgear and panels, lighting, fire alarm, generators.
6. Job expenses and markup. Lifts, permits, temporary power, supervision, small tools, cleanup. Then overhead and profit.
7. RFIs and qualifications. Every place the drawings conflict or leave a question open becomes an RFI to the GC, an assumption you price, or a qualification or exclusion on the proposal.
8. Proposal and bid day. Write the proposal with inclusions, exclusions and alternates, plug the late quotes, and send it.

Steps 3 to 6 are where software earns its keep, along with getting the proposal out the door. It helps least with step 1, which is judgment, and with step 7, where someone has to read the set the way a lawyer reads a contract. When you compare tools, ask which of these steps the tool does for you and which ones it only gives you a box to type into.

Labor units: the part that decides whether you make money

Every estimating suite in this guide starts from a labor unit database you can adjust. The best-known published set is the NECA Manual of Labor Units, which EC&M called "the industry standard for electrical construction estimators and project managers" when it became available as a digital feed (EC&M, 2007). But published units are a starting point. In EC&M's eight estimating principles, Don Kiper advises tracking your own labor data, because standard units are approximations. He also says to factor for job conditions such as occupied buildings and mounting height, and to compare estimated against actual hours after every job. He notes there are "as many as 40 project labor factors used today."

Mike Holt made the same point years earlier: labor units assume a skilled electrician working under standard conditions, and the estimator adjusts them for the site. "It won't matter how many bids you secure in the end if you continuously fail to meet proposed labor goals" (EC&M, 2000). So whatever you buy, check that you can change its labor units and job factors, and that you can compare the hours you bid with the hours the job took.

11 Electrical Bidding Software Tools, by the Job They Do

The tools are grouped by category, not ranked, because the right one depends on which part of the bid is costing you the most. Every price is from the vendor's own page on November 3, 2026. Vendors change prices, so confirm before you buy.

Finding bids

1. BuildingConnected (Autodesk): finding and tracking invitations to bid

General contractors use BuildingConnected to send ITBs and level the bids they get back. For subcontractors, Autodesk offers Bid Board Pro: one place for incoming invitations, due dates, a plan room for the drawings, and bid forwarding (Autodesk BuildingConnected). It does not do takeoff or pricing, so it sits in front of whichever estimating tool you use.

• Does: finding work, tracking invitations and due dates, downloading drawings
• Doesn't: takeoff, labor, pricing or proposals
• Price: not shown on the product page we read
• Best for: any commercial sub who bids GCs that use it

Full estimating suites

2. McCormick Systems: estimating suite with a large electrical database

McCormick covers takeoff (with auto-count and what it calls a patented Auto Home Run), a database of 55,000+ items and 25,000 assemblies priced from pricing services or your supply house, labor units you can customize, and prevailing wage tables. Its FAQ says you can track deadlines, follow-ups and win rates. It runs in the cloud, on your own server, or hosted (McCormick electrical).

• Does: takeoff, pricing database, labor, bid tracking
• Price: quote only; no public pricing
• Best for: commercial shops with a full-time estimator who will learn it deeply

3. Trimble Accubid Anywhere: cloud estimating with supplier quotes

Accubid Anywhere is Trimble's cloud electrical estimating product. Trimble lists LiveCount takeoff, AI-powered takeoff and Auto Count, Trade Service pricing, custom productivity units or preloaded industry labor rates, a change management module, and Supplier Xchange for collecting supplier quotes at bid time (Trimble Accubid Anywhere). For smaller MEP shops Trimble also offers Estimation MEP, described as web-based estimating for small MEP contractors (Trimble MEP).

• Does: takeoff, pricing, labor, supplier quotes, change orders
• Price: quote only
• Best for: mid-size and larger commercial contractors who want the estimate and change orders in one cloud system

4. ConEst IntelliBid: editions from small to large shops

ConEst sells IntelliBid in Standard, Plus and Pro editions, with SureCount takeoff and Auto Count, 140,000+ items and 500,000+ assemblies, price feeds (NetPricer, EPIC, TRA-SER), automatic labor factoring and a bid proposal. It runs on your own computers or on CE Cloud (conest.com). Its bidding software guide is one of the few pages that covers the bid stage properly: quote management, overhead, profit and bond math, alternates and unit prices, and win-rate reporting.

• Does: takeoff, pricing, labor factoring, proposal
• Price: quote only (demo request)
• Best for: shops that want to start on a smaller edition and move up without switching systems

Desktop estimating with a published price

5. Vision InfoSoft Electrical Bid Manager: Windows estimating with a price you can see

Electrical Bid Manager has takeoff modules and connects to PlanSwift and On-Screen Takeoff. It comes with 10,000+ items and assemblies, takes prices from EPIC (2 million+ items), NetPricer or your supplier's price files, keeps three labor-unit columns per item, and has a bid analysis and a QuickBooks job cost link. It is Windows desktop software; Vision says it is not compatible with Mac, though it can run on Windows 365 or V2Cloud (Vision InfoSoft).

• Does: takeoff (modules), pricing, labor, bid analysis
• Price: "Get started for less than $1,000/year" on the main page; the version comparison lists Standard $1,549, Plus $2,749 and Pro $4,549 without saying whether those are one-time or yearly, so ask
• Best for: small and mid-size shops on Windows that want a known price and a QuickBooks link

6. Best Bid Hybrid Pro: a one-time license

Best Bid Hybrid Pro includes PDF takeoff with auto count, adjustable labor with a crew designer, and request-for-quote reports. Best Bid's sites list it as a one-time purchase: $1,995.95 on electricalestimatingsoftware.com and $1,999.95 on the product page. The NetPricer price feed costs $33.00 a month after a free trial. Some comparison sites list Best Bid at monthly prices; the vendor's own pages say one-time.

• Does: takeoff, labor, quote requests
• Price: about $2,000 one-time, plus $33/month for price updates
• Best for: owner-estimators who would rather buy once than pay a subscription

Takeoff tools (counts and lengths; you price elsewhere)

7. Bluebeam Revu: takeoff inside a PDF markup tool

Bluebeam is a PDF markup tool, and its count and measurement tools can do the takeoff while you price in Excel or an estimating program. On Bluebeam's pricing page, counts start at the Core plan ($330 per user, billed annually) and Quantity Link to Excel comes with Complete ($440). Basics is $260 and Max $590 (an introductory price). It is Windows desktop software with web and mobile access.

• Does: counts, measurements, markups, quantities to Excel
• Doesn't: labor units, material pricing or proposals
• Best for: estimators who price in their own spreadsheet and want better counting

8. PlanSwift: on-screen takeoff with an auto option

PlanSwift is a takeoff tool sold per seat. The pricing page lists Essential at $2,000 a year for one seat and Core at $3,000 a year, which adds Auto Takeoff, with discounts for more seats and a 14-day free trial with no card required. It is Windows-only; on a Mac it needs Boot Camp or a Windows virtual machine (PlanSwift support). Vision InfoSoft's Electrical Bid Manager connects to PlanSwift, so the two can work as one setup.

• Does: counts and lengths on PDFs
• Price: $2,000 to $3,000 a year per seat
• Best for: shops that want a dedicated takeoff tool feeding a separate estimating program

Cloud takeoff and estimating

9. STACK: takeoff, estimate and bid tracking in the browser

STACK runs in the browser and covers takeoff with Autocount, the estimate, proposals and bid status and deadline tracking (STACK electrical). The Takeoff & Estimate plan is listed "as low as" $299 per user per month, and STACK's FAQ says a free version exists (STACK pricing).

• Does: takeoff, estimate, proposals, bid tracking
• Price: from $299 per user per month; STACK says it offers a free version of Takeoff & Estimate
• Best for: teams that want everything in a browser with no install

The takeoff done for you

10. Beam AI: done-for-you takeoff on an annual license

Beam AI sells a "Done For You" service: takeoffs and estimates that it says are QA-checked before delivery and arrive in 24 to 72 hours. Its homepage describes the outputs as human-reviewed, and electrical is one of the trades it lists (ibeam.ai). The Done For You plan "starts at $25K annual license", based on trade and volume (Beam AI pricing).

• Does: takeoffs and estimates, delivered
• Price: from $25,000 a year
• Best for: contractors with steady bid volume who want to stop counting and can commit to a year

11. electricaltakeoffsoftware.com: the takeoff and a priced bid, per project

You upload the drawing set as a PDF (vector or scanned). electricaltakeoffsoftware.com AI counts every device on every plan sheet (receptacles, light fixtures by type, switches and sensors, data, fire alarm, panels and equipment) and marks each one where it sits on your drawing, with its type, sheet and circuit. It measures branch circuits along the routes drawn on the plans, every homerun back to its panel, and the feeders. It prices material and labor hours by CSI section at a union and an open-shop rate for the job's location, with sales tax, overhead and profit. It checks its own counts against the panel and fixture schedules and records each check in an evidence sheet. That check is done by the software, not by a person, which is why you can look at the count yourself before you pay.

Where the drawings leave a question open, it writes an open item (an RFI, a quote to enter, an assumption) and shows what each answer does to the bid. You set your own labor rate, overhead, profit and sales tax, then settle each item: pick an answer, enter a supplier's quote, or send it to the GC as an RFI letter, which also goes on your proposal as a qualification. The exports are the proposal (PDF, with inclusions, exclusions and qualifications), the bid recap by CSI section (Excel), counts and lengths by sheet and circuit (Excel or CSV), the RFI letters and the evidence sheet.

• Does: takeoff, labor, a priced bid by CSI section, open items, proposal
• Doesn't: find bids, keep a material price database you maintain, connect to accounting, or price service calls on site. It is not instant: most takeoffs are ready the same day, and you get an email when yours is.
• Price: upload and the takeoff are free, and the preview shows one of your plan sheets with every device marked. The full takeoff is unlocked per project; see current pricing.
• Best for: small commercial and tenant-improvement shops where the owner or one estimator does every bid and the counting is the bottleneck

Published Prices Side by Side

One thing the table shows: the price models are very different. Some are per seat per year, some per month, one is a one-time license, one is an annual service contract, and ours is per project. A shop that bids two jobs a month and one that bids twenty should not pick the same way. Work out what each tool costs you per bid you send, not per year.

How to Choose Electrical Bidding Software for Your Shop

If you are a one- or two-person shop and the owner does the estimating: your scarcest resource is evenings. A suite you will not have time to learn won't help. Look at tools that cut the counting (a done-for-you takeoff, or a takeoff tool you already know) and keep the pricing in something simple. See our guide to estimating software for small contractors.

If you have a full-time estimator bidding commercial work every week: a full suite (McCormick, Accubid Anywhere, ConEst) is built for that volume, with deep databases, adjustable labor units and proposal output. Budget for setup and training, and ask each vendor for a quote in writing, including renewals. Our commercial estimating software comparison goes deeper.

If you want to buy once and own it: Best Bid's one-time license is the clearest published option. Vision InfoSoft publishes edition prices too, but it only runs on Windows.

If your team works from different places: pick a cloud tool (Accubid Anywhere, STACK, McCormick's cloud option, ours) so nobody waits on a license on one office PC. More in our cloud-based estimating guide.

If you mostly do service work: you need a field service pricebook, not bidding software. Start with our electrical pricing software guide.

Whatever you pick, add a bid board. Estimating software won't bring you invitations. If the GCs you work for send ITBs through BuildingConnected or another plan room, that is where your bid list starts.

Is a Bid Worth Chasing? The Hit-Rate Math

The cheapest way to improve your bidding is to stop chasing jobs you won't win. ConstructConnect, a bid-lead company, gives a break-even formula in its article on bid-hit ratios: if a bid costs your team $3,500 to prepare and the fee on the job is $70,000, your break-even win rate is 5%. The same article puts private competitive win rates at "around a 15% to 25%" and hard-bid public work at 10% to 20%, citing figures for general contractors, not electrical subs.

Run the same math on your own numbers. Take the estimating hours a typical bid takes, times what that time costs you, and divide by the profit on a job you win. Say a bid takes 20 hours at $60 an hour ($1,200) and a won job earns you $12,000 in profit (both made up for the example). Then you need to win one bid in ten just to pay for the estimating. Two things improve that number: bidding the jobs you are likely to win, and cutting the hours per bid. Bidding software helps with the second. Only you can do the first, and you need to track your own hit rate to do it. McCormick says its software tracks win rates, and STACK tracks bid status and deadlines.

Seven Questions to Ask Before You Buy

Every demo looks fast on the vendor's own drawings. These questions get past that:

1. Who does the counting? Do you click every symbol, does the tool find symbols you teach it, or does it do the whole takeoff? Ask to run one of your recent sets, not their sample.
2. Where do the labor units come from, and can I change them? If you can't adjust the labor to your crews, the estimate is a guess with decimals.
3. How are material prices kept current? A price service, a distributor import, or typing? Copper moves, and your wire prices have to move with it.
4. What happens with an addendum? Revised sheets are where takeoffs go wrong. Ask how the tool shows what changed and what it does to the number.
5. What does the proposal look like? Inclusions, exclusions, alternates and qualifications should come out of the estimate, not get retyped in Word.
6. What does it cost in year two, and for a second estimator? Get the renewal price and the per-seat price in writing.
7. How long until my first real bid? Training days and database setup are a cost too, counted in bids you didn't send.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is electrical bidding software?

It is software an electrical contractor uses to win work from drawings. The term covers bid boards that bring you invitations to bid (such as BuildingConnected), takeoff and estimating software that turns drawings into a priced bid (such as McCormick, Accubid Anywhere or ConEst), and field service tools that price service calls on site. Most electricians who say "bidding software" mean the estimating kind.

What is the difference between electrical bidding software and estimating software?

Estimating builds the cost: counts, lengths, material prices and labor hours. Bidding turns that cost into the number you send: supplier quotes, labor adjustments, job expenses, overhead, profit, bond, alternates and the proposal. Most electrical estimating suites do both, while takeoff-only tools such as Bluebeam and PlanSwift do neither on their own.

How do electrical contractors find jobs to bid?

Usually through invitations to bid from general contractors, sent by email or through a bid board such as BuildingConnected, and through public bid postings and plan rooms. Estimating software does not find work for you; you need a bid board or a GC relationship in front of it.

How much does electrical bidding software cost?

From the vendors' own pages on November 3, 2026: Best Bid Hybrid Pro is about $2,000 one-time, Vision InfoSoft says you can "get started for less than $1,000/year" and lists editions from $1,549 to $4,549, PlanSwift is $2,000 to $3,000 per seat per year, Bluebeam Core is $330 per user per year, STACK starts at $299 per user per month, and Beam AI's done-for-you takeoff starts at $25,000 a year. McCormick, Accubid Anywhere and ConEst are quote only.

Is there free electrical bidding software?

STACK says it offers a free version of its Takeoff & Estimate software. electricaltakeoffsoftware.com runs the takeoff for free and shows a free preview of the count on one of your sheets; the full takeoff is paid per project. Most dedicated electrical estimating programs are paid; PlanSwift, for one, has a 14-day free trial. Our free electrical estimating software guide lists more options.

Can AI do an electrical takeoff for a bid?

Yes, for the counting and measuring. Some tools add auto-count to a takeoff you drive yourself (Accubid Anywhere, STACK, PlanSwift Core). Others deliver the whole takeoff: Beam AI says its done-for-you takeoffs arrive in 24 to 72 hours, and electricaltakeoffsoftware.com returns the takeoff with a priced bid and its open items, most the same day. Either way, test it on a set you have already bid, and read the scope yourself: AI counts what is drawn, not what the GC meant to include.

What should an electrical bid proposal include?

The drawings and addenda it is based on, the base bid, alternates and unit prices if asked for, inclusions, exclusions and qualifications (including any RFI you priced as an assumption), and how long the price is valid. A proposal that lists its exclusions clearly protects you when the scope turns out bigger than drawn.