| July 2026 | Groundwork Takeoff | Drawboard Projects |
|---|---|---|
| Price | ||
| Annual, per seat | $950 — everything included | ~$270 Team (≤25 users) / ~$370 Growth (≤150 users), billed annually |
| Monthly option | ✓ $95/mo | ✓ $29 Team / $39 Growth |
| Perpetual license | ✓ $2,500 | ✗ Subscription only — Drawboard PDF's shift from paid app to subscription drew documented user backlash |
| Platforms | ||
| Windows native | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mac native | ✓ | ✗ Web browser only on macOS |
| iPad | ✓ Home-screen app, Pencil markup | ✓ iOS app, Apple Pencil |
| Works offline | ✓ Offline-first, 14-day grace | Cloud-first project workspace |
| Measurement & takeoff — the category line | ||
| Measurement modes | ✓ Linear, Perimeter, Area, Volume, Count, Dimension — plus smart scale | ✗ Calibrated length + rectangle/polygon area only |
| Count takeoff (fixtures, doors, outlets…) | ✓ | ✗ |
| Assemblies (material + labor) | ✓ Library + builder | ✗ |
| Built-in estimating | ✓ Live estimate grid + formula evaluator | ✗ None |
| Quantity / takeoff export | ✓ Excel, CSV, batch | ✗ Tasks-to-CSV only — no quantity schedules |
| AI takeoff | ✓ AI Detect + measure suggest, every seat | ✗ |
| Markup & review — their home turf | ||
| Pen / pressure inking | Pencil markup on iPad | ✓ Best-in-class Surface Pen & Apple Pencil inking |
| Revision compare | ✓ Live-canvas diff + blend overlay | ✓ Auto versioning + Overlay mode |
| Tasks / issues pinned to drawings | Markups + Revision Log | ✓ Purpose-built |
| Procore / Revit / Teams integrations | ✗ | ✓ |
| Real-time collaboration | ✓ Included | ✓ Plus free guest access |
| OCR | ✓ Included | ✗ |
Drawboard pricing and feature scope from drawboard.com/pricing (fetched July 2026): Team $29/mo or $22.50/mo annual; Growth $39/mo or $30.83/mo annual; Enterprise custom. Subscription-conversion backlash: learn.microsoft.com community thread on Drawboard PDF's move from paid app to subscription, and Drawboard's own new-Pro-plans FAQ (drawboard.com/pdf/new-pro-plans) acknowledging features moving from free to Pro tiers.
Where teams hit
the edge of Drawboard.
We'll say it plainly.
If your team's whole job is design review — architects and engineers redlining drawings with a pen, tracking issues, comparing revisions, pushing tasks into Procore or Teams — Drawboard Projects is excellent at that, and at roughly $270 a seat per year it's honestly priced. The inking alone is the best in the industry. This is not a hit piece; it's a category distinction.
But a contractor's day doesn't end at review. You have to measure six ways, count fixtures, apply assemblies, price the job, and export the bid. Drawboard has no path from a drawing to a number. Groundwork does the whole chain in one seat — takeoff, live estimate grid, Excel/CSV export, full markup with a Revision Log, and plan-compare overlay included — so you're not paying for two tools and re-keying data between them.
