What Vertigraph does

Vertigraph is a privately held US software publisher specializing in construction quantity takeoff and estimating tools built natively inside Microsoft Excel. Founded February 25, 1991 by Erich Schoenkopf in Dallas, Texas, the company has served commercial contractors across the United States for 35 years, with the company stating that "a slice of nearly every U.S. commercial project over $1M" was bid on its software at peak historical penetration. Its core products are BidScreen XL, an Excel 2016+ add-in (32- and 64-bit) that measures areas, lengths, and counts directly from PDF, DWG, DXF, and TIF drawings and writes each quantity as a live formula into the active spreadsheet cell; SiteWorx/OS, which builds triangulated ground and design surfaces from drawing contours to calculate cut/fill, sub-grade, topsoil strip and respread, and trench volumes; and Drawing Compare, a raster revision-diff add-on that color-codes additions and deletions between plan revisions. The architecture is Windows-native desktop software rather than cloud SaaS, with no public API, SDK, or MCP surface.

Vertigraph monetizes through a mix of perpetual licenses (BidScreen XL $799, SiteWorx/OS $2,999), annual rentals with bundled Full Serve maintenance ($400/yr and $1,499/yr respectively), and required Full Serve renewals ($199/yr per seat) that gate continued software functionality beyond a grace period. Multi-seat teams buy the Concurrent License Manager, a floating-pool licensing add-on priced at $149/yr per additional install beyond a 3-seat minimum. Go-to-market is direct-to-customer via the company website (14-day free trial with full feature set, no credit card required) and US-based inside sales (800-989-4243), targeting general contractors, subcontractors and specialty trades, civil and site work contractors, and construction management students. Distribution is single-country domestic (USA); the legal entity Vertigraph, Inc. is domiciled in Washington State with a Spokane mailing address and US-based support team. On April 24, 2026 the company was acquired by AJ Backlund (a working civil estimator) and Mark Schwab (founder of cloud-takeoff platform CivilTakeoff.ai), with toolchain modernization to a modern platform underway under new ownership.

Name

Vertigraph

Legal name

Vertigraph, Inc.

Website

https://vertigraph.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Vertigraph publishes Excel-native construction takeoff and estimating software — BidScreen XL, SiteWorx/OS, and Drawing Compare — serving US commercial, civil, and specialty trade contractors through perpetual licenses, annual rentals, and Full Serve maintenance contracts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Dallas

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Software Licenses (Perpetual): One-time upfront purchase grants perpetual use rights. Includes year 1 Full Serve maintenance. BidScreen XL $799, SiteWorx/OS $2,999. Full Serve renewal required from year 2 onward to continue using software.
2. Annual Rental/Subscription: Yearly rental with lower upfront cost. Includes Full Serve bundled for the rental term. BidScreen XL $400/yr, SiteWorx/OS $1,499/yr, Drawing Compare $150/yr. Auto-renews annually.
3. Full Serve Maintenance: Required annual maintenance for perpetual licenses. $199/yr per seat (advertised as $150/yr on some pages for concurrent licenses). Includes updates, support, and scheduled training. Software stops functioning if Full Serve lapses beyond a grace period.
4. Concurrent License Manager Seats: Additional install seats for shared license pools. $149/yr per additional install beyond the base 3-seat minimum.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Vertigraph builds and sells construction takeoff and estimating software delivered as a Microsoft Excel add-in and as Windows desktop applications. Its products measure areas, lengths, and counts directly from PDF, DWG, DXF, and TIF drawings, perform 3D earthwork cut and fill calculations from contours and elevations, and write takeoff quantities directly into the estimator's Excel workbook as live formulas. Offerings are licensed either as perpetual licenses with annual maintenance, as annual rentals, or through a Concurrent License Manager that shares floating seats across an estimating team.

Product overview

Vertigraph offers construction takeoff and estimating software built inside Microsoft Excel. The product portfolio consists of four primary products: BidScreen XL (Excel add-in for on-screen quantity takeoff from PDF, DWG, DXF, TIF drawings), SiteWorx/OS (3D earthwork cut and fill software from PDF/DWG contours), Drawing Compare (revision diff add-on for comparing drawing revisions), and BidPoint XL (legacy digitizer-based product no longer sold for new installations). The company also offers Concurrent License Manager for multi-seat team licensing, a student access program for educational use, and free construction calculators. All products are Windows desktop applications with perpetual and rental pricing models, plus annual Full Serve maintenance. Founded in 1991, the company was acquired by AJ Backlund and Mark Schwab in April 2026.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• BidScreen XL Microsoft Excel add-in that lets commercial contractors measure areas, lengths, and counts on-screen from PDF, DWG, DXF, and TIF drawings, with every quantity landing as a live formula in the active estimating cell. Supports color-coded takeoffs, per-sheet scales including cross section verticals, and works with Excel 2016 and later (32-bit and 64-bit).
• SiteWorx/OS 3D earthwork takeoff software that builds existing and proposed surfaces from contours, points, and area elevations on PDF, vector PDF, DWG, or DXF drawings. Calculates cut, fill, sub-grade, over-excavation, trench, and topsoil strip and respread volumes, and exports reports to Excel, Word, PDF, CSV, and DWG.
• Drawing Compare Revision comparison tool that overlays two versions of a plan and color-codes additions and deletions. Reads PDF, TIFF, and PNG raster drawings and exports the diff as a new file that can be opened in BidScreen XL or SiteWorx/OS to measure only changed items.

Quantifiable outcome

• 40-65% time savings on quantity measurement and data entry
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• CivilTakeoff.aicoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026Cloud-based quantity takeoff platform for browser-based measurement and collaboration. Shares ownership with Vertigraph - same team that acquired Vertigraph in April 2026 (AJ Backlund and Mark Schwab). Integrates with SiteWorx/OS for earthwork workflows and BidScreen XL for Excel-based takeoff. Project War Room feature coming 2026 for CRM, bid room, and analytics.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• CivilTakeoff.ai: Cloud-based quantity takeoff platform founded by Mark Schwab and sharing ownership with Vertigraph since the April 2026 acquisition. Directly comparable as a takeoff platform and a sibling-product overlap that Vertigraph explicitly plans to integrate with SiteWorx/OS and BidScreen XL.
• Plumb (formerly Esticom): Cloud estimating and takeoff platform for MEP and specialty trade contractors. Comparable to BidScreen XL in trade-specific takeoff workflows but positioned as a modern cloud alternative.

Direct peers

• AGTEK: Earthwork takeoff software widely used by civil and site contractors. Directly comparable to SiteWorx/OS on cut/fill modeling from plans, and the primary cost-comparison anchor Vertigraph uses ($22,000+ vs SiteWorx/OS $2,999 perpetual).
• STACK Construction Technologies: Cloud-based takeoff and estimating platform for commercial contractors. Directly comparable to BidScreen XL on quantity takeoff from PDF/CAD drawings, and cited in Vertigraph's own comparison pages as a competing subscription alternative ($2,988-$3,588/yr vs BidScreen XL $799 perpetual).
• On-Screen Takeoff (OST): Desktop takeoff product from On Center Software widely used by US commercial estimators for quantity takeoff from PDF drawings. Competes directly with BidScreen XL in the same SMB and mid-market contractor segment.
• PlanSwift: Point-and-click takeoff software for trades and general contractors, owned by ConstructConnect. Competes head-to-head with BidScreen XL in trade-specific takeoff and is one of the named competitors in Vertigraph's comparison pages.

Broad incumbents

• Bluebeam Revu: PDF markup and takeoff tool owned by Nemetschek and used across AEC. Competes with BidScreen XL for takeoff workflows but is a broader document-management platform rather than a dedicated Excel-integrated takeoff specialist.
• Procore: Construction management platform spanning project management, preconstruction, and takeoff. Competes for preconstruction mindshare but is a broad incumbent rather than a dedicated desktop takeoff product like BidScreen XL.
• Autodesk Construction Cloud: Suite including Autodesk Takeoff and Docs that targets the same preconstruction workflows as Vertigraph. Broader AEC platform incumbent rather than a specialized Excel-native takeoff tool.
• Trimble Civil Construction Software (B2W Estimate): Trimble's heavy civil estimating suite (formerly B2W Estimate) targets the same earthwork and civil contractor estimating workflows as SiteWorx/OS, with deeper fleet/site integration but at higher price points.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@Vertigraph/videos
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vertigraph-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Vertigraph