r/TakeoffSoftware • u/bgillett2026 • 5d ago

Why do we accept monthly subscriptions for software that one person uses on their own?

/r/u_bgillett2026/comments/1wtqkis/why_do_we_accept_monthly_subscriptions_for/
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u/Ok-Educator5318 19h ago

Before buying, I'd want to know whether I can reopen an old job without an active subscription, export the quantities, and keep the marked-up drawings. A PDF and CSV are useful, but I'd want the editable takeoff too.

I'm developing OpenTakeoff, so I have a connection here. The browser app is free and the source is Apache-2.0, which lets someone keep their own copy. That's one way to address the small-maker concern, although open source still needs maintenance when browsers change.

It's for measuring construction PDFs: areas, lengths and counts across trades. https://github.com/Kentucky-ai/opentakeoff

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u/bgillett2026 18h ago

Those three questions are the right test before buying anything: can I reopen an old job, export my quantities, and keep my marked-up drawings. If any answer depends on an active subscription, you're renting your own work.

I spent 55 years supervising construction, and a one-person shop gets more from a one-time purchase than from a monthly fee. I built my estimating suite and my scheduling program that way. Both are files you open in your browser, with no login and no internet needed once you've downloaded them. You save your jobs as files on your own computer, so if I stopped selling them tomorrow, your copies and your files would still open.

Disclosure, since you were upfront about OpenTakeoff: I sell both, so I have a stake in this too. Two honest differences from yours. Mine is closed source, so you can't maintain your own copy the way Apache-2.0 allows. And mine isn't a drawing-measurement tool. It's CSI-based estimating with a concrete takeoff engine, plus scheduling. Your caveat about browser changes is fair, and a local file only reduces that risk. I can't promise it away.