Measure and markup, without the platform price
STACK is a preconstruction platform - takeoff, estimating, cost data, bid packages - priced like one. If what you need is measuring, markup, and revision compare, Notch does that work for $240 a year instead of $3,000.
The short version
STACK deserves its reputation: cloud-native takeoff with assemblies, regional cost data, and estimate outputs, built for estimating teams that live in preconstruction. It's also priced for them - current list runs $249 to $299 per user per month billed annually, roughly $3,000 to $3,600 a year, with AI features sold as add-ons on top.
Most people opening drawings aren't running a bid department. They need to measure what's on the sheet, mark it up, compare the revision, and share it - and paying platform money for that is how software budgets die. Notch covers exactly that slice: calibrated takeoff with Excel export, a full markup toolkit, and revision compare, free on 3 drawings and $240 a year per editor after.
Side by side
STACK pricing verified August 2026 from stackct.com; STACK's plan names and prices have changed several times, so check current figures before quoting. Spotted something out of date? Tell us at hello@notch.build and we'll fix it.
Buy the slice you actually use
Platforms price for their biggest workflow. STACK's is the bid: takeoff feeding assemblies, assemblies feeding estimates, estimates feeding proposals. If you run that pipeline, the seat pays for itself.
If you don't - if drawings cross your desk to be measured, marked up, and sent on - you'd be renting a bid department to use its ruler. Notch is the ruler, the markup set, and the compare view, at a price you don't have to justify to anyone: $240 a year, or free on 3 drawings while you make up your mind.
Both cloud - different centre
STACK and Notch are both browser-based, and that's where the resemblance ends. STACK is organized around the estimate; the drawing is an input. Notch is organized around the drawing: markups with trade libraries and stamps, measurements that live on the sheet, revision overlays, version history on every document, and share links that open for anyone - no account, no seat.
That centre changes daily life. In Notch the drawing set is the workspace your PM, your super, and your sub all open; quantities are one export among the markups, not the product.
The honest gap
STACK has things Notch doesn't: assemblies tied to cost data, AI takeoffs that pre-measure a floorplan, proposal and estimate documents. If those close bids for you, the subscription is doing its job.
Notch's bet is that clean quantities in Excel and your own pricing beat a platform for most drawing work. Try both ends of the argument free - STACK has a trial, and Notch's free plan doesn't expire.
When STACK is the right choice
STACK earns its price when the bid pipeline is the job:
- You estimate for a living - assemblies, regional cost data, and proposal outputs are your daily tools.
- AI auto-takeoff across high volumes of similar plans meaningfully changes your bid capacity.
- You want takeoff, estimating, and bid management under one vendor.
Common questions
Is Notch a STACK alternative?
For measuring, markup, and revision compare - yes, at a tenth of the price. For assembly-based estimating and bid production - no. The question is which slice of STACK you actually use.
Can Notch quantities feed my estimate?
Yes. Takeoffs export to Excel organized by trade with totals, ready for your pricing sheet or estimating system. Notch deliberately stops at quantities and lets you price where you already price.
Does Notch have AI features?
Yes - Pro includes AI sheet indexing (numbers, titles, and scales read automatically on upload) and the Notch AI assistant. Auto-takeoff isn't one of them today, and we won't sell it to you before it exists.
What does each cost?
STACK's takeoff-and-estimate plans list at $249–299 per user per month billed annually, with AI accelerators extra. Notch is free on 3 drawings, then $240 a year or $24 a month per editor - viewers free on both products.
Leave the desktop behind. Keep the capability.
Free on up to 3 drawings · No credit card required