A Countfire alternative focused on electrical counts

Countfire is cloud takeoff and estimating software for electrical and other M&E trades¹³. You select a symbol once and it counts every match across your drawings, measures cable runs and builds a priced estimate¹³. It doesn't publish prices⁶. AmpCount leaves cable runs and pricing to other tools. It counts every device and fixture type listed in the legend without a selection per symbol, keeps unconfirmed marks out of the totals and checks fixtures against the schedule, for $149 a month for up to 3 people.

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Written by Agustín Policano, founder of AmpCount. Facts about Countfire come from Countfire's public pages, checked November 3, 2026. Sources at the end.

What Countfire is

Countfire, a London-based company co-founded in 2012, was acquired in June 2026 by TAG Software Group, part of Valsoft, which describes it as serving more than 800 customers across five countries⁴⁵. It runs in the browser on PDFs, counts matching symbols with Smart Select, measures connected runs, re-counts revised drawings and exports to Excel¹². Its pricing link leads to a contact page⁶.

AmpCount vs Countfire at a glance

	AmpCount	Countfire
What it is	Electrical takeoff for commercial contractors. Counts devices and fixtures on vector PDF plans.	Takeoff and estimating for electrical and M&E trades: counts, cable runs, pricing and client-ready reports¹³.
How counts start	Reads the legend, then matches every symbol on every sheet by its drawn geometry. No clicking to start.	Select a symbol once; Countfire counts every match across all drawings¹.
Uncertain symbols	Anything not an exact match is marked uncertain and stays out of the count until you confirm it.	Built-in checks flag missed symbols or incomplete counts²; you verify counts before the bid goes out³.
Fixture schedule check	Checks counts against the fixture schedule and shows the sheet with the difference.	Compares specifications³. A fixture count vs schedule check isn't described.
Price	$149 a month or $1,490 a year, published. Up to 3 people, no sheet limits.	Not published. The pricing link leads to a contact page⁶.
Billing	Monthly or yearly. Cancel anytime. Full refund within 14 days.	Subscription; cancellation takes effect at the end of the paid term. 7-day trial².
Runs on	Browser, on Windows or Mac.	Browser on Mac or PC. No tablets or phones².
Export	Excel, CSV and an estimating sheet with your item codes per drawing.	Takeoff quantities to Excel; Dropbox integration¹².

Prices as listed on November 3, 2026. Check the vendor for a current quote.

To see Countfire next to the rest of the field, the electrical estimating software guide lists 14 tools with their published prices, and the electrical takeoff software guide explains the four ways software counts a plan set.

Where Countfire is strong

Takeoff and estimating in one tool, with client-ready reports³.
Measures cable and containment runs as well as counts¹.
Re-uses work to count revised drawings automatically¹.
More than a decade in the market and support from former estimators²⁴⁵.

Where AmpCount is different

No symbol to select

Countfire counts what you select¹. AmpCount reads the full symbol list from the legend and counts every type across the drawings together.

Doubtful marks are held back

Countfire's checks flag symbols you may have missed². AmpCount also guards the other side: drawings that aren't an exact geometric match never enter the count until an estimator confirms them, and each number links to its marks.

Luminaire types against the schedule

Countfire's Spec compare shows what changed between specifications³. AmpCount compares fixture counts by type tag with the fixture schedule on the drawings and names the sheet where they disagree.

Published U.S. pricing

Countfire's pricing link goes to a contact page⁶. AmpCount is $149 a month or $1,490 a year for up to 3 people, with a full refund within 14 days.

The matching is plain geometry, step by step, as shown in how AmpCount works. A vision model helps read titles, legends and schedules but never confirms a mark or counts, as the AI electrical takeoff guide explains.

Where the time goes counting in Countfire

Countfire's Smart Select is quick: pick a socket or luminaire once and it finds and names every match across the drawings¹. It's still per symbol, like Togal's Image Search⁷, so a full electrical set means a selection for each device and fixture type, followed by Countfire's checks and your own verification¹².

AmpCount reads the legend first, so every socket, switch and luminaire type is counted at once across the set. What remains is the uncertain list and any luminaire type where the drawings and the schedule disagree.

What it costs

Countfire doesn't publish prices, so there's no public number to compare, as of November 1, 2026⁶. It does include estimating and pricing³, which AmpCount doesn't.

AmpCount publishes its number: $149 a month for up to 3 people, or $1,490 a year on the yearly plan, with no sheet limits. Since it doesn't price or quote, you'd keep a spreadsheet or electrical bidding software next to it.

Run the numbers for your shop

Counting in AmpCount, quoting elsewhere

Upload the same drawings you'd drag into Countfire, as vector PDFs.
Skip the per-symbol selection: AmpCount counts every legend symbol across the set.
Go through the flagged marks and any fixture type the schedule check calls out.
Export per-drawing counts to Excel.
Build the estimate in your electrical estimating software or spreadsheet.

Pricing the counts by hand for now? The electrical estimate template and the electrical estimate calculator take quantities straight from the export.

Before you switch

List whether you rely on Countfire's quoting or only its counts.
Check that your tender drawings come as vector PDFs, not scans.
Load a tender you've already counted in Countfire and line the totals up symbol by symbol.
Check when your current Countfire term ends.

Choose Countfire if

You want takeoff, cable runs and priced estimates in one tool¹³.
You estimate several M&E trades, such as fire alarm and security or mechanical⁵.

Choose AmpCount if

You price elsewhere and want device and fixture counts done before you start.
You want luminaire counts reconciled with the fixture schedule, not only spec revisions compared.
You want to see the price before booking a call.

Get started, $149/mo

Cancel anytime. Full refund within 14 days if it doesn't fit your plans.

Questions

How much does Countfire cost?

Countfire doesn't publish prices; its pricing link leads to a contact page, as of November 1, 2026⁶. It offers a 7-day trial².

Does AmpCount build quotes?

No. AmpCount counts devices and fixtures and exports them. Pricing and quotes stay in your estimating software, a spreadsheet or an electrical bid template.

Does AmpCount measure cable runs?

No. Countfire measures runs¹; AmpCount only counts.

Does AmpCount work in the browser like Countfire?

Yes. Both are cloud-based with nothing to install². AmpCount counts vector PDFs from CAD software and flags scanned sheets instead of guessing.

Does AmpCount handle revised drawings?

Upload the revised set and AmpCount counts it again from the legend. Countfire can also reuse earlier work to count revised drawings¹.

Is AmpCount priced per estimator?

No. One plan covers up to 3 people sharing bids and the symbol library, with no sheet limits. Countfire says its plans are sized to the team².

Other comparisons

Guides and calculators

Sources

Countfire is a trademark of Countfire. AmpCount is not affiliated with Countfire. If something here is out of date, email support@ampcount.com and we'll fix it.