Sitework estimating software for paving, curb and site utilities

Sitework estimating software takes off the horizontal scope outside the building, such as asphalt and concrete paving, aggregate base, curb and gutter, sidewalks, storm and sanitary pipe, and striping, then converts areas and lengths into tons, cubic yards and linear feet you can price. Site-specific tools like AGTEK Materials and InSite Elevation Pro handle 3D paving and utility quantities¹⁴, while STACK and ScopeTakeoff offer paving workflows that turn square feet and depth into asphalt tonnage⁵⁷. Prices range from $100 per person per month for ScopeTakeoff⁸ to quote-only for AGTEK².

By Agustín Policano, founder of AmpCount, which makes electrical takeoff software. Facts about other products and statistics link to their source, checked November 3, 2026.

What a sitework takeoff measures

Item	Unit	What to watch
Asphalt paving	SF or SY, converted to tons	Measure each pavement section separately (heavy duty, standard duty, fire lane). Tonnage depends on lift thickness and the mix density your supplier gives you.
Aggregate base	SY, CY or tons	Base usually extends past the edge of pavement and under curb. Take the base area from the section detail, not the paving area.
Concrete paving and sidewalks	SF and CY	Thickness changes at dumpster pads, drive aprons and loading areas. Joints, dowels and mesh come from the detail.
Curb and gutter	LF	Separate curb types (barrier, mountable, ribbon, transitions) and count radius pieces, curb cuts and ramps as each.
Storm and sanitary pipe	LF by size and material, structures EA	Pipe is measured structure to structure. Manholes, inlets and cleanouts are counted, with depth from the profile.
Pavement markings and signs	LF, EA	Stripes by width and color, stalls, arrows, ADA symbols and signs. These are usually small dollars but easy to forget.
Milling and overlay	SY	On rehab work, milling depth and overlay thickness define the tons. Patching areas are often quantified separately from the plan notes.

How a sitework estimate is built

Read the site plan, paving plan, grading and utility sheets and the pavement section details together. List every pavement section and its layer thicknesses.
Take off paving areas by section type, then base and subbase areas from the details, extending past the edge of pavement where the detail shows it.
Measure curb and gutter by type, sidewalks and concrete pads by thickness, and count ramps, curb cuts and transitions.
Take off storm and sanitary pipe by size and material between structures, count manholes and inlets, and note depths from the profiles for excavation and bedding.
Convert areas and thicknesses to tons and cubic yards with your supplier's density figures, add markings, signage and erosion control, and apply waste.
Price materials, trucking, crews and equipment, and break the bid into the pay items or schedule of values the owner or GC asked for.

What to look for in sitework software

Section-based paving assemblies

Paving and base should be one takeoff that produces several quantities. Look for assemblies where you draw an area once and get surface tons, base tons or CY, and subgrade prep.

Utility takeoff with depth

Site utilities are priced by depth. Tools that read profiles or build a 3D surface can produce trench excavation and backfill along with pipe LF.

Integration with earthwork

Paving sections set the subgrade for cut and fill. Software that shares surfaces between the grading takeoff and the paving takeoff keeps the two from drifting apart.

Pay item output

Public and many private site bids are unit price. Make sure the software can roll quantities up to the owner's pay items and export to the estimating sheet you price in.

Software sitework estimators use

Tool	What it does for sitework	Price
AGTEK Materials AGTEK (Hexagon)	Material takeoff that converts areas, lengths and counts into quantities such as cubic yards of concrete, tons of asphalt or linear feet of guardrail, alongside AGTEK's earthwork and underground modules.¹²	Quote only
Elevation Pro InSite Software	3D takeoff for dirt, concrete, paving and utilities, with site work materials reports, utility cut and fill and TrenchVision 3D for trench excavation and backfill.³⁴	$3,900 a year, billed annually
STACK STACK Construction Technologies	Cloud takeoff and estimating with a paving and asphalt workflow that includes tons of asphalt, labor hours and heavy equipment costs in the estimate.⁵⁶	Free plan; Premium $299 and Pro $349 per user per month, billed annually
ScopeTakeoff ScopeTakeoff	Asphalt paving assemblies that calculate tonnage, trucking and crew cost from square feet and depth, including milling, base, patching, sealcoating and striping.⁷⁸	$100 per person per month
Bluebeam Bluebeam (Nemetschek)	PDF markup and measurement used by many site estimators to measure areas and lengths on plans, without trade assemblies or tonnage conversion.⁹	$260 to $590 per user per year

As described on each vendor's own pages, checked November 3, 2026. Prices change; check with the vendor.

For tools that cover every trade on one plan set, see the construction takeoff software and construction estimating software guides.

What paving estimating software has to get right

Paving is the part of sitework where small measurement errors become large dollars, because area times thickness times density turns into tons, and tons drive material, trucking and paver time. A paving estimating tool earns its keep by holding each pavement section as its own assembly, so a heavy duty section and a standard duty section never share one factor.

Rehab work is different from new construction: milling and overlay quantities, patching areas and crack sealing are often defined by plan notes and field verification instead of shaded areas. Keep those as separate line items so the owner's changes after a site walk are easy to price.

Light pole bases and parking lot conduit in the site package

Parking lot lighting is where the sitework and electrical bids collide. The pole bases sit inside the paving layout, the conduit between them has to be in the ground before base stone goes down, and every island or curb line that moves on a revision moves a pole. Settle three things before pricing: who forms and pours the pole bases and sets the anchor bolts, who trenches and backfills under the paved area, and who patches if conduit goes in late. Under parking lots, NEC Table 300.5(A) requires 24 inches of cover no matter which wiring method is used¹⁰, so the trench is deeper than a lawn run.

The poles bring their own code items. In the 2017 NEC, a pole used as a raceway needs an accessible 2 by 4 inch handhole with a wet-location cover, and a metal pole needs an equipment grounding terminal reachable from that handhole, with exceptions for short poles and hinged bases¹¹. Owners often want cameras on the same poles, but 820.133 keeps power and communications conductors out of the same raceway¹¹, so the security and low voltage scope needs its own conduit to each pole.

The far poles in a big lot are often a few hundred feet from the panel, so run the feeders through a voltage drop check before you price wire. Most commercial electrical estimating software carries labor for bases, handholes and pole sets as assemblies; AmpCount's part is counting the pole heads and fixture types on the electrical site plan so those assemblies start from the right count.

Where sitework takeoffs go wrong

Using the paving area for the base area when the section detail extends base beyond the edge of pavement and under the curb.
One tonnage factor for every mix and thickness. Surface and base courses and different mixes do not weigh the same per square yard per inch.
Missing thickness changes at dumpster pads, truck routes and fire lanes, which are usually called out in a detail rather than shaded on the plan.
Pipe measured from manhole center to center with no allowance for depth, bedding, and trench backfill, which are where most utility dollars are.
Leaving off the small items: striping, wheel stops, bollards, signs, and ADA ramps with detectable warning surfaces.

Trades that bid the same job

A sitework bid rarely stands alone. The trades next to it on the schedule read the same drawings and often share scope lines, so it pays to know how they take off too: earthwork takeoff software, concrete estimating software and civil construction estimating software.

Where AmpCount fits

AmpCount only counts electrical devices and fixtures, so it does not take off paving, curb, base or site utilities. On the same site package, the electrical contractor usually carries site lighting, pole bases are often coordinated with the paving layout, and AmpCount can count the pole fixtures and site devices on the electrical site plan. The paving and pipe quantities belong in a sitework tool.

How electrical takeoff software counts a plan set

Questions

What is sitework estimating software?

It is takeoff and estimating software for the scope outside the building: grading, paving, base, curb, sidewalks, site utilities, striping and erosion control. Some tools focus on 3D earthwork and utilities, others on 2D paving assemblies from PDF plans.

How do paving estimators calculate asphalt tons?

Area times thickness times the mix density, done per pavement section and per lift. Use the density your plant or supplier gives you for each mix rather than one generic factor, and add waste for the job conditions.

Can I use one tool for earthwork and paving?

Yes. AGTEK and InSite both cover earthwork, materials and utilities in one environment²⁴, which keeps paving sections and subgrade in sync. STACK and ScopeTakeoff handle paving and site areas from PDF plans⁵⁷.

How much does paving estimating software cost?

From vendor pages checked November 2026: ScopeTakeoff is $100 per person per month⁸, STACK has a free plan and paid plans at $299 and $349 per user per month billed annually⁶, InSite Elevation Pro is $3,900 a year³, and AGTEK quotes on request².

Guides and tools for any trade

Sources

Product names are trademarks of their owners. AmpCount is not affiliated with any vendor on this page.