It’s the best in the market that we have reviewed, in terms of ease of use and functionality for 2D and 3D take-off purposes.
Future-Proof Your Business with Precision Takeoff and Estimating
RIB CostX
RIB CostX is an all-in-one takeoff, estimating, and reporting solution that is completely adaptable to workflows and requirements of different projects, regions, roles, and industries. With advanced functionality, including BIM support, carbon emissions tracking, auto-revisions, and more, quantity surveyors and estimators, and other construction consultants can benefit from error-free results in significantly less time than traditional takeoff and estimating methods. The product’s multiple deployment options make it highly accessible and easy to use, boosting communication and collaboration between teams.
Why Choose RIB CostX?
Allow quantity takeoff from all commonly encountered design document formats, making use of the inherent intelligence embedded in each format.
Track the history of design changes and trace cost plans and estimates issued to clients, with the capability to update edits in real-time.
Update takeoff and estimates based on revised designs while maintaining an audit trail and transparency of the changes.
View and edit estimates in various breakdown structures to produce a range of bespoke, corporate-compliant reports.
Features and Functionality
3D/BIM Support
The 3D BIM capabilities accurately estimate quantities and costs based on BIM files that incorporate large data repositories. Teams can improve design quality, reduce errors, and add value across all processes in the construction lifecycle.
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2D Takeoff
CostX supports takeoff from a wide range of drawing types including scans, PDF and CAD files. Users can streamline measuring processes by calculating areas, lengths and counts with a single click, saving valuable time and improving accuracy.
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Estimating Spreadsheets
Spreadsheet-based workbooks are live-linked to the drawings and their own cost database to eliminate errors. These spreadsheets allow teams to build estimates and find all necessary information in one place. Teams can sort and group items based on codes and zones, ensuring the estimates are correctly categorized and presented.
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Revisions Tracking
The powerful revision mode draws comparisons between plans and highlights new updates to instantly view what has been changed. With live links to the estimate, teams can clearly see the effect of design changes on cost and embodied carbon totals.
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Embodied Carbon Calculations
With both cost estimating and embodied carbon accounting in the same program, RIB CostX is a world-leading 6D BIM solution that empowers teams to lead the way in sustainability. It adds value to the project by assessing long-term implications. RIB CostX also supports the EC3 carbon rate library from Building Transparency.
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Subcontractor Comparison
Build a database of relevant quotes, ensuring the best price when estimating. Teams can leverage this functionality to save time when comparing bids and make a well-informed decision on specialized work. Subcontractors can use the free RIB CostX viewer tool to submit quotes and view all the information in one place.
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Professional Reports
Users can generate professional quality output to showcase work to clients. Both standard and customized reports are available, empowering teams to find the right information to suit any requirement.
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A Solution to Fit Your Business Requirements
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Suitable for
Quantity Surveyor
Quantity surveyors can use RIB CostX to create fully costed BOQs quickly. Its solution supports various drawing files, including BIM and 2D, to maximize capabilities. With estimating spreadsheets linked directly to the measured dimensions, errors are eliminated, and productivity is maximized. This also helps build team efficiency without doubling up on work.
Estimator
With RIB CostX, estimators can confidently rely on the accuracy of their estimates and bids. They can manage large amounts of data quickly and easily while avoiding errors. The flexibility to produce estimates across all design stages for all project types and regions and a range of bespoke, corporate—compliant reports allows estimators to customize outputs to suit their requirements.
BIM Manager
RIB CostX’s 5D BIM capabilities are world-leading. Our BIM takeoff software supports a range of different BIM files and can customize data extraction through Model Maps. It can also live-link to user-defined rate libraries and spreadsheets to create a full estimate in minutes. The revisioning capabilities allow users to provide fast feedback to architects and designers.
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Upgrade to CostX Cloud
Experience the future of construction take-off and estimation with CostX Cloud
Access your CostX software and project data anywhere with an internet connection. Enjoy increased flexibility and collaboration among team members whether they’re in the office or working remotely.
Experience improved scalability with our cloud-based infrastructure. CostX Cloud ensures optimal performance as project data and complexity grow, without the need for costly hardware upgrades. Likewise, scaling up or down depending on business needs is super easy in comparison to having your own infrastructure.
Forget manual software updates and data migration tasks. CostX Cloud seamlessly handles updates and maintenance, ensuring you always have access to the latest features and enhancements.
Reduce upfront infrastructure costs and transition to a predictable subscription-based pricing model with CostX Cloud. This shift can lower overall IT expenditures and improve budget management for your projects.
Gain peace of mind with robust security measures and automated data backups provided by Microsoft Azure. CostX Cloud reduces the risk of data loss and unauthorized access, ensuring business continuity and disaster recovery should things ever go wrong.
Get The License Option That’s Right For You
RIB offers standalone and network license options for the RIB CostX range. Your organization can have a combination of these if desired, and we can change your setup at any time to suit your needs. RIB CostX is easy to install, and the end user can complete the installation process.
A Standalone License allows a single user exclusive access to the software at any time. It is installed on a single PC and can be used only on that PC.
Network Licenses allow the software to be installed on multiple PCs, with a central database installed on a server (this may also be a normal PC). It allows a set number of current users. For example, an organization can have 5 licenses shared amongst 8 users, with any 5 users able to access the software at any particular point in time. Network licenses also allow multiple users to work on the same project together.
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What Our Clients Say
Following an extensive review of the software options in the marketplace, we decided that CostX best met our requirements in allowing our clients to have full visibility of marked up drawings, measurement and quantities. We are now using CostX on some of the UK’s largest and most complex construction and infrastructure projects.
We are excited about the adoption of CostX in our business. CostX’s enhanced functionality and ease of use will be of great benefit to our staff and ultimately our clients as we look to continually improve our service. CostX’s ability to link to our other systems, in particular our Global Unite tool, will enable us to further develop our intellectual property that allows us to give better advice to our clients at the inception of their projects.
We are committed to delivering world class services to our clients enabled by an integrated suite of industry leading tools. Our selection of CostX was based on its comprehensive functionality, ease of use and excellent engagement and technical support provided by Exactal’s team.
CostX is the most powerful 2D and 3D combined estimating tool we have seen. Take off is simple and the estimate spreadsheet platform is easy to understand and customize. CostX technical support is one of the best I have ever worked with for on-going support and new version releases. I would highly recommend this program!
CostX has focused our core business of cost planning and cost advice into the 21st century compared to other IT solutions in the marketplace. With CostX we can quickly analyse drawing revisions and simultaneously provide the cost impact. CostX are continually evolving the program and their maintenance program provides the necessary backbone to continuing those core business solutions for our offices nationally.
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FAQs About RIB CostX
BIM takeoff software is a digital solution for measuring and extracting quantities from a BIM model. A BIM model is a 3D representation of a building project that includes visual representations and key data about every aspect of the project, allowing for agile and accurate decision-making.
What makes these solutions so valuable today is that they significantly enhance quantity takeoff and estimating through automation, saving time on manual calculations and reducing the risk of errors that can affect the entire project later on. A professional BIM takeoff platform, like RIB CostX, also enhances communication between different stakeholders. With BIM, project data is visualized and managed in a common environment, making it easy to collaborate. BIM also boosts productivity and efficiency as all teams work based on the same information, preventing reworks caused by disconnection.
There are two main differences between 2D and BIM takeoff: the data source and the method. 2D takeoff is the traditional method, where the estimator or quantity surveyor manually extracts information directly from 2D drawings and blueprints in a paper or digital format. While many software solutions have digitized 2D takeoff, the process still heavily relies on time-consuming manual tasks that can be subject to errors.
On the other hand, BIM takeoff extracts data from a 3D model containing detailed information about every aspect of the building. This allows users to automatically extract quantities with a high degree of accuracy, saving hours of time and helping prevent the risk of manual errors. Plus, a 3D BIM model can provide additional precise information about the properties of certain components for quality assurance purposes, making the entire project more accurate and profitable.
That said, 2D takeoff is not going anywhere, and software providers must offer capabilities to integrate 2D and BIM takeoff into a single solution. RIB CostX does just that, and offers advanced 2D takeoff features and support for multiple file formats (including 2D sketches, PDF files, 2D CAD, and more), helping to boost efficiency.
With BIM technology, the estimating process is more automated, making it up to five times faster than before. While the time-saving benefits are greatly appreciated, the most significant benefit of BIM takeoff tools for estimating is improved accuracy. Construction cost estimation has been done manually with a scale ruler and calculator for decades, and no matter how experienced the QS or estimator is, manual errors or inconsistencies can happen. The most concerning thing is that these errors can go unnoticed and cause rework, leading to delays and budget overruns, which can affect the project’s profitability.
This issue is eliminated using professional BIM cost estimating software, which allows you to automatically extract the necessary information directly from the model, significantly enhancing the accuracy of estimates. Paired to that, the information provided by the model is quite detailed which allows for better cost control and overall resource management.
With so many solutions in the market, choosing the right quantity takeoff software for your specific needs is not easy. The first thing you should do before investing in any software is to think about your goals and objectives, as these might influence your end decision. That being said, there are some key features that industry-leading solutions should offer. These are:
- Integration of 2D and 3D takeoff: A centralized platform to simultaneously work with 2D and 3D files. This prevents errors, saves a lot of time, and ensures you always have the capacity to take on any projects.
- BIM Support: Support of BIM files to take advantage of faster, smarter & more accurate quantity takeoff and overall efficiency for the entire project lifecycle.
- Revisions Tracking: This feature maintains an audit trail of any design changes or revisions to ensure transparency and analyze the effects of each change.
- Collaboration features: Professional quantity takeoff software should allow users to work simultaneously on drawings, takeoff, and estimating. This solves the ever-pressing issue of communication in construction projects while boosting productivity.
- Live-Linked Spreadsheets: This feature links spreadsheet-based workbooks to drawings and their cost database, consolidating all necessary information for estimates in one place. This feature also allows teams to understand the impact of design changes on project costs.
- Cloud-based environment: Cloud-based construction software allows you to access your project data from any device and location; you only need an internet connection. This level of accessibility is highly appreciated in the building industry, as stakeholders often work from multiple locations.
Drawing revisions are one of the key quantity surveyor responsibilities, which can take a lot of time, especially if done manually. RIB CostX’s Auto-Revisioning feature eliminates the pain of revisions by allowing users to automatically detect and highlight changes between different versions of a drawing. All they need to do is upload the new revision into the system, and the software will automatically identify and highlight the differences between the two versions of the drawings, including added or removed elements. This information can then be used to update the estimate, creating a comprehensive audit trail. This not only saves the QS hours of manual work that can be dedicated to improving other areas of the project, but it also allows for a quick understanding of the impact of revisions on the project scope, enhancing the accuracy of decisions.
Traditional takeoff and estimating software struggles to keep up with the fast-paced nature of the building industry. This is mainly due to processes like takeoff and estimating still being slow and tedious, which affects the entire project timeline. In addition, construction companies face pressure from clients and regulators to reduce the environmental impact of projects by sourcing greener materials and tracking the environmental impact of their processes, which is not an easy task.
RIB CostX is a unified costing platform that integrates takeoff, estimating, and carbon tracking, all in a single platform. Thanks to BIM technology, taking off quantities becomes much more efficient and accurate. The extracted quantities, rates, and more can be live-linked to estimates to analyze project costs and make the smartest decisions for the project. Additionally, our platform offers carbon accounting functionality that helps users track the environmental impact of their decisions to make projects more environmentally friendly.
RIB CostX has been a leading provider in takeoff and estimating for over twenty years. With clients in over 100 countries worldwide, our hard work and innovative thinking have earned us the title of the best Estimation & Valuation Software at the Construction Computing Awards five times, all thanks to the feedback and support of our users. Our experience and commitment to making construction companies more productive, efficient, and sustainable differentiate us from other solutions in the market.
Yes, you can. While CostX is ideal for the preconstruction phase, RIB offers a range of products that address challenges across the entire project lifecycle. This includes scheduling, resource management, procurement, prefab, project and cost control, all the way through to handover. By combining CostX with RIB’s suite of solutions, teams can optimize workflows, enhance collaboration, and achieve greater efficiency from inception to completion.
To learn more, please have a look at our other construction software solutions.
We are with you at every step
Our goal is to improve your efficiency and productivity through a range of services, such as implementation, system navigation, and optimizing upgrades. We understand the challenges of meeting deadlines and the need for timely assistance. Our experienced staff, who are seasoned industry-experts, take pride in offering prompt and effective support – just ask our hundreds of thousands of satisfied users!
