Ask Donnie vs Togal.AI: An Honest Comparison (2026)
Togal.AI and Ask Donnie solve different parts of the construction workflow, so the right pick depends on the job in front of you. Togal.AI is a best-in-class automated takeoff tool: upload architectural PDFs and it detects, measures, counts and labels spaces and items, fast, on clean repetitive plans. If your number-one need is high-volume quantity takeoff, Togal is purpose-built for it.
Ask Donnie (proctorhldg.com) is not primarily a takeoff engine. It is a code-and-cost assistant plus a full construction-management suite: jurisdiction-aware, citation-grounded building-code answers; deterministic (non-hallucinated) cost estimates with an AACE accuracy range; blueprint and AI redline reads; and CM covering RFIs, submittals, change orders, daily logs, punch lists, CPM scheduling, earned-value cost control and closeout. It runs on native iOS and Android with transparent freemium pricing.
Short version: choose Togal if your bottleneck is manual measuring on clean architectural plans; choose Ask Donnie if you need defensible code answers, deterministic estimates, and to manage the project after the bid. The two can also be complementary, with Togal handling the measure and Ask Donnie handling the code, the priced estimate, and the build.
What Togal.AI does best (credit where it's due)
Togal.AI's core strength is real and well-documented. Its one-click automated area takeoff genuinely removes the tedious clicking and counting that eats an estimator's day, and on clean, repetitive architectural drawings the time savings are large: users report a full day of takeoff on a 200-unit apartment finished in under about two hours, which translates directly into more bids per month.
Reported accuracy lands around 85-95% on clean commercial and multifamily floor plans (the company markets up to 98% accuracy on floor plans and up to 5x faster takeoffs). Togal.CHAT spec-search is praised for surfacing the right spec-book information and linking it to drawing details. The product also carries credible 'built by a real GC' DNA: it was incubated inside Miami general contractor Coastal Construction and spun out as a funded startup (Series A stage; roughly $17.2M raised across multiple rounds, with a $5M round led by Florida Funders). The interface is clean, export is easy, and support is staffed by people with real estimating backgrounds.
If you bid high volumes of multifamily, retail tenant improvement, office buildouts or standard commercial floor plans, Togal is a strong, focused fit for the measuring half of preconstruction.
Where Togal's scope ends (factual, not a knock)
Togal is a takeoff tool by design, and that scope has honest edges. It has no native pricing or cost engine and doesn't build proposals, so quantities have to be exported into separate estimating software to become a priced bid. Its AI is confined to what's drawn, so by users' own accounts it doesn't account for the building process or local codes.
Accuracy also depends on drawing quality. It degrades on scanned or low-resolution plans, complex MEP sheets and non-standard symbology, where manual correction can erode the promised ROI: one GC reported around 60% on a retail podium level versus about 85% on residential floors. Users also describe it as not quite ready for civil/sitework, heavy industrial, healthcare and infrastructure takeoffs.
On the ecosystem side, there are no native connectors to Procore, Buildertrend or Sage 300, and exports to Excel/PDF can need manual reformatting. Pricing is opaque and gated behind a sales conversation.
What Ask Donnie adds that a takeoff tool doesn't
Ask Donnie covers ground a pure takeoff product isn't built for. Its building-code answers are jurisdiction-aware (it maps your ZIP to the right state edition) and citation-grounded, so an answer points back to the code section rather than a confident guess.
Its cost estimates are deterministic: the numbers come from a priced catalog and estimating engine, not from a language model inventing figures, and they ship with an AACE accuracy class, an accuracy range and a Basis of Estimate you can defend to an owner. On top of that sits a full construction-management suite spanning RFIs, submittals, change orders, daily logs, punch lists, CPM scheduling, earned-value cost control and closeout, so the same tool that helped you bid can help you build. It reads blueprints and produces AI visual redlines, and it runs natively on iOS and Android.
Feature comparison at a glance
| Capability | Togal.AI | Ask Donnie |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Automated quantity takeoff from drawings | Yes — core strength, fast on clean plans | Not its focus; reads blueprints and redlines |
| Native cost/pricing engine | No — export to other estimating software | Yes — deterministic, AACE accuracy range |
| Code-cited, jurisdiction-aware answers | No — AI limited to what's drawn | Yes — ZIP to state edition, cites the section |
| Construction management (RFIs to closeout) | No | Yes — full suite |
| Spec search | Yes — Togal.CHAT | Via code/estimate workflow |
| Native mobile apps | Web-focused | Native iOS + Android |
| Pricing transparency | Sales-gated | Published: free $5 wallet, Pro $150/mo, Business $250/mo |
Which one fits you
Pick Togal.AI if you do high-volume bidding on clean, repetitive architectural plans and your single biggest pain is manual measuring. That is the job it was built for and it does it well.
Pick Ask Donnie if you need defensible, code-cited answers, deterministic estimates you can stand behind, and a way to run the project after award, across more than just clean floor plans. And because Togal handles the measure while Ask Donnie handles the code answer, the priced estimate and the CM, many teams could reasonably run both rather than treating it as a strict either/or.
Frequently asked
Does Ask Donnie do automated takeoff like Togal.AI?
Not in the same way. Togal.AI is purpose-built for automated quantity takeoff, detecting, measuring and counting items directly from architectural PDFs at high speed. Ask Donnie reads blueprints and produces AI visual redlines, but its core is code-cited answers, deterministic cost estimates with an AACE accuracy range, and a full construction-management suite. If automated takeoff is your main need, Togal is the specialist; if you need code answers, defensible estimates and to manage the build, Ask Donnie covers ground Togal doesn't.
Can I use Togal.AI and Ask Donnie together?
Yes, and for many teams that's the most practical setup. Togal handles the measuring on clean architectural plans, and Ask Donnie handles the parts a takeoff tool doesn't: jurisdiction-aware building-code answers, deterministic priced estimates, and construction management from RFIs through closeout. They address different stages of preconstruction and delivery rather than directly replacing each other.
How much does each cost?
Ask Donnie publishes its pricing: a free $5 wallet to start, Pro at $150/month and Business at $250/month. Togal.AI's pricing is gated behind a sales conversation and isn't published, and third-party-reported figures don't fully align, so you'll need a demo to get a quote.
Is Togal.AI's takeoff accuracy reliable?
On clean, repetitive architectural plans it's strong, with users reporting roughly 85-95% accuracy and the vendor marketing up to 98% on floor plans. Accuracy degrades on scanned or low-resolution sheets, complex MEP and non-standard symbology, where manual correction is needed; one GC reported around 60% on a retail podium level versus about 85% on residential floors. It's also less ready for civil/sitework, heavy industrial, healthcare and infrastructure work.
Why does Ask Donnie call its estimates 'deterministic'?
Because the cost numbers come from a priced catalog and estimating engine rather than a language model generating figures on the fly. That means estimates are reproducible and ship with an AACE accuracy class, an accuracy range and a Basis of Estimate you can defend to an owner, instead of an unsourced AI guess.
Sources
See it on your own job
Ask Donnie is free to start — a $5 wallet, no card. Cited code answers and a deterministic estimate from your plans in minutes.
Try Ask Donnie →Comparisons reflect publicly available information about each product at the time of writing and our honest read of where each fits. Verify current features and pricing with each vendor.