The Bobyard alternative
that's fully automated.
Bobyard is a well-funded AI takeoff workbench with a human in the loop. Pilars removes the manual review step — fully automated, confidence-scored takeoff across commercial trades, with cross-sheet reasoning, spec-book parsing and code compliance, at $100 per trade instead of per seat.
What is Bobyard?
Bobyard is an AI takeoff workbench that raised a $35M Series A in December 2025. It automates roughly 70% of the counting and measuring process — object counts, linear lengths and areas — with a historical cost database, customizable templates, an AI Q&A trained on your data, and a material-centric takeoff that keeps quantities tied to pricing. Contractors report around a 65% reduction in takeoff time. Bobyard has strong roots in landscaping and is expanding across trades, with a human-in-the-loop review step to finish each takeoff.
Where Pilars is different
Pilars is fully automated AI takeoff for commercial, institutional and industrial work. Instead of automating part of the count and handing the rest to a reviewer, Pilars reads the full plan set and spec book, resolves references across sheets and schedules, flags code-compliance issues, and returns a confidence score on every quantity — so estimators verify what matters and skip what doesn't.
Pilars vs Bobyard
| Capability | Pilars | Bobyard |
|---|---|---|
| Automation level | Fully automated | ~70%, human-in-the-loop |
| Cross-sheet reference resolution | Yes | Limited |
| Spec-book parsing | Yes | No |
| Code-compliance flagging | Yes | No |
| Confidence score per quantity | Yes | Partial |
| Commercial trade depth | Electrical, plumbing, HVAC, concrete, drywall… | Landscaping roots, expanding |
| Pricing tied to quantities | Yes | Yes |
| Revision-aware re-takeoff | Yes | Partial |
| Pricing model | $100 per trade, per plan | Per seat |
Comparison based on public documentation as of 2026. Bobyard is a trademark of its owner; this is an independent comparison.
Why teams choose Pilars over Bobyard
No manual review step
Bobyard automates ~70% and asks a human to finish. Pilars returns a complete, confidence-scored takeoff so your team verifies exceptions instead of finishing the count.
Built for commercial trades
Deep trade-specific models for electrical, plumbing, HVAC, concrete, drywall and finishes — beyond landscaping counts and areas.
Specs + compliance
Pilars parses the spec book and flags code-compliance issues (IBC, NEC, IPC, IMC, ADA, NFPA) — scope and risk that a counting workbench misses.
Per-trade pricing
$100 per trade, per plan with no per-seat licenses, so a shared estimating team scales without seat creep.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Bobyard alternative?
Pilars — fully automated AI takeoff across commercial trades with cross-sheet reasoning, spec-book parsing, code-compliance flagging and confidence scores, at $100 per trade.
How is Pilars different from Bobyard?
Bobyard automates ~70% of the takeoff with human-in-the-loop review and landscaping roots. Pilars is fully automated across commercial trades with compliance flagging and confidence scores.
Is Pilars cheaper than Bobyard?
Pilars uses transparent $100-per-trade pricing with no per-seat licenses.
Does Pilars work beyond landscaping?
Yes — Pilars is built for commercial, institutional and industrial projects across all major trades.