SheetMetalAI Review 2026: AI Duct Takeoff and Priced Quotes for HVAC Sheet Metal Shops

Updated October 27, 2026 – Tested Intelligence

Quick verdict: SheetMetalAI does one narrow job well on paper: it reads a mechanical PDF plan, finds the ductwork and fittings, totals the material, and prices the takeoff with your own shop rates before exporting a PDF quote. It is a focused estimating aid for HVAC and sheet metal shops, not a fabrication or service platform — and the vendor itself is clear that every AI result must be checked before it becomes a bid.

What it is

SheetMetalAI is a cloud estimating tool for HVAC contractors, estimating teams and sheet metal shops. The workflow is five steps: upload a PDF plan, let the AI find ducts and fittings, review the takeoff, apply your shop rates, and export a priced PDF quote.

The review step is central to the design. The plan workspace shows color-coded detections, and the estimator can refine the segmentation and save the corrected result before finalizing quantities — important in duct work, where a missed fitting is material bought wrong, not a rounding error.

Key features

• AI duct detection: identifies ductwork and fittings from a mechanical PDF plan, with sizes and lengths
• Reviewable takeoff: color-coded detections the estimator can refine and save before quoting
• Material quantities in trade units: sheet metal in pounds, liner in square feet, spiral footage and flex box counts
• Custom pricing tables: your material rates, labor assumptions and shop pricing applied to the takeoff
• Standards library: gauge tables and shop-specific rules applied consistently across takeoffs
• Team workspace: project activity and estimating workload visible in one shared place
• PDF quote export: the priced takeoff turned into a shareable quote document

Pricing

Pricing is public. Field Starter is $99/month billed monthly, for roughly 15 plans a month. Pro Estimator is $149/month, for roughly 25 plans. Enterprise Edge is $199/month, for roughly 40 plans. Every tier includes custom pricing tables, team collaboration and PDF quote export, and starts with a 3-day free trial — a credit card is required. Two cautions are on the vendor’s own page: capacities are approximate and based on distinct PDF plans, and repeat runs reduce available capacity. Yearly billing is also offered; check that price at signup.

Who it’s for

Sheet metal estimators and HVAC contractors whose bottleneck is the first pass over a mechanical plan — counting duct, fittings and material by hand late into the evening. If a faster, consistently priced first takeoff would free the estimator for review and follow-up, the tiers map onto that workload, from solo estimator to busy bid room.

Who should skip it

Shops looking for nesting, CAM or fabrication management should look elsewhere — SigmaNEST or Lantek cover the cutting floor, while SheetMetalAI stops at the quote. If you bid only a plan or two a month, even $99 is hard to justify against manual takeoff.

Pros

• Narrow, trade-specific scope: duct takeoff is the whole product, not a module in a generic suite
• Review is built into the workflow, with editable, color-coded detections
• Quantities reported in the units sheet metal shops actually buy and install
• Your own rates and gauge rules, not a national average database
• Published pricing and a trial on every tier — no sales call to find out the cost

Cons

• The trial is only 3 days and requires a credit card — a short window to test real plans
• Plan caps are approximate, and re-running a plan eats into the monthly allowance
• It ends at the quote: no nesting, no shop-floor tracking, no service dispatch
• A newer, small product with little independent track record — test it hard during the trial

FAQ

What does SheetMetalAI’s AI actually find?

It identifies ductwork and fittings on a mechanical PDF plan, checks sizes and lengths, and organizes material quantities — sheet metal weight, liner area, spiral footage and flex counts — for pricing, with color-coded detections the estimator can refine.

How much does SheetMetalAI cost?

$99/month for Field Starter (about 15 plans a month), $149/month for Pro Estimator (about 25 plans) and $199/month for Enterprise Edge (about 40 plans), billed monthly, with yearly options at signup. Each plan starts with a 3-day free trial, and a credit card is required.

Can I bid with my own shop rates?

Yes. Custom pricing tables let you apply your material prices, labor assumptions and gauge rules. The vendor still advises reviewing scope, quantities and pricing before submitting any bid — the AI produces the first pass, not the final word.

Bottom line

SheetMetalAI is worth a trial if duct takeoff is where your estimating hours disappear: the AI counts, you check, and the quote goes out priced your way. Use the 3 days deliberately — run plans you have already bid by hand and compare line by line. If the detections hold up, the $99–$199 tiers are easy to weigh against estimator time.