Comparison
McCormick alternatives
Mirage vs McCormick
McCormick Systems is a complete estimating platform for electrical, plumbing and mechanical contractors, with its own takeoff, Design Estimating Pro, and a patented Auto Home Run. Mirage is not another platform. It is a takeoff layer that reads the drawing set and hands traced quantities to the estimating system you already price in, McCormick included, so the right alternative depends on whether you are replacing the platform or the counting.
Short answer
If the McCormick platform itself is the problem, compare Trimble Accubid, ConEst IntelliBid and Vision InfoSoft's Electrical Bid Manager, which each sell a database, labor units and takeoff as McCormick does. If the platform is fine and the counting is where the hours go, keep McCormick and put a takeoff layer such as Mirage in front of it.
At a glance
| Aspect | Mirage | McCormick |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A takeoff layer in front of your estimating system, deployed and run by Mirage engineers | A complete estimating platform for electrical, plumbing and mechanical contractors, with built-in takeoff |
| Material database | None: it feeds yours | Over 55,000 items and 25,000 prebuilt assemblies for electrical, with databases for the USA and Canada |
| Labor units | None: yours stay in your estimating system | Trade-specific labor units from NECA, PHCC and MCAA standards |
| Material pricing | None | Pricing updated from major pricing services or your supply house |
| Takeoff | Devices, conduit and wire runs, homeruns, panel and luminaire schedules, read from plans, one-lines and schedules together | Design Estimating Pro, in the same program as the estimate, with auto-count |
| Homeruns | Traced from each device to its panel, flagged when the panel tag is missing | Patented Auto Home Run |
| Drawing formats | PDF, DWG and IFC, scanned and vector sheets in one pass | Not listed on the product pages |
| Revisions | The delta between two sets: which quantities changed, on which sheets | Overlay drawings to compare plans and identify revisions |
| Into the estimate | An Excel or CSV file laid out for your estimating system's import, not a live link | Takeoff and estimate in one program |
| How it is run | Inside your environment, built and operated by forward-deployed engineers; a person reviews exceptions and signs off | Cloud-based software your estimators run, with multi-user collaboration |
| Track record | No electrical deployment published yet; takeoff agents in production at OCBM and John Cockerill | 45+ years helping contractors, according to its site |
| Published pricing | No: scoped after a proof of concept on your own drawings | Not on the product pages |
Summary
A search for a McCormick alternative usually starts from one of two problems. Either the estimating platform no longer fits (its database, its deployment, the way it is licensed), or the platform is fine and the takeoff in front of it is where the hours go. The answers are different.
If the platform is the problem, the alternatives are other electrical estimating platforms. Trimble Accubid and ConEst IntelliBid are the most direct: each sells a material database, labor units, takeoff and bid assembly for electrical contractors, as McCormick does. Vision InfoSoft's Electrical Bid Manager is a lighter program in the same category.
If the takeoff is the problem, McCormick already does more than most here: takeoff and estimating in one program, auto-count, and the patented Auto Home Run, a feature the Accubid and IntelliBid product pages do not describe. On clean commercial sets that may be all you need. Mirage is for the sets where it is not: it counts devices, measures runs, traces homeruns to their panels, reads the one-line and the panel schedules against the plans, and returns every line with the sheet it came from, as a file laid out for import into McCormick.
Mirage does not maintain a material catalogue or labor units, does not price and does not assemble the bid. It has not published an electrical deployment yet; its takeoff agents in production run at OCBM and John Cockerill. Those are the limits to weigh it against.
Key takeaways
- McCormick is a complete estimating platform with its own takeoff; Mirage is a takeoff layer that feeds one.
- If the platform is the problem, compare Trimble Accubid, ConEst IntelliBid or Electrical Bid Manager: Mirage does not replace an estimating system.
- If the takeoff is the problem, check what Design Estimating Pro and Auto Home Run already cover, then add Mirage where sets are mixed-format, revised often or inconsistent.
- Mirage exports an Excel or CSV file for import, not a takeoff inside McCormick, and does not check drawings against the NEC.
Key differences
An estimating platform, or a takeoff layer
McCormick holds the database, the assemblies, the NECA-based labor units, the pricing and the bid. Mirage holds none of them. It produces quantities, with their sources, for the platform that does.
Takeoff in the same program, or in front of it
Design Estimating Pro does the takeoff in the same program as the estimate, with auto-count and Auto Home Run. Mirage returns a file for import instead. In exchange, it reads the one-line, the panel schedules and the plans together and flags where they disagree, across PDF, DWG and IFC sheets, scanned or vector.
Software you run, or agents run with you
McCormick is software your estimators operate. Mirage is deployed by its own engineers inside your environment: a proof of concept on your drawings one week after the first meeting, then the first workflow in production in 4 to 6 weeks, with a person reviewing every exception.
Advantages and limitations
Mirage
Advantages
- Leaves your McCormick database, assemblies, labor units and job history where they are
- Reads plans, one-line diagrams and panel schedules together, and flags where they disagree
- PDF, DWG and IFC, scanned and vector sheets, in one pass
- Every quantity traced to its sheet, detail and schedule reference, with confidence flags
- Revision deltas: what changed between two sets, without a full recount
Limitations
- Not an estimating platform: no material database, labor units, pricing or proposal
- No takeoff inside McCormick: an Excel or CSV file for import
- No electrical deployment published yet
- Does not check drawings against the NEC
- No self-serve login and no published price
McCormick
Advantages
- Takeoff and estimating in one program, with no separate interface
- Patented Auto Home Run and auto-count
- Over 55,000 items and 25,000 prebuilt assemblies for electrical, from commercial to high voltage
- Labor units from NECA, PHCC and MCAA standards
- Cloud-based, multi-user, with 45+ years helping contractors
Limitations
- Its product pages do not list the drawing formats takeoff accepts
- Databases stated for the USA and Canada
- Pricing is not published on its product pages
Use cases
Keep McCormick as it is
Clean vector sets, standard commercial devices, estimators who already rely on auto-count and Auto Home Run: the takeoff is not the bottleneck, and adding a layer in front of it may not be worth it.
Keep McCormick, add Mirage in front
The counting is where the hours go: large or mixed-format sets, scanned sheets next to DWG, industrial or infrastructure work with non-standard assemblies, frequent revisions, one-lines and schedules that disagree with the plans. Mirage counts and traces; McCormick prices.
Move to another estimating platform
The platform itself is the problem: its database, its deployment or its licensing. Then compare Trimble Accubid, ConEst IntelliBid and Electrical Bid Manager on their own terms (see below). Mirage does not solve that.
Plumbing and mechanical in the same shop
McCormick covers electrical, plumbing and mechanical in one platform. A contractor bidding all three may lose more by splitting platforms than by keeping one, whichever takeoff sits in front of it.
Mirage products
Electrical takeoff
Device counts, conduit runs, homeruns and panel loads read from the drawing set, every line traced to its sheet, exported for import into Accubid, McCormick, ConEst or your own cost database.
See the pageTakeoff and estimating
Mirage's quantity takeoff across trades: plan, section and detail sheets read together, every quantity returned with its source attached.
See the pageHow to choose
Name the problem first. If it is the estimating platform, the alternative is another platform, and the comparison is database, labor units, pricing feed, deployment and how your estimators work in it. If it is the counting, the alternative is a different takeoff, and the platform can stay.
Check what you already own before buying anything. McCormick's Design Estimating Pro does the takeoff in the same program as the estimate, with auto-count, Auto Home Run and drawing overlay. On clean commercial sets, that may already cover the need.
Mirage is aimed at the sets where counting is not the whole job: scanned and vector sheets mixed with DWG or IFC, schedules that disagree with the plans, panel tags missing on the drawing, revisions that would otherwise be recounted. Ask for a proof of concept on one of your own sets; it comes one week after the first meeting.
Which McCormick alternative is best for your shop?
Seven criteria, each one answerable from a vendor's product page or a demo. Score McCormick on them first, so the alternative has something to beat.
- Database and region. Item count, assemblies, and whether the database is built for your market: McCormick states USA and Canada, Accubid Classic over 42,000 items, IntelliBid over 140,000 items, Electrical Bid Manager over 10,000, each on its own site as of October 2026.
- Labor units. Which standard they follow (NECA, PHCC, MCAA at McCormick) and how many columns per item (three at Electrical Bid Manager).
- Takeoff inside or in front. Takeoff in the same program as the estimate (McCormick's Design Estimating Pro, Accubid Anywhere's LiveCount) or a separate tool writing in (SureCount into IntelliBid, PlanSwift or On-Screen Takeoff into Electrical Bid Manager, Mirage's Excel or CSV export into any of them).
- Drawing formats. PDF only, or DWG and IFC and scanned sheets in one pass. McCormick's product pages do not list the formats its takeoff accepts; ask.
- Trades covered. Electrical only, or plumbing and mechanical in the same platform, which McCormick offers and matters to a shop bidding all three.
- Pricing basis and deployment. Cloud or local install, per user or per shop, published or quoted. Only Vision InfoSoft states a figure on its site (under $1,000 a year to get started).
- Revisions. Overlay to compare drawings by eye, or a list of the quantities that changed and on which sheets.
Other electrical estimating platforms
If the platform is what you are replacing, these are the alternatives to compare with McCormick, each described from its own vendor's site.
- Trimble Accubid. Two products. Classic is the original full-featured electrical estimating solution, from estimating to purchasing, project management and billing, with over 42,000 items and 13,000 assemblies and labor units built in. Anywhere is cloud-based, for electrical and industrial mechanical contractors, sold as one subscription, with Trade Service pricing and LiveCount takeoff linked both ways to the estimate.
- ConEst IntelliBid. Electrical estimating for electrical, low voltage, datacom and solar contractors: over 140,000 items and more than 500,000 pre-built assembly kits, pre-installed industry standard labor units, three editions, installed locally or run through CE Cloud. On-screen takeoff comes from SureCount, which writes into IntelliBid.
- Vision InfoSoft Electrical Bid Manager. A lighter program for electrical contractors of all sizes: over 10,000 items and assemblies, three columns of labor units per item, integration with PlanSwift and On-Screen Takeoff, QuickBooks job costing. Its site says you can get started for less than $1,000 a year.
Where Mirage fits on US and UK projects
On US work, Mirage's electrical takeoff is a quantity list, not an estimate: devices by type and circuit, conduit and wire by run, homeruns by panel, panel and luminaire schedules, each line with its sheet reference. It goes into the estimating system the contractor already prices in, McCormick, Accubid or IntelliBid, as an Excel or CSV file laid out for that system's import. NECA-based labor units, assemblies and prices are applied there, not by Mirage.
Mirage does not check drawings against the National Electrical Code. It counts and traces what the drawings show and flags where they disagree with each other. Whether the design complies with the NEC stays with the engineer of record and the plan reviewer.
On UK work, note that McCormick's site describes its electrical databases as U.S. and Canada-based. Mirage's quantities can be prepared for NRM2 measurement instead of an estimating system's import; its NRM page says plainly that this would be its first UK NRM deployment, built on the takeoff agents already in production. See NRM quantity surveying
The counting itself
How an electrical takeoff is done from 2D drawings, and what to check before it goes into the estimate. See the guide to electrical takeoff from 2D drawings
Homeruns, measured by hand and traced automatically. See the home run calculation guide
A long branch or feeder run raises the question of conductor size. See the voltage drop calculator
Sources
Every statement about McCormick Systems, Trimble Accubid, ConEst and Vision InfoSoft on this page comes from the vendors' own product pages, read on 1 October 2026, and describes them as of October 2026. Performance figures vendors publish about their own products are not repeated here.
Checked 1 October 2026: McCormick Systems, electrical estimating, McCormick Systems, estimating software, McCormick Systems, Design Estimating Pro, Trimble Accubid Classic, Trimble Accubid Anywhere, ConEst IntelliBid, Vision InfoSoft, Electrical Bid Manager
FAQ
Related comparisons
Accubid alternatives
Trimble Accubid against the other electrical estimating platforms, and where Mirage's takeoff fits in front of it.
Read the comparisonConEst alternatives
ConEst IntelliBid against the other electrical estimating platforms, and where Mirage's takeoff fits in front of it.
Read the comparisonMirage vs PlanSwift
Mirage's takeoff agents against PlanSwift's on-screen takeoff software.
Read the comparisonMirage for electrical takeoff
Electrical takeoff
Device counts, conduit runs, homeruns and panel loads read from the drawing set, every line traced to its sheet, exported for the estimating system you already price in.
See electrical takeoffGet a custom automation plan
Tell us where your operations lose time. We send back a written plan: which workflows are worth automating, what a deployment looks like on your systems, and the shortest path to production. No commitment.
Prefer to talk it through? Book a call