Free satellite roof measurement: what you get and what you don't
Free, unlimited self-serve roof measuring on satellite imagery with a full PDF and no card. Here is exactly what the free plan covers and where paid reports and Pro start.
You can measure a roof from satellite imagery for free in RoofStruct: free, unlimited self-serve measuring and PDF reports, no card. What you don't get for free is someone else doing the tracing, or estimates and material orders with your own name on them. Here is where the line sits, item by item.
What the free plan covers
Free is not a trial and not a monthly allowance. You trace as many roofs as you want, on satellite imagery or on your own drone or phone photo, and export the full PDF every time. There is no per-report fee for anything you measure yourself.
| Item | Free | Pro ($69/month) |
|---|---|---|
| Self-serve measuring on satellite imagery | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Measuring on your own drone or phone photo | Yes | Yes |
| Full PDF report | Yes, with RoofStruct branding | Yes, with your logo and colours |
| Cost & Takeoff worksheet | Yes | Yes |
| Water-flow analysis | Yes | Yes |
| AI credits | 10 starter credits, uploads only | 15 a month |
| Branded Good / Better / Best estimates with e-signature | No | Yes |
| Material Order Builder | No | Yes |
| CSV, XLSX, JSON and DXF exports | No | Yes |
Two limits on free are worth knowing before you start. You get one share link per project, so if you send a homeowner a link and then want a second one for the adjuster, plan for that. And the 10 AI credits are starter credits for uploaded photos, not for tracing on satellite imagery.
What a free measurement looks like on a real job
The workflow is the same on every plan. Search the address, frame the house, and trace the outline with Draw Roof. Slice the outline into facets, then label every edge: eave, rake, ridge, hip, valley and the rest of the 12 edge types. What is this edge? helps when a line could go either way, and the Edges labeled X of Y counter tells you when you've missed one.
Then set pitch. Satellite imagery looks straight down, so it can't show you rise over run. You set one predominant pitch for the whole roof and override any facet that differs, and the free pitch finder helps when you can't get on the roof before the bid.
Once the numbers check out, you get area, squares and edge lengths by type in the PDF. The Cost & Takeoff worksheet turns those quantities into a working number with your own material and labor prices. Water-flow analysis shows where the roof drains, which is useful for a valley or a cricket conversation with the homeowner.
All of it gets done in minutes on a simple gable. A cut-up roof with dormers and a few valleys takes longer, and that's the trade-off of measuring it yourself.
What costs money
Two things sit outside free: having the roof measured for you, and putting your brand on what the homeowner sees.
Done-for-you reports
If you'd rather not trace a roof, order it. A residential report is $14 and a commercial report is $29, usually delivered within 4 hours (turnaround can vary with volume and complexity). A technician measures it from high-resolution satellite imagery and a second technician checks it. You get waste analysis, the takeoff and all 5 file formats, and if a measurement is wrong you can ask for a correction or a refund within 30 days. See how ordered reports work.
Ordered reports make sense when tree cover or shadows hide the edges, when the roof is complex enough that tracing it eats your evening, or when you need numbers before an appointment and you're on another job.
Pro
Pro is $69/month, or $624/year. It adds branded Good / Better / Best estimates with e-signature, the Material Order Builder, every export (PDF, CSV, XLSX, JSON, DXF), your logo and colours, and a discount on ordered reports: $10 residential and $22 commercial instead of $14 and $29.
The math: free, ordered, or Pro
Run it with your own volume. Say you bid 20 residential roofs a month.
- Measure all 20 yourself on free: $0. Your cost is the time spent tracing.
- Order all 20 on free: 20 × $14 = $280 a month.
- Order all 20 on Pro: 20 × $10 = $200, plus $69, for $269 a month.
On report discounts alone, Pro saves $4 per residential report, so it covers its own price once you order more than $69 ÷ $4 = 17.25 reports a month, which means 18 or more. Below that, Pro has to earn its place through branded estimates and material orders, not report savings.
A common mix: measure the simple roofs yourself, order the ugly ones. On free, that mix costs only the reports you order. For a longer break-even worksheet, see when measuring it yourself pays off. For how other free tools compare, see our roundup of free roof measurement tools.
Where you trip
Sending the free PDF as your proposal. It carries RoofStruct branding, not yours. It's a measurement report, fine for your own takeoff or to show a homeowner the numbers. If you want your logo on the document that wins the job, that's Pro.
Skipping pitch. A facet with no pitch is counted flat. The 6/12 pitch factor is 1.118, so 2,000 sq ft of plan area is really 2,236 sq ft of roof. Measured flat, you come up 236 sq ft short, more than 2 squares, and you find out on delivery day.
Tracing through trees. If you can't see the eave line, you're guessing at it. An overhang hidden under a canopy is exactly the roof to order instead of trace.
Using up your one share link. Free gives one share link per project. Decide who gets it before you send it.
Counting overlap twice. Where two facets overlap, the builder flags the area as "counted twice." Fix the trace before you export, not after the order goes in.
FAQ
Is satellite roof measurement free in RoofStruct with no limit?
Yes, for measuring you do yourself. You can trace as many roofs as you want on satellite imagery or your own drone or phone photo and export the full PDF each time. Only ordered reports and Pro features cost money.
Do I need a credit card to measure a roof for free?
No. You sign up and start measuring with no card.
Can I put my logo on the free PDF?
No. The free PDF carries RoofStruct branding. Your logo and colours on PDFs, estimates and material orders come with Pro at $69/month.
When should I pay for a measurement report instead of tracing it myself?
When tree cover or shadows hide the edges, when the roof is complex enough that tracing costs you more time than $14 is worth, or when you need numbers before an appointment. Reports arrive within about 4 hours and come with correct-or-refund within 30 days.