You can trace a roof outline in Google Earth for free — but it gives you a flat shape, not the roofing math. You still have to estimate the pitch, apply a pitch factor, add waste, and work out materials by hand, every single time. SquareCount is purpose-built for that: enter an address, trace the roof, and get pitch-adjusted squares, waste factor, and a material list in about 60 seconds — repeatable on every job for one flat monthly price. The $79/month Contractor plan includes unlimited measurements, editable shingle/tile/metal material lists, valley & ridge takeoffs, and a job cost estimator — and every new account starts with a free 7-day Contractor trial (3 free reports per month after).
| Feature | SquareCount | Google Earth |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Flat monthly — unlimited ($79 Contractor, everything included; 3 free/mo) | Free |
| Roof area | Calculated automatically | Manual tracing |
| Pitch & pitch factor | Built in | You estimate it yourself |
| Waste factor | Calculated | Manual |
| Material list | Generated | Not available |
| Speed per job | ~60 seconds, repeatable | Slower, manual each time |
| Built for roofing | Yes | No — general mapping tool |
Yes — you can trace a roof outline in Google Earth to get a rough area for free. But Google Earth does not calculate pitch, pitch-adjusted squares, waste factor, or materials. You have to estimate pitch and do the roofing math yourself on every roof.
Google Earth gives you a flat outline; SquareCount gives you the roofing math. It returns pitch-adjusted squares, waste factor, and a material list automatically in about 60 seconds per roof — saving you the manual calculation on every job. The $79/month Contractor plan adds editable shingle/tile/metal material lists, valley & ridge takeoffs, and a job cost estimator — a full takeoff toolkit, unlimited, for one flat price.
Both rely on satellite imagery, so the underlying view is similar. The difference is the math: SquareCount applies pitch and waste automatically for estimate-grade roofing numbers, while Google Earth only gives a flat area you must adjust by hand — which is where manual errors creep in.