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Cella

PDF markup and takeoff for construction drawings

Redline drawing sets, measure to scale and get quantity takeoffs with automatic totals. Your markups stay standard PDF, so Acrobat and Bluebeam users see them exactly as you drew them.

Download for Mac Windows and Linux Buy Cella — $149

Free 14-day trial · No sign-up · $149 once, no subscription · macOS 12 or later

Cella on a Mac showing sheet A-101, a clinic floor plan covered in review markups: red revision clouds, blue callouts, area measurements of 680.06 SF and 453.38 SF, counts and stamps. The Properties panel shows the selected cloud's revision, status and custom columns, and the Markups List lists 25 markups.
Cella on a Mac: a marked-up floor plan with the Markups List
$149 onceNo subscription. Updates included.
14-day free trialNo sign-up, no card.
Bluebeam compatibleStandard PDF markups.
Your files stay yoursNo account, no cloud.

Review, measure and price drawing sets

Redlines that look the part

Clouds, callouts, text, arrows, stamps and highlights, plus numbered revision clouds and a revision schedule. Reply to markups and track their status.

Part of a clinic floor plan in Cella with red revision clouds, a revision triangle, blue callouts, a Reviewed stamp, a 180'-0" length, counts of 14 EA and 7 EA, and areas of 680.06 SF and 453.38 SF.
Clouds, callouts, stamps and measurements on a floor plan

Measure to scale

Calibrate once, then measure lengths, areas, perimeters, angles and counts. Click inside a room and Cella measures its area for you.

A close-up of a clinic floor plan in Cella: the men's and women's restrooms shaded orange and measured together at 453.38 SF, a count of 7 EA in the lab, and the stair outlined in purple.
Areas and counts measured to scale

Quantity takeoff with automatic totals

Every measurement lands in the Markups List, grouped by type with subtotals. Add your unit costs and export to Excel or CSV.

Cella's Markups List with 25 markups, including area measurements of 680.06 SF and 453.38 SF, a duplex receptacle count of 14 EA and a data outlet count of 7 EA, and a totals line: Length 191'-6", Area 1,133.44 SF, Count 21 EA.
The Markups List adds up every measurement

See what changed between issues

Compare two revisions of a sheet and Cella clouds every change. Slip-sheet the new issue in and your markups stay put.

A floor plan in Cella after Compare Documents, with magenta clouds around each change: a new wall and door, a sink, a relocated roof leader and a renamed room.
Every change between two issues, clouded

Works with Bluebeam

Open PDFs marked up in Bluebeam Revu with markups and custom columns intact. Import your Revu tool sets. Markups you make in Cella show up exactly right in Revu and Acrobat.

Bluebeam and Revu are trademarks of Bluebeam, Inc. Acrobat is a trademark of Adobe. Cella isn't affiliated with or endorsed by either.

More tools, built in

Everything is included in the one price.

Whole drawing sets

Open a folder as one set and jump by sheet number.

Search every sheet

Find text anywhere in the set.

Visual Search

Find and count every instance of a symbol.

OCR for scans

Make scanned sheets searchable.

Split View

Two sheets side by side, in sync.

Edit Text

Fix a wrong label right in the drawing.

Digital signatures

Sign and certify PDFs with your certificate.

Redaction

Remove sensitive content for good.

PDF forms

Fill RFIs, transmittals and checklists.

Page tools

Split, combine, crop, resize and stamp sheets.

Exports

Excel, CSV, DXF and PDF/A.

Office standards

Share tool sets and lock your firm's styles.

One price. No subscription.

Cella
$149
one time
  • One license for one computer (Mac, Windows or Linux) and one iPad
  • Every 1.x update included
  • Every feature, nothing held back
  • 14-day free trial first, no sign-up
Or start your free trial →

Try it free

  1. Download Cella and open it.
  2. Use every feature free for 14 days.

Buy and activate

  1. Click Buy Cella and check out. Your license key arrives by email.
  2. In Cella, choose Enter License Key… and paste it.

Download Cella 1.0

Try every feature free for 14 days. The trial starts when you first open Cella. No sign-up.

Mac

Download for Mac (.dmg) 20.6 MB

Requirements

macOS 12 Monterey or later, Apple silicon or Intel.

Install

Open the .dmg and drag Cella into Applications.

Windows

Coming soon. Cella for Windows is in testing.

Requirements

Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit.

Linux

Coming soon. Cella for Linux is in testing.

Requirements

Ubuntu 24.04 or later, or Arch Linux.

Ready to buy? Choose Buy Cella… in the app, or Enter License Key… if you have one. · User Guide · What's new

Built for architects and builders

Architects

Redline progress sets, cloud revisions and issue clean PDFs.

Construction administration

Track RFIs and submittal comments with status and replies.

Estimators

Measure, count and price takeoffs, then export to Excel.

The whole project team

Consultants and clients can view every markup free.

Work together in real time

With Atrium, Cella's sync server, everyone's markups reach the whole project team as they're made. Work offline and changes sync when you're back.

Self-hosted

Free

Runs on your own server, Linux, Windows, macOS or Docker.

Hosted by Sorted Solution

Price to be confirmed

We run and look after a server for your firm. Ask about hosting →

Now in beta with three architecture firms. Want your firm in the next round? Get in touch.

What's new in Cella 1.0

Cella 1.0

  • First release. Markup, measurement and quantity takeoff for drawing sets.
  • Compare revisions. Cloud every change between two issues, or a whole set.
  • Bluebeam compatible. Revu markups, custom columns and tool sets.
  • Scans and signatures. OCR, Edit Text, Visual Search and digital signatures.
  • Real-time collaboration. Share markups live with Atrium.
  • $149 once. With a free 14-day trial.

FAQ

How much does Cella cost?
$149, once. No subscription. One key covers one computer (Mac, Windows or Linux) and one iPad, with every 1.x update. See pricing.
How does the free trial work?
The 14-day trial starts the first time you open Cella. Everything works. No sign-up, no card.
What happens when the trial ends?
Cella becomes a free viewer: open, search and print drawings and read every markup. Marking up and measuring need a license key.
Does Cella work with Bluebeam?
Yes. Cella opens Bluebeam Revu markups with their custom columns, imports Revu tool sets, and saves standard PDF markups that Revu and Acrobat show exactly. Coming from Revu? See the User Guide.
Are my drawings uploaded anywhere?
No. There's no account and no cloud. Your drawings stay on your computer and your network. See our Privacy policy.
Who needs a license?
Anyone who marks up or measures. Everyone else on the project can open, search and print drawings and read every markup free.
How do I move my license to a new computer?
On the old computer, open Cella License… and choose Deactivate This Device…. Then enter your key on the new one.
Does it need an internet connection?
Only to activate your key and re-check it now and then. Cella keeps working offline for up to 30 days.
Who handles payment?
Our payment provider, Lemon Squeezy. We never see your card details.
Do I need Atrium?
No. Atrium is optional, for teams who want markups shared live. More about Atrium.
Is there a Windows or Linux version?
Coming soon. Both are in testing, and they'll work with the same license key.
Is there an iPad version?
Cella for iPad is coming to the App Store.
What are the system requirements?
macOS 12 Monterey or later, on Apple silicon or Intel.
Where is the user guide?
In the app under Help, and online: Cella User Guide.

Cella is a paid license, $149 once, with a 14-day free trial. Full terms are in LICENSE.txt, included with every download.

Cella is built by Sorted Solution — an IT consulting and managed services firm for small and mid-size businesses. If your business needs reliable infrastructure, cloud support, or security guidance, we'd love to talk.

Learn what we do →

Try Cella free for 14 days

No sign-up, no card. $149 once when you're ready.

Download Cella Buy Cella — $149

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