Profile · Decades-deep install base
SDS2
SDS2 is a steel detailing platform, not a takeoff tool. It anchors a generation of fabricators, and it now sits alongside Steel Genie inside ALLPLAN's portfolio. If you already live inside SDS2, the AI work coming from the same vendor will be on your radar. The comparison with Lift is structural, though, not feature-for-feature.
01 · Spec sheet
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Full detailing suite: beams, columns, braces, plates, connections
Integrations
Internal SDS2 modeling pipeline, Allplan ecosystem
Pricing
Perpetual and subscription; commercial pricing on request
Elevations
Not applicable
02 · Strengths
- Mature, deep detailing capability across the connection design surface.
- An existing user base, with training infrastructure and years of detailing-shop muscle memory.
- Strong brand recognition in the structural steel detailing world.
- Now part of the same family as Steel Genie, which gives ALLPLAN a stacked sales motion.
03 · Gaps
- Built for detailing. It does not natively produce a bid-ready takeoff from a PDF.
- Licensing cost has historically gated estimator-side adoption.
- Adding AI takeoff to the same stack means a Nemetschek-shaped roadmap, not a takeoff-shaped one.
04 · How it compares to Lift
For a side-by-side breakdown with Lift, including the head-to-head scoring and the full spec table, see the dedicated comparison page.
05 · Sources