8 Best Residential Construction Estimating Software to Look for in 2024

Running a home-building or remodeling business is demanding. You juggle client calls, manage expectations, stay on budget, and coordinate vendors. On top of your daily workload, creating handwritten estimates for your new construction projects can be tiring.

Also, accuracy, speed, and precision can’t be guaranteed in the manual estimation procedures.

So, what’s the solution?

Choosing the right residential construction estimating software can be the one. The top programs assemble materials, equipment, and labor expenses into a detailed quote in just a few clicks. Some even integrate with accounting systems for easy bookkeeping.

In this detailed guide, we have researched the top 8 residential construction estimating software options for home builders and remodelers. 

We break down the vital features, benefits, and considerations of each. With clear insights into the leading tools, you can find one tailored to your business needs and budget.

Top 8 Residential Construction Estimating Software Comparison Table

Top 8 Residential Construction Estimation Software

1. InvoiceOwl

InvoiceOwl is one of the best residential construction estimating software. Construction professionals can use the software to create and send accurate estimates to clients in just a few clicks. All it takes is a tap on your screen, and you can start building from the software’s library of templates, personalized to your construction company’s requirements. The automated sum of the project’s estimated expenses is both fast and accurate.

Using this software solution, it is also possible for you to itemize the labor and raw materials you would be using for the project. That adds weightage to your proposal, encouraging your clients to trust you with the work. What’s more? You can use this one of the best residential construction estimating software wherever you are, as the software also offers a dedicated mobile app to save you from losing out on any project.

Key Features

1. • Create accurate estimates that impress your potential clients.
   • Create contracts with easy acceptance via digital signature
   • Create and send accurate estimates with clients on-the-spot from the mobile app
   • Collect testimonials from successfully completed jobs to attract more clients
   • Itemize labor and materials so clients know exactly where their money is going
   • Upload photos and documents to accompany your proposals

Pricing: Pricing: InvoiceOwl has two plans available:

1. • Growth: This plan costs $9.99
   • Champion: This plan costs $23.99
   • Free: 3-day FREE Trial available

2. CoConstruct

When it comes to cost estimating, bidding, and sending a quick yet sleek proposal, CoConstruct simplifies the job of construction professionals with its keyboard-friendly design.

The system allows you to generate an estimate and auto-build your selections and project specs at the same time. Besides, since all your data is in one place, your proposal generation process gets faster while minimizing the mistakes, which, in turn, helps you win more bid construction job.

The software comes in with a range of customizable construction templates that offers advanced functions, for instance, configurations for taxes, profits, and contingency. You can make your accurate estimates as detailed as required, leaving a good impression on your prospects.

Pricing:

CoConstruct has two pricing options for the residential construction industry – Standard & Plus. The Standard plan costs you $99 a month, and the Plus one costs $399 per month. The price of both these plans increases after the first two months.

3. Clear Estimates

Considered one of the simplest estimating tools for residential construction industry professionals, Clear Estimates helps you create professional quotes in minutes.

It is a cloud-based platform that, that empowers you to manage your cost estimates irrespective of where you are. Since this software is powered by RemodelMAX, your cost database, along with the material and labor expenses, becomes all the more accurate and in line with the current market rates.

Moreover, Clear Estimates offers 60+ templates that you can personalize in seconds for pricing, services, margins, and more according to your residential construction projects. You can also avail of its free support via email, phone, and chat if you get stuck using the software.

Pricing:

Clear Estimates offers three pricing plans – Standard at $59 a month, Pro at $99 a month, and Franchise at $249 a month. You can take a 30-day trial of any of these plans.

4. ArcSite

With ArcSite estimating software, you can create ready-to-sign, personalized proposals in minutes right after you are done with the project drawings.

You can easily add your brand colors, logo, and marketing materials to match your organizational communication standards. It packs in a virtual canvas for you to draw your scope of work.

What’s interesting is the software can price the jobs automatically while you are still drawing the scope. That helps you get rid of the errors and miscalculations which occur when one types in the measurements manually.

In addition to that, you can access ArcSite easily online or through its app on your smartphone, whether you are at the office, on-field, or out. That ensures you never lose out on work.

Pricing:

ArcSite residential construction estimating software is available in four plans: Essential at $60 per month, Advanced at $119 per month, Enterprise at $149 per month, and Growth at custom pricing. You can also opt for its free 14-day free trial.

5. MeasureSquare

Whether you are taking up a flooring project or building an entire home from scratch, MeasureSquare estimating software can streamline your residential construction project management with ease. Using this project management tool, home improvement contractor foreman like you can generate competitive bids without losing their profit margins.

Moreover, you can leverage diverse bid scenarios with varying margins at different project levels.

Thanks to its dedicated mobile app, you can easily generate quotes even when on-site, boosting your chances of winning the bid. Besides, your estimates can include an itemized list of various project aspects with their projected total expenses, such as labor costs, freights, incidentals, and material costs.

Pricing:

MeasureSquare offers two plans for your Windows desktop

1. • Multi-family at $149 per user per month
   • Commercial at $179 per user per month.

Its Windows + iOS bundle costs you $179/user/month for Multi-family and $199/user/month for Commercial, both with Retail. The Android + Windows bundle costs the same as the iOS plan.

6. Procore

If you own a construction company and are looking for easy construction management tools, Procore is for you.

From general contractors to specialty contractors, the platform allows users to connect with every project and provide solutions accordingly.

From general contractors to specialty contractors, the platform allows users to connect with every project and provide solutions accordingly. By all means and efforts procore technologies procore the top most position among their existing competitors in the market.

It is an easy-to-use software that is built for eradicating the communication gap and delivers advanced features like project tracking, project management and collaboration tools. The quoting software for builders is known for connecting general contractors to subcontractors- from field to office smoothly.

Pricing:

Procore has three plans for Windows desktop and Mobile devices

1. • Connect the field and office at $667 per user per month
   • Manage projects and financially at $870 per user per month
   • Maximize ROI at $1,182 per user per month

7. Stack

The construction project management software is quick, flexible, and accurate for residential construction contractors. It offers takeoff responsibilities and estimating.

The advanced takeoff features like cost code, pre-built assembly, measuring digital plans, and material database make Stack a popular cloud base takeoff software.

The takeoff in construction help to eliminate cost error and ensure accuracy in the construction estimation. Also, the automated backup does not let construction contractors lose any necessary information.

Pricing:

Stack has two plans for windows desktop and mobile devices

1. • Grow plan starts from $1,999 per year
   • Perfect plan for teams starts from $4,999 per year

8. Jobbers

The cloud-based software helps residential contractors to manage customer datbase and track construction processes. It offers to create invoices, optimize routes, and schedule construction jobs.

Hence, this project management tool helps to improve project scheduling and customer relationship management. The project management software notifies the crew about the job details and has an automatic payment reminder in it.

Jobbers assist to save time with faster payment and job assignments. Moreover, this bidding software allows free training in the mobile app, so it becomes easier for the construction management team to train and boost their task management skills.

Pricing:

Jobbers has three plans for mobile devices and desktop

• Core plan at $35 per month
• Connect plan at $105 per month
• Grow plan at $211 per month

10 Important Things To Consider When Buying Residential Construction Estimating Software

1. Cloud-based platforms 

Prioritize opting the software solutions that have cloud-based support to enable remote work and easy data access.

2. Ensure seamless integration 

Make sure that the software you opt for has integration capabilities with existing tools like project management or accounting to centralize multiple operations.

3. Opt for comprehensive functions 

Ensure that the software has multiple feature possibilities beyond basic estimation, including quantity take-offs, planning, scheduling, forecasting, and more.

4. Assess technical & customer support 

Evaluate the level of technical support offered by the software provider to navigate learning curves effectively.

5. Align pricing structure with business needs 

Understand the software’s pricing model and how it aligns with your budget and growth plans for cost-effective solutions.

6. Prioritize user-friendly interfaces 

Evaluate the software’s usability and learning curve to ensure an intuitive interface for expedited adoption.

7. Seek customization options 

Look for software that allows customization to meet specific project needs and align with unique demands.

8. Prioritize security measures 

Verify the software’s security features and adherence to high standards to protect sensitive project data.

9. Research user feedback and reviews 

Gather insights from user reviews and feedback to gain real-world perspectives on performance, reliability, and user satisfaction.

10. Scalability 

Consider the scalability of the construction estimating software to ensure it can accommodate your growing business needs.

Final Thoughts

Cost estimation holds immense significance in the highly volatile construction industry. Think of it as a stepping stone without which construction contractors can find it hard to bag a project. If you follow manual cost projections, there are more chances of inaccuracies, under/overestimations, and financial losses. You also risk losing project after project.

That’s why it is important to invest in efficient construction estimation software for small businesses like InvoiceOwl. Doing so accelerates your estimating needs and requirements, and streamlines the overall process while being a central hub for all your critical business data. The streamlining of operations also helps win more construction projects.

So, if you’re thinking of switching to this type of software, now is the time. Now is the right time to start your FREE Trial with InvoiceOwl and explore different features.