You've got a tender to price and no time to do it. So you look for help, and the first question is the obvious one: how much does a construction estimating service cost? The honest answer is that it depends on the job, and anyone who gives you a figure before they've seen the drawings is guessing. What we can do is explain what drives the fee, so you know what you're paying for and why the number moves from one job to the next.
Why there's no single price list
If you've typed "how much does a construction estimating service cost" into Google, you'll have noticed that most providers don't publish a figure. There's a reason for that.
Two jobs can look alike on paper and take very different amounts of work. A detached house on a flat, clear site with a full set of drawings is one thing. The same house with a basement, a steel frame, a sloping plot and drawings that contradict each other is another. The fee reflects the hours it takes to measure and price the job properly, and those hours come from the drawings, not from the description in the enquiry.
A fee based purely on floor area doesn't work either. It would overcharge you on a simple job and undercharge on a complicated one, and the provider would claw back the difference somewhere (usually by measuring less carefully).
What drives the cost of a construction estimate
Scope and size
The more there is to measure, the longer it takes. A single-storey extension is a small, contained measure. A block of flats with external works, drainage and several house types is a much bigger one, even if every element on its own is straightforward.
Drawing quality
This one surprises people. Clear, scaled, coordinated drawings with sections and a specification can be measured efficiently. Sketchy drawings, missing sections or plans that don't match the elevations mean more time spent working out what's intended, and more assumptions written into the estimate. Good information is the simplest way to keep the fee down.
It affects the result as well as the fee. Every assumption an estimator has to make is a place where your price might not match what the architect meant.
Number of trades
Each trade package needs its own measurement and its own rates. A job that's mostly groundworks and brickwork is simpler to price than one with mechanical and electrical, specialist cladding, joinery and landscaping all in the mix.
Deadline
A comfortable deadline lets the work be scheduled normally. A tender due in a hurry may mean moving other work around to meet it. Send drawings as soon as you have them, not when the return date is already close. Tell your estimator the return date up front, too, so nobody finds out too late that the timing doesn't work.
Level of detail
A material takeoff, a priced estimate, a cost plan and a full bill of quantities are different products. A BoQ that several subcontractors will price from needs more structure and fuller descriptions than a quantities schedule for ordering. If you're not sure which one you need, our guide to the different types of estimate and what each is for sets them side by side.
Fixed fee vs hourly: why agreeing the fee up front matters
Some estimating is charged by the hour. It sounds fair until the drawings turn out to be harder than expected and the invoice doubles. You find out what it cost after the work is done, when it's too late to change your mind.
Fixed fee estimating puts the risk where it belongs. The provider looks at the drawings, works out what's involved and gives you one figure before starting. If the measure takes longer than they thought, that's their problem, not yours. You know your cost before you commit, and you can decide whether it's worth spending on that particular tender.
A fixed fee also makes providers easier to compare. When two firms each give you one figure for the same drawings, you can look at what each includes and choose. Two hourly rates tell you very little until the work is finished and the invoices arrive.
That's how MPE works. We quote a fixed fee per job after we've seen the drawings, and that fee is agreed before any work starts. No hourly meter, no surprise invoice at the end. You can send your drawings for a fixed fee quote and decide from there.
So, how much does a construction estimating service cost for your job?
It comes down to what's on your drawings, and the quickest way to find out is to get a fixed figure back against them. The more complete the set, the sharper the quote, and the fewer assumptions end up in the estimate itself.
A few things help keep estimating service fees under control:
- Send the full drawing set and specification at the start, not in instalments.
- Say which packages you already have subcontract prices for, so they aren't measured twice.
- Be clear about the output you need: takeoff, estimate or bill of quantities.
- Give as much notice before the tender return as you can.
Weighing the fee against the cost of getting it wrong
The fee for an estimate is easy to see. The cost of a bad one isn't, at least not until later. Price a job too low and you carry the loss for months. Price it too high out of caution and you lose the tender to someone with a sharper number. Miss a line (the drainage run, the scaffold to the rear elevation, the temporary works) and it comes straight off your margin.
We've written about why a rough estimate costs more than the fee for a proper one, and the same argument applies here. It's also worth knowing what a professional cost estimate should include, so you're comparing like with like when you look at fees from different providers. A lower fee for half the detail isn't a saving.
So the useful question isn't only what the estimate costs. It's what the job costs you if the estimate is wrong.