Comparison

Construction Cost Estimator vs ContractorTools

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Construction Cost Estimator

Quickly generate on-site construction and repair estimates. Break down costs by material, labor, and more. Save custom items or purchase detailed costbooks for thousands of construction items. Email professional PDF estimates to clients.

Highlights
  • On-site estimate creation
  • Customizable PDF reports
  • Company branding on estimates
  • Organized cost breakdown
  • Customizable costbook
  • International currency support
Currently charting
Read full description

Construction Cost Estimator helps contractors and service companies quickly create on-site estimates for construction and repair projects. You can save time and money by creating the estimate on the spot and then emailing it to the customer as a PDF or printing a hardcopy. Each cost item is broken down into Material, Labor, Other, and Subcontract costs. You can save frequently used cost items in your own custom costbook, or you can purchase 3 different Craftsman costbooks within the app that contain detailed costs for over 30,000 common construction items. Just search for a cost item, enter the quantity, and add it to your estimate in 3 easy steps! FEATURES • Fast and easy user interface for creating cost estimates • Customize multiple types of PDF reports, and email them to customers directly from the app • Add the logo and contact info for your company to create professional-looking estimates • Costs are organized by Phases, Areas, and Categories that can be customized for each project • Enter your overhead, profit, and tax rates for each project • The app provides full support for international currencies and units CRAFTSMAN COSTBOOKS You can save common cost items in your own custom costbook, and you can purchase 3 different Craftsman Costbooks within the app via in-app purchase for $49.99 each. The costbook data is only valid in the US and Canada, but the costbooks are also available for purchase internationally. • National Construction Estimator • National Home Improvement Estimator • National Renovation and Insurance Repair Estimator Each costbook contains thousands of common construction items, and the costs are localized to your US Zip Code or Canadian Postal Code. The Craftsman Costbooks are really helpful if you need to provide a cost estimate for work that you haven't done before, or if you need to do a sanity check on cost estimates from subcontractors. You can also copy cost items from the Craftsman Costbooks to your own custom costbook, and then change any of the numbers. WHO USES CONSTRUCTION COST ESTIMATOR? The app is used by many types of contractors, estimators, and service companies, such as: General contractors, electricians, plumbers, builders, landscapers, roofers, painters, carpenters, heating and air conditioning, flooring, siding, tile, concrete, asphalt paving, bathroom and kitchen remodeling, deck builders, handyman services, pest control, real estate flippers and rehabbers, insurance repair estimators, and more! ----- See more screenshots and a sample PDF estimate at: http://www.ConstructionCostEstimator.com ----- I am dedicated to responding quickly to support requests. If you have questions, problems, or feature requests, please send me an email using the Support link below. -----

About

ContractorTools

Streamline your contracting business with tools for creating estimates, invoices, and managing payments. Sync data seamlessly with QuickBooks Online and collaborate with your team across multiple devices. Focus on your work while this app handles the paperwork.

Highlights
  • Estimating
  • Invoicing
  • Payment tracking
  • QuickBooks Online sync
  • Multi-device sync
  • Offline functionality
  • Job templates
Features
Read full description

ContractorTools helps construction contractors quickly create estimates, invoices, and payments on an iPhone or iPad and sync them with QuickBooks Online. You can also sync between multiple people within your company using the iPhone, iPad, or Mac versions of the app. We know how difficult it is to manage a contracting business, and our goal is to make your life easier. FEATURE SUMMARY • Estimating • Change Orders • Credits • Draw Schedules • Invoicing • Payments • Job Templates • Custom Costbooks • Craftsman costbooks (optional in-app purchase) • Sync with QuickBooks Online • Sync between multiple users and multiple devices • Full support for international currencies and units QUICKLY CREATE PROFESSIONAL ESTIMATES AND WIN MORE JOBS • ContractorTools takes care of the paperwork so you can focus on your work. • Create an estimate at the job site and have your customer sign it on your iPhone or iPad. • Email a PDF estimate to the customer directly from your iPhone or iPad. • Win more jobs by creating professional estimates in minutes instead of hours. SYNC WITH QUICKBOOKS AND ELIMINATE REDUNDANT DATA ENTRY • Create an invoice and collect a payment at the tap of a button. • Sync your estimates, invoices, and payments to QuickBooks Online. • Eliminate hours of redundant data entry. • Your bookkeeper will love you! ADD HOME DEPOT PRODUCTS TO YOUR ESTIMATES • Add products from Home Depot directly to your estimates. • View live pricing and inventory from your local store. • Get discounts on materials with your ProXtra account. • Have the materials delivered to your job site or pick them up at your local store. INSTANT ACCESS TO 40,000 COST ITEMS WITH CRAFTSMAN COSTBOOKS • Subscribe to the Craftsman costbooks (optional), and access 40,000 construction cost items. • Costs are localized to your area based on your zip code in the US or your postal code in Canada. FULLY FUNCTIONAL OFFLINE – SYNCS TO THE CLOUD WHEN ONLINE • ContractorTools is a native app that is fully functional without an internet connection. • Keep working in a basement or at remote job sites. • Your data automatically syncs to the cloud when you're online. We're dedicated to providing outstanding customer support, so if you have any questions, feel free contact us any time at support@contractortools.com or (888)802-1040. Privacy Policy: https://contractortools.com/privacy Terms of Use: https://contractortools.com/terms

Screenshots

Construction Cost Estimator4 screens
ContractorTools4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: ContractorTools at Free against Construction Cost Estimator's $19.99. ContractorTools also leads on update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 4 months) and ratings volume (1.8K vs 516). Construction Cost Estimator's advantage is chart position (#155 vs unranked). On rating, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

ContractorTools is free to download; Construction Cost Estimator costs $19.99 up front. Construction Cost Estimator sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and ContractorTools sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Construction Cost Estimator against 4.7 for ContractorTools. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 516 and 1.8K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 77% of Construction Cost Estimator's written reviews are positive against 82% of ContractorTools's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Construction Cost Estimator ships an update every 4 months, ContractorTools every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Construction Cost Estimator versus ContractorTools: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterConstruction Cost EstimatorContractorTools
Price$19.99Free — better
Rating4.8 (516 ratings) — better4.7 (1.8K ratings)
Positive reviews77.4% of reviews81.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings5161.8K — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 5 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#155 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS26.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size66 MB118 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperContractor ToolsContractor Tools

Customer experience

Construction Cost Estimator

All ratings516 ratings
Positive95.7%
Neutral2.5%
Negative1.7%
Written reviews106 reviews
Positive77.4%
Neutral7.5%
Negative15.1%

ContractorTools

All ratings1,760 ratings
Positive94.6%
Neutral2.4%
Negative3.0%
Written reviews92 reviews
Positive81.5%
Neutral7.6%
Negative10.9%

User reviews

Construction Cost Estimator

From 516 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Simplicity
  • 🚀 Fast and easy billing
  • 👍 Great for small businesses
  • 👍 Customizable and comprehensive
  • 👍 Professional-looking estimates

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Compatibility issues with other devices
  • 💡 Lack of syncing/backup options
  • 💡 Limited customization of reports
  • 💡 Expensive cost books

ContractorTools

From 1.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great solution for estimating
  • 👍 Easy to learn and operate
  • 🚀 Convenient and professional
  • 👍 Seamless access across devices
  • 👍 Integrates with QuickBooks

Room to improve

  • 💰 Expensive for small contractors
  • 🐛 Glitches and bugs
  • 🔒 Limited payment processor options
  • 📄 Limited customization for invoice templates
  • 🔒 Frequent layout/hierarchy changes

Bugs and requests

Construction Cost Estimator

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Freezing on login screen
  • Incompatibility with older devices

Requested features

6 requests
  • Ability to sync estimates across devices
  • More customization options for reports
  • Integration with accounting software
  • Desktop version for office use
  • Multiple custom cost books
Show 1 more
  • Ability to calculate tax and markup separately

ContractorTools

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Deleting items from estimates causes issues with invoices
  • Syncing problems leading to incorrect data
  • App crashing and becoming unusable

Requested features

5 requests
  • Option to show labor and materials costs separately
  • Ability to copy/paste entire sections in estimates
  • Quarterly updates for cost books
  • Stage manager support
  • Basic company financial reports

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Construction Cost Estimator

One-time10
  • NHI Costbook 2014$49.99
  • NRI Costbook 2013$49.99
  • NCE Costbook 2013$49.99
Show 7 more
  • NHI Costbook 2013$49.99
  • NCE Costbook 2014$49.99
  • NCE Costbook 2015$49.99
  • NHI Costbook 2015$49.99
  • NCE Costbook 2016$49.99
  • NHI Costbook 2016$49.99
  • NRI Costbook 2016$49.99
4 purchases

ContractorTools

Subscriptions4
  • Craftsman Costbooks1 Month trial$12.991 Month
  • Basic Plan1 Month trial2 variants$24.991 Month
  • Essentials Plan1 Month trial2 variants$34.991 Month
Show 1 more
  • Pro Plan1 Month trial2 variants$64.991 Month

Questions

Is Construction Cost Estimator free?
Construction Cost Estimator costs $19.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is ContractorTools free?
ContractorTools is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Construction Cost Estimator or ContractorTools?
Construction Cost Estimator is rated higher. Construction Cost Estimator averages 4.8 out of 5 from 516 ratings, while ContractorTools averages 4.7 from 1.8K ratings.
Do Construction Cost Estimator or ContractorTools have ads?
Neither Construction Cost Estimator nor ContractorTools shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Construction Cost Estimator or ContractorTools?
Construction Cost Estimator ships an update every 4 months, and ContractorTools every 5 weeks. Most recently, Construction Cost Estimator was updated on September 30, 2026 and ContractorTools on September 28, 2026.

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