Comparison

Estimate Right vs Chalkline

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

Head to head
About

Estimate Right

Features
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Create professional estimates in minutes and win more jobs. Estimate Right is the estimate and invoice app for contractors, freelancers, and independent pros: build your document, pick a clean template, and send the PDF to your client before you leave the job site. WHY ESTIMATE RIGHT? β€’ Professional estimates, quotes, and receipts β€” no spreadsheets, no word processors β€’ Ready-made templates for every kind of work: classic, materials + labor, work orders, and more β€’ Your business front and center: logo, name, contact info, and business details β€’ Collect signatures right on the document β€’ Service and product catalog: add items once, reuse them in every estimate β€’ Share the PDF by text, email, WhatsApp, or any app BUILT FOR PEOPLE WHO WORK FOR THEMSELVES Handymen, electricians, plumbers, painters, builders, mechanics, photographers, freelancers β€” if you send estimates to clients, this app is for you. FROM ESTIMATE TO PAYMENT β€’ Turn an approved estimate into a receipt in one tap β€’ Keep orders and sales organized in one place β€’ Manage multiple business profiles in the same app β€’ Track your business finances with PRO NO LEARNING CURVE Open, fill in, send. Free to get started; advanced features with PRO. Download Estimate Right and send your next estimate today. Read our Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Chalkline

Features
Read full description

You are standing in a kitchen the homeowner wants gutted. They ask what it will cost. The honest answer is "I'll email you tonight" β€” and by tonight the job is someone else's. Chalkline turns the walkthrough into a real estimate before you get back in the truck. β—† PHOTO-ASSISTED JOB BREAKDOWNS Photograph what you are looking at. Chalkline reads the photo and lays the visible work out as editable line items β€” surfaces, quantities, tasks. Nothing is final until you say so. Every quantity is yours to correct. β—† YOUR PRICES, NOT AI GUESSES Chalkline never invents a dollar amount. It prices from the price book you set up: your labor rate, your material costs, your markup, your overhead, your mobilization minimum. Change a rate once and every future estimate follows. β—† ESTIMATES THAT LOOK LIKE A CONTRACTOR WROTE THEM Itemized labor and materials, scope of work, exclusions, customer and job-site details, and a labor / materials / total breakdown. Your business name, license number and contact block sit at the top. Edit any line before it leaves your phone. β—† SCAN THE ROOM INSTEAD OF GUESSING IT On an iPhone with a LiDAR scanner, walk the room once. Chalkline measures the floor area, the wall area with door and window openings already deducted, and the perimeter for trim β€” then writes them in as line items. These numbers are measured, not estimated from a photo. β—† WORTH-QUOTING SUGGESTIONS YOU CONTROL When the photo shows related work β€” no drip edge above the tear-off, rot beside the window being replaced β€” Chalkline flags it with the reason you can repeat to the homeowner. Suggestions sit in their own section, switched off, and never touch your total until you tick them. β—† INVOICES FROM THE APPROVED ESTIMATE Turn an approved estimate into a numbered invoice with issue date, due date and terms. Deposits and part payments are credited on separate lines so the balance due matches what the homeowner sees in their bank. The invoice bills the work on the estimate β€” extra work still goes on a change order. β—† WORK ORDERS FOR THE CREW Send the crew a sheet with the tasks, quantities, estimated hours, the schedule date, the site contact and your gate-code notes β€” and no prices on it. What your customer pays is not the crew's business. β—† SEE HOW THE READING IS DOING Every quantity you correct before sending is measured against what the app read. Chalkline shows you whether it reads high or low on your own jobs, trade by trade. That stays on your phone. β—† CHANGE ORDERS, NOT DO-OVERS When the homeowner adds a bathroom halfway through, the original estimate stays intact. Chalkline issues a numbered change order that shows what changed, what it was, what it is now, the difference, and how the schedule moves β€” on its own page, with its own signature block. That page is what you point at when the final invoice gets questioned. β—† PDF YOU CAN SEND FROM THE DRIVEWAY Preview the finished document, check the required contractor details are on it, and share it straight from your phone. Revisions go out as the quote plus its change order page, in one file. Invoices and work orders share the same line items, so two sheets never disagree. β—† BUILT FOR SMALL CONTRACTORS General contractors, remodelers, painters, flooring installers, plumbers, electricians, landscapers, roofers, siding and deck crews β€” anyone who bids the job standing in it. β—† YOUR DATA STAYS YOURS Estimates, price book and customers live on your device. No account to create. Photos are sent for reading only when you take one. β—† TERMS AND PRIVACY Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://sites.google.com/ra2lab.io/ra2lab-privacy-policy/home

Screenshots

Estimate Right4 screens
Chalkline4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Chalkline at none against Estimate Right's shown. Chalkline also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 8 days) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.0). On price, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

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

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. Estimate Right sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days and Chalkline sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Estimate Right ships an update every 8 days, Chalkline every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences Β· 3 level
Estimate Right versus Chalkline: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEstimate RightChalkline
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 8 daysEvery 2 days β€” better
AdsYesNo β€” better
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS16.013.0 β€” better
Further details β€” not scored
Size111 MB59 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFernando MenezesRA2 Lab

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Estimate Right

Subscriptions4
  • Weekly Subscription$1.997 Days
  • Weekly promo3 Days trial$1.997 Days
  • Monthly Subscrtipion$4.991 Month
Show 1 more
  • Quarterly Subscription$12.993 Months
3 purchases

Chalkline

Subscriptions3
  • Chalkline Starter7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Chalkline Pro7 Days trial$29.991 Month
  • Chalkline Pro7 Days trial$239.991 Year

Questions

Is Estimate Right free?
Estimate Right is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Chalkline free?
Chalkline is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Estimate Right or Chalkline have ads?
Estimate Right shows ads; Chalkline does not.
Which is updated more often, Estimate Right or Chalkline?
Estimate Right ships an update every 8 days, and Chalkline every 2 days. Most recently, Estimate Right was updated on November 5, 2026 and Chalkline on November 10, 2026.

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