Put the written estimates side by side and compare what each contractor includes before you compare totals. A lower number can reflect a different scope, so start with the details you can verify.
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Keep the estimate beside you and answer seven plain-English questions. The free checker highlights which written details look clear and what to ask the contractor about before signing.
Run the free roofing quote checkWant the documents compared for you?
Upload clear PDFs or photos when you want a line-by-line written review.
Put quotes side by side and check if every one includes the same core work: permit, inspection support, full teardown, underlayment, flashing, drip edge, ventilation, and cleanup.
If your roof area differs, compare price per square foot or per square. This reveals whether a lower total is due to smaller work or hidden cuts.
If one estimate leaves out a common item, ask for a written update. Clean scope is usually worth more than a small discount on paper.
Ask one question per gap. Good contractors answer directly and clearly. Good clients compare calmly and pick based on both price and confidence.
Illustrative figures, not a real homeowner's file - but the shape is the one that turns up again and again. Three contractors look at the same 2,800 square feet and come back $9,690 apart.
Read as totals, the cheapest bid wins by $4,600. Read as scope, most of that gap is work the first contractor has not promised to do. The decking exclusion alone can close it: rotten sheathing found mid-job is billed as an extra on the first bid and is already paid for on the third.
That is why the useful question is not "why is this one so expensive?" but "what does the cheap one not include?". In an example like this the middle bid is often the best value - it is not the lowest number, but it is the lowest number that covers the whole job. A real comparison depends on your actual documents, which is what the free check below is for.
Upload your estimates and we break down what each one includes, what is missing, and what the differences likely mean for cost and timeline.
Start with one estimateLine the written scopes up item by item first, confirm each quote covers the same core work, then divide each total by the roof's square count to compare price per square. Ask one written question for every gap you find, and compare the answers.
Start with scope first, then compare total and price-per-square. A lower total with lighter scope is not always better.
Not automatically. Check for missing line items like permit, underlayment, or flashing before assuming the price is unrealistically low.
Yes, by translating terms into jobs. Ask for a plain scope summary and line it up with the others in the same categories.
Two or three. One quote has nothing to be measured against; more than three usually adds confusion without adding information.
That is a red flag on its own. Ask each contractor for the measured square count and how they measured it. Two bids that disagree on roof area are not bidding on the same job.
Yes. You can upload just one PDF or photo, or up to three if you want them compared.