What does AI estimating software cost for contractors?
Short answer: AI construction estimating runs from about $97/mo for a solo sub up to custom pricing for a multi-trade GC. What moves the price is takeoff volume, number of users, and whether you need single-trade or whole-building analysis. There's a free trial, no card.
The honest way to think about cost here isn't the sticker — it's what the sticker replaces.
What the tiers look like
JobReadyIQ is one platform — estimating, project management, invoicing, and marketing in the same place — priced by how much you run:
- Site — about $97/mo. Your front office: site, CRM, insta-quote forms, missed-call text-back, online booking and payments.
- Sub Lite / Sub Pro — about $147–$297/mo. Adds AI plan takeoffs, code-cited checklists, your cost book, and (at Pro) project management, job costing, and more users and volume.
- GC Lite / GC Pro — about $397–$597/mo. Multi-trade, whole-building analysis, sub-bid RFQs, COI tracking, and PM at scale.
- Enterprise — custom. Scoped and quoted.
Extra users are $15/mo each. This is founding-member pricing while every account is still hand-onboarded, so check the pricing page for the current numbers.
What actually drives the cost
Three levers, not a confusing matrix:
- Takeoff volume — how many plan sets you run a month.
- Users — seats beyond what's included, at $15/mo.
- Single-trade vs. multi-trade — a sub reading one trade costs less than a GC reading every trade on a set, because whole-building analysis costs more to run.
That's it. Pick the tier that matches your volume; add seats as your crew grows.
How it pencils
Frame it against the thing it replaces: estimator hours. A manual residential takeoff is the better part of a day; a multi-trade GC set is several. JobReadyIQ gets you to a reviewable number in about 60–90 seconds a trade. One rebid you don't have to redo by hand tends to cover the month — and that's before the jobs you win because you got the bid out first.
The cheapest way to find out
You don't have to model the ROI on a spreadsheet. The trial is 14 days, no card, three plans free — run a real set, see the output, and decide with your own numbers in front of you.
Start free — and compare it to what last month's takeoffs cost you in hours.
FAQ
How much does AI estimating software cost?+
JobReadyIQ starts at about $97/mo for a solo sub and scales up by takeoff volume, users, and whether you need multi-trade GC analysis. Extra users are $15/mo each, and multi-trade GC plans are quoted higher because whole-building analysis costs more to run. Founding-member pricing applies — check the pricing page for current numbers.
Is there a free trial?+
Yes — 14 days, no credit card, three plans free. You run a real plan set and see the output before you decide anything. No auto-charge at the end.
What makes one plan cost more than another?+
Three levers: how many plan takeoffs you run per month, how many users are on the account ($15/mo each beyond what's included), and whether you need single-trade or multi-trade whole-building analysis. Subs run lower; GCs reading every trade on a set run higher.
Does it really pay for itself?+
One rebid you don't have to redo by hand usually covers a month. The math is less about the subscription and more about the estimator-hours it gives back — turning a multi-day takeoff into minutes a trade.
Run your next plan through JobReadyIQ.
A bid-ready scope in minutes — free, no card.
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