Best quoting software for builders in the UK (2026)

If you price extensions, loft conversions and kitchen fits, your quoting software has four jobs. Help you price the work properly, with materials, labour and margin. Look professional. Let the client say yes without a week of emails. Then turn that yes into a contract you can run the job from. Most quoting apps do the first three. Very few do the fourth.

Short answer: if you're a builder who quotes projects and wants the quote to carry on into a contract, variations and invoices, start with EstiMate. If you run a trade firm doing lots of short jobs and want a scheduler with years of reviews behind it, look at Tradify or Fergus. If you file your own VAT return and want it done in the same app as your quotes, Powered Now deserves a proper look.

What we compared

• How you pay: per user, per business, or something else.
• Whether the client can accept online and pick optional extras.
• Whether AI helps build the priced quote, or only writes the words.
• What happens after the client says yes.

The quick comparison

Prices checked October 2026, per month unless stated: EstiMate, Tradify, Fergus, YourTradebase (ex VAT), Powered Now (ex VAT), Houzz Pro UK and EstimatorXpress on Capterra. We couldn't confirm whether Tradify's, Fergus's or Houzz Pro's prices include VAT; EstiMate's are what you pay, with a VAT receipt for every payment. Powered Now's pricing page and help centre disagree on how extra users are charged, so ask. "Not found" means we searched their site in October 2026 and found nothing, not that the feature can't exist.

1. EstiMate: best for builders who quote projects, not call-outs

EstiMate was built by Dave Groom, a tradesman turned contracts manager, and it started as the spreadsheet his own design-and-build firm quoted from. Every quote carries a material and labour breakdown. On the £15.99 plan the client gets a quote link to accept, decline, pick optional extras or ask for amendments, and the accepted quote becomes a contract they sign online. Variations, invoices, CIS and the P&L all follow from the same job.

On Pro (£39.99 a month) the AI quote writer drafts the scope, materials with quantities and prices, labour packages and a programme from a plain-English description, drawings, photos or a walk-round voice note, using your day rates and your quote history. You review and edit everything, and it never sends anything on its own. AI take-off reads architect PDFs and shows which sheet each quantity came from. There's more on our builder quoting software page.

The honest catches: the free plan is 3 jobs a month with watermarked PDFs, there's no native Android app (it works in the browser), there's no live Xero or QuickBooks sync, only file exports in their formats, and the £15.99 and £39.99 plans are one business login. Several office logins with roles means EstiMate Corp, from £249 a month.

2. Tradify: best for small trade teams who want a proven app

On Tradify's Pro and Plus plans the customer opens the quote link, ticks optional sections, watches the subtotal change and accepts (Tradify help). SmartWrite writes the quote description from the line items you've added (SmartTools). It also has a big review base: 4.8 from about 612 reviews on Trustpilot UK and 4.7 from 152 on Capterra. If public reviews matter to you, that counts.

Where it stops for a builder: every login costs £34, £37 or £44 a month. Online acceptance has no signature step (Tradify help), and we couldn't find a build-contract or variations feature. Our Tradify alternative for builders post goes through it line by line, and Tradify pricing does the sums for a team.

3. Fergus: best for trade firms that want AI quoting and a Xero sync

Fergus has moved fast. Fergus Assistant builds and reviews quotes, including turning a supplier's PDF into a quote, and Fergus AI launched on 13 September 2026 (Fergus AI). It has price books, quote versions, variations as linked child jobs, and since April 2026, Quote Options for good, better and best versions with add-ons (release notes).

It's priced per full user: Essentials from £39 and Pro from £45, plus timesheet users from £12. Some Fergus pages still show Essentials at £35, so check the live page. We couldn't find build contracts, CIS deductions or reverse-charge invoicing in its help centre. See EstiMate vs Fergus, or Tradify vs Fergus vs EstiMate for all three side by side.

4. YourTradebase: best for UK trades who want CIS on the invoice

A UK product at £29 a month ex VAT, plus £15 for each extra user. Customers view and accept quotes online, and you can make a signature compulsory on acceptance (YourTradebase help). CIS deductions at 0%, 20% or 30% are built into its invoices (CIS help), and so is reverse-charge VAT.

Optional quote items exist, but once the quote is accepted it's you, not the client, who chooses which go on the job (help). We couldn't find any AI features. It has a 30-day free trial and scores 4.9 from 59 reviews on Capterra. More in YourTradebase vs EstiMate.

5. Powered Now: best if you want quotes and MTD VAT filing in one app

Powered Now is UK-built and strong on tax. It has native CIS with a CIS 300 report, reverse-charge VAT, and on Professional and Premium it sends MTD VAT returns to HMRC (Making Tax Digital). EstiMate prepares your VAT figures but doesn't file them, so if you do your own return, that's a real point in Powered Now's favour.

As a quoting tool it's plainer. The customer accepts or rejects the whole quote from a link, and a rejection needs a reason (Powered Now help). We couldn't find optional extras the client can tick. Premium's AI text writing turns a few words into a description. Read EstiMate vs Powered Now.

6. Houzz Pro: best for renovators who also want Houzz leads

The UK Pro plan is £139 a month after a 30-day trial, with estimates, invoicing, a 3D floor planner and online payments. Houzz Pro can draft estimates from text or voice (AI tools). AI take-off, change orders and contracts sit on the Custom plan, priced on request, and the UK trial page says minimum contract lengths are 12 months (free trial). The Houzz advertising that brings homeowner leads is a separate package, from £119 a month. See our Houzz Pro alternative post.

7. EstimatorXpress: best for builders who want a traditional estimating package

HBXL's EstimatorXpress is UK estimating software for builders, and its marketing says it links to UK builders' merchant prices. The price sources conflict: Capterra lists a £995 one-off licence, while third-party reviews say from £899 plus VAT a year (SaaSRat). It has only 5 reviews on Capterra, so check directly with HBXL before buying. We compare it properly in EstimatorXpress vs EstiMate.

What to do next

1. Count who needs a full login. If it's everyone, per-user pricing adds up quickly; on EstiMate, several office logins means Corp, while one office login plus a site team on Pro's Site Crew app stays at £39.99.
2. Send a real quote from each trial to your own email and open it on your phone, as the client would.
3. Ask each app what happens after "accept". If the answer is "export it", you'll be retyping the job.
4. Decide where your VAT return gets filed before you choose.

For the bigger estimating picture, including take-off tools, see our best construction estimating software roundup.

When you're ready, start free and send your next quote from EstiMate.