FixFox Instant Estimator is estimating software for handyman and home service companies. This page compares it honestly with the way most shops quote today: notes on paper, a spreadsheet, and a late night at the kitchen table.
Manual quoting works — right up until the week gets busy. Then estimates pile up, the homeowner gets a number from another shop first, and a good job quietly disappears. Here's the side-by-side.
| FixFox Instant Estimator | Manual quoting | |
|---|---|---|
| Time to estimate | Seconds — built during the walkthrough | Hours to days, usually after hours |
| Scope capture | Guided room-by-room walkthrough; nothing missed | Depends on memory and handwriting |
| Pricing accuracy | Current material costs + your labor rates | Last job's numbers and gut feel |
| Who can quote | Any tech or office staff | Usually only the owner |
| What the customer gets | Branded, itemized proposal on the spot | A number by text or email, eventually |
| Follow-up | Estimate is tracked from day one | Sticky note on the dashboard |
If you quote one job a week, manual works. If you quote every day, the math is simple: the shop that answers first with a clear, itemized number wins the job — and that's what Instant Estimator is for.
FixFox builds the estimate from current material costs and your own labor rates and markups — the same inputs you'd use, without the manual math. You review every estimate before it goes out, and most operators find it catches scope items they'd have missed.
No. FixFox uses your pricing rules — your rates, your markups, your service tiers. The AI does the assembly, not the pricing policy.
Instant Estimator is $149/month standalone or $99/month bundled with the AI Voice Agent, including 50 estimates. Most shops compare that to the evenings they currently spend writing quotes — and the jobs lost to slower responses.
Yes. The free trial includes 50 estimates with full functionality and no credit card, so you can run it on real jobs before committing.
Try Instant Estimator free for a month — 50 estimates included, no credit card required.