How Many Contractor Quotes Should You Get Before Hiring?
One quote gives you a price. Multiple detailed quotes give you context about scope, materials, exclusions and whether one bid is an outlier.
- The FTC recommends multiple written estimates, and its home-repair scam guidance specifically tells consumers to get three written estimates.
- Three prices are only useful when the scopes are comparable.
- The lowest bid is not automatically the best value; large differences should be explained.
Why three written estimates is a useful starting point
The Federal Trade Commission tells consumers to get multiple estimates before home-improvement work. In its home-repair scam guidance, the FTC specifically advises getting three written estimates.
Three proposals can help reveal whether one contractor is an obvious price outlier and can also expose differences in materials, allowances, exclusions and project approach.
Do not compare totals until you normalize the scope
A $12,000 bid and a $16,000 bid may not be competing offers if one includes permits, disposal, upgraded materials and repair allowances while the other excludes them.
- Compare material brands, grades and model numbers.
- Check demolition, disposal and cleanup.
- Compare permit and inspection responsibilities.
- Look at allowances and change-order triggers.
- Compare labor and manufacturer warranty terms.
What if the three bids are far apart?
The FTC recommends asking for an explanation when estimates differ substantially. That question often reveals whether the difference is legitimate scope or simply pricing.
A HomeQuoteAudit planning range adds a fourth reference point: a project-specific estimate you can compare against the real proposals before deciding which contractor deserves a deeper review.
When fewer quotes may be practical
Urgent repairs, specialist availability or remote locations can make three proposals difficult. The principle still holds: get as much written scope and pricing detail as practical, verify contractor credentials, and understand what is excluded before signing.
Sources & methodology notes
Market-level statements in this article use public sources. A HomeQuoteAudit calculator result may use a preliminary model until verified local pricing inputs are available for a project and location.
