Handoff's pitch is speed: describe the job, or say it out loud, and AI turns it into a priced proposal the client can sign and pay a deposit on. For a remodeler who loses evenings to bids, that's a real pitch. People look for an alternative when the price and commitment don't fit a small crew, when the AI's prices need more editing than they hoped, or when they want the estimate built from their own past jobs instead of supplier and national data.
Disclosure: we make Obra. It's the last entry below, and the entry says where it's the wrong choice. Prices are list prices checked on the vendors' own pages on October 20, 2026, before promotions and rounded; they change.
What Handoff costs, and what's on which plan
- Flex, $149 a month or $119 on annual billing, two users: AI estimating from a typed or spoken scope or uploaded files, AI proposals, digital signatures, invoices and payments, milestone invoicing, two-way QuickBooks Online, and iOS and Android apps, with 50 AI credits a month and a 7-day trial.
- Pro, $299 a month or $239 on annual billing, five users, 12-month commitment: adds estimates from site photos, budget tracking, client portals, scheduling, daily logs, time tracking and client financing, with unlimited AI credits.
- Scale, $899 a month or $719 on annual billing: adds takeoffs from plans, a sub portal and API access.
Prices come from supplier catalogs and labor rates that Handoff says it updates daily for every US city. Clients pay card fees of 3.35% on Flex and 2.85% on Pro and Scale, or 1% by bank, capped at $10. Spanish is in beta inside the app.
So the questions to ask before you switch: do you need the estimate to become a budget you track costs against (that's Pro, with a year's commitment)? And do you want prices from supplier data, or from what your own jobs actually cost?
The short version
| Alternative | Where the prices come from | After the yes | Starts at | Free trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clear Estimates | A regional cost database, updated quarterly | Invoices; no job costing | About $79 a month | 30 days |
| Buildxact | Takeoffs from plans, assemblies and supplier price files | Job costing and invoicing on Pro | Free estimating plan; Pro about $399 a month | 14 days |
| JobTread | Your cost catalog, with supplier pricing and takeoff | The estimate becomes the budget; job costing on every plan | About $199 a month, plus $20 per added user | No; 30-day money-back on monthly |
| Estimate Rocket | Your templates and price list | Change orders, invoicing and job costing on every plan | About $139 a month for three users | 30 days |
| Houzz Pro | Your cost catalog; takeoffs on Pro | Budgets and change orders on Pro | $99 a month for one user; Pro $199 | 30 days, then annual |
| Joist | Your own items and templates, with AI drafting | Invoices and deposits; no job costing | About $10 a month | 14 days |
| Obra | Your own past jobs and price book, with labeled AI reference prices | The estimate becomes the budget; job costing on every plan | Free for one active project; $12 per user a month | Free tier |
Clear Estimates
What you get. Estimates built from a database of more than 12,000 cost items across over 400 US pricing areas, updated quarterly, with hundreds of remodeling templates, unlimited AI estimates, e-signature and payable invoices. Pro adds estimates from photos and plans.
Why people move to it from Handoff. Local unit prices from the first estimate, at a lower price, with no annual commitment and a 30-day trial.
Watch out for. It stops at the sale: there's no budget or job costing to check the estimate against what the job really cost. Standard is about $79 a month and Pro about $119, with extra users at $9 a month.
Buildxact
What you get. Digital takeoffs, assemblies, estimate costings, quote letters, e-signatures and purchase orders on Foundation; an AI estimate generator, actual costs, invoicing, change orders, schedules, selections and a client portal on Pro. Unlimited users on every paid plan.
Why people move to it from Handoff. Builders and remodelers who estimate from plans get takeoffs well below Handoff's top plan, and the whole team is in without seat fees.
Watch out for. Foundation, about $199 a month, is estimating only, and the AI generator is an add-on there. Job costing and invoicing need Pro, about $399 a month or $339 on annual billing.
JobTread
What you get. Estimating from a cost catalog with supplier pricing, target margins per item, onscreen takeoff and AI for estimates and budgets; proposals with e-signature; then budgets, purchase orders, change orders, scheduling, portals and QuickBooks Online, all on one plan.
Why people move to it from Handoff. The estimate becomes the budget and costs are tracked against it on the only plan there is, with no annual commitment.
Watch out for. About $199 a month with one internal user, plus $20 for each added one, and no free trial. JobTread alternatives has the full picture.
Estimate Rocket
What you get. Estimates from templates with optional add-ons, interactive proposals, e-signatures, invoicing with card and bank payments, reminders, scheduling, work orders, change orders, job costing, a client hub and QuickBooks Online sync, on every plan.
Why people move to it from Handoff. Estimate through invoice, plus job costing, without feature tiers or a year's commitment.
Watch out for. No cost database or AI pricing to speak of: the prices are the ones you build. Launch is about $139 a month for three users, and a done-for-you setup costs extra.
Houzz Pro
What you get. Estimates and proposals, invoices with online payments, a cost catalog, selections and 3D floor plans on Design; takeoffs, assemblies, change orders and budgets on Pro.
Why people move to it from Handoff. Remodelers and design-build firms whose clients come from Houzz, and who want the design side next to the estimate.
Watch out for. Design is $99 a month and Pro $199, each for one user with $50 per extra user, the trial turns into an annual subscription, and leads cost extra. Houzz Pro alternatives covers it.
Joist
What you get. Estimates and invoices from a phone, AI drafting, digital signatures, online payments, deposits and milestone payments on every plan, with change orders from Elite.
Why people move to it from Handoff. A solo contractor who needs a clean estimate, a signature and a deposit, for a fraction of the price.
Watch out for. The cheapest plan is capped at five documents a month, and there's no budget or job costing on any plan.
Obra
What you get. Estimates priced from your own past jobs and price book: give the estimate a kind of work and it shows what your financially closed jobs of that kind spent per category. Draft with AI turns a typed description, a voice note or a photo of the job into proposed lines, each with a reference cost labeled as not your cost until you change it, on every plan with a monthly allowance. The client gets a PDF and a private link, ticks the optional items they want and signs; Obra sends reminders 3, 7 and 14 days later if they haven't answered. The accepted estimate opens the project with its contract and budget, receipts land against it from WhatsApp, email or a photo, and invoices carry your own Stripe, Square or PayPal link. English and Spanish throughout, including what the client sees.
When it's the right alternative. When you'd rather price from what your jobs actually cost than from supplier data, and you want the budget and job costing on every plan instead of behind a year's commitment. Every accepted estimate teaches the price book, as unreviewed items until you confirm them. A crew of three pays $36 a month.
When it isn't. When you want supplier catalog pricing, takeoffs, card payments inside the tool, financing, scheduling or a client portal. Obra doesn't do them. Obra vs Handoff compares the two line by line.
Which one, by situation
- You want the estimate priced from your own jobs and the money tracked after the yes, crew of one to ten. Obra.
- You're new to estimating a kind of work and want local unit prices to start from. Clear Estimates.
- You estimate from plans. Buildxact.
- You want estimating, budgets, scheduling and portals in one suite. JobTread.
- Estimate to invoice with job costing, priced from your own templates. Estimate Rocket.
- Your leads come from Houzz. Houzz Pro.
- You work alone and need a clean estimate and a deposit. Joist.
Questions people ask
How much does Handoff cost? Flex is $149 a month, or $119 billed annually, for two users. Pro is $299 a month, or $239 billed annually, for five users with a 12-month commitment. Scale is $899 a month, or $719 billed annually.
Does Handoff do job costing? Budget tracking is on Pro and Scale: the approved estimate becomes the baseline, and receipts are matched to its lines. Flex doesn't include it.
Are AI estimates accurate? They're a starting point. Any AI price is a typical figure for that kind of item; your crew's speed, your suppliers and your overhead decide the real cost. Whatever tool you use, check every line against your own numbers before the client sees it. The estimating guide walks through how.
What's a cheaper alternative to Handoff? Joist for a solo contractor who only needs estimates and invoices; Clear Estimates for a cost database; Obra for estimates plus job costing, free for one active project and $12 per user a month after.
Get the template
If you're pricing jobs by hand in the meantime, the free job costing spreadsheet tracks each accepted job against its price: one sheet per job, the contract and change orders in one section, costs in the other. Enter your email and the download starts right away.