Full CSI estimate
Material + labor + equipment + sub markup, organized for direct bid submission or buyout.
⚡ For General Contractors · Subcontractors · Owners · Developers Get a Bid-Ready Construction Estimate In 24-72 Hours.
Get a Bid-Ready Construction Estimate In 24-72 Hours.
Concrete, MEP, framing, sitework - ±2% accuracy.
Senior US-based estimators rebuild your scope from blueprints into a defensible, bid-day-ready estimate - without slowing your shop down. Send us your plans, get a fixed-fee quote in 4 business hours.
- Free 4-hour scope review
- Fixed-fee per project
- NDA-friendly
- 50 states served
- Free 4-hour scope review
- Fixed-fee per project
- NDA-friendly
- 50 states served
Delivered in the platforms your shop already uses
- PlanSwift
- Bluebeam Revu
- Sage Estimating
- Trimble Accubid
- RSMeans
- Procore
- Revit / BIM
- PlanSwift
- Bluebeam Revu
- Sage Estimating
- Trimble Accubid
- RSMeans
- Procore
- Revit / BIM
The brutal truth about bid days You have plans. You have a deadline.
You have plans. You have a deadline.
Your in-house estimator is already at capacity.
Most bids are lost before they're submitted. Not because the contractor isn't competitive - because the estimating math wasn't tight, the scope wasn't documented, or the bid went in late. Every one of these is fixable with the right estimating capacity.
- Bid days stack upYou committed to four bids this Friday. Your in-house estimator can ship two well or four roughly. There's no good answer.
- Scope gaps eat marginThe plans say one thing, the spec says another. Nobody flags it pre-bid. Six months later it's a change-order war.
- Wrong location pricingRSMeans national averages aren't your market. Bid the wrong CCI and you're 15% off before any other variable.
- Public-bid complianceDavis-Bacon, state prevailing wage, certified payroll. First-time bidders routinely under-estimate by 15-25%.
- Trades you don't bid oftenThat fire-sprinkler scope on next month's project. You've bid two in five years. You're guessing.
- You become the bottleneckEvery estimate, every change order, every clarification needs you. You stop chasing new work to keep up.
You're not undercapitalized. You're not understaffed. You just need senior estimating capacity that scales with your bid volume, not against it.
Imagine if instead…
You skipped hiring a $150K W-2 estimator and went straight to winning more bids.
Color-coded plan markups
Every line item linked to a specific drawing reference. Any reviewer can audit your math in 30 seconds.
Bid-day support included
Sub-hour response on sub clarifications during your bid window. No extra fee.
Location-aware pricing
RSMeans CCI applied per city, prevailing wages where required, supplier quotes for volatile materials.
Scope risk register
Every assumption, exclusion, and ambiguity documented. The doc that protects you in change-order disputes.
50+ trades covered
Concrete, MEP, framing, sitework, drywall, roofing, finishes. One team, one accountable standard.
AIA G703 SOV
Ready-to-submit Schedule of Values in the format owners and lenders expect. No reformatting on your side.
Scales with your bid volume
One bid this month or fifteen - same standard, same turnaround, same senior estimator.
How it works
Four steps from plans to submitted bid.
No black box. No three-week silence. You know exactly where your estimate is every business day.
STEP 01
Upload
Send your drawings, specs, and target bid date. Any format - PDF, DWG, IFC, Revit, or Procore link.
~5 minutes
STEP 02
Scope Review
A senior estimator reviews your scope, flags gaps, and replies with turnaround and fixed-fee quote.
4 business hours · Free
STEP 03
Takeoff + Pricing
Quantity takeoff in your preferred tool. Pricing with current RSMeans, supplier quotes, NECA/MCAA labor.
24-72 hours
STEP 04
Deliver + Bid-Day
Final estimate ships in your format. Senior estimator on call during your bid window for clarifications.
Live during bid · Free
Track record
Numbers that matter to bid-day estimators.
150+
projects estimated
±2%
takeoff accuracy
24-72hrs
standard turnaround
50
states served
Real contractors, real wins
We don't pitch - we ship estimates.
★★★★★
"Vortex Estimating transformed our project management with accurate, timely deliverables. We've added three more bids to our weekly cadence."- John D., GC · mid-Atlantic commercial
★★★★★
"Our construction bids are more competitive and stress-free than they've ever been. Margin expanded 4% in two quarters."- Sarah L., estimating lead · multi-family
★★★★★
"Their pre-bid takeoff caught two scope gaps that the design team hadn't even flagged. We won the bid and avoided $640K of change orders."- PM, $38M healthcare MOB · Dallas, TX
Honest qualifier This is for you.
This is for you.
(And it's not for everyone.)
Right fit if you're…
- A GC or sub bidding 30+ projects/year with one in-house estimator at capacity
- A mid-size contractor that needs overflow on busy bid weeks
- A specialty trade bidding into markets you don't normally serve
- An owner or developer wanting independent quantity validation
- A contractor with a heavy public-bid pipeline (Davis-Bacon, prevailing wage)
Probably not a fit if you're…
- A large GC with a 10-person estimating department already in place
- An agency or broker looking to white-label our estimates
- Shopping for the absolute cheapest quote on Upwork
- Looking for a CTO co-founder for equity
- Not actually planning to submit a bid - just want a budget reality check
OUR 4-HR SCOPE PROMISE
Risk reversal Send your plans today.
Get a scope review + fixed-fee quote in 4 business hours.
If we don't return a written scope review and fixed-fee quote within 4 business hours of receiving your documents, the scope review stays free and we refer you to two other senior estimating firms we trust. No retainers. No surprise invoices. Bid-day support included.
Send Plans · Get a Quote → Common questions
Everything contractors ask before sending plans.
How fast can you actually start?
Most projects start within 24-72 hours of a signed quote. We work in parallel across active engagements - your project doesn't wait in a queue.
What does it actually cost?
Per-project fixed fee. Trade-specific takeoffs run $400-$2,500. Full commercial estimates run $1,500-$15,000. Dedicated estimator retainers are $9,000-$14,000/month. Fixed-fee quote within 4 business hours of scope review.
What if my drawings are incomplete?
We can still produce an estimate at the appropriate AACE class for your design maturity. Every assumption is documented so the estimate holds up in scope review.
Do you sign NDAs?
Yes, on every engagement that requests one. We treat all project documents as confidential by default and never publish client names without written permission.
Which software do you work in?
PlanSwift, Bluebeam Revu, Sage Estimating, Trimble Accubid, ConEst IntelliBid, McCormick, Autodesk Quantification, Xactimate, and Excel. We deliver in your shop's preferred format.
Do you handle public-bid / Davis-Bacon work?
Yes. We apply current state DOL prevailing wage schedules and federal Davis-Bacon classification rates. Familiar with DSA, GSA, USACE, VA, and most state-fund submission requirements.
How accurate are your estimates?
We target ±2% on material quantity takeoffs and ±5-10% on bid-grade cost estimates against final pay applications when complete plans are provided. We align to AACE International Recommended Practice 18R-97.
Send your plans.
Get a free scope review in 4 business hours.
Drag-and-drop your drawings, tell us your bid date, share any specific scope. We respond with turnaround, fixed-fee quote, and any clarifications a senior estimator would ask. Zero pressure.
- Free, always
- 4-hour response
- Fixed-fee quote