Why are my quotes for the same job so different?
A wide spread between quotes is usually measuring the visits rather than the job, so here is why the gap opens and how one written page closes it.
Why are three quotes for one job so far apart?
Often a wide spread is measuring the visits rather than the job, because three contractors walked your house on three different days and each one wrote down a different set of assumptions. Nobody priced the same work, so the gap you are reading is a gap between three private scopes.
Does a bigger number mean more work?
Not always, and you cannot tell from the number alone. A higher bid may include tear-off, disposal and the permit while a lower one leaves all three to you. Read the two written scopes side by side before you read the two numbers.
How do I get every bid priced on one scope?
Contractors who take part estimate from your photos and a written scope card, so nobody visits before you see any prices. Homeowners pay InstaBids nothing. Contact details stay hidden until the homeowner picks a contractor and they confirm the connection. The contractor you pick may visit once before settling the final price against the percentage the bid stated.
Can I compare quotes that came from different visits?
No, not reliably, because each visit produced its own unwritten scope and you are comparing three answers to three different questions. Write one scope yourself, send the same page to every bidder, and the spread starts describing the work instead of the walkthrough.
What makes two bids actually comparable?
One written scope that every bidder prices, naming the same materials, the same removal and disposal, the same permit and the same dates. Once the page is identical, a difference between two bids is a difference in the bidder, not in the job.
Should I ask the high bidder why they are high?
Yes, and put the same question to the lowest bidder in the same words: what is in your number that is not in theirs? Two written answers to one question will tell you more about the gap than the gap itself.
Will the spread close if everyone prices one scope?
Typically it narrows, and what is left is real: a better crew, a longer warranty on labor, a different material line, a start date you want. None of that shows up while each bidder prices a job they described to themselves.
What can I do before I compare a single bid?
One page in your own words, written before anyone visits: what is being replaced, what comes off first, who hauls the debris, who pulls the permit, and the dates you need. Send that same page to every bidder and nothing else.
Start a bid card
Describe the job once and every contractor who takes part bids on that same written scope. Contact details stay hidden until the homeowner picks a contractor and they confirm the connection. The contractor you pick may visit once before settling the final price against the percentage the bid stated.
InstaBids is in an early pilot in Broward and Palm Beach counties. We are still building our contractor network, so a job may not get bids yet. Your request page shows whether any bids have come in.
Last checked: 22 September 2026