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Should you pick the low bid?

Not automatically. FTC consumer advice says not to automatically choose the lowest bidder, and California's contractor board (CSLB) says to beware of any bid that is substantially lower than the others. Compare what each written bid includes before you compare the totals.

Source: FTC consumer advice on home improvement, read 20 October 2026 (our saved browser copy, as read on 2026-10-22).
Source: CSLB consumer page on finding a contractor (California), read 20 October 2026.

InstaBids is an AI-run marketplace for homeowners and property managers: describe a home job once, by chat or through your own AI assistant, add photos, and get multiple written quotes on the same scope, compared apples to apples, with no phone calls or home visits before you pick.

For homeowners.

By InstaBids editorial team with AI research agents. Sources read: 20 October 2026 Updated 2026-10-20

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What home job do you need done in your home? Describe it once to start your written scope.

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  1. Describe it onceBy chat, or through your own AI assistant, and add photos.
  2. Post it and send itContractors bid in writing on that scope.
  3. Compare line by lineEvery quote is written against the same scope.
  4. You chooseContact details stay hidden until you pick and they confirm.

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Key facts

What do the FTC and California's contractor board say about low bids?

Not on the total alone. The FTC says not to automatically choose the lowest bidder and to ask for an explanation if there’s a big difference among the estimates, and California's contractor board (CSLB) says a bid that is substantially lower than the others probably indicates that the contractor made a mistake or is not including all the work quoted by their competitors.

Source: FTC consumer advice on home improvement, read 20 October 2026 (our saved browser copy, as read on 2026-10-22).
Source: CSLB consumer page on finding a contractor (California), read 20 October 2026.

The FTC's consumer advice article on home improvement, read 20 October 2026, says: "Get multiple estimates."

Source: FTC consumer advice on home improvement, read 20 October 2026 (our saved browser copy, as read on 2026-10-22).

The same FTC article says: "Don’t automatically choose the lowest bidder."

Source: FTC consumer advice on home improvement, read 20 October 2026 (our saved browser copy, as read on 2026-10-22).

It adds: "And ask for an explanation if there’s a big difference among the estimates."

Source: FTC consumer advice on home improvement, read 20 October 2026 (our saved browser copy, as read on 2026-10-22).

The CSLB page on finding a contractor in California, read 20 October 2026, says: "Do not automatically accept the lowest bid. In fact, you should beware of any bid that is substantially lower than the others. It probably indicates that the contractor made a mistake or is not including all the work quoted by their competitors. You may be headed for a dispute with your contractor if you accept an abnormally low bid. It also is possible that a low-bidding contractor may cut corners or do substandard work to make a profit."

Source: CSLB consumer page on finding a contractor (California), read 20 October 2026.

In our reading, a gap between totals is a question to ask the bidder, not an answer.

Does a higher price mean better work?

Not by itself, according to Consumers' Checkbook: its remodeling guide says not to assume that high-priced companies perform better work than low-priced ones, and that its experience collecting hundreds of thousands of prices from dozens of types of home improvement services is that there is no relationship between price and quality.

Source: Consumers' Checkbook, Getting Prices and Proposals for Remodeling Work (last updated December 2021), read 20 October 2026.

Consumers' Checkbook, in its national guide Getting Prices and Proposals for Remodeling Work (last updated December 2021), read 20 October 2026, says: "Don’t assume that high-priced companies perform better work than low-priced ones. Our experience collecting hundreds of thousands of prices from dozens of types of home improvement services is that there is no relationship between price and quality."

Source: Consumers' Checkbook, Getting Prices and Proposals for Remodeling Work (last updated December 2021), read 20 October 2026.

The same guide says: "Ask for and look for detailed pricing, which will let you compare proposed materials, products, and work."

Source: Consumers' Checkbook, Getting Prices and Proposals for Remodeling Work (last updated December 2021), read 20 October 2026.

In our reading, that cuts both ways: a total on its own is no sign of good or poor work. What sets bids apart is what each one includes, line by line.

What can a low total leave out?

A total can look low because something is missing from it. New Jersey's rule on home improvement practices, N.J.A.C. 13:45A-16.2(a), is quoted below in its own words, with three items from its list on price and financing.

Source: N.J.A.C. 13:45A-16.2, Cornell Legal Information Institute online copy (not the official code), read 20 October 2026.

N.J.A.C. 13:45A-16.2(a), read 20 October 2026 in the Cornell Legal Information Institute's online copy (not the official code), opens: "(a) Without limiting any other practices which may be unlawful under the Consumer Fraud Act, N.J.S.A. 56:8-1 et seq., utilization by a seller of the following acts and practices involving the sale, attempted sale, advertisement or performance of home improvements shall be unlawful hereunder."

Source: N.J.A.C. 13:45A-16.2, Cornell Legal Information Institute online copy (not the official code), read 20 October 2026.

  1. N.J.A.C. 13:45A-16.2(a)6.vi: "vi. Misrepresent or fail to disclose that the offered or contract price does not include delivery or installation, or that other requirements must be fulfilled by the buyer as a condition to the performance of labor, services, or the furnishing of products or materials at the offered or contract price;"

    Source: N.J.A.C. 13:45A-16.2, Cornell Legal Information Institute online copy (not the official code), read 20 October 2026.

  2. N.J.A.C. 13:45A-16.2(a)6.vii: "vii. Mislead the prospective buyer into believing that the down payment or any other sum constitutes the full amount the buyer will be obligated to pay;"

    Source: N.J.A.C. 13:45A-16.2, Cornell Legal Information Institute online copy (not the official code), read 20 October 2026.

  3. N.J.A.C. 13:45A-16.2(a)6.viii: "viii. Misrepresent or fail to disclose that the offered or contract price does not include all financing charges, interest service charges, credit investigation costs, building or installation permit fees, or other obligations, charges, cost or fees to be paid by the buyer;"

    Source: N.J.A.C. 13:45A-16.2, Cornell Legal Information Institute online copy (not the official code), read 20 October 2026.

In our reading, the practical question is the same wherever you live: what does this total include, and what could be billed on top of it?

How can you compare bids before you pick one?

Put every bid against the same written scope, list what each one includes and leaves out, and ask about any gap before you weigh the totals. This is practical reasoning, not legal advice and not a finding from any agency.

  1. Write the job down before you ask for bids, and send the same written scope to every contractor, so each bid answers the same question.
  2. Ask each contractor for an itemised written bid on that scope. The CSLB page says: "Get at least three written bids on your project, and make sure you're comparing bids based on identical plans, specifications, and scope of work."

    Source: CSLB consumer page on finding a contractor (California), read 20 October 2026.

  3. Line the bids up item by item: materials, delivery, installation, permits, cleanup and the payment schedule. Mark anything one bid includes and another leaves out.
  4. Ask the contractor whose total sits far from the others to explain the difference, and keep the answer in writing. The FTC's advice says: "And ask for an explanation if there’s a big difference among the estimates."

    Source: FTC consumer advice on home improvement, read 20 October 2026 (our saved browser copy, as read on 2026-10-22).

  5. Choose on what each bid covers and how clearly it is written, not on the total alone.
  6. Keep every written bid, the signed contract and a receipt for every payment.

Who sees your contact details when you post on InstaBids?

Contact details stay hidden until the homeowner picks a contractor and they confirm the connection.

Source: InstaBids process and privacy, live-page excerpts, read 20 October 2026.

Post your job on InstaBids, and contractors can bid in writing on one written scope.

Homeowners anywhere in the US can post a job; once you send it, InstaBids finds contractors to bid on it.

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