📊 How Many Quotes Should You Get? (The Honest Answer)
"Get multiple quotes" is standard advice for any major home or auto repair. But how many is enough? When does getting more quotes stop being useful? And when is one quote actually fine?
Here's the honest breakdown based on job type and size.
For Small Jobs Under $500: One Quote Is Probably Fine
If you need a clogged drain cleared, a door hinge repaired, or an oil change, the time cost of getting three quotes likely isn't worth it. Prices on small, well-defined jobs don't vary much between legitimate shops. Spending 45 minutes shopping quotes for a $180 drain cleaning isn't a great use of your time.
That said, even for small jobs: check the shop's reviews, confirm they're licensed if required in your state, and make sure the quote is itemized.
For Medium Jobs $500-$5,000: Two to Three Quotes
At this price range, quotes can vary by 20-40%, which means real money. Two quotes give you a comparison point. Three quotes give you enough data to spot an outlier. In our analysis of thousands of jobs, the difference between the cheapest and most expensive legitimate quote for a $2,000 job averages about $600. That's worth 3 phone calls.
For Major Projects Over $5,000: Three Quotes Minimum
New roofs, HVAC systems, kitchen remodels, major auto work. For anything that clears $5,000, get at least three detailed written quotes. At this level, quotes can vary by 30-60% between legitimate contractors. On a $15,000 roof replacement, that's a potential $4,500-9,000 swing. Three quotes is not paranoia. It's just smart.
For projects over $25,000, four to five quotes isn't unreasonable, especially if the scope is complex enough that contractors may interpret it differently.
More Quotes Aren't Always Better
Beyond 4-5 quotes, you get diminishing returns. You're getting the same information repeatedly, wasting contractors' estimating time, and probably confusing yourself. The goal of multiple quotes isn't to find the cheapest option. It's to establish what fair market value actually is for your specific job in your specific market.
What to Do When Quotes Are Far Apart
Quotes should be within 15-30% of each other for well-defined jobs. When they're not, something is different about what each contractor is proposing. Common reasons for big gaps:
- Different material grades (basic vs. premium shingles, for example)
- Different scope (one quote includes haul-away, one doesn't)
- Different warranty terms
- One contractor is padding, or one is cutting corners
- Timing and demand (a busy contractor charges more; a slow one bids lean)
When quotes diverge significantly, go back to each contractor and ask them to walk you through their breakdown. Often this reveals the differences in scope that explain the price gap.
The Cheapest Quote Is Not the Goal
This bears repeating because it's counterintuitive. Research consistently shows that the lowest bid on a construction project has a statistically higher rate of delays, disputes, and quality problems. Contractors who bid very low are often planning to make it up elsewhere: cheaper materials, fewer labor hours, change orders, or just cutting corners knowing the homeowner probably won't be able to tell.
The goal is fair market value from a qualified contractor. That's usually somewhere in the middle of your quotes.
Quotes Versus Estimates: Get the Right Kind
Make sure you're comparing apples to apples. A rough estimate ("probably around $8,000") and a detailed fixed-price quote ($8,340 with line items) are very different documents. For jobs over $2,000, always ask for a written, itemized quote, not just a ballpark number.
The Shortcut: Benchmark Before You Start
Before getting quotes, know what the job should cost. If you know a fair furnace replacement runs $4,500-7,000 in your region, you'll immediately spot a $3,000 quote that's suspiciously low and a $12,000 quote that's padded. That context makes every conversation with a contractor more productive.
Not sure what's fair? Check QuoteScore for current pricing benchmarks across 28 categories, then use those numbers as your baseline when gathering quotes. And once you have quotes in hand, upload them for a line-by-line analysis so you know exactly where each one stands.