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The total is the part of a bid that tells you the least.

Two bids can be far apart because one quietly left work out. That can be the permit, the haul-off, the patch job, or the old unit. Lay all 3 side by side on the lines that differ. Mark what each bid puts in writing. The gap starts to explain itself.

Bid comparison sheet

Put 3 written bids side by side. See what each one covers and what it leaves out, not just the total.

How this works, and what it does not tell you

How this works

Put the 3 written bids in front of you. Work down the sheet. Mark, line by line, what each bid puts in writing. The page turns your marks into one plain-text document. It adds the questions each bid has not answered yet. It runs in your browser. Your answers stay on this device. Nothing goes to Coastal SD Pros or to any contractor.

What it does not tell you

It does not read your bids. It does not know what your job should cost. It will not tell you which company to pick. It makes no total, no count, no score, and no ranking of any business. The sheet records what a document says. It turns the gaps into questions. The judgment stays yours.

3 bids only compare if all 3 priced the same work. If you have not sent one yet, start with the scope brief. It sends the same job, word for word, to every company. This sheet assumes all 3 bids answered the same brief.

JavaScript is off, so this page cannot build the document for you. You lose nothing. The whole sheet is below, and in print it becomes a paper form with boxes you can write in. Press Ctrl+P, or Cmd+P on a Mac. Then fill it in by hand with the bids next to you.

The job these bids priced

One line, so the sheet still makes sense to you in three months.

The job, in one line

For example: the trade, the work, and the address or the room.

The sheet

Mark what the paper says, not what you were told on the doorstep. Every line starts at not in the bid. A bid says nothing until it says it in writing. On a small screen, the sheet scrolls sideways to reach bids 2 and 3. In print, it fits the page.

There is no total at the bottom of this sheet, and there never will be. A total would be a grade, and this site does not grade any business. Read the rows instead. A bid that leaves 5 rows blank is not a worse company. It is a document with 5 open questions in it. The block below turns them into questions you can send.

Each row is one thing a bid states or does not state. The columns are your 3 bids. Name each company in the top row. Then the document you take away makes sense on its own.
What the bid has to say	Bid one — company name	Bid two — company name	Bid three — company name
Permits: who applies, who pays, who is named on them Some companies ask you to pull the permit yourself. That moves the risk of a failed inspection onto you. My note on permits	Permits — bid one	Permits — bid two	Permits — bid three
Debris haul-off and every disposal fee Haul-off is the classic silent gap. The work has to happen, and it can be billed on top later. My note on haul-off	Haul-off — bid one	Haul-off — bid two	Haul-off — bid three
Site protection, moving contents, and final cleaning If you live in the house through the work, this line decides how much dust you live in. My note on site protection	Site protection — bid one	Site protection — bid two	Site protection — bid three
Patch, sand and paint anything you open Opening a wall is in almost every bid. Closing it back to the finish it had is in far fewer. My note on patch and paint	Patch and paint — bid one	Patch and paint — bid two	Patch and paint — bid three
Removal and disposal of the old unit or old material Taking the old one out is its own piece of work. Bids price it on its own more often than you would think. My note on removal of the old unit	Old-unit removal — bid one	Old-unit removal — bid two	Old-unit removal — bid three
Brand, model number, grade and finish on every material Two bids can name the same fixture and mean two different products. The model number tells you they priced the same thing. My note on brands and models	Brand and model — bid one	Brand and model — bid two	Brand and model — bid three
Labour broken out by phase or trade, not one lump sum A lump sum cannot be compared to anything. Split it by phase and you can see where two bids differ. My note on the labour breakdown	Labour by phase — bid one	Labour by phase — bid two	Labour by phase — bid three
Which parts are subcontracted, and to whom, by name "Our crew" is not a name. Ask it straight: "who exactly will be working in my house?" My note on subcontractors	Named subs — bid one	Named subs — bid two	Named subs — bid three
The written change-order process This line decides what happens when someone opens a wall and finds a surprise. My note on the change-order process	Change orders — bid one	Change orders — bid two	Change orders — bid three
Material allowances listed separately from fixed prices An allowance holds a spot where a price should be. A bid full of them is not really a bid yet. My note on allowances	Allowances — bid one	Allowances — bid two	Allowances — bid three
Crew size, working days, and the start and completion dates A price with no dates is not a schedule. And the schedule is half of what you are buying. My note on crew and schedule	Crew and schedule — bid one	Crew and schedule — bid two	Crew and schedule — bid three
Payment set against work completed, and what the deposit pays for A payment can be tied to finished work, or just to a date. Ask each bid which one it means. Check the current rules on CSLB's own pages before you agree to anything. My note on the payment schedule	Payment schedule — bid one	Payment schedule — bid two	Payment schedule — bid three
Warranty on the labour and on the materials, separately They are two different promises from two different parties. A bid that merges them has told you about neither. My note on warranties	Warranties — bid one	Warranties — bid two	Warranties — bid three
Certificate of insurance, and the licence in the company name Workers' comp is not general liability insurance. A bid that names workers' comp alone tells you nothing about liability cover. Ask for both by name. Then open the public record yourself. My note on insurance and licence	Insurance and licence — bid one	Insurance and licence — bid two	Insurance and licence — bid three
Exclusions named line by line, and how long the price stays good A bid that names its exclusions is easier to trust than one that names none, because every bid has some. My note on exclusions	Exclusions — bid one	Exclusions — bid two	Exclusions — bid three

What I make of it

Your own read, in your own words. The sheet will not do this part for you. This part is a judgment, and the judgment is yours.

Where the difference between these bids seems to come from

Scope, materials, crew, timing, or something you still cannot explain.

What I am doing next

For example: send the questions below, or ask for a new bid with the missing lines priced.

Private by design. This sheet never leaves your browser. Your marks save on this device so you can come back to them. Nothing is sent to Coastal SD Pros or to anyone else. "Clear this sheet" wipes what this device holds.

Nothing built yet. Work down the sheet, then press Build my comparison document.

The document you keep Rows first, no totals

Your comparison sheet, ready to copy

Keep it with the 3 bids. The questions at the end are ready to send as they stand.

Questions still to ask

Build the document and look here. Every row you marked not in the bid comes back as a question you can send. So does every row marked in the bid, but vague. The questions group under the bid they belong to. There is no count and no total. A bid with open lines is just a document with open lines. What that means is yours to decide once you have the answers.

Reading the sheet

Work down the rows with the paper in front of you. If you have to hunt for a thing, the bid does not state it. Mark it that way.
Send the questions. A bid that comes back complete is a new document. It may not be the cheap one any more.
Open each company's public license record yourself. The license record page shows what the record can and cannot tell you.
Keep the sheet. If a dispute comes later, you will want a dated record of what was agreed. That is what the project log is for.

Important. Coastal SD Pros is a Roscoe Equity LLC publication and homeowner information service. Editorial decisions are independent of advertising and Roscoe Site Pro client status. It is not a contractor, regulator, insurer, law firm or emergency service. This page is general information, not legal advice. It is not a contract or any part of one. Rules and public records change. Confirm anything that matters on CSLB's own pages before signing.

This sheet publishes no total, no count, no score, no grade and no ranking of any business. It never will. Nothing you type on this page is received, stored, or transmitted by Coastal SD Pros. It stays in this browser until you clear it.