This calculator vs. QuoteIQ
Both end with a number you can hand a customer, built on opposite assumptions about what you are willing to install and pay for.
What QuoteIQ is
QuoteIQ is a paid subscription app aimed at deck and other trade contractors who want to run quoting from a phone: build an itemized quote on-site, send it to the customer, and once the job is won, track material cost against that quote as the job runs. It is built to be the day-to-day quoting and job-costing tool for an ongoing contracting business across every job that business runs, not a one-off calculator.
Getting there means installing the app, creating an account, and paying an ongoing subscription.
What this calculator is
This page does not install anything and keeps no account. You open it in a browser, type one deck's surfaces, height above grade, material, railing lineal feet, and stair runs, and it shows the walk-away price and price per square foot for that job. Close the tab and it is gone unless you save a share link or print a proposal — there is no ongoing job list, no cost tracking against a quote, and no subscription.
| Question | Where to answer it |
|---|---|
| I want to build every quote for my deck business on my phone, send it, and track material cost against it as each job runs. | QuoteIQ or a comparable paid quoting app — ongoing job quoting and costing is exactly its job, and this calculator does not track a job after you close the tab. |
| I have one deck to price right now and want the walk-away number before a $28-a-foot special goes out. | This calculator — type height, railing, and stairs, get a price, no account. |
| I do not want to install an app or start a subscription to price a single job. | This calculator — nothing to install, nothing to pay for. |
| I want the tool to remember every job I have quoted and compare estimated to actual cost over time. | QuoteIQ or a comparable paid app — this calculator has no job list and no memory between visits beyond what your own browser keeps. |
Neither tool is the wrong choice in general. A deck-building business quoting and tracking many jobs a season is the case a paid app is built for. A single bid, checked once against a flat-rate special before it goes out, is the case this page is built for.
Common questions
Should I use this calculator or QuoteIQ?
They fit different points in the job. QuoteIQ is a paid subscription app built to run a deck-building business day to day: build an itemized quote on a phone at the customer's house, send it, and track material cost against that quote once work starts, across every job you run. This page does one thing: you type a deck's surfaces, height, railing, and stairs into a browser, and it shows a walk-away price and a price per square foot for that one job, right now, with nothing to install or sign up for. If you want an app that runs quoting and job-costing for an ongoing deck business, that is what QuoteIQ is built for. If you want to sanity-check one bid against a square-foot special before you send it, this page does that with no account.
Is this page affiliated with QuoteIQ?
No. This site is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by QuoteIQ. QuoteIQ is named here only to describe what this calculator is and is not.
This page is a factual comparison of what each tool does, not an evaluation of which is better. Details about QuoteIQ above describe the general shape of the product as publicly described at the time of writing and may have changed — verify against QuoteIQ's own site before deciding.
Open the Deck Bid Calculator and price your own job.