A quote is a fixed price you commit to; an estimate is your best informed guess that the final bill can move away from. That single difference decides who carries the risk of a job costing more than expected. Give a quote and you are on the hook for the number, even if the work turns out harder than you thought. Give an estimate and the client should expect the final figure to vary, though consumer-protection rules in several provinces cap how far it can climb. Label every number you send as one or the other, in writing, because a client who thinks your estimate was a quote is a dispute waiting to happen.
Quote: a fixed price you are bound to
A quote is a firm offer. Once the client accepts it, you have a contract at that price for the scope described, and you generally cannot charge more for that scope just because your costs ran over. The risk of underestimating sits with you, which is why a quote suits a well-defined job you can scope confidently: a standard panel upgrade, a defined area of tiling, a deck of known size. Price it carefully and build in a contingency, because the number is the number.
A quote becomes binding when the client accepts it, by signature, email, text or clear words, before you start the work. To keep control:
- Spell out the scope precisely. Anything not written into the quote is not part of the fixed price. Vague scope is how a fixed quote turns into an argument.
- Add a validity period, such as "valid for 30 days". This protects you against material price changes and stops a client accepting a stale price months later.
- Use a signed change order for anything outside the original scope. That is how you charge for extra work without breaking your own quote.
Estimate: an informed projection that can move
An estimate is your considered prediction of the likely cost, not a promise. It suits open-ended or unknown work where you genuinely cannot see everything up front: old houses, damage, a renovation that may uncover surprises behind the walls. The client carries more of the overrun risk, but only if you have made clear in writing that the figure is an estimate, explained what could move it, and tracked your actual hours and materials honestly as you go.
The honest way to give an estimate is to say what it is based on, what is included, and what could push it up (for example, "this assumes the subfloor is sound; rot would be extra"). An estimate dressed up to look like a firm quote, then quietly inflated, is exactly the practice consumer law is built to catch.
When the law caps how far an estimate can climb
This is the rule most trades miss. In Ontario, if your written estimate is part of a home renovation contract, the final price cannot exceed the estimate by more than 10 percent without the customer's written agreement to the change. This follows the Consumer Protection Act and was confirmed for direct residential construction contracts in Fifth Wall Corp. v. Tonelli (2023). So even an "estimate" is not open-ended in Ontario: go more than 10 percent over and you need written consent first, which a signed change order provides. Other provinces have their own consumer-protection regimes, so confirm the rule where you work, and Quebec contractors must also meet the Charter of the French Language requirements for contract and advertising language.
Quote the all-in price, whichever you give
Whether you call it a quote or an estimate, the figure you put in front of a client must be the price they will actually pay, plus only government tax. Advertising a low headline number and then adding a mandatory call-out fee, fuel surcharge or "booking fee" that was not disclosed is drip pricing, which is prohibited under the federal Competition Act and was tightened on 20 June 2024. The only thing you may add on top of the price you advertise or quote is government tax (GST, HST, PST or QST). Homeowners generally expect a residential price to be quoted tax-included or with the tax shown clearly, so state which you are doing.
A worked illustration
You are asked to price replacing a bathroom floor. All figures are illustrative.
- The tiles, area and access are all known and visible. You give a quote of $2,400 plus tax. If it takes you a day longer than planned, that is your problem, not the client's.
- The client also mentions the floor "felt a bit soft". You cannot see the subfloor, so for that part you give an estimate: "roughly $600 to $1,200 to repair the subfloor, depending on what we find, confirmed before we proceed." If the rot is worse than expected, you stop, document it, and get written sign-off before going past the estimate, which in Ontario also keeps you inside the 10 percent rule.
Two numbers, two risk profiles, both labelled. That is how a professional prices uncertainty without getting burned or burning the client.
Common mistakes
- Calling it an estimate but treating it as a quote. If you will hold the price, say "quote". If it can move, say "estimate" and explain why.
- Vague scope on a fixed quote. Without a written scope, every grey area becomes a fight you may lose.
- Going over an Ontario estimate by more than 10 percent without consent. Get a signed change order first.
- Hiding fees behind a headline rate. A mandatory undisclosed fee on top of an advertised price is drip pricing.
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