A quote is a fixed price you're legally held to once the customer accepts it. An estimate is your best guess — a ballpark that can change if the job does. Word matters: if you say quote, you can't bump the price later without agreement. Use a quote when you're sure, an estimate when you're not.
The difference in one line
A quote is a fixed price. Once the customer accepts it, that's what they pay — you're held to it, even if the job turns out to be more of a faff than you reckoned. An estimate is your best guess: a ballpark that can move if the work changes. The word you use genuinely matters, because it changes what you're allowed to charge at the end.
Quote vs estimate, side by side
| Quote | A fixed price you're legally bound to once the customer accepts it |
|---|---|
| Estimate | An educated best guess that can change if the job changes |
| When to use a quote | Jobs you can see clearly and price with confidence |
| When to use an estimate | Jobs with unknowns — behind walls, under floors, dodgy old wiring |
| Who carries the risk | On a quote it's you; on an estimate more sits with the customer |
| What it signals | A quote says "I'm sure"; an estimate says "here's my honest ballpark" |
When to use which
Use a quote when you can see the whole job and you're confident on the number — a socket install, a boiler service, a clearly defined bit of work. It reassures the customer and often wins you the job over a wishy-washy "about £X". Use an estimate when there are genuine unknowns you can't price honestly yet: you don't know what's behind the plaster, the property's ancient, the scope might grow. Better an honest estimate than a quote you regret being held to.
Either way, the word is only half of it — what actually goes on the quote is what decides whether you win the job.
Quote, quotation, estimate, tender: what each word means
People use these loosely, and the looseness is where disputes start. A quote and a quotation are the same thing: a fixed price for a defined piece of work, which becomes the contract price once the customer accepts it. An estimate is an informed guess at the likely cost, given honestly, that can change if the work changes.
A tender is a formal quote submitted in competition, usually to a business, a housing association or a council, against a written specification, and it is treated as fixed in the same way as a quote. A day rate is neither: it prices your time, not the job, and the total is whatever the days add up to, which is why customers like a cap on it.
What the law says in the UK
There is no statute that defines the two words, but the contract rules are clear enough. When a customer accepts a quote, you have agreed a price for the work described, and you are expected to do that work for that price. If the customer asks for more, or something genuinely outside the description turns up, that is a variation, agreed before it is done, ideally in writing.
With a private customer the Consumer Rights Act 2015 also applies: if no price was fixed, you can only charge a reasonable one, and the work has to be done with reasonable care and skill.
An estimate is not a promise of the final figure, but a final bill that bears no relation to it, with no warning along the way, is exactly the sort of thing a court or an ombudsman looks at unkindly. The safe habit is the same either way: put the price and what it covers in writing, and tell the customer the moment the job moves.
How long a quote is valid for
As long as you say it is. Put a validity period on the document, and 30 days is the common choice for domestic work because material prices move and your diary fills. Without a stated period a quote is open for a "reasonable time", which is a phrase nobody wants to argue about at the end of a job.
If a customer comes back after the date, re-quote; a quick re-check of the materials price takes five minutes and saves you eating a price rise. The same line belongs on an estimate: "Estimate valid 30 days; final price depends on the work found."
The same job, quoted and estimated
Take a bathroom re-plumb: new bath, basin and toilet in the same positions, the customer supplying the sanitaryware. If you have seen the room, lifted the panel and know the pipework, that is a quote: say £1,850 for labour and fittings, three days, price holds 30 days, tiling and decorating excluded.
If the floor is boarded over and you have no idea what is underneath, the honest document is an estimate: £1,600 to £2,200 depending on what the floor hides, with a line saying that rotten joists or a moved soil stack will be priced as a variation before the work is done. The customer knows where they stand with both. What they cannot cope with is a "quote" of £1,850 and a bill for £2,600 with no conversation in between.
What to put on each document
A quote needs the customer's name and address, the site if different, a description of the work in plain words, what is included and what is not, the price with VAT shown if you are registered, the deposit and payment terms, the validity period and the date. An estimate needs all of that plus the word "estimate" where the customer cannot miss it, the range or the figure, and a sentence on what would move it.
Both should carry your business name, contact details and, if you are a limited company, the registered name and number. Send the document rather than a number in a text message: the document is the record, and the record is what settles the argument you hope never to have.
If the job changes, say so before you charge more
The big trap with an estimate is thinking you can just bill whatever it ends up costing. You can't spring a huge final number on someone and wave the word "estimate" at them. If the work grows beyond what you estimated, tell the customer as it's happening, explain why, and get their okay before you rack up the extra.
Same with a quote — if they add work, that's a new quote or a written variation, not a silent increase. Keep them in the loop and you keep the trust (and the referral).
Protect yourself either way
Whichever you send, a few words save arguments. On a quote: state what's included, what isn't, and put "price holds 30 days" in the notes so you're covered when material costs jump. On an estimate: make clear it's an estimate, not a fixed price, and note the final cost depends on what the job actually involves.
On anything sizeable, state the deposit you're taking on the same document. Put it in writing, keep a copy, and there's no "well, you said" six weeks later. TradePA writes either one from a voice note, gets it ready to send and keeps the copy for you — £10 a month, two weeks free.
Decided it’s an estimate? Say “estimate” when you ask TradePA for it and the document goes out marked as one, then convert it once the number is firm. How estimates work.
Decided it is a quote? Build it on the free construction quote template: your logo, your colours, materials and labour as separate lines, downloaded as a PDF.
Common questions
What is the difference between a quote and an estimate?
Is a quote legally binding?
Is an estimate legally binding?
Can I charge more than my estimate?
Can a builder charge more than the quote?
How long is a quote valid for?
Should I give a quote or an estimate?
Does it matter which word I write on the document?
A word on the above. This is general information for UK trades, written to be useful, not advice for your situation. Prices vary by job and by region, and tax and legal rules change. Check the current position on GOV.UK or ask your accountant or legal professional for actual advice.
