A construction estimate from us starts at $399 + GST for a standard estimate on a single storey home, priced off your plans and checked before it's emailed to you. The fee goes up with the type of building, its size and how much detail you want. One published Australian guide to quantity surveyor costs puts a basic residential estimate at $1,500 to $4,000 and a bill of quantities at $4,000 to $10,000 or more.
What our estimates cost
A whole-job estimate prices everything from site works and the slab through to fit-out and finishes, set out in the trade groups a builder works in. These are our fees for a standard estimate, each plus GST:
- A single storey home starts at $399 and a double storey at $499
- A dual occupancy or duplex starts at $399 for one new dwelling, plus $199 for a second
- A multi unit development starts at $799 for up to three units, then $299 for each unit over three
- An apartment building starts at $999 for up to four levels
- An extension or renovation starts at $599
- A commercial job starts at $1,599
The full line-by-line starts at $799 + GST on a single storey home. Both documents, the two in one order, costs more again. Our fee table has all three products for every building type.
A Trades estimate prices only the trades you tick, line by line, from a list of 35 plus Other. It's $199 + GST for the first trade and $79 for each one after.
What sets the fee
Our estimate form sets the fee from the type of building, its size and the product you pick. Size means the storeys on a single home, the storeys and new dwellings on a dual occupancy, the units on a multi unit development and the levels in the tallest block of an apartment building, where the basement doesn't count. An extra for size is the same whichever product you choose.
Until you've answered the questions that set the fee, the form shows a From figure. Once you have, it shows your exact fee before you pay.
We price jobs anywhere in Australia for the same fee, on the price list for the job's state.
What quantity surveyors charge
Quantity surveyors and estimating firms charge in three ways: a fixed fee for the job, an hourly rate or a percentage of the build cost. Here's what the price guides published by Australian estimating firms say.
One guide puts a residential feasibility or basic estimate at $1,500 to $4,000, a full cost plan at $3,000 to $8,000 and a bill of quantities at $4,000 to $10,000 or more. It lists hourly advice at $120 to $250 an hour. The same guide puts a full QS service on a large or complex project at 1% to 3% of the build cost.
Another, from 2024, gives $1,500 to $3,000 as the normal range for smaller residential jobs like additions and renovations. It puts hourly work on small jobs and consultations at $100 to $250. Neither guide says whether its figures include GST.
A percentage fee grows with the job: at 1%, a $500,000 build is a $5,000 fee.
Some searches for a quantity surveyor's cost are about a different report altogether, like a tax depreciation schedule for an investment property. We don't prepare those.
If you're deciding between the two, our article on estimators vs quantity surveyors sets out what each one does.
What you get for the fee
A standard estimate gives you a total for each trade group, for a budget or a feasibility. The full line-by-line is a bill of quantities, every item with its quantity and rate, for tenders and checking quotes.
Our sample estimate is both documents for a 198.32 m2 single storey home. Its standard estimate comes to $561,086 incl GST across 12 trade groups, from site preparation to external works and completion. The priced trades add up to $448,560 and the preliminaries and fees to $61,518 before GST.
The line-by-line behind it runs to 312 lines across 83 cost centres. Every priced line is marked From the plans (measured off your drawings), Allowance (a set amount to confirm) or Quote (it needs a trade quote). The soil removal is From the plans, 55 m3 worked out from the drainage spoil and the waffle slab, at $88.51 a cubic metre for $4,868. The coloured exposed aggregate driveway and paths are an Allowance, 75 m2 at $159.29 for $11,947, a figure to confirm against your selections and trade prices.
The more of your engineering and site drawings you send, the fewer allowances the estimate needs. Our article on the drawings an estimate needs goes through each one.
Every estimate lists what it leaves out. On the sample, tree removal, demolition, a stormwater detention tank and pump, retaining walls, a sewer or stormwater pump and a new crossover are excluded because the plans don't show them and the form didn't note them.
What the fee doesn't cover
Unless it's agreed in writing, the fee doesn't include site inspections or measured surveys, design, engineering, energy ratings, building approvals or permit applications. Getting live quotes from suppliers and trades and running a tender aren't in it either. Our rates come from our rate library of approximately 6,000 items in our specialised estimating program.
Your estimate is a guide for budgeting until trade quotes, your selections and your building contract set the final price.
When you pay and how long it takes
You pay the full fee by card through Stripe when you order and your tax invoice comes by email. Our usual turnaround is 48 hours (two business days) from when you've paid and uploaded your plans. Business days run Monday to Friday and don't count Victorian public holidays.
A large or complex job, any commercial, apartment or multi unit job, and a set of plans that's incomplete or heavily revised can need longer. If yours does, we'll tell you and give you a new date. If we can't prepare an estimate from the plans you send, we'll tell you why and refund your fee in full.
After you get your estimate
Your estimate is valid for 30 days from the date on it. Its first page shows the day it was prepared and the day it's valid until.
The fee covers one round of minor clarifications within 10 business days of delivery, as long as the drawings haven't changed. If we've made an error, we fix it at no charge. A new drawing revision, an extra dwelling, an added trade or a different format can be a variation. We'll tell you its fee and timing before we start on it.
Is an estimate worth paying for?
It's worth it when you're about to commit money on the strength of a number, like a land purchase, a building contract or a tender. Builders send us jobs for extra estimating capacity without the cost and commitment of a full-time estimator. Developers use ours for feasibility budgets on dual occs, townhouses and unit sites before they commit to the land. An owner-builder gets a full bill of quantities to budget the job and price their trades against.
What to check before you pay for an estimate
Whoever prices your job, ask these first:
- Is the fee fixed for the job, or charged by the hour or as a percentage of the build?
- Is GST included in the figure you've been given?
- Do you get a total for each trade, or every item with its quantity and rate?
- Does it show which lines are measured off the plans and which are allowances?
- Does it list what's excluded?
- How long does it take?
- What happens if the plans change?
- How long is the estimate valid for?
Getting a price on your job
Upload your plans on our estimate form, answer the questions for your building type and pick the detail you want. You'll see your fee before you pay. For production estimating or master bills of quantities on your standard designs, call us on 0421 307 603.
