Comparison
Manual bid leveling works — until you miss a scope gap that costs $50,000 in change orders. Here's what you gain by switching to ClearBids.
| Feature | ClearBids | Manual Process |
|---|---|---|
| Time per project | 5-10 minutes | 2-4 hours |
| Scope gap detection | Automatic cross-referencing | Depends on experience |
| Outlier flagging | Statistical (catches what you miss) | Gut feel / rule of thumb |
| Report generation | One-click professional reports | Manual formatting in Word/Excel |
| Consistency | Same process every project | Varies by PM / estimator |
| Error rate | Near zero (automated calculations) | Formula errors, missed items |
| Bid collection | Subs submit via link | Emails, PDFs, phone calls |
| Historical data | All projects stored and searchable | Scattered across folders |
| Team visibility | Everyone sees the same data | Whoever has the latest file |
| Cost | Starting at $49/mo | $0 (but hours of labor per project) |
Every PM does bid leveling differently — there's no standard process
Reading every sub's exclusions and mentally cross-referencing them is exhausting
You've awarded a job to the 'low bidder' only to get crushed by change orders
Formatting comparison sheets for owner presentations takes almost as long as the analysis
Manual bid leveling costs you 2-4 hours per project in labor. At $50-100/hour estimator rates, that's $100-400 per project. ClearBids costs $49/mo for up to 5 projects — that's less than $10 per project.
View a fully leveled project report with ranked bids, scope gap analysis, and outlier detection. No account needed.
Start your 14-day free trial and level your first project in minutes. You won't be auto-charged.