The best estimating apps for painters in 2026
Staxen is the best estimating app for painters in 2026: $59 a month, and the first job is free with no card. Walk the house, describe the rooms and prep out loud, and a priced, line-item estimate is ready to text for e-signature with a deposit request attached. Painting also has a dedicated vertical tool in PaintScout, so this list compares it honestly alongside Jobber, Joist, Handoff, and Invoice Simple with September 2026 prices.
How this list was chosen
Painting bids are won during the walkthrough, so we ranked for how fast a walk-and-talk becomes a signable number. Every app here runs on a phone, takes e-signatures, and moves money, and all but PaintScout's team pricing stay under $150 a month. We looked hard at whether each tool helps you price (production rates, drafting) or just formats what you already typed. Prices were verified in September 2026 rather than pulled from stale reviews.
1. Staxen ($59 a month for Eddie the Estimator, $149 a month for all three AI employees. First job free, no card required.)
Best for: Painters who want to hand over a signable bid at the end of the walkthrough
Pros:
- Dictate rooms, surfaces, and prep while you walk, and review priced line items after
- Client e-signs and pays the deposit from a text link, no app needed
- Job photos file to the job so the crew knows the scope
- English and Spanish on web, iOS, and Android
Cons:
- No timesheets or crew time tracking for production-rate feedback
- Newer product, so the template marketplace is smaller than the incumbents
2. PaintScout (About $119 per sales seat a month, with an operations add-on at $99 a month, as of September 2026)
Best for: Painting companies with dedicated salespeople and set production rates
Pros:
- Built only for painting, with rate-driven pricing baked in
- Polished, salesy proposals homeowners respond to
- Good sales pipeline reporting for estimators
Cons:
- Per-seat pricing adds up fast for a small crew
- It stops at the sale; invoicing and the rest of the office live elsewhere
3. Jobber (Core from $29 a month billed annually, $49 month to month, as of September 2026)
Best for: Painting crews juggling repaints, touch-ups, and a busy calendar
Pros:
- Quotes, scheduling, and payments in one app
- Automated follow-ups on unanswered quotes
Cons:
- No painting-specific pricing help; you bring the numbers
- Costs climb when the crew outgrows the plan's user cap
4. Joist (Basics $12, Pro $17, Elite $32 a month, as of September 2026)
Best for: Solo painters keeping overhead near zero
Pros:
- Cheap, quick, professional-looking estimates and invoices
- Financing options to offer on bigger repaints
Cons:
- Everything is typed by hand, room by room
- No free plan anymore, and the $12 tier caps at 5 documents a month
5. Handoff (Starter $39 a month, Business $119 a month, as of September 2026)
Best for: Paint-and-remodel contractors who estimate from written scopes
Pros:
- Generates a detailed estimate from a typed scope description
- Material pricing data built into drafts
Cons:
- Remodel-oriented cost data can need heavy editing for repaint work
- Drafts still want careful review before a client sees them
6. Invoice Simple (Essentials $6.99, Plus $13.49, Premium $19.99 a month, as of September 2026)
Best for: Occasional painting work billed from a phone
Pros:
- About the cheapest paid invoicing app there is
- Dead simple to learn
Cons:
- The $6.99 tier allows only 3 invoices a month
- It is an invoice formatter, not an estimating tool
If you sell the job yourself during the walkthrough, Staxen gets a priced, signable bid into the homeowner's texts before you drive off, and the first one is free. If you employ salespeople who quote from measured production rates all day, PaintScout is worth its per-seat price. Solo painters watching every dollar can start on Joist at $12 and move up when typing every line item gets old.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best estimating app for painters in 2026?
Staxen is the top pick for owner-operated painting companies: you describe the job by voice, Eddie the Estimator drafts priced line items, and the client signs from a text link. It costs $59 a month and your first job is free with no card. PaintScout is the strongest painting-only alternative for companies with dedicated sales staff.
Is there a genuinely free estimating app for painters?
Very little survives as truly free. Joist retired its free plan (now from $12 a month), and Invoice Simple's cheapest plan is $6.99 a month limited to 3 invoices. Free spreadsheet templates work but look like spreadsheets to the homeowner. Staxen's first job is free with no card and no time limit, so a single won repaint covers the decision before you spend anything.
How much is Staxen for a painting company?
Staxen is $59 per month per AI employee, or $149 per month for all three. Estimating, e-signature, and deposits are all inside Eddie the Estimator at $59. Month to month, cancel any time, first job free with no card required.
How do painters price a job per square foot?
Interior repaints in 2026 commonly land between $1.50 and $4.00 per square foot of floor area for walls and ceilings, two coats, with prep as the swing factor. Under the hood that comes from production rates: a painter rolling walls covers roughly 150 to 200 square feet an hour, and a gallon covers about 350 square feet per coat. Price the prep separately (patching, caulk, priming stains) or it silently eats the margin.
Should a painting estimate itemize labor and materials?
Itemize by area and scope (walls, ceilings, trim, doors per unit) rather than exposing your labor rate. Homeowners compare line items across bids, and per-door or per-room lines make your number understandable without inviting them to shop your hourly rate. Keep paint as its own line when the client picks a premium product, since a $60 per gallon choice on a 15-gallon job is their decision to fund.
Start free with Staxen: your first job is on us, no card required.