Painting estimate apps for contractors, compared for 2026

By Gavin Harris, Staxen. Updated 2026-10-15.

The right painting estimate app matches how you sell. PaintScout suits companies whose estimators price from production rates, Jobber suits crews running a busy repaint calendar, and Staxen is built for the owner who wants a signable bid in the homeowner's texts before leaving the walkthrough, at $59 a month. Every price below was checked on the vendor's own site on October 15, 2026.

How this list was chosen

We make Staxen, and it is one of the apps below. Painting bids are won during the walkthrough, so we judged each app on how fast a walk-and-talk becomes a signable number, and on whether it helps you price or only formats what you typed. Facts come from each vendor's pricing and feature pages, read on October 15, 2026, and linked under each app. The order runs by lowest published starting price, not by quality.

Pick by what you need

Estimating apps for painters, compared

Listed by lowest published starting price, quote-only apps last. This is not a ranking.

Invoice Simple

Best for: Painters who bill a few jobs a month from a phone

Price: Essentials is $6.99 a month for 3 invoices a month, Plus $14.99 for 10, and Premium $21.99 for unlimited, with client signatures and deposits on Premium only.

Checked Oct 15, 2026 on Invoice Simple pricing, Essentials help article.

Pros:

• Essentials is $6.99 a month, the cheapest plan here
• An estimate turns into an invoice in one click
• Premium adds client signatures and deposits

Cons:

• Essentials stops at 3 invoices a month and Plus at 10
• Client signatures and deposits need Premium at $21.99 a month
• We found no scheduling or QuickBooks sync on its pricing page

Joist

Best for: Solo painters who want professional estimates and financing without a big bill

Price: Basics is $10 a month for up to 5 documents a month, Pro $17, Elite $32, and the newer Run plan, which adds scheduling, is $70 a month introductory. 14-day free trial; the free plan is gone.

Checked Oct 15, 2026 on Joist pricing, Joist estimates, Joist homeowner financing, Joist scheduling.

Pros:

• Basics is $10 a month, with digital signatures and deposit payments on every plan
• Acorn Finance homeowner financing for bigger repaints
• Built-in AI to draft estimates, and project templates from Pro up

Cons:

• We found no painting production rates or coverage math on its plan comparison
• Basics allows 5 documents a month
• Scheduling comes only with the Run plan

Jobber

Best for: Painting crews juggling repaints, touch-ups and a busy calendar

Price: Core is $49 a month month to month, $39 on a one-year commitment, or $29 billed annually, for 1 user, and extra users are $29 a month each. Connect, which adds QuickBooks sync and automated quote follow-ups, starts at $139 a month month to month.

Checked Oct 15, 2026 on Jobber pricing, Jobber quotes, Jobber automations help, Jobber AI Voice help.

Pros:

• Clients approve quotes online, and a deposit can follow right after approval
• Optional line items on Grow let you offer trim or ceilings as add-ons
• Scheduling, online booking and route planning
• Wisetack financing right on the quote

Cons:

• We found no production rates or coverage math on its quotes page
• QuickBooks sync and quote follow-ups start on Connect, $139 a month month to month
• Optional line items need Grow or Plus

Staxen (our app)

Best for: Owner-operated painting companies that bid during the walkthrough

Price: $59 a month per AI employee, or $149 a month for all three. The first 7 days are free in the app.

Pros:

• Walk the rooms, say the scope, and get a priced, line-item draft back to check
• The homeowner signs from a text link and can pay the deposit on the same page when you take cards through Stripe
• The extra room or the stained ceiling goes in a change order approved by text or email
• Follows up on unsigned bids and overdue invoices, so the final check does not depend on your memory

Cons:

• No painting production-rate library like PaintScout's
• No consumer financing
• No dispatch board or time tracking for a crew

PaintScout

Best for: Painting companies with estimators who price from production rates

Price: Sales is $119 per user a month, or $99 billed annually. The Operations add-on for scheduling and job management is $99 per user a month, or $79 annually. 14-day free trial.

Checked Oct 15, 2026 on PaintScout pricing, painting estimates, integrations.

Pros:

• Estimates built from production rates and material lists, with optional upgrades and add-ons
• eSignatures, deposits, card and ACH payments and Wisetack financing
• Close rates, sales leaderboards and a visual sales pipeline
• QuickBooks integration, with scheduling through the Operations add-on

Cons:

• Priced per user: Sales is $119 per user a month month to month
• Scheduling and job management are an add-on at $99 per user a month
• We found no AI or voice estimating on its pricing page

Handoff

Best for: Painters who also remodel and want AI estimates from a written or spoken scope

Price: Flex is $149 a month, or $119 billed annually, for 2 users. Pro is $299 ($239 annually) on a 12-month commitment, and AI takeoffs from plans come with Scale at $899 a month.

Checked Oct 15, 2026 on Handoff pricing.

Pros:

• Upload or talk through the scope and Handoff builds the estimate, using cost data it updates daily by city
• Digital signatures and two-way QuickBooks Online sync on every plan
• Milestone invoicing with card and ACH payments

Cons:

• Flex starts at $149 a month month to month, the highest entry price here
• Client financing and time tracking need Pro, which is a 12-month commitment
• We found no deposit collection named on its pricing page

If you sell the job yourself during the walkthrough, run your next two bids through Staxen and Jobber and keep the one that gets signatures faster. If you employ estimators who quote from production rates all day, PaintScout is worth its per-seat price. If painting is occasional, Invoice Simple or Joist keeps the bill under $25 a month.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best estimating app for painting contractors?

It depends on who sells the job. An owner who bids during the walkthrough is well served by Staxen or Jobber, a company with dedicated estimators by PaintScout, and a painter who bills a few jobs a month by Invoice Simple or Joist. Prices on this page were checked on each vendor's site on October 15, 2026.

Is there a free painting estimate app?

Not among these. Joist retired its free plan and starts at $10 a month, and Invoice Simple starts at $6.99 a month for 3 invoices. PaintScout offers a 14-day trial, Handoff a 7-day trial, and Staxen's first 7 days are free in the app.

How much is Staxen for a painting company?

Staxen is $59 per month per AI employee, or $149 per month for all three. Estimates, e-signature and deposits are all part of Eddie the Estimator. It is month to month, and the first 7 days are free in the app.

How do painters price a job per square foot?

Start from coverage and production. Contractor-grade interior paint works out to $0.20 to $0.32 per square foot of coverage per coat in 2026, and our painting calculator prices prep and painting labor at $0.75 to $1.50 per square foot per coat. Prep is the swing factor, so price patching, caulk and stain priming as their own lines.

Should a painting estimate itemize labor and materials?

Itemize by area and scope, walls, ceilings, trim and doors per unit, rather than exposing your hourly rate. Homeowners compare line items across bids, and per-room or per-door lines make the number easy to follow. Keep paint as its own line when the client picks a premium product, since that upgrade is their decision to fund.

Get the Staxen app: the first 7 days are free.