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Roofing Estimating Software: What Each Type Does and What It Costs

Roofing estimating software turns roof measurements into a priced bid: tear-off, underlayment, shingles, flashing, vents, labor and disposal. There are four kinds. Measurement report services, takeoff software, roofing CRM platforms, and AI estimators that work from a site visit. Pick by where your measurements come from and how big your crew is. Below: what each type does, published prices as of September 2026, a buyer checklist, and a full re-roof bid worked line by line.

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By Brad, 20+ year remodeling contractor · Last updated: September 29, 2026

The 4 Types of Roofing Estimating Software

These tools solve different problems, so sort them by type before you compare features. Product details and prices are from each company's own website as of September 2026.

Type What it does Built for Examples (from their sites)
Measurement report services Order a roof report from aerial imagery: squares, pitch and edge lengths Roofers who want measurements without climbing, or a check on their own RoofSnap: pay-as-you-go measurement orders from $13 (Half Snap), $35 to $55 for a Full Snap. Roofr: free Starter plan with $19 reports delivered in 24 hours or less
Takeoff software Measure roof areas on digital plans or imported aerial images, then apply waste, labor, tax and profit Estimators who bid from digital plans STACK: measure pitched or flat roofs from plans or its aerial imagery library. No price on its roofing page
Roofing CRM platforms Pull in measurement reports, build estimates from templates, then carry the job through eSign, invoicing and payments Roofing companies with a sales team, production crews and many jobs at once AccuLynx: orders EagleView, Hover, GAF QuickMeasure and RoofSnap reports and pulls supplier pricing. JobNimbus: estimates, eSign, invoices and payments on every plan. Neither lists a price
AI estimators built from a site visit AI drafts priced line items from photos, a voice walkthrough, notes and your measurements Small roofing and remodeling contractors who bid from a walkthrough EstimationPro (details below)

Published Prices (September 2026)

  • RoofSnap: pay-as-you-go measurement orders from $13 for a Half Snap and $35 to $55 for a Full Snap. Subscriptions start at $105 per user per month billed monthly; annual plans start at $78 per user per month for 2 to 4 users and $52 for 10 or more. Subscriptions add the estimating and material ordering suite plus in-app deposits and payments.
  • Roofr: Starter is $0 a month with $19 measurement reports. Essentials is $249 a month ($209 billed yearly) and adds unlimited proposals, invoices and work orders plus card and ACH payments. Scale is $349 a month ($299 billed yearly). Reports are $13 on paid plans. The Instant Estimator is a separate add-on, from $125 a month.
  • AccuLynx, JobNimbus and STACK: no prices on the pages we opened. JobNimbus says to request pricing and offers a 14-day free trial with no card. STACK says cost depends on the number of users and other factors.

7 Questions to Ask Before You Pay for Roofing Software

Run every option through these before you book a demo. The first question sorts out which type you need; the rest sort out which product.

  1. 1. Where do your measurements come from?

    Your own tape and ladder, a paid report, or a plan set. If you already buy reports, a tool that imports them saves retyping. If you measure yourself, you need fast entry, not a report subscription.

  2. 2. Does it count the accessories?

    Squares are the easy part. Drip edge, starter, ridge cap, valley metal, flashing and vents come from edge lengths, and they are where hand-built bids leak money.

  3. 3. Can you edit every line and set your own markup?

    Whatever builds the draft, you sign the bid. Change any quantity or price and see the total update.

  4. 4. Where do material prices come from?

    A live supplier account, a built-in price list, regional averages or your own numbers. Ask how current they are and whether you can override one job.

  5. 5. What does the homeowner receive?

    A clean PDF or a link they can open on a phone, with a way to approve and sign. Ask for a sample before you buy.

  6. 6. What happens after you send it?

    Follow-up, deposits and payments. Some tools stop at the estimate. Some run the whole job.

  7. 7. What does it really cost?

    Per user, per report, per estimate, add-ons. Roofr, for example, lists its Instant Estimator as an add-on from $125 a month on top of the plan price.

Getting From Footprint to Squares

Whatever software you use, check its roof area against this. Measure the footprint including the overhangs, multiply by the pitch factor, divide by 100 for squares. The factor is the rafter length per foot of run: the square root of 1 plus (rise / 12) squared.

Pitch 4/125/126/127/128/1210/1212/12
Factor 1.0541.0831.1181.1581.2021.3021.414
  • Waste goes on material, not labor. Figure about 10% on a simple gable and 15% or more on hips, valleys and cut-up roofs. Your crew is paid on the roof area; the supplier is paid on what you order.
  • Edges drive the accessories. Eaves and rakes for drip edge and starter, ridges and hips for cap and vent, valleys for valley metal or ice barrier. Measure them on the same trip.
  • Count the layers. Lift a shingle at the eave. A second layer means more tear-off labor and more disposal weight.
  • Check your local code for ice barrier at the eaves, drip edge and ventilation. Requirements depend on climate zone and the code edition your jurisdiction adopted.

Worked Example: Re-Roof on a 6/12 Gable Ranch

A single-story ranch, 47 ft by 40 ft including overhangs (1,880 sq ft footprint), 6/12 gable, one layer of old asphalt shingles, one chimney, mild climate with no ice-barrier requirement. The homeowner wants architectural shingles. First the takeoff:

Quantity Math Result
Roof area 1,880 sq ft footprint x 1.118 (6/12) = 2,102 sq ft 21 squares (2,100 sq ft, rounded)
Shingles to order 21 squares + 10% waste = 23.1, rounded up 24 squares (72 bundles at 3 per square)
Drip edge Eaves 2 x 47 ft = 94 ft. Rakes 4 x (20 ft x 1.118) = 89.4 ft 184 lin ft (183.4, rounded up)
Synthetic underlayment 21 squares / 10 squares per roll 3 rolls
Starter strip 184 lin ft of eaves and rakes / about 120 ft per bundle 2 bundles
Ridge Length of the house 47 lin ft (44 ft of ridge vent)

Then the price, at typical 2026 figures:

Line item Qty Unit price Total
Tear-off and disposal, one layer of asphalt shingles 2,100 sq ft $1.25 $2,625
Synthetic underlayment, full deck 2,100 sq ft $0.65 $1,365
Drip edge, eaves and rakes 184 lin ft $1.85 $340.40
Architectural shingle package (shingles, starter, hip and ridge cap, nails), with 10% waste 24 squares $175 $4,200
Installation labor 21 squares $250 $5,250
Ridge vent 44 lin ft $10 $440
Chimney step and counter flashing, replace 1 each $950 $950
Decking replacement allowance (billed per sheet actually replaced) 3 sheets $90 $270
Total before permit $15,440.40

Where the unit prices come from. Tear-off at $1.25 a sq ft sits inside the $1.00 to $1.75 SquareDash gives for removal and disposal. Underlayment at $0.65 a sq ft and drip edge at $1.85 a foot are the Roofing Calculator HQ figures. The shingle package is priced at $175 a square, inside the $100 to $250 our pricing reference gives for architectural shingle material, to cover starter, ridge cap and nails; confirm it on your supplier quote. Labor at $250 a square, ridge vent at $10 a foot and chimney flashing at $950 are the typical figures in our pricing reference. Decking at $90 a sheet sits inside SquareDash's $75 to $100 per 4x8 sheet.

Sanity check. $15,440.40 over 2,100 sq ft of roof is about $7.35 a sq ft, inside the $6.50 to $10 a sq ft Roofing Calculator HQ lists for architectural shingles installed in mid-cost regions. If your number lands far outside a range like that, find the line that's off before you send it.

Markup is not margin. If you build a bid from your own raw costs (crew wages, supplier invoice) instead of market prices, add overhead and profit on top. A 25% markup on cost is a 20% margin on the price, because 25 / 125 = 0.20. Price for the margin you need, then convert.

Write the exclusions. The permit fee goes on its own line at your jurisdiction's rate. Decking beyond 3 sheets is billed per sheet. A second layer found at tear-off, ice barrier and gutter work are not in this price.

Prices vary by region. These are national 2026 figures. Use your own labor rate and get local supplier quotes before you commit to a number.

Where Roofing Bids Lose Money

No plan for rotten decking

I'm a remodeler, not a roofer, but in the Pacific Northwest I've opened up plenty of work and found rot nobody knew was there. You can't see the deck until the shingles are off. Put a per-sheet price and a small allowance in the bid so the conversation happens before the job, not on the roof.

Pricing labor on the waste squares

In the example, material is ordered on 24 squares but labor is priced on 21. Run labor on 24 and the bid is $750 higher for work the crew never does, which is how you lose the job to someone who did the math.

Forgetting the edges

Drip edge alone is $340.40 in the example, and starter and ridge cap come on top of that. A bid built only from squares leaves them out, and you pay for them yourself.

Sending the bid and never following up

A lot of jobs are won on the second or third follow-up, not the first estimate. Most contractors send a bid and never chase it, so the one who follows up stands out. I forget too when I'm busy on a job site, which is why I let software do it.

Where EstimationPro Fits (and Where It Doesn't)

I built EstimationPro because my own estimates took hours. You describe the job with photos, a voice walkthrough, notes and your measurements, and AI builds a priced line-item estimate with rates adjusted for your region. You edit every line, set your markup, and send a branded PDF or a link the homeowner can approve. Contractors save 2+ hours per estimate. Estimates sent from EstimationPro get automatic follow-up at 24 hours if unopened, 48 hours after opening with no response, and a final one at 7 days.

What it does not do:

  • Order aerial measurement reports or measure the roof for you
  • Pitch math (enter the roof area or your measurements)
  • Dispatch, crew routing or field-service management
  • Order materials

Pricing: 3 AI estimates free with no card. Then Starter at $79 a month (10 estimates) or Pro at $149 a month (25 estimates, plus e-signatures, deposits and invoices). No contract. 30-day guarantee: saves you time and beats your spreadsheet, or your money back.

See it work

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One job-site photo and a few sentences in. A priced, itemized, client-ready estimate out. Real app, real numbers.

Real screen recording. Photo in, estimate out.

  • ✓ It catches the scope a rushed bid forgets, the stuff that turns into a change order.
  • ✓ Priced for your market, not some national average.
  • ✓ Send it from the truck, before you leave the driveway.
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More Roofing Estimating Resources

How to Estimate a Roofing Job

The full process from measuring to the final price.

Roofing Estimate Template

Line items for tear-off, materials and labor. Print or save as PDF.

Roofing Material Calculator

Run the material takeoff for your roof.

Roofing Labor Cost per Square

What goes into the labor line and how to price it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a measurement report subscription to bid roofs?

Not if you climb and measure, or measure the footprint and apply a pitch factor. Reports save a trip up the ladder and give you edge lengths (eaves, rakes, ridges, valleys) for accessory counts. At published prices (Roofr: $19 a report on its free plan, $13 on paid plans; RoofSnap: $13 for a Half Snap, $35 to $55 for a Full Snap pay-as-you-go), the cost is small next to one lost day. Pay-per-report is the cheaper test if you bid a few roofs a month.

What waste factor should I use for shingles?

About 10% on a simple gable roof and 15% or more on a hip roof or one with valleys, dormers and penetrations. Apply waste to the material you order, not to the labor squares. Your crew installs the roof area, not the scrap.

How do I turn a footprint into roof area without a report?

Measure the footprint including overhangs, then multiply by the pitch factor for the slope: 1.118 for 6/12, 1.202 for 8/12, 1.414 for 12/12. Divide by 100 for squares. Use the roof pitch calculator if you have rise and run but not the pitch.

Is a spreadsheet or template good enough?

At low volume, yes. A roofing estimate template covers tear-off, underlayment, shingles, flashing and labor. What it does not do is send the bid, show you when the customer opened it, follow up or collect a deposit. Those are the reasons to pay for software.

Does EstimationPro measure the roof or calculate pitch?

No. It does not order aerial measurement reports or do pitch math. You give it the roof area or your measurements, along with photos, a voice walkthrough or notes, and it builds the priced line items. You review every line before it goes out.

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