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Xactimate is the most established estimating platform for insurance restoration and property claims. Clear Estimates specializes in helping residential contractors scope, price, and sell remodeling projects using AI-assisted estimating and professionally maintained residential cost data. Clear Estimates is used primarily for homeowner-facing proposals but works with insurers through its API services.
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Insurance restoration and residential remodeling have different estimating priorities. Insurance estimating focuses on documenting covered damage, producing standardized claim estimates, and working within insurer workflows. Residential remodeling focuses on designing a scope of work, pricing improvements, presenting proposals, and helping homeowners make purchasing decisions. Both approaches are valuable — they simply solve different problems.
Xactimate’s approach
Xactimate is designed for insurance restoration contractors, property adjusters, catastrophe response, water damage, fire restoration, storm damage, and roofing claims. Its estimating process emphasizes standardized pricing, insurer acceptance, claim consistency, and restoration workflows — an excellent solution for contractors who spend much of their time working with insurance carriers.
Clear Estimates’ approach
Clear Estimates focuses on kitchens, bathrooms, additions, basements, decks, siding, windows, painting, handyman projects, and whole-home remodeling — emphasizing complete project scopes, localized residential pricing, AI-assisted estimate creation, and professional homeowner proposals.
Our Philosophy on Estimating Software
“Estimating isn’t merely one step in project management — it’s where scope, price, profitability, and the customer’s first major decision come together.”
Clear Estimates is purpose-built around that moment. Our software combines AI-assisted scope development with professionally maintained, localized residential cost data so contractors can create estimates they understand, customize, explain, and confidently present. An insurance-restoration platform can be the right choice for a business built around claims and insurer workflows. A specialized remodeling estimating platform can be the better choice when you’re scoping and selling work directly to homeowners.
Core focus of the two platforms
| Feature | Xactimate | Clear Estimates |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Monthly Subscription | Custom/contractor pricing — contact Xactware | $79/mo Basic · $119/mo Pro |
| Free Trial / Demo | Demo available — confirm current terms | 30-day free trial |
| Primary Purpose | Standardized insurance restoration & claims estimating | Residential remodeling scoping, estimating & proposals |
| AI-Assisted Scope Generation from Project Descriptions | Not included | Included |
| Homeowner-Facing Proposals | Optimized for insurer documentation | Included |
| Damage Documentation & Structure Sketching | Included | Not included |
| Localized Residential Remodeling Pricing | Built for standardized insurance-restoration pricing | Built specifically for kitchens, baths, additions & home improvements |
| Blueprint Attachment for AI Estimating | Not included | IncludedPro plan |
| Image Attachment for AI Estimating | Not included | IncludedPro plan |
| Digital Signatures | Not included | Included |
| Collect Payments from Homeowners | Not included | Included |
| Insurance Claims & Insurer-Acceptance Workflow | Included | Not included |
Feature availability based on publicly available product information as of 2026 and may change — always confirm current capabilities directly with each vendor. Xactimate pricing is not standardized and varies by contract; always confirm current terms directly with Xactware. Rows tagged “Pro plan” require Clear Estimates Pro ($119/mo) — see plan details below.
Xactimate is a well-established platform for contractors working extensively in insurance restoration. It has become the industry standard for property claims, restoration estimating, insurer collaboration, catastrophe response, and restoration documentation. If insurance restoration is your primary business, Xactimate is an excellent choice.
Because we’re focused on a different objective: helping residential contractors win remodeling work directly with homeowners — not negotiate insurance claims. Xactimate’s insurer-acceptance workflows, claims documentation, and restoration-specific tools solve a genuinely different problem than pricing a kitchen remodel or bathroom addition. That said, Clear Estimates already has a role in the insurance industry today — our professionally maintained residential cost data powers insurance-industry partnerships and integrations through our API behind the scenes. We’re not building a public claims-adjusting platform to compete with Xactimate; we’re continuing to grow those data partnerships while staying focused on remodeling estimates for contractors. Some contractors use both directly: Xactimate for insurance restoration jobs, Clear Estimates for the remodeling work they sell directly to homeowners.
Clear Estimates is one piece of software — the same AI, library, and local pricing handle every project type below. Tap any one to see how it works for your trade.
Framing to finish for general contractors and custom home builders.
Whole-home renovations, additions, and remodels with detailed costs.
Cabinets, countertops, appliances, and finishes with local pricing.
Tile, fixtures, vanities, and plumbing rough-ins priced for your market.
Framing, decking, railings, and stairs by linear and square footage.
Painting estimates by surface area and substrate, inside and out.
Service upgrades, rough-ins, fixtures, and finish work for licensed pros.
Quick estimates for small repairs, installs, and odd jobs.
Bump-outs, second stories, and accessory dwelling units priced end-to-end.
4.7 out of 5
Based on 948 verified reviews across Google, Capterra, G2, and SourceForge
“The painting templates are incredibly detailed. Interior, exterior, cabinet painting — all the prep work is already in there. My estimates are way more accurate now.”
Chris T.
Painting Contractor
“Clear Estimates has made estimating and producing well-written estimates for our customers a very quick and simple process.”
Annette L.
Remodeling Contractor
“Using for 10+ years. The usability and ease made estimating enjoyable.”
Tyler P.
General Contractor
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Try either plan free for 30 days.
Many remodeling contractors use Xactimate, especially those performing insurance restoration work. However, contractors focused primarily on residential remodeling may prefer software specifically designed around remodeling estimating and homeowner proposals.
Xactimate has become one of the industry’s most widely used estimating platforms for property insurance claims because it supports standardized estimating, documentation, and insurer workflows.
It depends. Contractors whose business centers on insurance restoration will likely continue to benefit from Xactimate’s claims ecosystem. Contractors whose business centers on residential remodeling may find Clear Estimates a better fit for creating remodeling estimates and proposals.
Clear Estimates can estimate repair work, but it isn’t designed to replace the insurer-focused workflows that make Xactimate the industry standard for property claims estimating.
Yes. While our contractor-facing product is built around residential remodeling, not claims adjusting, our professionally maintained cost data already reaches the insurance industry today through data partnerships and API integrations that power insurer and carrier-side tools behind the scenes. We’re continuing to grow those partnerships alongside our core focus on remodeling estimates for contractors.
Neither is universally “better” — they’re built for different purposes. Xactimate’s pricing is built to support standardized insurance-restoration estimating that insurers accept. Clear Estimates’ pricing is professionally maintained specifically for residential remodeling — kitchens, bathrooms, additions, and home improvements. The right fit depends on which kind of estimate you’re producing.
Yes — many contractors do. Xactimate handles insurance restoration claims and insurer documentation, while Clear Estimates handles the remodeling work sold directly to homeowners. They serve different parts of the business.
Insurance restoration estimating, or residential remodeling estimating — choose the software built for the job you’re actually doing.