Painting estimating software
Quote the repaint before you leave the driveway
Painting bids are production-rate math — walls, ceilings, trim, doors, prep level, coats. BuiltSum ships those assemblies pre-loaded: type quantities, get a bid price with your labor rate, burden, and markup applied, and download a proposal the customer can sign. The estimator below is live — try it with a real job.
Try it now — painting pack loaded, free
Interior & exterior assemblies
Walls, ceilings, trim, doors, windows, cabinets (sprayed refinish), siding, stucco, fences — with prep add-ons for wallpaper removal and heavy patching.
Your rates, not book rates
Every production rate and material cost is editable; your winning bids become your defaults. No stale regional cost feed.
Commercial? Bill it monthly
For GC work, the accepted estimate becomes a schedule of values and AIA-style pay applications with retainage — the part painting-only tools skip.
Also useful: the free pay application generator for commercial jobs and the change order generator for scope creep.
What is in the painting pack
19 assemblies ship in pack 2026.08. Every material cost and labor rate below is a starting default for a mid-market, non-union crew — edit any of them, and your own won jobs become the defaults over time.
Interior — walls & ceilings
- Walls — 2 coats, roll (occupied-ready prep)SF
- Walls — 1 coat refreshSF
- Walls — primer/sealer coat (new drywall or color change)SF
- Ceilings — flat, 2 coats, rollSF
- Ceilings — spray (unoccupied/new construction)SF
- Accent wall — color change, 2 coats + cut linesSF
Interior — trim & doors
- Baseboard/casing — brush, 2 coatsLF
- Crown molding — brush, 2 coatsLF
- Door — slab both faces + frame, 2 coatsEA
- Door — 6-panel both faces + frame, 2 coatsEA
- Window — trim & sash, 2 coatsEA
Interior — cabinets
- Cabinet door/drawer front — degrease, sand, prime, 2 coats sprayedEA
- Cabinet box/face frame — per LF of runLF
Exterior
- Siding — spray & backroll, 2 coats (washed, scraped, spot-primed)SF
- Stucco — elastomeric or masonry paint, 2 coatsSF
- Exterior trim/fascia — brush, 2 coatsLF
- Fence/deck — stain, spray & brush, both sides where applicableSF
Prep add-ons
- Wallpaper removal + wall wash/prepSF
- Heavy prep — peeling/patching add-onSF
Frequently asked questions
How do painters estimate jobs?
By surface and production rate: measure walls, ceilings, and trim, then apply how many square or linear feet a painter completes per hour for that surface and prep level, plus material coverage (a gallon covers roughly 350 SF per coat). The estimate is production rate × quantity × labor rate, plus paint and sundries, burden, and markup — exactly the structure of the assemblies on this page.
What makes painting estimating software worth paying for over a spreadsheet?
Speed to a signed number. The painters who win repaints hand a clean proposal over before leaving the driveway. Assemblies with your production rates make the number fast; the proposal PDF and accept link make it signable; and if you do commercial work, the same numbers flow into AIA-style pay applications instead of being retyped.
Can I use my own production rates?
Yes — that's the design. The pack ships with mid-market starting rates (e.g., interior walls at ~90 SF/hour for two coats), and every rate and material cost is editable per line. As you win jobs, your numbers replace the defaults: your history becomes your price book.
Does BuiltSum handle commercial painting billing?
Yes — this is where BuiltSum differs from painting-only tools like PaintScout: G702/G703-style progress billing with retainage is included on every plan, so a commercial repaint or new-construction contract bills monthly without Excel.
From walkthrough to signed proposal in minutes
Unlimited projects, no per-user fees for the crew — from $49/mo.
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