QuoteDrop vs Joist — Which Is Better for Your Business?
Joist is a mobile estimating app for contractors. QuoteDrop adds AI to make estimates 10x faster.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
A transparent look at what each tool offers.
| Feature | QuoteDrop | Joist |
|---|---|---|
| AI Estimate Generation | ||
| Photo-to-Estimate | ||
| Cheapest paid plan | $19/mo Pro | $8/mo Basics |
| Starting Price | Free ($0/mo) | Free (very limited) |
| SMS Delivery | ||
| Customer Signatures | ||
| Payment Collection | Pro plan | Pro/Elite ($15+/mo) |
| Mobile App | ||
| Free Trial | Free forever + $1 Pro trial | Limited free plan |
| Setup Time | 30 seconds | 15-30 minutes |
| Number of Trades Supported | 20+ | 15+ |
| QuickBooks Integration | ||
| Reusable Price Lists | ||
| AI-Powered Pricing Suggestions |
AI Estimate Generation
Photo-to-Estimate
Cheapest paid plan
Starting Price
SMS Delivery
Customer Signatures
Payment Collection
Mobile App
Free Trial
Setup Time
Number of Trades Supported
QuickBooks Integration
Reusable Price Lists
AI-Powered Pricing Suggestions
Pricing Comparison
QuoteDrop
Free forever starter tier. Try Pro for 7 days at just $1.
Joist
Joist offers Basics at $8/month, Pro at $15/month, and Elite at $32/month — all flat-rate, not per-seat. A free tier with very limited features is also available. Joist is one of the cheapest contractor estimating tools on the market.
Why Contractors Switch from Joist
Real reasons contractors choose QuoteDrop for estimates.
AI generates the full estimate from a single photo in ~30 seconds — Joist requires manual line-item entry every time, every job
Trade-specific pricing intelligence for 20+ contractor trades, not a blank line-item form
Built-in SMS delivery and digital signature capture on every plan
Photo-to-signed-estimate workflow that no template-based tool can match for speed
Free Starter plan with 1 AI-powered estimate/month — Joist's free tier has no AI
What Joist Does Well
Joist is a well-known mobile estimating and invoicing app built specifically for contractors. It lets you create detailed estimates, send invoices, and sync with QuickBooks. Joist has been a popular choice for contractors who want a straightforward mobile quoting tool.
Very cheap — Basics at $8/mo undercuts most contractor tools
Mobile-first design built for contractors on the go
Focused on estimating and invoicing (not bloated with FSM features)
QuickBooks integration for bookkeeping
Lets you build a price list of common items for reuse
Where Joist May Fall Short for Estimating
- No AI estimate generation — every line item is manual entry, every job
- Free tier is heavily restricted — most features require a paid plan
- No payment collection on Basics; Pro and Elite tiers add it back
- Estimate creation still takes several minutes per job, even with templates
Frequently Asked Questions
Joist requires you to manually enter each line item, description, and price. QuoteDrop lets you snap a photo of the job, add a brief note, and AI generates the full estimate with line items and real-world pricing in seconds. You review, adjust, and send.
Not yet. QuickBooks integration is on our roadmap. Right now, QuoteDrop focuses on the estimate creation and customer approval workflow. You can export PDFs for your bookkeeping in the meantime.
QuoteDrop's AI learns your trade pricing automatically. Instead of building a manual price list upfront, the AI suggests real-world pricing for your trade and location. You can always adjust any line item before sending.
Both. Solo contractors love the speed of AI-generated estimates. Teams on the Business plan ($99/mo) get up to 5 team members with white-label branding and 1,000 SMS/month.
Joist is cheaper because it makes YOU do the estimate. You still type every line item, every description, every price, every job. QuoteDrop is more expensive because it does the work for you — snap a photo, get a full AI-generated estimate in 30 seconds. If your time is worth more than $5/hour, QuoteDrop pays for itself on the first estimate.