Tillage vs Estimate RocketThe contractor estimating and job management alternative
Updated . Every Estimate Rocket fact links to its source.
Tillage
Estimate Rocket
Monthly price
$0, unlimited users, quotes and invoices
No free plan; $139/mo for 3 users, $259 for 7, $359 for 15; 30-day free trial
Online payment fees
Your client can cover them
Stripe; its help page quotes 3.4% on cards and 0.85% on ACH
Margin on quotes
Variance buffer and profit margin on every line
Labor and material cost per line with estimated profit; no variance buffer found
The short answer
Estimate Rocket is estimating, CRM and job management software for service contractors, with production-rate estimating, lead follow-up campaigns, crew scheduling, time tracking and job costing, from $139 a month for three users. Tillage is free quote-to-cash software with margin and a variance buffer on every line, contracts from approved quotes and payment schedules, and no scheduling or time tracking. If you want one system to run leads, crews and job costing, Estimate Rocket does far more. If you mainly need to quote, sign and get paid, Tillage does that for $0.
Choose Tillage if
- YesYou want $0/month instead of $139 to $359 a month
- YesYou want variance and profit margin on every line, and contracts generated from approved quotes
- YesYou want payment schedules and recurring invoices that issue themselves
- YesYou want clients to cover card and ACH fees at checkout
Choose Estimate Rocket if
- YesYou estimate by production rates, room measurements or trade templates
- YesYou want a CRM with lead tracking, follow-up campaigns, texting and review requests
- YesYou schedule crews and field users, and track their time against each job
- YesYou want job costing that compares the estimate with actual hours and expenses
Tillage vs Estimate Rocket, feature by feature
| Feature | Tillage | Estimate Rocket |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | Yes$0, unlimited users, quotes and invoices | PartlyNo free plan; $139/mo for 3 users, $259 for 7, $359 for 15; 30-day free trial |
| Online payment fees | YesStripe 2.9% + 30¢ (cards) or 0.8% capped at $5 (ACH), plus 1% capped at $50 per invoice | PartlyStripe; its help page quotes 3.4% on cards and 0.85% on ACH |
| Pass fees to clients | YesBoth Stripe and platform fees, set team-wide | PartlyA 3% credit card fee line item you add by hand; no automatic surcharge found |
| Quotes and estimates | YesHours × rate, or itemized with units and sections | YesLine items, groups, assemblies, production rates and good, better, best options |
| Variance and profit margin on quotes | YesVariance buffer and profit margin on every line | PartlyLabor and material cost per line with estimated profit; no variance buffer found |
| Contracts with e-signatures | YesGenerated from approved quotes | PartlyTerms and contract language on proposals, signed by hand or typed |
| Deposits and milestone payment schedules | YesPercentages triggered by signing, dates or milestones | PartlyDeposit, progress and final invoices by amount or percent, created one by one |
| Recurring invoices and retainers | YesWeekly, monthly, quarterly, every six months or yearly | PartlyAutomatic and recurring payments listed as a feature; no help article found |
| Client pages with no login | YesSecure links to approve, sign and pay | YesCustomer portal per client to view, approve, sign, pay and message |
| Time tracking | NoNot a time tracker | YesClock in and out by project and work code, with location; field users $10/mo |
| Full accounting and bookkeeping | NoUse alongside your accounting software | NoExpense tracking and reports, not accounting |
| QuickBooks or Xero sync | NoComing soon: QuickBooks Online, Xero, Mercury and Puzzle | PartlyQuickBooks Online through Zapier; QuickBooks Desktop by IIF export; Xero not found |
| AI quote drafting | YesDrafts line items, hours and rates with your OpenAI or Claude key | PartlyAI assistant writes invoice descriptions and emails; no AI estimate drafting found |
| Claude and ChatGPT through MCP | YesQuotes, contracts and invoices | NoNo MCP server found; API through Zapier and webhooks |
| Scheduling, dispatch and routing | NoNot a scheduling or dispatch tool | YesCrew and field user scheduling, calendar sync, job map with directions and location tracking |
Estimate Rocket pricing
Estimate Rocket says every plan includes the full platform, training and onboarding; plans differ by the number of users. Its pricing page lists monthly prices only, with a 90-day money-back guarantee, and its feature pages offer a 30-day free trial. Field users can clock in and out and see open work orders for $10 a month on any plan.
- Launch
- $139/mo3 full users included. Extra full users $79/mo, field users $10/mo
- Accelerate
- $259/mo7 full users included. Extra full users $39/mo, field users $10/mo
- Expand
- $359/mo15 full users included. Extra full users $19/mo, field users $10/mo
- Done for You setup
- $1,595, or $995 on a limited-time discountOptional setup package
- Tillage, for comparison
- $0/month with unlimited users1% when paid online, capped at $50 per invoice. Your client can cover it. See pricing
Where Estimate Rocket is better
No tool is right for everyone. Here is where it may suit you better.
Deeper estimating
Labor minutes and material cost per unit, assemblies that calculate labor and materials from room dimensions, production-rate estimating, and templates for painting, remodeling, roofing, landscaping and other trades. Optional groups let clients pick good, better or best.
A CRM for contractors
Lead records, follow-up campaigns for each project stage, SMS templates, two-way messaging, appointment reminders, review requests with a reviews dashboard, and email and postcard marketing.
Crew scheduling and field users
Schedule crews and field users on work orders and tasks, sync the calendar to Google, Outlook or Apple, and see jobs on a map with directions. Field users cost $10 a month.
Time tracking and job costing
Crews clock in and out by project and work code, with location recorded. Hours and expenses roll into each project’s profitability, so you can compare the estimate with actuals.
Change orders and onboarding
Change orders that clients approve in the portal, plus training and onboarding included on every plan.
Lower card fees on mid-sized jobs
At the 3.4% card rate in Estimate Rocket’s help page, card payments under about $10,060 cost less than Stripe plus Tillage’s platform fee.
Where Tillage is better for contractors
$0 instead of $139 a month
Estimate Rocket costs $1,668 to $4,308 a year before extra users. Tillage is free with unlimited users, quotes and invoices, and it charges only on online payments.
A buffer for risk on every line
Estimate Rocket shows profit from the labor and material cost you enter. Tillage adds a variance buffer for job risk and a profit margin to each line, so an overrun doesn’t come out of your profit.
Contracts from the approved quote
In Estimate Rocket you keep terms and contract language in item templates or document templates and switch them per job. Tillage generates the contract from the approved quote and collects e-signatures on a page your client opens without a login.
Schedules that issue the invoices
Estimate Rocket has you create each deposit and progress invoice by hand. Tillage turns a deposit and milestones into a schedule that issues each invoice on signing, a date or a milestone, and recurring invoices can charge a saved card or bank account.
Clients can cover the fees
Estimate Rocket’s fee template adds a flat 3% line you enter by hand. In Tillage, clients can cover the Stripe and platform fees at checkout, so you receive the full amount.
AI and automation you control
Estimate Rocket’s AI assistant writes invoice descriptions and emails. Tillage drafts quote line items, hours and rates with your own OpenAI or Claude key, and its MCP server lets Claude and ChatGPT create quotes, contracts and invoices.
Recent Estimate Rocket changes
January 2026
Estimate Rocket became a public app in Zapier, with Zapier workflows on its integrations page.
May 2026
Estimate Rocket improved its customer portal and streamlined signature capture on proposals and change orders.
August 2026
Estimate Rocket added API support for expenses, hours and invoices, and split profitability into labor and materials.
Switching from Estimate Rocket
- 1
Export your clients from Estimate Rocket as a CSV (Settings, then Client Export) and import them into Tillage.
- 2
Put your saved items into a CSV and import them into Tillage, then rebuild your common estimates as quotes with sections, variance and margin on each line.
- 3
Turn your usual deposit and progress invoices into a Tillage payment schedule template.
- 4
Connect Stripe in Tillage, choose whether clients cover the fees, and send new quotes from Tillage.
- 5
Keep Estimate Rocket, or another tool, for scheduling and time tracking, and until open invoices are paid.
Related guides and tools
Invoicing software for contractors
Itemized estimates, deposits and progress billing in one free tool.
Contractor estimate template
Labor and materials laid out for a client to approve.
Contractor invoice template
Line items and units for a job, ready to fill in and send.
Markup calculator
Turn your cost and markup into a selling price.
Sources
Checked Nov 3, 2026. Pricing and features change, so if something here is out of date, email support@tillage.ai and we will fix it.
- Estimate Rocket pricing
- All features
- Estimating and proposals features (30-day trial)
- Invoicing and payments features
- Project management features
- CRM features
- Integrations
- Client invoice payment methods (Stripe)
- Client payment via ACH (fee rates)
- How to accept electronic payments
- Client payment via financing
- Credit card fee and cash discount item template
- Multiple offerings and pricing options
- Cost and profitability for items
- Cost based estimating
- Creating change orders
- Deposit and progress invoices
- Switching terms and contract language
- Enabling signature capture
- Customer portal overview
- Time tracking setup and use
- Crew scheduling overview
- Link to your Google Calendar
- Link to Outlook
- Link to Apple iCal
- Add Estimate Rocket to your Android home screen
- Address mapping and directions
- Automated follow-up campaigns
- Managing leads
- Client reviews
- QuickBooks Online integration (through Zapier)
- QuickBooks Desktop importing
- Estimate Rocket integrations (API)
- API updates (Aug 2026)
- AI assistant for invoice descriptions
- Export client list
- Add Estimate Rocket to your iPhone home screen
- January 2026 update
- May 2026 update
- August 2026 update
Tillage vs Estimate Rocket questions
How much does Estimate Rocket cost?
Estimate Rocket costs $139 a month for 3 users, $259 for 7 and $359 for 15, with extra full users and $10 field users on top. Every plan includes the full platform, and there is a 30-day free trial. Tillage is $0 a month with unlimited users.
Is Tillage cheaper than Estimate Rocket?
On subscriptions, yes: Estimate Rocket costs at least $1,668 a year and Tillage costs nothing. On card payments, it depends on size. At the 3.4% rate in Estimate Rocket’s help page, a $2,500 card payment costs $85.00, against $97.80 in Tillage ($72.80 to Stripe and $25 platform fee). Above about $10,060 Tillage costs less, because its platform fee stops at $50: a $20,000 card payment costs $680 in Estimate Rocket and $630.30 in Tillage. On small bank payments Estimate Rocket’s 0.85% is lower than Tillage’s. In Tillage your client can also cover the fees at checkout.
Does Tillage schedule crews or track time like Estimate Rocket?
No. Tillage handles quotes, contracts, invoices and payments. If you schedule crews, track hours or cost jobs against actuals, Estimate Rocket does that and Tillage doesn’t.
Can clients choose between options on a quote?
In Estimate Rocket, yes: you put each option in its own group and the client accepts or declines each one in the portal. Tillage quotes are built from sections and line items with margin and variance on each line.
Does Estimate Rocket have a mobile app?
Estimate Rocket runs in the browser, and its help center shows how to add it to your iPhone or Android home screen. Tillage also runs in the browser on your phone, without a native app.
