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Free construction cost calculator and house building cost estimator. Estimate materials, labor, equipment, overhead, markup, and total project cost.
Calculator inputs
Enter measured project values. Results update only when you choose Calculate.
Method
Most contractors who lose money on jobs do not lose it on the takeoff — they lose it in the gap between direct cost and bid price. The ENR Construction Cost Index has climbed steadily since 2020, and the AGC 2025 labor survey reported wage inflation north of 5 percent in 38 states. A budget that ignores burden, GCs, overhead recovery, and risk-weighted contingency will be wrong before you press Send.
This calculator builds the price up the way RSMeans and most cost engineers structure it: direct costs first, then general conditions, overhead, contingency, and fee. Use it for conceptual budgets, bid review, and owner conversations; back the final number with a measured takeoff and current vendor quotes before signing anything.
Start with the measurable project costs: materials, labor hours, equipment, subcontractors, permits, freight, and disposal. Use supplier quotes or recent job-cost data wherever possible.
Apply labor burden, small tools, supervision, insurance, fuel, office overhead, and general conditions so the estimate reflects the real cost of delivering the work.
Add profit markup and a risk contingency that matches the scope certainty. Renovations, fast-track work, and incomplete drawings need a larger contingency than repeat work.
Compare the calculated price with historical cost per square foot, unit cost, or crew productivity benchmarks before sending the proposal.
Materials with current quotes, loaded labor, equipment (owned or rented), subcontractors, permits and fees, bonds and insurance, general conditions, freight, dumpster and disposal, taxes, contingency, and fee. Missing any of these is how a 12 percent margin becomes 3 percent at closeout.
For a new single-family build, start with target square footage and a per-SF unit cost for your market and finish level (national US median in 2026 is roughly $180 to $310 per SF for production homes, $325 to $550 for semi-custom, and $550+ for custom). Multiply for a top-down number, then run the same build-up in the calculator with measured material, labor, and subcontractor quantities to pressure-test it from the bottom up. The two numbers should land within 10 to 15 percent — when they do not, one of the assumptions is wrong.
Yes. Homeowners and self-builders use the same line-item structure as a GC: site work and foundation, framing and shell, MEP rough-in, exterior cladding and roofing, interior finishes, fixtures and appliances, landscape, and soft costs (permits, design, financing, insurance). Plug those into the build-up and add 15 to 20 percent contingency — owners tend to underestimate soft costs and finish allowances, which is where most owner-built homes go over.
In the US in early 2026, expect roughly $360,000 to $620,000 turn-key for a 2,000 SF production home (excluding land), and $650,000 to $1.1M for semi-custom. Coastal metros (San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, NYC) run 25 to 50 percent above national medians; inland markets in the South and Midwest sit at or below the lower bound. Always re-run with current material and labor quotes — the ENR cost index moved more than 30 percent between 2020 and 2025.
Once scope changes by more than 10 percent, productivity assumptions stop matching reality, or the project crosses a code threshold (sprinklers required, accessibility upgrade triggered) that was not in the takeoff. Rerun the build-up rather than patching the old number.
Five percent is reasonable for repeat scopes with complete CDs; 10 to 15 percent fits typical commercial renovation; 20 percent is for incomplete drawings, hazardous abatement, or aggressive schedules. The number should reflect what could actually go sideways, not a default.
No, and the difference compounds. A 25 percent markup is a 20 percent margin. To net 25 percent, you need to mark up cost by 33.3 percent. Get this wrong on every job and you give back several points of profit per year.
Separate plan workflow
This calculator solves one bounded formula from the inputs shown. BuildVision AI supports reviewed plan takeoff, complete-document CSV, and editable quote lines; the estimator owns pricing and final bid approval.