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Contractor bid comparison calculator

Compare two repair bids after adding the rent lost during the days each option may keep a unit unavailable.
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Aptoria
Free calculator
The short answer
How it works
4
Make the result useful
Questions landlords ask
2
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3
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Contractor bid comparison calculator
Run operations
Last updated: July 2026
1. Enter both bid prices and expected durations.
How it works
2. Enter monthly rent while the unit is unavailable.
How it works
3. The tool converts rent to a daily amount.
How it works
4. It adds that lost-rent estimate to each bid.
How it works
5. Is the lowest combined total always best?
Questions landlords ask
6. Does this include all carrying costs?
Questions landlords ask
Contractor bid comparison calculator
Category
Run operations
Last updated
July 2026
The assumptions that move this result
Bid A and Bid B
Quoted totals for comparable written scopes, including any known material allowance.
Unavailable days
Days the unit or affected area cannot reasonably be marketed, occupied, or used.
Monthly rent
Conservative achievable rent used only to estimate the cost of downtime.
Scope notes
A separate comparison of permits, warranty, cleanup, and exclusions; these are not priced by the formula.
The short answer
1. Enter both bid prices and expected durations.
A contractor bid’s combined planning cost can include its quoted price plus daily rent lost while the unit is unavailable. This calculator uses the two bids, timelines, and rent you enter; it does not evaluate contractor quality or scope.
The short answer
Last updated: July 2026
A contractor bid’s combined planning cost can include its quoted price plus daily rent lost while the unit is unavailable. This calculator uses the two bids, timelines, and rent you enter; it does not evaluate contractor quality or scope.
After the estimate:
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Contractor bid calculator
Compare bids after vacancy time.
Add each bid and the days the unit may remain unavailable, then compare the combined cost using the rent you enter.
Bid A cost
$
Bid A days
days
Bid B cost
$
Bid B days
days
Monthly rent while unavailable
$
Input-driven result
Your inputs
Formula
Result below
Lower combined-cost option
Bid B
Bid A: $2,145; Bid B: $2,121. Includes $69 per unavailable day.
Estimate based on your inputs. Not a promise of results.
Estimate only. It does not evaluate scope, quality, licensing, permits, warranty, or contractor suitability.
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Watch it work
How it works

How this tool works.

Contractor bid comparison calculator turns the inputs you provide into a clear operational planning number.
Use it alongside the documents, professional judgment, and local requirements that apply to your rental.
1
Enter both bid prices and expected durations.
2
Enter monthly rent while the unit is unavailable.
3
The tool converts rent to a daily amount.
4
It adds that lost-rent estimate to each bid.
Make the result useful

How to compare contractor bids when turnaround time costs rent

The lowest contractor bid is not always the lowest ownership cost. This calculator adds a stated rent-loss assumption to each quote so you can compare the cash price and the time a unit may remain unavailable on one worksheet.
Only compare bids with the same written scope. A quote that excludes haul-away, permits, materials, or final cleaning can look cheaper while moving those costs into a later decision. Treat the result as a question to investigate, not an instruction to select a vendor.

The assumptions that move this result

Bid A and Bid B
Quoted totals for comparable written scopes, including any known material allowance.
Unavailable days
Days the unit or affected area cannot reasonably be marketed, occupied, or used.
Monthly rent
Conservative achievable rent used only to estimate the cost of downtime.
Scope notes
A separate comparison of permits, warranty, cleanup, and exclusions; these are not priced by the formula.

Calculation lens

modeled combined cost = contractor bid + (unavailable days x monthly rent x 12 / 365)
The output shows a modeled cash-and-downtime comparison, not a recommendation about workmanship or vendor suitability.

Read the number in context

Same-scope example
A $1,500 repair taking 9 unavailable days is compared with a $1,800 repair taking 5 days. At $2,190 monthly rent, four avoided days are worth about $288 of modeled rent, so price alone does not settle the choice.
Scope mismatch
A lower quote excludes painting and debris removal while the higher quote includes both. Do not use the arithmetic until those items are either added to the lower quote or explicitly removed from the other scope.
Occupied-unit edge case
If the work can be completed while the resident remains in place, set unavailable days thoughtfully; assumed vacancy loss may be zero even though access coordination still has a cost.
The calculator cannot inspect work quality, confirm licensing or insurance, price change orders, or determine whether a permit or notice is required.
Direct answer
To compare contractor bids, add each quoted cost to the modeled rent lost during its expected unavailable days, then verify that both scopes, warranties, and exclusions match.

Should I always select the lower combined cost?

No. First confirm identical scope, credentials, availability, quality expectations, and warranty. The calculation only makes the time-cost tradeoff visible.

What rent should I use for downtime?

Use a conservative, currently achievable monthly rent for the unit, not an aspirational listing price.

Do I include a security deposit claim?

Keep resident charges, damage documentation, and any permitted deposit process separate from the vendor-selection comparison.
Questions landlords ask

Questions about this tool and its limits.

Is the lowest combined total always best?

No. Scope, permits, quality, warranty, insurance, and vendor reliability matter beyond this arithmetic.

Does this include all carrying costs?

No. It only includes the rent figure you enter, not utilities, debt service, or other costs.

Before you act

Get a written, line-item scope from each vendor.
Confirm start date, completion definition, warranty, and payment milestones.
Document why the selected bid was chosen before authorizing work.
Plan a make-ready timeline →
Track work-order variance →
Editorial ownership
Written and maintained by the Aptoria editorial team
Editorial method reviewed July 28, 2026. Aptoria reviews scope, source fit, examples, limitations, links, and publication gates. This record does not claim attorney, CPA, lender, appraiser, or other independent professional sign-off.
How Aptoria researches and reviewsReport a correction
Built by a landlord who's done every one of these jobs by hand.
Aptoria was built by an owner-operator managing a Brooklyn portfolio — the 11pm calls, the awkward rent texts, the April receipt-pile — not by a software team guessing at the problem.
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