The short version, by what you actually do
- You need Manual J/D load and duct designWrightsoft Right-Suite — residential and commercial HVAC design — load calcs, duct design, and proposals in one package.
- You bid commercial sheet-metal and duct off drawingsFastDUCT — purpose-built on-screen takeoff for ductwork and HVAC equipment on plan sets.
- You sell replacements in the home and want signed optionsScopeToSign — a per-trade pricing engine plus a Good/Better/Best proposal a homeowner signs on the spot.
- You want one suite to run dispatch, sales, and the officeHousecall Pro or ServiceTitan — field-service suites that fold estimating into scheduling, dispatch, and payments.
- You want a dedicated in-home HVAC sales presentationSales Builder Pro or Airship — HVAC-specific option presentation with financing and e-sign built for the kitchen table.
HVAC covers several jobs — load design, commercial duct takeoff, in-home replacement sales, and running the whole shop — and no one tool is best at all of them. We checked each tool's price and platform against its own live page (dated in the sources below), grouped them by the job they're built for, and named a real strength and a real limitation for each. Where a vendor doesn't publish a price, we say so rather than guess.
We make ScopeToSign. We’ve kept this factual and every competitor detail below is dated and linked to their own live page — corrections welcome.
The tools, one by one
1. ScopeToSign (that's us)
Free · Pro $49/mo or $490/yrEstimating-to-signature software for plumbing and HVAC service contractors.
- Best for:
- HVAC service contractors who price replacements and want to present and sign them — not run Manual J or bid commercial duct.
- Real strength:
- A real HVAC price book (tonnage, zones, BTUs) loads in minute one, a review engine catches the permit and matched-coil lines cheap quotes skip, and the estimate becomes a Good/Better/Best proposal a homeowner signs on their phone with a deposit when enabled.
- Where it falls short:
- Two trades only (HVAC and plumbing), no Manual J load calculation, no scheduling/dispatch/CRM, and no commercial duct takeoff. If you need load design or a full field suite, the tools below fit better.
- Platform:
- Web + mobile (any phone)
2. Right-Suite Universal (Wrightsoft)
$900/yr (RSU residential or commercial package); mobile add-ons $150–$300/yrHVAC design software (MiTek-Wrightsoft): Manual J load calcs, Manual D duct design, takeoff, and proposals.
- Best for:
- Contractors who need code-grade load calculations and duct design, not just a price.
- Real strength:
- Integrated residential and commercial HVAC design — Manual J load calcs, Manual D duct design, takeoff, and customer proposals in one Windows package.
- Platform:
- Windows desktop (iOS needs an emulator such as Parallels)
3. FastDUCT
$4,995 one-time or $250/mo lease; FastPIPE+FastDUCT combo $7,490 one-time or $355/moWindows-desktop commercial HVAC & sheet-metal ductwork takeoff and estimating (FastEST, Inc.).
- Best for:
- Commercial and industrial HVAC contractors who quantify sheet metal and duct off plan sets.
- Real strength:
- Purpose-built on-screen digitizer takeoff for rectangular, round, and oval duct plus HVAC equipment, with Excel export — the commercial takeoff job service tools don't attempt.
- Platform:
- Windows desktop (no web/cloud)
4. Sales Builder Pro
From $179/user/mo + $750 setupHVAC in-home sales app: multi-option proposals, financing, e-sign add-on.
- Best for:
- Replacement-focused HVAC shops that want a polished in-home sales presentation with financing.
- Real strength:
- A dedicated HVAC in-home sales app: multi-option proposals, integrated financing, and an e-sign add-on, built for the kitchen-table close.
- Platform:
- iPad + Android tablets
5. Airship
Published on their site (no fixed figure)HVAC proposal software: side-by-side system options, financing, ServiceTitan integration.
- Best for:
- HVAC dealers who want side-by-side system options and financing, often alongside ServiceTitan.
- Real strength:
- HVAC proposal software focused on side-by-side system options and financing, with a ServiceTitan integration.
- Platform:
- Not publicly stated
6. Housecall Pro
Basic $59/mo · Essentials $149/mo · Max $299/mo (annual)Consumer-brand field-service suite: booking, dispatch, payments, quotes.
- Best for:
- HVAC businesses that want one consumer-facing suite for booking, dispatch, payments, and quotes.
- Real strength:
- A broad, well-known field-service suite with a large app ecosystem and transparent per-tier pricing.
- Platform:
- Web + iOS/Android
7. ServiceTitan
Published on their site (no fixed figure)Cloud field-service-management suite for HVAC/plumbing — dispatch, scheduling, pricebook, plus in-home sales/estimates in higher tiers.
- Best for:
- Larger HVAC shops that want an enterprise operations platform with in-home sales built in.
- Real strength:
- A deep, cloud field-service platform spanning dispatch, pricebook, and mobile sales — the category's enterprise option.
- Platform:
- Web + iOS/Android
Side by side
| Feature | ScopeToSign | Sales Builder Pro | Housecall Pro | Right-Suite | FastDUCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Web + phone, one tool | Yes | iPad/Android tablet | Yes | Windows desktop | Windows desktop |
| Priced from a per-trade engine | Yes | Option builder | Quotes | Design + takeoff | Duct takeoff |
| Good/Better/Best proposal + e-sign | Yes | Multi-option + e-sign add-on | Estimates + e-sign | Proposals | No |
| Manual J load / duct design | No | No | No | Yes | Duct takeoff |
| Deposit collection | When enabled | Financing | Payments | No | No |
| Published price | Free · Pro $49/mo or $490/yr | From $179/user/mo + $750 setup | Basic $59/mo (annual) | $900/yr | $4,995 one-time or $250/mo |
If you need Manual J load design, believe Wrightsoft; if you bid commercial duct off drawings, FastDUCT does a job we don't. If you want one enterprise suite to run everything, ServiceTitan or Housecall Pro will — at a suite's price and complexity. But if you sell residential replacements and the deciding moment is a clear, itemized, code-complete quote a homeowner signs at the kitchen table, that's exactly what ScopeToSign is built for — and the HVAC calculators and the line-by-line anatomy post on this site let you check our numbers first.
Common questions
Is HVAC estimating software the same as load-calculation software?
No. Load-calculation software (like Wrightsoft Right-Suite) sizes equipment with Manual J and designs ducts with Manual D. Estimating-and-proposal software (like ScopeToSign) prices and presents the job once sizing is known. Many shops use one for design and a separate, faster tool for the customer-facing quote.
What do HVAC contractors use to present Good/Better/Best options?
Dedicated in-home sales tools (Sales Builder Pro, Airship) and estimating-to-signature tools (ScopeToSign) both present multiple options with financing or a signature. Suites like Housecall Pro and ServiceTitan include option quoting inside a larger platform. The right pick depends on whether you want a focused sales tool or an all-in-one suite.
Does ServiceTitan publish its pricing?
No. As of our check, ServiceTitan lists its tiers as "Request Pricing" and quotes per-technician pricing through a sales call — so we don't publish a figure for it. Housecall Pro, by contrast, lists per-tier prices publicly, which is why we can cite them.
Which HVAC estimating tool is best for a small shop?
For a small replacement-focused shop, a focused estimating-and-proposal tool (ScopeToSign) plus a light scheduler is usually deeper on quoting and cheaper than an enterprise suite. If you also need load design, budget separately for a Manual J tool — that's a different job no service-estimating tool does well.
Every price and platform detail above was checked against each vendor’s own live page on the date shown in the sources and will be re-verified before launch — published prices drift. Where a vendor doesn’t publish a figure, we say so instead of guessing. See our editorial policy for how this is kept honest.