Your contractor said $18,500. You have no idea if that’s fair.

Most people getting a bathroom remodeled have never bought one before, and they are comparing one number against nothing. Describe the job, paste the number, and see the range that scope actually lands in where you live.

45 sq ft · mid-range finish · Philadelphia · tub converted to tiled shower · bid $24,000

Tile and flooring$2,000 – $6,200

Vanity, countertop and storage$2,000 – $6,200

Plumbing, rough-in and trim$1,300 – $3,700

Tub to walk-in shower, custom tiled$3,700 – $15,900

Deposit requested — $9,500 (40%)Above Pennsylvania’s one-third limit

Normal range for this job$17,200 – $40,800

This bid is inside the normal range. Price is the easy part — here are the six questions that aren’t.

Check your bid

Free to see the range. $39 once for the full review. No account, no subscription.

Why one number tells you nothing

36%of remodeling projects finish inside the original budget. A bid without a contingency line has quietly moved that risk onto you.

+50%is how much more the same bathroom costs in the priciest metros than in the cheapest. National averages are useless to you.

$1,000is the most a California contractor may legally take as a deposit on most jobs. Most homeowners have never heard this, and most states are different.

What you get

Free

The range your job normally lands in, adjusted for your metro
Whether your bid sits inside it, under it, or above it
What to budget once contingency is counted

$39, paid once

The job broken out by trade, so you can read a bid line against line
Your deposit checked against the statute in your state, cited
The order the work has to happen in, and what each step is for
Six questions to ask before signing, and the answers that should worry you
A PDF you can hand to the contractor

Where the numbers come from

Most remodel calculators quote each other. This one is built on surveyed data and primary sources, and it tells you which is which.

Two independent cost studies, not one average: Contractor-priced job costs across 117 US markets, and a survey of what 1,738 homeowners actually spent. They disagree, because they measure different things. You see both.
Metro-level pricing, not state-level: Upstate New York and New York City are not the same market, and a state average would misprice both.
Deposit law read from the statutes: Eight states cap deposits. Most do not. Several widely repeated caps — Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey — do not exist. Where there is no law, this says so instead of inventing one.
Cost model built for bathrooms specifically: Roughly two thirds of a bathroom budget is fixed cost that does not scale with floor area, which is why per-square-foot calculators overprice large baths and underprice small ones.

What this is not

It is not an appraisal, and it cannot see your house. Hidden water damage, hard access, a second floor and what your local trades happen to be charging this month all move the number.

It will not tell you your contractor is cheating you. A bid outside the range is a reason to ask a specific question, not a verdict. Sometimes the honest answer is that the bid is fair and you should sign it.

It is not legal advice. Deposit rules change and vary by contract type and dollar amount. Confirm anything that matters with your state licensing board.

Questions

Do I need the contractor’s bid to use it?: No. Without one you still get the range, which is useful before you start calling contractors at all.
Is it a subscription?: No. One payment, one report, no account.
Does it cover kitchens?: Not yet. Bathrooms only, done properly, rather than everything done vaguely.
How current is the cost data?: Built on 2025 studies. Material and labor costs have been climbing through 2025 and 2026 — tariffs on imported vanities among them — so if anything the older figures run low. The report tells you what it is based on.

Check your bid