A first budget before the first drawing
Floor area, the kind of building, the level of finish, fees and a contingency. An order of magnitude for the first conversation with the client.
A first budget, early
The first question a client asks is what it will cost, and the honest answer at that point is an order of magnitude. This estimator gives one: floor area times a rate, adjusted for the level of finish, with design fees and a contingency on top.
The presets are starting points for a house, apartments, an office, retail and a renovation. Rates move with the country, the city and the year, so replace the preset with the cost per square meter your contractors are quoting now.
Keep the contingency. Ten percent is the usual allowance at concept stage, and it shrinks as the drawings firm up. A budget without it is a budget that will be exceeded.
Use the all in cost per square meter to compare options quickly: a bigger house at a basic finish against a smaller one at a high finish, before any of them is drawn.
Other free tools
- Scale ConverterConvert lengths between a scaled drawing and real size at 1:50, 1:100, 1:200 and more, in metric or imperial. Free, no sign up.
- Unit ConverterConvert length, area and volume between metric and imperial units: meters, feet, square meters, square feet, cubic meters, cubic yards and more.
- Stair and Ramp CalculatorWork out risers, riser height, tread depth and total run for a stair, or the length and landings for an accessible ramp, from the total rise.
- Project Timeline EstimatorEstimate a building project timeline phase by phase, from brief and concept to construction and handover, by floor area and complexity.
- Material Quantity EstimatorEstimate concrete volume, brick and block counts, paint litres and tile counts from dimensions, with a waste allowance. Free, no sign up.
- Roof Pitch CalculatorWork out a roof pitch in degrees, as a ratio and as a gradient from rise and run, with the rafter length. Free, no sign up.
- Floor Area Ratio CalculatorCalculate the allowed floor area, footprint and stories from site area, floor area ratio and site coverage. Free, for early feasibility.
- Window to Wall Ratio CalculatorCalculate the window to wall ratio of a facade and check daylight with a glazing to floor area rule of thumb. Free, no sign up.
- Parking CalculatorCalculate parking spaces and parking area for housing, offices, retail and hotels at common ratios, with accessible spaces. Free, no sign up.
- Occupancy CalculatorCalculate occupant load from floor area and use, with the number of exits and total exit width it needs. Free, for a first check of a plan.
- Sun Angle CalculatorCalculate sun altitude and azimuth for a latitude, date and hour, with shadow length, for shading studies and renders with correct light.
- Print Size CheckerCheck whether an image has enough pixels to print at a given size: resolution in dpi, a quality reading, and the largest print at 300 dpi.
- Aspect Ratio PlannerPlan a crop to a target aspect ratio from an image size: the exact pixel dimensions that fit and the pixels lost on each side. Free, no sign up.
- File Size EstimatorEstimate image file size from pixel dimensions and format, JPEG, WebP, PNG or TIFF, and check whether it fits an email. Free, no sign up.
The numbers are done. Now the image.
Turn the sketch, plan or model into a render the client can react to.