How to compare clearing quotes properly

Three quotes for the same land are usually three quotes for different work. Normalise the scope first; comparing the prices before that is comparing nothing.

Published by the Land Clearing Authority editorial team · Last revised 2026-07-29 · Editorial policy · Corrections

Who this is for

Anyone holding two or more quotes and unsure how to choose
People whose quotes differ by more than they can account for
Landowners tempted to take the lowest number

The short answer

Work in three passes. First, normalise: establish what each quote actually covers on the five gates. Second, fill the gaps: go back to each contractor with the same questions. Third, compare — but compare scope, terms, and clarity, not just price.

A quote that is cheap because it excludes the expensive half of the job is not cheap. It is a different job.

What changes the answer

How complete each quote is to begin with
Whether the quotes assume the same material fate
Whether they assume the same below-grade treatment
Whether they assume the same finished condition
How each handles change and unknowns
Whether they are pricing the same area

Pass one: normalise against the five gates

Before any price comparison, build a grid. Down the side, the five gates. Across the top, the quotes. Fill in what each says.

The blanks are the point. A gate a quote does not address is a gate that contractor has filled with their own assumption, and their price reflects that assumption rather than your project.

The normalisation grid
Gate	What to extract from each quote
What is there	What area, what vegetation, what is being kept
Material fate	Left, chipped, piled, hauled, burned — and who pays disposal
Removal depth	Surface only, ground, removed, grubbed — and over which areas
Access	What equipment, what route, what happens if conditions change
End use	What the ground is specified to be on the last day

Pass two: fill the gaps with identical questions

Go back to every contractor with the same list. Not different questions tailored to each quote — the same list.

This matters because it keeps the answers comparable, and because it is fair. A contractor who quoted completely should not be disadvantaged by being asked more questions than one who quoted vaguely.

It also surfaces something useful: how each responds. Clear, specific, prompt answers are a signal. Defensiveness about being asked to itemise is a different signal.

Pass three: compare on four axes, not one

Only now does price mean anything, and it is one of four things worth weighing.

Scope completeness — how much of the project each quote actually covers
Scope clarity — how much of it you could hold them to in a disagreement
Terms — deposit, change orders, what happens when conditions differ
Price — for the scope as normalised, not as originally quoted

What an unusually low quote usually means

Sometimes it means a contractor is local, has equipment sitting idle, and wants the work. That is real and worth having.

More often it means one of a small number of things: the scope is narrower than you think, the material handling is excluded, below-grade work is not in it, the change-order terms are loose enough to make the number provisional, or the contractor has not seen the site.

The way to tell is to normalise. If a quote is still cheapest after every gap is filled at the same scope, it is genuinely cheapest.

What an unusually high quote usually means

Often that it includes something the others do not, and reading it carefully is the fastest way to discover what the others omitted.

A high quote that itemises disposal fees, erosion control, and below-grade work has told you what the cheap quotes left out. That makes it useful even if you do not accept it.

It can also mean the contractor does not want the job and has priced accordingly, or that they have seen something on the site the others did not. Both are worth asking about directly.

Getting quotes that are comparable in the first place

The work in this guide is largely avoidable. If every contractor is given the same written description, the quotes arrive comparable.

Write the five gates down. State the area, the vegetation, the material fate you want, the below-grade treatment you want, the access constraints, and the end use. Hand the same document to everyone.

It takes an hour and saves the entire normalisation exercise.

What drives the cost

Cost drivers on this kind of project
Driver	Effect
Scope differences between quotes	The usual explanation for large gaps. Normalise before concluding anything about price.
Excluded disposal fees	A common source of a quote that looks cheaper than it is.
Below-grade work in or out	Often the single largest scope difference between two quotes.
Change-order terms	Loose terms make a quoted price provisional in ways a fixed scope is not.
Site visit or no site visit	A quote written without seeing the ground is an estimate of an assumption.
Mobilisation and minimums	Distance-driven and largely fixed, which affects small jobs disproportionately.

Common mistakes

Comparing prices before normalising scope
Taking the lowest number without asking what it excludes
Asking each contractor different questions
Not asking why the high quote is high
Requesting quotes without giving everyone the same written description

Questions to ask a contractor

Which of the five gates does this quote address, and which does it assume?
What would you add to this if I wanted the same finish as [the other quote]?
Have you walked the site, and what did you see that changed your number?
What is your change-order process if the ground is different from expected?
What in this quote is an estimate rather than a fixed figure?

What to do next

Build the normalisation grid from the quotes you hold
Send every contractor the same list of gap-filling questions
Re-rank on completeness and clarity before price
Use the comparison tool to produce a printable side-by-side summary

Questions people actually ask

How many quotes should I get for land clearing?

Three is the usual advice and it holds up here, mainly because the third one is what tells you whether the first two are unusual. More than three has diminishing returns unless the project is large or the quotes are wildly inconsistent.

Should I always take the lowest quote?

Only after normalising. A low quote for a narrower scope is not a better deal — it is a different purchase. Once every quote covers the same work, the lowest one is genuinely the lowest.

What if the quotes are wildly different?

That is normal in this field and it almost always means the scopes differ. Check material handling and below-grade work first; they account for most large gaps. If the scopes really are identical, ask each contractor what they see that the others might not.

Do contractors mind being asked to itemise?

Good ones do not — it is a normal request and it protects them as much as you. A strong negative reaction to being asked what is included is itself useful information about how the project would go.