Quotation vs Estimate vs Proposal: Which One Should You Send?

Three documents, three different commitments. Mixing them up either undersells your work or commits you to a price you cannot honor.

Estimate

An informed approximation. You believe the project will cost $X, but the final price could move. Estimates are appropriate when scope is fuzzy (renovation work, debugging, exploratory consulting). They are not legally binding.

Quotation (quote)

A firm, fixed price for a defined scope, valid for a stated period (e.g. 30 days). Once the client accepts a quotation in writing, it becomes part of the contract — you cannot quietly raise the price.

Proposal

A broader document that includes pricing plus the narrative: problem statement, approach, deliverables, timeline, team, references. Used in agency/consulting sales where the buyer needs more than a price line to decide.

How to choose

• Scope is uncertain → estimate.
• Scope is defined and price is fixed → quotation.
• Buyer needs to be sold on the approach, not just price → proposal.

Always include these fields

• Issue date and validity date
• Itemized scope and pricing
• Assumptions and exclusions
• Payment terms and deposit
• Acceptance signature block

Need to send one today? Build a clean quotation in two minutes with the free quotation generator. Convert it to an invoice in one click when accepted.