Comparison guide · Independent
Livspace vs a local contractor: how to compare the two quotations
A contractor quotation is usually shorter and lower, and a brand quotation is usually longer and higher. Neither fact tells you the final cost. What decides it is how much scope and specification each document actually commits to in writing.
Scopewise takes no commission from any vendor, so this page names no winner. It gives you the method, and the same method we use when we audit a pair of quotes.
What each quotation usually looks like
National full-service interior brand
Livspace
Typically a designer-prepared quotation built module by module, with woodwork priced on shutter or cabinet area and services listed separately.
- Check whether the board core is named per module rather than once in a general note
- Confirm which hardware brand and series the soft-close fittings belong to
- Ask which services, such as false ceiling, painting and electrical, sit inside the number
Independent carpenter or turnkey contractor
a local contractor
Often a short quotation on running feet or a lumpsum per room, with material bought against approvals during execution.
- Insist on board brand, grade and thickness in the quotation itself
- Fix the hardware brand and count before work starts, not during
- Agree the measurement method, running feet or square feet, in writing
Quotation formats change over time and vary by designer, city and project. Treat the above as what we commonly see, and verify everything against the document in your hand.
The eight axes to normalise before you compare totals
| Axis | Ask both vendors | Why it moves the number |
|---|---|---|
| Measurement basis | Is woodwork priced on shutter area, carcass area, running feet or per module? | The same wardrobe can differ by 30 percent on paper purely from the basis used. |
| Unit count | Does each quote carry the same number of wardrobes, lofts, drawers and units? | A missing loft or crockery unit is the single most common source of a large gap. |
| Core material | Is the board named by brand, grade and thickness, per module? | BWP, MR ply, HDHMR and MDF are different products at different prices and lifespans. |
| Finish specification | Laminate, membrane, acrylic or PU, and on which surfaces? | Finish moves the shutter rate more than any other single choice. |
| Hardware | Which brand and series, and how many hinges, channels and lift-ups? | Branded soft-close hardware costs roughly double generic, and quotes rarely count units. |
| Services included | False ceiling, painting, electrical points, plumbing shifts, civil work? | These are the items most often outside the headline number and inside the final bill. |
| Exclusions | Is there a written exclusions list, or only what the quote happens to omit? | Anything unnamed becomes an extra later, priced without competition. |
| Commercial terms | Advance percentage, milestone triggers, GST treatment, timeline, warranty scope? | Interiors are prepaid. Terms decide what the project costs after you have paid. |
A three-step method you can run yourself
- 01
Build one scope list
Write every unit in the home once: each wardrobe, loft, kitchen run, TV unit, ceiling area and painted surface. Then tick which quote prices which unit. The unticked boxes are your real gap.
- 02
Convert to one basis
Restate both quotes on the same measurement. If one quotes running feet and the other square feet, convert using the actual height. Only then can two rates be placed beside each other.
- 03
Price the missing scope
Take each unpriced item and apply a market rate for your city. Add it to that vendor's total. The document that looked cheaper often does not stay cheaper.
Or upload both and let us do it
We extract every line, normalise the basis, score both documents out of 100 across eight weighted parameters and price the scope one vendor left out. Your first score is free.