How we compare

Three different comparisons

Designers are compared on their design package and fees; engineers on the structural work and visits covered; builders on construction scope, price, allowances and programme. Technical drawings may be included in a designer’s package or separately quoted.

What is available in the pilot

Save an assessment, request the service you need and add real quotations to your project. The team reviews requests first. Public postcode search builds a shortlist from researched business sources across the UK. Researched listings are clearly labelled and are not CYB-approved recommendations. Approved firms have current checks, confirmed district coverage and a signed success-only agreement. A shortlist is not an offer of service: availability and suitability must be confirmed, and verified customer reviews are not available. One uploaded quotation is one offer, not a market comparison.

How a quotation becomes a breakdown

You or the team record the price, VAT treatment, scope, exclusions, allowances and timings from an original document. The original remains downloadable. Unknown items say “not stated”. Allowances are displayed but never automatically added to the quoted total.

A team-reviewed breakdown means its transcription has been reviewed against the original. It does not mean the provider, insurance or quality of workmanship has been verified. Ask for clarification of every material difference before choosing.

Ordering, relationships and fees

Best match places CYB-approved firms with exact confirmed postcode-district coverage first. Within that group, your optional build budget orders firms by a stated range that fits, then an unknown range, then a range that does not fit; availability, office district and company name break ties. Approval and expiry checks apply on every search. Research listings follow: the same UK nation first, then approximate straight-line distance between the postcode district centre and a published postcode or locality/service-area centre. This is not your exact address, travel distance or a guarantee of coverage. Large-user postal districts have no geographic centre and use the wider postal area, region or nation. Up to ten researched firms are shortlisted, with wider UK options where a service has fewer local listings. Five results appear per page. Company-name sorting reorders this shortlist; it does not search every firm alphabetically. Confirmed-only availability and remote-design filters exclude unknown details. Missing details stay unknown. Position is not a quality score and cannot be bought.

CYB-approved firms have agreed a referral fee payable after receiving customer payment. Researched listings do not imply any agreement, endorsement, verified qualifications or insurance. No business pays for a position. Confirm the firm’s qualifications, insurance, relevant experience, service area and terms before appointing it. Approval is a review of evidence, not a guarantee of workmanship or suitability for your project.

Offers appear in the order added by default. You can sort stated VAT-inclusive totals; offers with unclear VAT appear last. Sorting is not a recommendation that the cheapest offer is suitable or comparable in scope. There are no sponsored positions in this pilot.

Quotes record whether a provider is independent, connected to the team, or has an unconfirmed relationship. Free use of the assessment and comparison does not make professional or building services free. Any separately supplied service requires an agreed fee. There are no automated provider lead charges or subscriptions in this pilot.

Local guidance and estimates

The project assessment requires a full postcode and address; directory searches also accept a postcode district. In the assessment, the postcode supports council and nation routing; your typed street address and property-specific restrictions are not automatically verified. The cost result is a published-benchmark allowance with stated regional assumptions, not a local contractor quote. Read how to build an extension budget.

Standards we are working to

The CMA’s comparison-tool principles explain the importance of clear coverage, ranking, commercial relationships and useful information. You can report a comparison error or complaint through our contact page.