--- title: The National Estimator Reviews meta_title: 'The National Estimator Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Features | G2' meta_description: Filter reviews by the users' company size, role or industry to find out how The National Estimator works for a business like yours. aggregate_rating: rating_value: 2.5 review_count: 2 scale: '5' date_modified: '2026-02-01' parent_category: name: Construction Management url: https://www.g2.com/categories/construction-management --- # The National Estimator Reviews **Vendor:** Craftsman Book Company **Category:** [Bid Management Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/bid-management) **Average Rating:** 2.5/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 2 ## About The National Estimator Craftsman Site License is a Windows-based estimating software that allows you to have databases for new construction, remodeling, concrete & masonry, and more with the ability to export to Excel or QuickBooks Pro. ## The National Estimator Reviews ### 1. National Electric Estimator **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Julius B. | Technical Project Manager, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Current User:** The reviewer uploaded a screenshot or submitted the review in-app verifying them as current user. **Validated Reviewer:** Validated through LinkedIn **Incentivized:** This reviewer was offered a nominal gift card as thank you for completing this review. **Source: G2 invite:** Invitation from G2. This reviewer was offered a nominal gift card as thank you for completing this review. **Reviewed Date:** October 27, 2021 **What do you like best about The National Estimator?** Our company uses the national electric estimator to set the default labor costs in shipbuilding. It's a great starting point, and together with our companies experience, we manage to offer the best labor price for our possible clients. **What do you dislike about The National Estimator?** The digital application that comes with a book is clumsy and hard to navigate. **What problems is The National Estimator solving and how is that benefiting you?** Works as a great starting point when estimating new or untested labors. Detailed descriptions help us understand why some work might take longer than anticipated. ### 2. Not user friendly in the least bit **Rating:** 0.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Lauren T. | Owner, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Validated Reviewer:** Validated through LinkedIn **Source: Organic:** Organic review. This review was written entirely without invitation or incentive from G2, a seller, or an affiliate. **Reviewed Date:** December 24, 2019 **What do you like best about The National Estimator?** I liked it had many updates throughout the year and it had pricing for many products and job positions. It also had a way to adjust the pricing by location. I don't recommend this to anyone and it is very hard to find anything to like about this product **What do you dislike about The National Estimator?** I disliked just about everything about the program, from the way it looked like something from windows 95 to trying to do something simple like price a job. Unless you read the directions while you are working or have a print out of them accessible it is often difficult to remember what to do or how to read what is printed out. I am very computer literate and often help other people with their computer problems. The fact that I dread every moment that I need to use this product because I know it will take me a lot longer than if I were look up each product online myself. **Recommendations to others considering The National Estimator:** Unless you understand and use Craftsman other estimator books and services stay far far away from this product. It was a complete time suck and waste of money. I don't see the benefit of learning this archaic system that is often counter-intuitive. When you need a separate chart or guide to read what is produced there is something that needs to be reworked with your product. **What problems is The National Estimator solving and how is that benefiting you?** The only problem national estimator solved was it confirmed I wasn't pricing my labor to high in my estimates. Which is something I often worried about when submitting bids to clients. Other than that it was a significant time suck that I often priced materials too low and I would've lost a lot of money if I used the estimates as is. It essentially doubled the time it took for me to put together an estimate for a job. There aren't any real-life benefits that I have found using this product. I find it horrible and it needs a complete overhaul if they want me to purchase this product again. ## The National Estimator Discussions - [What is The National Estimator used for?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-is-the-national-estimator-used-for) - [View The National Estimator pricing details and edition comparison](https://www.g2.com/products/the-national-estimator/reviews?section=pricing&secure%5Bexpires_at%5D=2026-09-18+15%3A58%3A38+-0500&secure%5Bsession_id%5D=fa7557c4-e0c0-4057-822f-d1fb93075685&secure%5Btoken%5D=0d3d345bed0bb65aea3a60136e6a514bd7b0d96ade1577a48959c511ec8c4ef9&format=llm_user) ## The National Estimator Features **Additional Functionality** - Commercial - Quality Control Management - Reporting & Statistics - For AEC Industry - Timesheet Management - CRM - For Residential - Real-Time Data - Customizable Reports - Contractor Management - Scheduling - Financial Management - Inventory Management - Mobile Access - Offline Access - Purchase Order Management - Supplier Management - Change Order Management - API - Activity Dashboard - RFI & Submittals - AI Copilot - Subcontractor Management - Status Tracking - Incident Reporting - Bid Management - Permit Management - Materials Management - Access Controls/Permissions - Activity Tracking - Real-Time Updates - Collaboration Tools - Document Management - Equipment Tracking - Contract/License Management - Generative AI - Task Management - Third-Party Integrations - Project Management - Risk Assessment - Accounting Integration - Audit Trail - Compliance Tracking - Building Information Model - Job Costing - Multiple Projects - Workflow Management - Estimating - Budget Tracking **Document Management** - Proposal Creation - Bid Management - Bid Comparisons - Bid Management - Templates - Bid Management - Bid Invitations - Bid Management - Communication Management **Operations** - Masonry Design - Masonry Estimating - Business Operations **Operations** - Earthworks Design - Earthworks Estimating - Business Operations - Project Estimating **Qualifications** - Contactor Database - Bid Management - Compliance - Bid Management - Contact Database - Bid Management - Change Order Management - Invoice Management - Contract/License Management - Cost Database **Resource Management** - Supply Management - Field Service Management - Contractor Management **Resource Management** - Supply Management - Field Service Management - Contractor Management - Workflow Management - Document Management - Task Management - Bid Management **Additional Functionality** - Collaboration Tools - Multiple Format Support - Search/Filter - Quotes/Estimates - Document Storage - For AEC Industry - Trench Calculator - Third-Party Integrations - Job Costing - Generative AI - Cost Tracking - Project Tracking - 2D Drawing - Customizable Reports - Activity Dashboard - Reporting/Analytics - Cut & Fill Estimates - Annotations - Labor Cost Reporting - CAD Tools - Takeoff - Cost Database - 3D Modeling - API - Job Scheduling - Customizable Templates - Electronic Plans - Bill of Materials - AI Copilot - Geographic Maps - Data Import/Export **Construction Management** - Construction Software Integration - Bid Management - Historical Data - Bid Management - Project Management - Bid Management - Task Management - Supplier Management - RFP Management - Workflow Management - Document Management - Multiple Projects - Accounting Integration **Additional Functionality** - API - Collaboration Tools - AI Copilot - For AEC Industry - Customizable Reports - Reporting & Statistics - Approval Process Control - Generative AI - Activity Dashboard - Forecasting - Forms Creation & Design - File Sharing - Version Control - Alerts/Notifications - Document Storage - Mobile Access - Quotes/Estimates - Job Costing - Access Control - Multiple User Accounts - Proposal Generation - Project Tracking - Data Import/Export - Takeoff ## Top The National Estimator Alternatives - [Procore](https://www.g2.com/products/procore/reviews) - 4.6/5.0 (4,268 reviews) - [Autodesk Forma (formerly Autodesk Construction Cloud)](https://www.g2.com/products/autodesk-forma-formerly-autodesk-construction-cloud/reviews) - 4.4/5.0 (5,425 reviews) - [Jobber](https://www.g2.com/products/jobber/reviews) - 4.6/5.0 (519 reviews)