Machine shop and job shop estimating software: how each kind builds the estimate
By Touko Ursin, co-founder of QuotedPart
Comparing quoting tools? Try QuotedPart on one of your own parts first: drop a STEP or PDF below, no account.
Sample: Box housing, $852.09 each at 10 on default US rates. No account., no account
Short answer: Machine shop estimating software builds a part's cost in one of four ways: from a library of cycle time models (Costimator, KipwareQTE, Micro Estimating), from the 3D model (Toolpath, Machine Research, Asytra Quote, Spanflug MAKE), from the drawing and the RFQ email (CloudNC Quote Agent, Uptool, QuotedPart), or from routings in the ERP (JobBOSS², ProShop). Published prices start at $40 per seat a month; checked October 30 to November 6, 2026.
We make QuotedPart, one of the tools compared here. Facts about other tools come from their own pages, with the date we read them. Something wrong? Email support@quotedpart.com.
Machine shop estimating software answers one question: how many minutes of setup and run time will this part take, and what is that worth at our rates. The tools differ in where the minutes come from. Some hold a library of cycle time models that an estimator fills in feature by feature. Some measure the 3D model. Some also read the drawing and the RFQ email, because material, finish, threads and tolerances are often only on the print. An ERP estimates from routings and past jobs. This page puts twelve named tools into those four groups with each vendor's own description and price, then works one part through: a 6061 bracket with 191 minutes of setup per lot and 13.5 minutes of cycle per piece, priced at $464.53 for one and $38.78 each for a hundred.
See how QuotedPart connects to your workflow with its API, MCP server, autonomous quoting and shop-specific learning.
Four ways software builds an estimate
The way a tool gets its minutes decides who can use it and on which RFQs. A model library is exact in the hands of an experienced estimator and slow for anyone else, because a person still decides every operation. A geometry estimator is fast and needs a clean STEP file. A drawing reader works from what buyers send most often, a PDF, and has to show its reasoning so the estimator can correct it. An ERP estimate is as good as the routing someone typed.
Most shops need more than one. The usual split is an estimating tool for new parts and the ERP's own estimate for repeats, where last time's actual hours are already on file.
| Way | Where the minutes come from | Works best when | Tools |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cycle time model library | The estimator picks operations and features; the software applies time standards | An experienced estimator quotes complex work and wants every assumption explicit | Costimator, KipwareQTE, Micro Estimating |
| From the 3D model | Geometry measured from the CAD file: volume removed, faces, holes, setups | RFQs arrive with clean STEP files, mostly milling and turning | Toolpath, Machine Research, Asytra Quote, Spanflug MAKE |
| From the drawing and the RFQ email | The print's notes and dimensions, the model where there is one, and the email's quantities | Buyers send PDFs, and material, finish and tolerances are on the print | CloudNC Quote Agent, Uptool, QuotedPart |
| From the ERP's routings | Work centers, setup and run times a person enters, or a past job's actuals | Repeat parts, and shops that estimate inside the system that runs the job | JobBOSS², ProShop ERP |
Twelve estimating tools: how each estimates and what it costs
The middle column is each vendor's own description, summarized, with the page it came from listed under this guide. Where a price is missing, the vendor does not publish one. KipwareQTE is the only one sold as a one time license; the others are subscriptions or priced on request.
QuotedPart is our product. It reads the RFQ email, the STEP file and the PDF drawing, proposes the operations on your work centers and prices every quantity in under a minute, and each number traces to a formula the estimator can open and change.
| Tool | How it estimates | Published price |
|---|---|---|
| Costimator | Feature-based cycle-time and cost models cover machining, sheet metal, laser cutting and welding; optional 3DFX reads solid-model features. | Pricing is supplied after a demo based on modules, user count and configuration; no dollar list price appears on the demo/pricing page. |
| KipwareQTE | Material, perishable tooling, labor and non-machining costs; formatted quotations with up to six quantities and an included assembly estimating module. | Kentech advertises a one-time lifetime license, two standard seats, no required internet and no maintenance fees for KipwareQTE; optional upgrades are separate choices. |
| Micro Estimating | Feature recognition, machine simulation, speeds and feeds, materials, labor, overhead and manufacturing-aware estimating | No public license price or trial length stated on the product page; prospects are asked to book a demo |
| Toolpath | Cycle time, material and cost estimates generated automatically from an uploaded model, with DFM review | Core $40 per seat a month billed annually or $50 month-to-month: cost and cycle-time estimating, quotes by email and PDF, QuickBooks integration, unlimited part uploads |
| Machine Research | Machine learning trained on the shop's job data estimates programming, setup and run time from 3D geometry | Price not published; the pricing page is a form to request pricing |
| Asytra Quote | CNC quoting from STEP files, one of three Asytra tools (Trace for assembly records, Measure for first-article reports) | Dashboard (internal calculator) $129/month, 1 user, unlimited internal quotes, STEP upload and feature detection, milling and turning cost engine, PDF quote export; extra users $10/month, DFM +$30/month |
| Spanflug MAKE | CAD models and drawings feed turning/milling estimates, programming/setup/manufacturing times, stock selection, operational plans and quote PDFs; the vendor also describes ERP export without naming a connector on this page. | Free: five parts/month and one license. Pro monthly: €399/month plus €79.80 for each additional license. Pro annual: €3,990/year plus €798/year per additional license; the headline rounds its monthly equivalent to €333. |
| CloudNC Quote Agent | The agent proposes a manufacturing plan, routing times, material and post-processing costs and inspection requirements from the shop's equipment and costs entered in Myshop; the estimator reviews, sets the price and sends a PDF | Starter: $20/month for 8 parts, $50 for 20 or $100 for 40; single user; $2.50 per part, overage $3.75 per part |
| Uptool | Connects the RFQ mailbox, reads CAD, drawings and BOMs, and drafts operations and materials; the estimator checks numbers and markup and sends on the same email thread. | Starts at $195+ a month, depending on total employees and ITAR; month-to-month, no upfront cost |
| JobBOSS² | Rate-based estimating: pre-set burden and labor rates, quantity breaks, setup and run/cycle time, outside services and sales commission; estimates priced by markup or profit percentage; quotes created from estimates in one click and converted to sales and work orders | No list price; pricing is tailored to the shop's scale and the functionality it needs |
| ProShop ERP | Template-driven quotes with the shop's labor, material and vendor costs, profit guards and quantity breaks based on actual job costs; awarded quotes convert to customer POs and work orders | Pricing customized per shop; standard and government options; request a proposal by form |
| QuotedPart | Every quantity break priced automatically in under a minute from editable setup and run-time formulas at the shop's own rates, so each number traces to a formula rather than an AI guess | $399/mo per shop ($199 for the first 20 shops), billed monthly |
Opens a sample quote (box housing, milled) with every setup, run minute and quantity break. One click, no account.
One part estimated: setup once, cycle per piece
Take a bracket in 6061-T6, 4 × 3 × 1 inch, with four through holes, two tapped 1/4-20 holes on a side, one pocket and ±0.005 inch general tolerance, milled on a 3-axis machine with no finish. QuotedPart's default US rates and a 30% markup give 191 minutes of setup for the lot (programming, three setups, first piece inspection) and 13.5 minutes of cycle per piece.
That one split explains the whole price curve. One bracket carries all the setup and is quoted at $464.53. Ten share it and come to $83.77 each. A hundred are $38.78 each and a thousand $25.27. Between one piece and a hundred the price per piece falls by more than a factor of ten while the cycle time never changes.
Use it as the test for any estimating tool, whichever way it gets its minutes: enter one part at four quantities and check that setup is charged once per lot and the run time once per piece. Then compare the minutes with a job you have actually run. These are example numbers at catalog rates, not a market price; your rates, machines and material cost replace them.
| Quantity | Setup min (lot) | Cycle min (part) | Cost per part | Quoted price per part | Lot price | Lead days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 191.0 | 13.5 | $357.33 | $464.53 | $464.53 | 11 |
| 10 | 191.0 | 13.5 | $64.44 | $83.77 | $837.70 | 11 |
| 100 | 191.0 | 13.5 | $29.83 | $38.78 | $3878.00 | 14 |
| 1000 | 191.0 | 13.5 | $19.44 | $25.27 | $25270.00 | 25 |
What to check before you buy
A trial on your own parts settles more than any feature table. Five checks, in the order they usually fail:
- Inputs: send the files as the buyer sent them. If half your RFQs are a PDF with no model, a tool that needs STEP covers half your work.
- Rates: enter your own work center rates and material prices before you judge a number. A default rate tells you nothing about your shop.
- Minutes: compare estimated setup and cycle time with five jobs you have run, two simple, two typical, one hard.
- Reasons: open one operation and see why it is that long. If you cannot explain the time to a buyer, you cannot defend the price.
- Cost at your size: seats, parts per month and contract term. The manufacturing quoting software guide works one month out for 100 parts and two estimators.
Sources and limits
Claims are dated where they can change. Product calculations are examples from the stated inputs, not a promise about a customer's quote. Competitor wording is attributed to the source shown.
Competitor prices here are labeled as a shop's reported quote, the vendor's published price or a third-party estimate; see how we source and label competitor prices.
- Costimator: Feature-based cycle-time and cost models cover machining, sheet metal, laser cutting and welding; optional 3DFX reads solid-model features. — source (checked 2026-10-30)
- Costimator: Pricing is supplied after a demo based on modules, user count and configuration; no dollar list price appears on the demo/pricing page. — source (checked 2026-10-30)
- KipwareQTE: Material, perishable tooling, labor and non-machining costs; formatted quotations with up to six quantities and an included assembly estimating module. — source (checked 2026-10-30)
- KipwareQTE: Kentech advertises a one-time lifetime license, two standard seats, no required internet and no maintenance fees for KipwareQTE; optional upgrades are separate choices. — source (checked 2026-10-30)
- KipwareQTE: KipwareCYC machining cycle-time estimates can feed KipwareQTE labor costing; KipwareCRM cost review is an optional addition. — source (checked 2026-10-30)
- Micro Estimating Systems: Feature recognition, machine simulation, speeds and feeds, materials, labor, overhead and manufacturing-aware estimating — source (checked 2026-10-30)
- Micro Estimating Systems: No public license price or trial length stated on the product page; prospects are asked to book a demo — source (checked 2026-10-30)
- Toolpath: AI quoting, DFM and CAM automation for CNC milling (their words: “AI-powered quoting & CAM automation for CNC milling”) — source (checked 2026-10-30)
- Toolpath: Cycle time, material and cost estimates generated automatically from an uploaded model, with DFM review (their words: “Cycle time, material, and cost estimates generated automatically, so quoting takes minutes.”) — source (checked 2026-10-30)
- Toolpath: Core $40 per seat a month billed annually or $50 month-to-month: cost and cycle-time estimating, quotes by email and PDF, QuickBooks integration, unlimited part uploads (their words: “Cost & cycle-time estimating”) — source (checked 2026-10-30)
- Machine Research: Machine learning trained on the shop's job data estimates programming, setup and run time from 3D geometry (their words: “Real machine learning — trained on your actual job data — analyzes 3D part geometry”) — source (checked 2026-10-30)
- Machine Research: Price not published; the pricing page is a form to request pricing (their words: “Fill out your information below and we will be in contact to provide pricing for your organization.”) — source (checked 2026-10-30)
- Asytra Quote: CNC quoting from STEP files, one of three Asytra tools (Trace for assembly records, Measure for first-article reports) (their words: “Upload a STEP file and Quote prices the part from your machines, tooling, and margins.”) — source (checked 2026-10-30)
- Asytra Quote: Dashboard (internal calculator) $129/month, 1 user, unlimited internal quotes, STEP upload and feature detection, milling and turning cost engine, PDF quote export; extra users $10/month, DFM +$30/month (their words: “Unlimited internal quotes”) — source (checked 2026-10-30)
- Asytra Quote: STEP files; a free browser viewer opens STEP, IGES and BREP (their words: “Price Every Job From the STEP File.”) — source (checked 2026-10-30)
- Spanflug MAKE: CAD models and drawings feed turning/milling estimates, programming/setup/manufacturing times, stock selection, operational plans and quote PDFs; the vendor also describes ERP export without naming a connector on this page. — source (checked 2026-10-30)
- Spanflug MAKE: Free: five parts/month and one license. Pro monthly: €399/month plus €79.80 for each additional license. Pro annual: €3,990/year plus €798/year per additional license; the headline rounds its monthly equivalent to €333. — source (checked 2026-10-30)
- CloudNC Quote Agent: The agent proposes a manufacturing plan, routing times, material and post-processing costs and inspection requirements from the shop's equipment and costs entered in Myshop; the estimator reviews, sets the price and sends a PDF (their words: “The estimator decides whether to quote, reviews and adjusts the plan and costs, sets the price and sends a PDF to the customer.”) — source (checked 2026-10-30)
- CloudNC Quote Agent: RFQs forwarded by email, or uploaded CAD files, PDFs and drawings; no specific CAD formats named (their words: “Upload CAD files, PDFs, or drawings.”) — source (checked 2026-10-30)
- CloudNC Quote Agent: Starter: $20/month for 8 parts, $50 for 20 or $100 for 40; single user; $2.50 per part, overage $3.75 per part (their words: “Single user”) — source (checked 2026-10-30)
- CloudNC Quote Agent: Professional: $200/month for 83 parts, $500 for 208 or $1,000 for 416; multi-user; $2.40 per part, overage $3.60 per part (their words: “Multi-user account management”) — source (checked 2026-10-30)
- Uptool: Connects the RFQ mailbox, reads CAD, drawings and BOMs, and drafts operations and materials; the estimator checks numbers and markup and sends on the same email thread. — source (checked 2026-10-30)
- Uptool: Starts at $195+ a month, depending on total employees and ITAR; month-to-month, no upfront cost — source (checked 2026-10-30)
- JobBOSS²: Rate-based estimating: pre-set burden and labor rates, quantity breaks, setup and run/cycle time, outside services and sales commission; estimates priced by markup or profit percentage; quotes created from estimates in one click and converted to sales and work orders (their words: “Quickly create quotes from estimates with a single mouse click.”) — source (checked 2026-11-06)
- JobBOSS²: No list price; pricing is tailored to the shop's scale and the functionality it needs (their words: “Our pricing is tailored to the specific scale of your manufacturing operations and the depth of functionality required.”) — source (checked 2026-10-30)
- ProShop ERP: Template-driven quotes with the shop's labor, material and vendor costs, profit guards and quantity breaks based on actual job costs; awarded quotes convert to customer POs and work orders (their words: “convert to work orders in one click. No rekeying or lost margins.”) — source (checked 2026-11-06)
- ProShop ERP: Pricing customized per shop; standard and government options; request a proposal by form (their words: “ProShop’s manufacturing software pricing is customized to match the unique needs of your shop.”) — source (checked 2026-10-30)
- QuotedPart: $399/mo per shop ($199 for the first 20 shops), billed monthly; 14-day trial, every feature, no card. STEP/IGES models measured in the browser, DXF flat patterns, PDF drawings read; a part can be priced from the PDF drawing alone. Every quantity break priced automatically in under a minute from editable setup and run-time formulas at the shop's own rates, so each number traces to a formula rather than an AI guess. — source (checked 2026-11-11)
- The bracket is a fictional part. Its minutes and prices are QuotedPart's own calculation at the default US catalog rates and a 30% markup, with no finish, freight or tax: an example of the method, not a supplier quote or a market average.
Questions
What is machine shop estimating software?
Software that works out the setup time, run time, material and outside costs of a machined part and turns them into a price at the shop's rates. Quoting software adds the quote document, the customer and the follow up; many products do both.
What is the best estimating software for a small job shop?
It depends on what buyers send you. With clean STEP files and mostly milling, Toolpath Core is $40 per seat a month billed annually and Asytra Quote's dashboard is $129 a month. If RFQs arrive as PDF drawings by email, look at tools that read the print: CloudNC Quote Agent (from $20 a month for 8 parts), Uptool (from $195 a month) or QuotedPart ($399/month per shop ($199 for the first 20 shops)). Prices as each vendor's page stated them on October 30, 2026.
Can estimating software work from a PDF drawing with no 3D model?
Some can. CloudNC Quote Agent and Uptool say they read drawings, and QuotedPart prices a part from the PDF drawing alone. Toolpath and Asytra Quote start from a 3D model.
How accurate is automated estimating?
As accurate as the rates and time standards behind it, which is why the check is your own past jobs. Run five parts you know the hours for, compare setup and cycle minutes operation by operation, and correct the formulas or rates where they differ.
How much does estimating software for a machine shop cost?
Published prices on October 30, 2026: Toolpath Core $40 per seat a month billed annually, Asytra Quote $129 a month, CloudNC Quote Agent Professional $200 a month for 83 parts, Uptool from $195 a month, Spanflug MAKE Pro €399 a month. QuotedPart is $399/month per shop ($199 for the first 20 shops) with a 14-day trial. Costimator, Micro Estimating and Machine Research price on request, and KipwareQTE is a one time license.
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