Xactimate Alternatives: Competitors and Who Each Fits

The main Xactimate alternative for insurance claims is Cotality Estimate, the product formerly sold as Symbility. For other work, the options are PowerClaim for low-cost claims estimating, XactRemodel, Clear Estimates or magicplan for retail remodeling, and Hover or a roofing CRM for roofs. Features matter less than who pays the claim: if the carrier writes in Xactimate, you can drop it for retail jobs, but you will still receive and answer Xactimate estimates on insurance work.

Prices below are the vendors’ own published figures as of November 2026.

On insurance jobs, the payer picks the format

On a claim, the contractor doesn’t get a free choice of software. The carrier, or the third-party administrator (TPA) that handles claims for it, writes its estimate in its own platform and sends you the result.

Verisk says 80% of the top property insurance carriers use and trust its property solutions, which include Xactimate. The main rival platform is Cotality’s Claims Workspace and Estimate. On that platform, carriers and TPAs create claims and assign them to contractors and adjusting firms, who accept the assignment and write their estimate there.

On a real file:

• In Xactimate, the adjuster and your estimator use the same price list and the same CAT/SEL codes. CAT/SEL codes are the category and selector codes that identify each line item, such as DRY for drywall. A reviewer can put your supplement next to their estimate and compare it line by line.

• From another tool, you send a PDF with your own descriptions and unit prices. The desk adjuster often has to match each of your lines to theirs by hand. Every line that doesn’t match becomes a question, and every question slows the payment.

In a 2022 ContractorTalk thread, an electrician whose insurance bid came in about a third above the Xactimate figure from the general contractor and the assessor asked for a cheaper program that would give a closer number. Most replies told him to stand by his own price or to add the line items Xactimate estimates often miss, rather than recommending a replacement.

So the useful question is not “what replaces Xactimate?” It is “which of my jobs need Xactimate, and how little time can I spend in it on those jobs?”

Xactimate alternatives at a glance

Insurance-grade alternatives

Cotality Estimate (formerly Symbility)

This is Xactimate’s main rival on the carrier side. The naming has changed twice. In December 2024, CoreLogic relaunched Mobile Claims as CoreLogic Claims Estimate. Then CoreLogic rebranded as Cotality in March 2025. The product page now calls it Estimate, but the login still lives at symbility.net and the support site at symbilityproperty.com. That’s why many people on claims still call it Symbility.

Facts that matter if you’re a contractor, all from Cotality’s support site:

• Contractors sign up as a “Local service provider” in Claims Workspace.

• An Estimate license costs $95 per user per month. A view-and-review Workspace license costs $20. You also pay $15 for every assignment you accept, even if you never write an estimate on it. This pricing took effect with July 2026 bills.

• The desktop Estimate app runs on Windows only. There is no Mac version.

• A free trial lets you build temporary claims, but you can’t print them or accept real assignments.

On the product page, Cotality lists an iOS app with LiDAR room scanning on Pro iOS devices, AI voice estimating, offline sync, and a pricing database it updates monthly.

Xactimate vs Symbility

You rarely choose between these two. Your carrier mix makes the choice for you. If one of your program carriers assigns in Cotality, you need an Estimate seat for that work. You keep Xactimate for everyone else. Companies with program carriers on both platforms need seats in both. The two don’t share a project format. Xactimate projects travel as an ESX file, and a sketch app like magicplan exports ESX for Xactimate but FML for Symbility.

PowerClaim

PowerClaim sells two claims estimators: PowerClaim Estimator, which runs in a browser, and PowerClaim XML, a Windows desktop program first released in 1998. Its own site says carriers, independent adjusters, public adjusters and contractors use it. PowerClaim Estimator uses pricing from the Craftsman Book Company, updated quarterly, or your own custom database. It imports EagleView roof measurements and magicplan floor plans.

As of November 2026, PowerClaim lists Estimator at $170 a month or $1,300 a year and XML at $140 a month or $1,099 a year. It offers a fully functional 7-day trial. Its site doesn’t mention exporting to Xactimate. It fits adjusters and carriers whose recipients accept a PDF.

Cheaper ways to stay in Xactimate

Until January 2027, Verisk sells Xactimate Standard, on one platform of your choice, and Xactimate Pro, on desktop, online and mobile. Verisk says the two tiers merge into a single Xactimate license in January 2027. For current prices and terms, see our Xactimate cost breakdown.

Alternatives for retail and remodeling work

On retail jobs the homeowner is the payer, so you can use whatever produces a clear bid.

• XactRemodel is Verisk’s estimator for remodelers, with ZIP-code pricing “backed by Xactimate.” The Standard tier covers estimating, floor plans, takeoffs and QuickBooks. Pro adds scheduling, CRM and Hover integration. It has a 7-day free trial. It’s a good fit if you want the same pricing source as your insurance work.

• Clear Estimates has a database of more than 13,000 line items, over 400 templates, and labor and material rates it updates quarterly. Standard costs $59 a month billed yearly or $79 month to month, and the trial lasts 30 days.

• magicplan lets you scan a floor plan with a phone and price it with its PRO Estimator, using your own price lists and exporting to PDF or XLS. PRO plans also export the sketch, dimensions and photos to Xactimate as an ESX in the US and Canada. For restoration teams, magicplan often sits next to Xactimate rather than replacing it.

Roof-only work: measurement-led tools

Roofers usually get the most out of leaving Xactimate behind, because a retail roof bid mostly comes down to measurements times your own prices.

• Hover turns 3D roof and siding measurements into estimates with material and labor sections, then into proposals. On claims, its Xactimate integration sends roof measurements, sketches and photos into the Xactimate project.

• EagleView offers an ESX file with its roof reports through an EagleView One subscription. That ESX feeds Xactimate. It doesn’t replace it.

• Roofing CRMs build the estimate from the measurement report. AccuLynx fills estimates from EagleView, Hover, GAF QuickMeasure and Geospan reports. JobNimbus ships manufacturer templates for Owens Corning, GAF and TAMKO. Roofr turns its $13 flat-rate reports into branded proposals.

On insurance roofs, Hover and EagleView send data into Xactimate. They don’t take its place.

Is there a free Xactimate alternative?

Not one that does what Xactimate does on a claim. No free tool gives you Verisk’s price list, CAT/SEL codes, or a native ESX the adjuster can open. Your real options:

1. A spreadsheet. It’s free and works for small retail jobs. You lose local unit pricing, a line-by-line match with the carrier, and depreciation math: RCV (replacement cost value, the cost to replace new) minus depreciation gives ACV.

2. Free trials. Clear Estimates gives you 30 days. PowerClaim and XactRemodel give you 7 days. Hover gives you 3 free projects and magicplan gives you 2. Cotality’s trial lets you build temporary claims only.

3. Xactimate itself. Verisk’s Xactimate pages don’t list a free trial. Crest LLC, a certified trainer, says it can set up a limited 30-day version for students who buy its self-paced courses. See our certification guide.

Be careful with tools that produce “Xactimate-style” PDFs with category codes printed on them. A PDF that looks like Xactimate is still a PDF. The adjuster can’t open it as a project, so the line-by-line matching problem above stays.

Where ClaimsFlow fits, and where it doesn’t

ClaimsFlow is not an Xactimate alternative. You still need Xactimate to open and work in what it produces.

What it removes is the most manual part of working in Xactimate: re-keying someone else’s PDF estimate before you can supplement it or review it. On a large estimate, that re-keying can take 2 to 5 hours. ClaimsFlow converts the PDF into an ESX, which is Xactimate’s project file. The ESX includes the project tree (the structure of rooms and areas), line items, quantities, prices, O&P, depreciation, F9 notes (the line-item notes adjusters read) and the interior Sketch. Across all projects, 97.6% of line items convert, and the median conversion takes 99 seconds. That’s how a smaller team keeps up with supplements and contractor estimate reviews. If you’re comparing converters, see our PDF-to-ESX converter comparison.

How to decide

1. Insurance-heavy restoration. Keep Xactimate. Cut the hours you spend in it with templates, a shared line item code list and PDF-to-ESX conversion.

2. Some program carriers on Cotality. Add Cotality Estimate seats for the estimators who handle those carriers. Don’t drop Xactimate.

3. Mostly retail remodeling with the odd claim. A general estimator such as XactRemodel, Clear Estimates or magicplan can work. Hand claim estimates to someone who runs Xactimate.

4. Roof-only. Use a measurement-led tool or a roofing CRM for retail. On insurance roofs, send EagleView’s ESX or Hover’s measurements into Xactimate.

5. Independent or public adjuster on a budget. PowerClaim can work if the people receiving your estimate accept a PDF.

FAQ

What is the best Xactimate alternative?

For insurance claims, Cotality Estimate (formerly Symbility) is the main carrier-side rival to Xactimate. For retail remodeling, XactRemodel and Clear Estimates are solid choices. For roofing, Hover or a roofing CRM fits better. The best choice depends on who pays for the job.

Who are Xactimate’s competitors?

Cotality Estimate is the direct competitor on the carrier side. PowerClaim competes for independent and public adjusters and carriers. Review sites like G2 also list job management tools such as Jobber and Simpro, but those manage jobs and invoices, not claim estimates.

Is there a free alternative to Xactimate?

No free tool produces native Xactimate estimates with Verisk pricing. A spreadsheet works for small retail jobs. Free trials from Clear Estimates, PowerClaim, XactRemodel, Hover and magicplan let you test before you pay.

Xactimate vs Symbility: which should a contractor use?

Use whichever your carriers assign in. If most of your carriers write in Xactimate, you need Xactimate. Add Cotality Estimate seats only if program carriers send work through Cotality’s Claims Workspace.

What are the best alternatives to Xactimate for contractors?

For retail jobs, use a general or roofing estimator: XactRemodel, Clear Estimates, magicplan, Hover, AccuLynx, JobNimbus or Roofr. For insurance jobs, keep a way to receive and answer Xactimate estimates, because the carrier’s estimate will arrive in that format.

Can I send an insurer an estimate that wasn’t written in Xactimate?

Usually, as a PDF. But the adjuster typically has to match it to their Xactimate estimate by hand, which slows review and invites pricing disputes. Ask the carrier or TPA first.

Try ClaimsFlow on your next estimate

If you’re keeping Xactimate, make the time in it count. Upload the next carrier or contractor PDF to ClaimsFlow and get an ESX you can open in Xactimate, with a Conversion Report flagging any line item that didn’t convert. New accounts get 150 line items free. After that it’s $0.35 per converted line item, with no monthly commitment.

Xactimate and XactRemodel are trademarks of Verisk Analytics, Inc. Other product names are trademarks of their owners. ClaimsFlow is not affiliated with or endorsed by any company named here.