Bid leveling calculator
Enter three to six subcontractor bids for one scope package, mark which scope items each bidder excluded, give those items a plug value, add bond and tax where a bidder left them out, and read the leveled comparison: the same scope, priced by everyone.
You leveled a few bids by hand. Mirage reads all of them.
Mirage reads subcontractor bids, matches every line item to your scope, and flags exclusions, missing scope and pricing gaps before you award. Send us a past bid package and we send back a plan, no commitment.
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How to use it
- List the package scope one item per line, from the drawings and the specification sections of the package, and give every item a plug value.
- Enter each bidder's base bid exactly as submitted, and say whether its bond and sales tax are included.
- For each item and each bidder, leave Included, or choose Excluded when the bid letter says so, or Clarify when the bid is silent and you will ask.
- Enter the bond and tax rates you would add to a bid that left them out, and any extra scope you want to deduct.
- Read the leveled bids, the rank and the difference to the lowest. Resolve the Clarify items with each subcontractor before award.
The formula
leveled bid = base bid + Σ plug values of excluded items
+ base bid × bond rate (when bond is not included)
+ base bid × tax rate (when tax is not included)
− value of extra scope priced but not wanted
Leveling puts every bid on the same scope before comparing them. Each exclusion is replaced by the amount you would otherwise have to pay for the item; each cost one bidder carried and another did not (bond, tax) is added to the bid that left it out. Nothing is subtracted from the bids that priced the full scope.
A worked example
Three drywall bids: A at 400,000 with everything included; B at 385,000 excluding demolition (plug 12,000) and hoisting (plug 8,500), bond not included at 1.5%, with 5,000 of extra scope you do not want; C at 410,000 with sales tax not included at 8%. B levels to 385,000 + 20,500 + 5,775 − 5,000 = 406,275. C levels to 410,000 + 32,800 = 442,800. A, the second lowest on paper, is the lowest leveled bid, 6,275 under B.
Plugs, exclusions and what leveling does not do
- Plug value
- An assumption, not a price. Use your own estimate for the item or the median of the bidders who priced it, and write down which. A plug that is too low favours the bid that excluded the item.
- Exclusion
- An item the bid letter names as not included. Read the letter, not the total: most exclusions are in the last paragraph.
- Clarify
- The bid does not say. Count it, call the subcontractor, then change it to Included or Excluded. Never award with open Clarify items.
- Extra scope
- Something the bidder priced that is not in your package, such as a second mobilisation. Deduct it only if you can value it from the bid.
- What leveling does not do
- It does not judge qualifications, schedule, bonding capacity or safety record. It gives you the price for the same scope; the award weighs the rest.
FAQ
What is bid leveling?
Adjusting each subcontractor bid to the same scope before comparing them: adding a plug value for every item a bidder excluded, adding the costs one bidder carried and another did not, and deducting scope you did not ask for. The lowest number on paper is often the bid that left the most out.
What is a plug value?
The amount the general contractor carries for an item a bidder excluded or did not price. It comes from the GC's own estimate or from another bidder's price for the same item. Adding it to that bid puts all bids on the same scope.
How many bids should I level?
Three is the usual minimum for a competitive package, and this calculator takes up to six. With two bids you can still level, but a single exclusion can decide the outcome, so read both letters twice.
Should bond and tax be added to every bid?
Only to the bids that left them out. If one bidder included the bond in its price and another did not, adding the bond rate to the second makes them comparable. Enter the rate your contract or your surety gives you.
Does the lowest leveled bid win?
Not automatically. The leveled total tells you what each bid costs for the same scope. Qualifications, schedule, bonding capacity, safety record and past performance still decide the award.
A leveled comparison is only as good as the reading of each bid letter.
Mirage deploys AI agents that read subcontractor quotations in the format they arrive in, map every line to your scope and flag exclusions and gaps, for your estimators to review before award.
See AI bid leveling for construction