# About HowMuchCosts

Who publishes HowMuchCosts, what the ranges mean, what we are not, and how to use a range to judge a quote.

HowMuchCosts answers one question in as few steps as possible: how much should this cost? Every page opens with a plain low-to-high range and the tiers that sit inside it.

## What a page here gives you

A range for the subject, a breakdown by the kinds of job or product people actually buy, a short explanation of what moves the number, and answers to the questions that come up before you commit. The range is a planning aid. It is not a quote and it is not a promise that anyone will work at that price.

## What we are not

We are not a contractor, a lender, a broker, an insurer, a law firm or a medical provider. We do not quote work, set rates, or make credit decisions. Where a link earns us money it is marked as an affiliate link beside the link itself.

## Where the numbers come from

Each range is modelled from how large and how variable that category of work is, so a roof replacement and a haircut do not read as the same kind of number, then adjusted for the demand signals we see for that subject. Everything is stored as data, so a correction is a one-row change, not a rewrite.

## How to use a range

Treat it as the field you are playing on. Collect two or three written quotes, compare them line by line instead of on the total, and use the range to spot the quote that is far out of line in either direction.

Source: https://howmuchcosts.com/about/