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Cost-Plus Savings Calculator

Compare a traditional fixed-price pool contract against transparent open-book cost-plus pricing for new pool construction. Every assumption used in the comparison is shown, and you can adjust it.

Enter the price another builder quoted.

25%
15%35%

For comparison purposes, this calculator applies a Tampa Bay traditional-builder pricing assumption based on The Backyard Company's local market experience reviewing proposals, trade pricing, and project costs. It represents margin or markup carried over underlying project costs in a fixed-price contract. Contractor pricing structures vary, and not every builder prices projects this way. Adjust the assumption to match what you believe applies to your own quote.

Your Comparison

Traditional fixed-price scenario

$135,000

The amount you entered.

Estimated underlying project costs

$101,250

Fixed-price scenario less the 25% pricing assumption.

Estimated cost-plus scenario

$112,056–$120,156

Underlying project costs plus our disclosed management compensation for a project of this size and duration.

Estimated potential difference

$14,844–$22,944

Roughly 11.0%–17.0% of the fixed-price scenario.

Based on the amount you entered and the pricing assumption shown above, an open-book cost-plus structure could produce a meaningful difference on a project like this. This is an estimate, not a quote or a guarantee.

About these numbers

This calculator is an educational comparison based on the assumptions shown and The Backyard Company's experience with Tampa Bay pool construction pricing. Contractor pricing structures vary, and not every builder uses the same markup, margin, or pricing method. Actual project costs and any potential savings depend on project scope, site conditions, selections, engineering, permitting, trade pricing, and other project-specific factors. Results are estimates and savings are not guaranteed.

Cost-plus pricing applies only to new pool construction. Outdoor living uses fixed-scope pricing and design services are separate packages.

Request Budget ReviewHow Cost-Plus Works

How We Calculate Potential Savings

There is no black box here. The comparison runs in five plain steps, and every assumption it uses is shown on this page.

  1. You establish the starting number. Either a fixed-price quote you already received, or a target budget you are planning around.
  2. We separate underlying project costs. The visible traditional-builder pricing assumption is removed from that number to estimate what the real trade, material, and subcontractor costs behind it may be.
  3. We apply our disclosed cost-plus structure. Those underlying costs are rebuilt with our management compensation for a project of that size and expected duration, which is disclosed in writing before any agreement.
  4. The two scenarios are compared. Fixed-price scenario against open-book cost-plus scenario, side by side.
  5. The gap is shown as an estimated potential difference. Expressed as a range in dollars and as a percentage of the fixed-price scenario.

The traditional-builder pricing assumption is a comparison model informed by our Tampa Bay market experience. It is not a statement that every contractor prices projects identically, and it is not a claim about any specific builder. That is why the assumption is adjustable: if you believe a different figure fits the quote in front of you, change it and the comparison updates.

To see how the structure itself works, read how cost-plus pool construction works, or request a pool budget review for your own project.