Quote vs estimate vs contract

Three distinct commitment levels: a quote is a fixed price for defined work, an estimate is an approximate, non-binding figure, and a contract is the signed, legally binding agreement — conflating them is a common source of scope disputes.

Example

An agency gives a client a rough estimate of "$8,000–$10,000" during a sales call, follows up with a firm quote of $9,200 for specifically defined deliverables, and the client signs a contract locking in that $9,200 figure and scope.

Why it matters for agencies

When a client later expects work at the low end of an early estimate, or expects a fixed quote's price to hold for scope that grew afterward, the disagreement often traces back to which of these three documents each side thinks they're actually bound by.