RoofMetric
The fundamental difference
HOVER requires you (or the homeowner) to physically walk around the house taking specific photos with your phone. Their team then assembles a 3D model from the photos and delivers a measurement report, typically hours later. Best for: complete exterior takeoffs (roof + siding + windows + doors) and properties with bad satellite coverage.
RoofMetric gives you four ways to capture the same property, with no third-party processing wait:
- AI satellite trace from your desk in 2 minutes (most jobs)
- Manual sketch with auto facet detection when satellite is stale or low-res
- LiDAR room scan on your iPhone for interior remodels (60 seconds per room, Apple RoomPlan)
- AR distance measure on your iPhone for gutters, downspouts, fascia, valleys, multi-item with labels, drops into the estimate as line items
Best for: rapid prelim quotes, on-site measurement when you're already there, high-volume estimating, and the ~90% of jobs where you don't need a full HOVER siding/window takeoff.
Feature comparison
| Capability | RoofMetric | HOVER |
|---|---|---|
| Capture method | Satellite + manual sketch + LiDAR room scan + AR distance measure, four options | Phone photo capture (requires walking around house) |
| Time to measurement | ~2 min satellite · 60 sec per room (LiDAR) · seconds per gutter run (AR), no processing wait | ~30 min on-site capture + few hours team processing |
| Manual roof sketch (when satellite is stale) | Outline → snap interior lines → auto facet detection → per-facet pitch → edge classification | Phone-photo model only |
| LiDAR room scanning (iPhone) | Native iOS app, Apple RoomPlan, 60-second capture, drops into estimate as Room Takeoff | Exterior photo capture only |
| AR distance measure on the roof (iPhone) | Multi-item: Gutter / Downspout / Fascia / Valley, live rubber-band, drops into estimate | |
| Pricing | $29/mo flat, unlimited | Pay-per-job pricing, $50-$200+ |
| Need to visit the property to measure | No | Yes |
| Includes siding / windows / doors measurement | Roof only (use sketch tool for interior) | Full exterior takeoff |
| Customer CRM | Pipeline, pricebook, notes, photos | Measurement-focused |
| Branded PDF estimates | 4 templates, your logo, colors | Measurement reports only |
| E-signature on estimates | ||
| Hail history & storm alerts | NOAA-backed | |
| Free trial | 14 days, no credit card | Limited trial |
Use both, they complement each other
Many contractors use RoofMetric for fast prelim quotes (95% of jobs that just need a roof number to bid) and HOVER for complete exterior takeoffs when a customer wants roof + siding + gutters all priced together.
RoofMetric has a PDF importerorder a HOVER report when needed, drag the PDF into the customer file in RoofMetric, and most measurements (squares, pitch, perimeter, ridges, eaves) are extracted automatically.
When RoofMetric is the better fit
- You bid mostly roof-only work (residential reroofs, repairs, insurance claims)
- You quote remotely / over the phone before scheduling on-site
- You're already on-site and want to measure on the spot without uploading photos to a queue, LiDAR + AR give you measurements in seconds, not hours
- You do interior remodel workHOVER is exterior-only; RoofMetric's LiDAR room scan handles the inside
- You want predictable monthly pricing instead of pay-per-job
- You need a CRM and estimating tool, not just measurement reports
When HOVER is the better fit
- You bid complete exterior packages (roof + siding + windows together)
- You're already on-site for a sales appointment anyway
- The property has poor satellite coverage (rural, dense tree cover, recent build)
- You need photo-based renderings for upselling color/material choices
Questions contractors actually ask
Short answers, including the ones that make us look worse.
Is there a HOVER alternative that does not need a photo walk?
Yes. RoofMetric measures from overhead satellite imagery, so a roof-only takeoff takes about two minutes at your desk with nobody at the property. The trade is scope: HOVER builds a full exterior model covering siding, windows and doors from those photos. If you are pricing a complete exterior package, that model is worth the walk. If you are pricing a reroof, it is thirty minutes you did not need to spend.
Does LiDAR measuring on an iPhone work as well as a tape measure?
For the measurements a roofer takes, generally yes, and it is faster. The iPhone LiDAR scanner and Apple RoomPlan capture a room in about sixty seconds and produce dimensions accurate enough to order material from. Where a tape still wins is short precision work, a few inches on a trim cut for example, and anywhere the sensor cannot see: bright direct sunlight, glass, water and distances beyond roughly five meters all degrade a LiDAR reading. Treat it as a fast replacement for the long measurements, not for the fine ones.
Does AR measuring on an iPhone replace the need to measure on site?
No, and it is not meant to. AR measuring is a way to measure while you are already on site without pulling a tape or setting a ladder, for gutter runs, downspouts, fascia and valleys. What removes the site visit is the satellite trace, which you do before you ever drive out. The two solve different halves of the problem.
Can I send a branded estimate directly from my phone to a customer?
Yes. Build the estimate on the phone, apply your logo and colors from one of the templates, and send it as a PDF from the app. The customer opens a link, signs in their browser with no account to create, and the signed copy attaches back to the job. You never have to get back to a desk to close it.
Can one app handle estimates, photos and signatures together?
That is the whole design. Measurements, the customer record, photo reports, the estimate, the signature and the payment all live on the same job, so nothing has to be exported from one tool and imported into another. Most contractors arrive here paying separately for a measurement service, a CRM, an estimating tool, a photo app and an e-signature service.
How do I know whether roofing software is actually saving me money?
Compare it against what you spend per bid, not per month. Add up the per-report measurement fees plus every monthly subscription the software would replace, then divide by the number of jobs you bid. Flat pricing also changes a number most contractors never measure: how many marginal jobs you decline to quote because the measurement costs money. If per-report fees are stopping you bidding long shots, the saving is bigger than the invoice difference.