Wave vs Rebuild: Try It Tomorrow, or Book a Demo
Wave and Rebuild both build restoration estimates on site with AI. The real difference is how you buy them, what they need from you to start, and how they price the work.
Both write the estimate on site. One of them you can try tomorrow.
Wave and Rebuild are the two AI-native estimating tools restoration contractors most often compare.
Both now put a priced estimate in front of the customer before anyone leaves the property. Rebuild has raised more than $13 million and is working with some of the largest restoration networks in the country. It's a serious product.
So this comparison isn't about whose AI is smarter. It's about three things you can check for yourself in an afternoon: how you buy each one, what each needs from you before it works, and where the prices on your estimate come from.
Note from the author: First written in April 2026, rewritten September 2026 after Rebuild's funding round and product changes. Everything stated about Rebuild comes from their public website, their founder's public statements, trade press coverage, or reports from operators who evaluated both, and is attributed that way. Rebuild will keep changing, and so will we. If something here is out of date, tell us and we'll fix it.
What's the same
Both estimate on site. Rebuild's own customers describe handing the customer a complete water mitigation estimate before leaving the house, according to R&R Magazine's coverage of their raise. That's the same promise Wave makes.
Both work alongside other estimating software. Each can export an estimate as a file for other estimating software. In Wave, an account specialist sets this up for your company.
Both use AI to turn what you saw into line items. Neither asks you to build the scope line by line.
If you were choosing on those three alone, it would be a coin flip. Here's where they actually split.
Difference one: how you buy it
This is the biggest one, and it's the easiest to verify.
Wave: sign up online. Three free estimates, no credit card, no sales call. Pricing is published: $299, $399 or $599 a month depending on estimate volume, unlimited users on every plan, no contract minimum.
Rebuild: the call to action on their site is "Book a Demo." Pricing isn't published. Based on what operators have reported to us, quotes have come in around $10,000 per location per year with an annual commitment. That's a reported figure, not one Rebuild has confirmed, and your quote will depend on your account.
Neither model is wrong. They're built for different buyers. An enterprise sale with a demo and a negotiated contract suits a large network with a procurement process. A free trial and a published price suits an operator who wants to run it on Tuesday's job and decide by Friday.
Difference two: what it needs from you first
Rebuild's founder has described their onboarding publicly: customers provide a library of historical estimates and scope preferences, and Rebuild tailors its AI to how that account writes estimates. That's their stated approach, and for a large operation with years of consistent estimates, it's a reasonable one.
Wave doesn't ask for any of that. It ships already knowing drying science, standard restoration scope and regional pricing for the loss address. Your first estimate gets the same product as your five-hundredth. Your estimating history stays yours.
Which one you want depends on whether your historical estimates are an asset you'd like the software to learn from, or one you'd rather keep in-house.
Difference three: where the prices come from
In Wave, every line is priced for the loss address, and every estimate keeps the prices it was built on, so a job you're partway through never changes underneath you. More on Wave's regional pricing.
We also publish how we measure every number we state about Wave, including what each one does and does not claim. How we measure has the detail. When you're comparing vendors, it's worth asking every one of them for the same.
At a glance
| Wave | Rebuild | |
|---|---|---|
| On-site estimate | Yes | Yes |
| Other estimating software | Export, set up by a Wave account specialist, and import | Export |
| Try before you buy | Free trial, 3 estimates, no credit card, no call | Demo required |
| Pricing | Published: $299 / $399 / $599 per month | Not published. Operators report about $10,000 per location per year |
| Contract | Month to month, cancel anytime | Operators report annual commitments |
| Onboarding | Works on the first estimate, no data upload | Asks for historical estimates and scope preferences |
| Price basis | Regional, priced for the loss address, kept with each estimate | Not publicly described |
| Scopes | Water, mold, fire and smoke, asbestos, reconstruction, roof, contents | Not listed on their public site |
| Built by | Albert Aguilera, licensed general contractor and restoration operator | A software team backed by $13M+ in venture funding |
Where Rebuild is the better fit
You run a large, multi-location operation with a procurement process. Rebuild's sales motion, contracts and account-level customization are designed for exactly that buyer, and their traction with large restoration networks shows it works.
You have years of consistent estimates you want the AI to learn from. If your house style is an asset and you want the software shaped around it, Rebuild's onboarding is built to do that.
Where Wave is the better fit
You want to try it on a real job before you talk to anyone. Three free estimates, no call.
You want to know the price before the demo. It's on the pricing page.
You don't want to hand over your estimating history to get started. Wave works on the first estimate.
Your technicians write estimates, not just your estimator. Wave is built so the person walking the loss can produce the priced estimate from their phone, on site, in about fifteen minutes.
You want to be able to explain every price to an adjuster. Every line is priced at a regional rate for the loss address, so you can point to the rate behind it.
Try Wave free. 3 estimates included. No credit card required. →
Frequently Asked Questions
Do both Wave and Rebuild estimate on site?
Yes. Both aim to put a priced estimate in front of the customer before anyone leaves. The differences are in how you buy each product, what each needs from you to get started, and how each prices the work.
How does Wave's pricing compare to Rebuild's?
Wave publishes its pricing: $299, $399 or $599 per month for the whole company, depending on estimate volume, with unlimited users and no contract minimum. Rebuild doesn't publish pricing. Operators have reported quotes around $10,000 per location per year with annual commitments, which Rebuild hasn't confirmed. The only way to get an exact Rebuild number is through their demo process.
Can I try Wave without talking to sales?
Yes. Three estimates free, no credit card, no call. Rebuild's site offers a demo rather than a self-serve trial.
Does Rebuild use my historical estimates?
Rebuild's founder has publicly described an onboarding process that asks customers for historical estimates and scope preferences so the AI can be tailored to each account. That's their stated approach. Wave doesn't ask for historical estimates and works on your first one.
Is Wave built by someone who actually does restoration?
Yes. Wave was built by Albert Aguilera, a licensed general contractor who has written restoration estimates in the field across water, fire and mold losses. Every workflow decision in the product comes from that experience.
Which should I choose?
If you're a large network with a procurement process and a deep library of consistent estimates, Rebuild's model is built for you. If you want to run it on a real job this week, see the price first, and keep your estimating history to yourself, Wave is.
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