Wave vs Symbility (now Cotality): Estimating Compared in 2026
How Cotality's Claims Workspace, Estimate and Mitigate compare with Wave as of October 2026: published pricing, voice and LiDAR, drying logs, and who each is built for.
Cotality is an enterprise platform. Wave is one app built for the people doing the work.
Cotality owns a large family of products for carriers, adjusting firms, lenders, and restoration companies. Wave is one app with one login that runs a restoration job from the first call to the invoice. If you have ever tried to make sense of Claims Workspace, Estimate, Mitigate, Mitigate Scan, Validate, DASH, and the rest of the Cotality family, this comparison is written for you.
Cotality shipped a lot in 2026, including a rebuilt iOS estimating app with voice-to-estimate and LiDAR, and published seat pricing. This comparison reflects both products as of October 2026.
What happened to Symbility, and what is Cotality?
If you remember Symbility, you're not out of date. The product family carried over, and the names changed.
CoreLogic acquired Symbility in 2018. In March 2025, CoreLogic rebranded the entire company to Cotality. Here is the family as of October 2026:
- Claims Workspace (formerly Symbility Claims Connect) is the collaboration portal. It handles claims, assignments, files, and communication between carriers, adjusters, and contractors. It is not the estimator.
- Cotality Estimate (called Claims Estimate until recently, and Symbility Mobile Claims before that) is the estimating tool. This is the direct Wave competitor.
- Mitigate (formerly MICA) is a water mitigation documentation tool. Not an estimator.
- Mitigate Scan is the LiDAR floor plan add-on for Mitigate.
- Validate is an estimate review tool for carriers. As of May 2026 it opens inside Claims Workspace, along with Claims Scope, Cotality's automated damage assessment.
- DASH (job management) and Cotality Restoration CRM (formerly Luxor) are the restoration-side products.
- Aly is Cotality's AI assistant for looking up property data and market trends. It is not an estimating tool.
Cotality spent 2026 connecting these products, and Validate and Claims Scope now open inside Workspace. But estimating, mitigation documentation, and job management are still separate products with separate licenses. Wave puts that work in one app.
The real difference
Cotality is building for the enterprise buyer. Wave is building for the people who work the loss.
You can see it in Cotality's own messaging. Their tagline is "Intelligence beyond bounds," and their 2026 roadmap leads with agentic AI and interoperability. They sell a paid, multi-level Claims Certification for their own software. They cite more than 22,000 property and public-record data sources feeding carrier and lender analytics. Their estimating product page speaks to property claims adjusters, carriers, and adjusting firms.
Those are real investments. They are built for carriers, adjusting firms, and enterprise teams with training infrastructure.
Wave starts somewhere else. Tell Wave what happened by voice, text, photos or PDFs. It works on any phone, in the browser. About 15 minutes per estimate. Public pricing and self-serve signup. Built by restoration operators. The customer is the person doing the work.
At a glance (October 2026)
| Wave | Cotality Estimate | |
|---|---|---|
| Primary customer | Restoration contractors and adjusters, on site and at the desk | Carriers, IA firms and their adjusters; contractors join through carrier assignments |
| Platform | One app, one login | Workspace, Estimate, Mitigate, DASH and more, licensed separately |
| How estimates get built | From what you say, type, photograph or upload | AI voice-to-estimate on iOS (July 2026), guided questionnaires, built-in carrier rules |
| Devices | Runs in the browser on any phone or computer | Windows desktop app plus iOS and Android apps; the iOS app adds voice and LiDAR on Pro devices |
| Job management and scheduling | Jobs board, Timeline, notes and files, on every plan | Separate product (DASH) |
| Drying documentation | Drying logs built in (Basic and up; 5 free on Starter) | Separate product (Mitigate) |
| Carrier guidelines | Upload your carrier or TPA guidelines; Wave flags lines before you send (Pro) | Built-in carrier rules in Estimate; Validate reviews estimates for carriers |
| LiDAR or sketching | Not needed to build an estimate | LiDAR room scanning on Pro iOS devices (Estimate on iOS, Mitigate Scan) |
| Training | Self-serve signup and an optional guided tutorial | Paid certification; third-party courses exist |
| Pricing | Published: $299, $399 or $599 a month, or a self-serve Custom plan | Published for non-carrier users: $95 per estimating user a month plus $15 per accepted assignment; carriers on enterprise agreements |
How Wave actually works
Open Wave and you land on Home: one command box. Tell Wave what happened by typing, dictating, or adding photos, videos and PDFs. Customer name, address, cause of loss, which rooms are affected. Wave creates the job, starts the estimate, books the visit or adds a note, and confirms with a short receipt. Chat, Jobs and Timeline sit in the top bar.
Wave asks short questions to fill gaps in the scope, and many answers are a single tap. Say everything up front, or let your team's job notes cover it, and Wave skips what it already knows. You are on site. You are holding a moisture meter. You are not typing paragraphs.
When Wave has what it needs, it builds the priced estimate, grouped by room with subtotals and priced for the loss address. Wave includes the work that comes with the scope you described, states its assumptions so you can correct them, and keeps any line missing a quantity out of the total until you answer. Equipment is sized from your room dimensions using drying science. If you tell Wave what is already on site, it bills what you set.
Any line can carry a note that prints under its description. Edit any line inline, or type math and feet-inches right into a number cell. Talk to Wave to make revisions. Your hand edits stick, and undo covers both kinds of change. Export when ready.
Total time from scope to export: about 15 minutes per estimate. On the job site. From any phone.
How Cotality Estimate works
Cotality Estimate runs as a Windows desktop app and as mobile apps for iOS and Android. Claims and assignments live in Claims Workspace, and Estimate syncs with it. On desktop, estimates are built around a drag-and-drop diagram.
For large-loss claims, Cotality offers SmartScope, a rules-based question-and-answer workflow for residential and commercial total losses. SmartScope needs a roof plan on the estimate before the questionnaire begins, either an imported aerial report (EagleView, Hover) or one you draw by hand.
In our team's past experience on the restoration side, claims that required Cotality's estimating software took real skill to write well. A third-party training industry exists to teach people how to write accurate estimates in the Cotality system, alongside Cotality's own certification. That is a signal about the learning curve.
What Cotality shipped in 2026
Cotality has been busy, and it deserves credit for it. As of October 2026:
Estimate on iOS (July 2026). A rebuilt, mobile-native iOS app, optimized for iPad. Adjusters describe damage out loud and the app turns the description into line items. It scans rooms with LiDAR on Pro iOS devices and works offline, syncing later.
Published seat pricing (July 2026). For contractors, adjusting firms and other non-carrier users, Cotality now publishes its prices: $95 per Estimate user per month (which includes Workspace), $20 per Workspace-only user, and $15 per accepted assignment. Single-user independent adjusters get their first 5 transactions free and a $250 monthly cap. Carriers stay on enterprise agreements.
Validate and Claims Scope inside Workspace (May 2026). Carrier-side review and automated damage assessment now open inside Claims Workspace.
Mitigate Scan. Technicians with a LiDAR-equipped iPhone or iPad scan a room and get a floor plan with measurements inside Mitigate.
Here is the pivot. Estimate's new voice features live inside a product built for carrier and IA adjusters working in Claims Workspace, priced per seat plus per assignment. Estimating is still separate from mitigation documentation (Mitigate) and job management (DASH). Aly and the 22,000 data sources power property research and carrier analytics, not tomorrow's estimate.
Why Wave wins
Built for the people doing the work
Cotality's estimating literature is written for the carrier side of the claim. Wave is built for everyone who works the loss, contractors and adjusters alike, and adjusters you share with can sign in free and comment on individual lines.
Skip the sketching step entirely
Wave doesn't need a floor plan to build your estimate. It needs room dimensions and a scope description. Have a hand sketch? Send a photo and Wave reads the clearly legible dimensions, then asks you to double-check.
We're not anti-sketch. We just don't think any job should wait on one. A bathroom is a bathroom. A hallway is a hallway. Tell Wave about it and the estimate gets built.
AI pointed at the whole job, not one screen
Cotality now has voice-to-estimate too. The difference is what surrounds it. Wave's chat sits beside every job and reads the job's notes, so it doesn't ask again for what your team already wrote down. It works in English, Spanish and French.
Industry standards are built in on Basic and up. Ask about mold, drying science, or a general question while you build the estimate and Wave answers with the section it rests on. Ask about coverage and Wave recommends a reading and names the policy section it rests on. It never decides coverage.
One app, one login, no ecosystem sprawl
To run a restoration job in Cotality, you may need Claims Workspace for collaboration, Estimate for the estimate, Mitigate for drying documentation, Mitigate Scan for floor plans, and DASH for job management. Here is where that work lives in Wave:
| Cotality | Wave |
|---|---|
| Estimate | Estimates for water, mold, asbestos, fire, roofing, contents, and repairs and reconstruction |
| Mitigate | Drying logs, AI-generated from the estimate and local weather; your team verifies readings daily (Basic and up; 5 free on Starter) |
| DASH | Jobs board, Timeline scheduling, and job notes and files sorted by room |
| Estimate's carrier rules | Carrier guideline checks: upload your carrier or TPA guidelines and Wave flags lines against the program you confirm, before the estimate reaches the carrier's review (Pro) |
| Workspace sharing | Share links: a view-only page for customers, and a signed-in view where adjusters comment on lines |
Wave is not trained on carrier guidelines. You upload your own, and your uploads are never used to improve Wave. Add QuickBooks and Slack, and it is all under one login.
Works alongside other estimating software
You can also export an estimate as a file for other estimating software. A Wave account specialist sets this up for your company. Upload an estimate file from other estimating software and Wave reads it.
Transparent pricing, no enterprise sales motion
As of October 2026, Wave Starter is $299 a month (10 estimates, unlimited users). Basic is $399 (25 estimates, plus drying logs, QuickBooks and industry standards). Pro is $599 (50 estimates, plus carrier guideline checks). Pay annually and get two months free ($2,990, $3,990 or $5,990 a year). A self-serve Custom plan covers any volume. Jobs are free, duplicates are free, and every user is included. New accounts start with a free trial: your first 3 estimates include nearly every Pro feature, no card.
Cotality now publishes seat pricing too, which is a real step. The models differ. Say a team has 5 estimators writing 40 estimates a month. On Wave, that is Pro at $599 a month for everyone. On Cotality's published pricing, 5 Estimate seats are $475 a month, plus $15 for each accepted assignment, up to $600 more if all 40 arrive as assignments. Your mix will vary, so run your own numbers. Cotality's restoration products (DASH, Mitigate, CRM) are still sold through sales.
Where Cotality wins
Three scenarios, honestly.
You are a carrier-side adjuster or claims team deeply integrated with the Cotality ecosystem, and Claims Workspace plus Estimate is how your organization runs. The new iOS app, with voice, LiDAR and offline work, makes that setup stronger.
You are a large enterprise restoration firm that needs standardized spatial documentation across thousands of claims, with corporate training infrastructure to bring new staff up the Cotality learning curve.
Your carrier has mandated Cotality Estimate for specific claim types, and you have no choice but to submit in their format.
For everyone else, Wave wins.
Who should switch
Restoration contractors who looked at the Cotality product family and wondered why they need five tools to run one job.
Teams that want estimating, drying logs, scheduling, and job files in one app with one login.
Adjusters who don't want to run separate logins across Workspace, Estimate and Mitigate.
Teams that want the estimate done on any phone, without waiting on a scan or a sketch.
Anyone who has ever Googled "why is Symbility so hard to use" and ended up on a forum thread with no good answers.
Growing operations where onboarding a new estimator into the Cotality ecosystem takes longer than training them on the restoration work itself.
Try Wave free. 3 estimates included. No credit card required. →
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened to Symbility?
CoreLogic acquired Symbility in 2018. In March 2025, CoreLogic rebranded the whole company to Cotality, and the Symbility product names changed with it. Symbility Claims Connect is now Claims Workspace. Symbility Mobile Claims became Claims Estimate and is now Cotality Estimate. The products have also changed: in 2026 Cotality rebuilt the iOS estimating app and moved contractors and independent firms to published seat pricing.
What's the difference between Claims Workspace, Cotality Estimate, and Mitigate?
Claims Workspace is the collaboration portal for claims, assignments, files, and multi-party communication. Cotality Estimate is the estimating software, and it syncs with Workspace. Mitigate is a separate product for water mitigation documentation. As of October 2026 they are more connected than they used to be, but they are still separate products with separate licenses.
Does Wave do LiDAR scanning or floor plans?
Wave builds the estimate from the room dimensions you give it, so no scan or sketch is needed. It can also read clearly legible dimensions from a photo of a hand sketch or floor plan, and it asks you to double-check what it read.
Can Wave integrate with Cotality Claims Workspace?
Not as of October 2026. Wave builds a branded PDF (an estimate, an invoice, or a packet with the drying log), sends a draft invoice to QuickBooks Online, and creates share links where an adjuster signs in free and comments on individual lines. It does not plug into Claims Workspace, so teams that use Workspace attach the Wave PDF there.
Is Cotality's AI better than Wave's?
They point at different jobs. As of October 2026, Cotality Estimate on iOS turns an adjuster's spoken description into line items, alongside guided questionnaires and built-in carrier rules, for carrier and IA adjusters working inside Claims Workspace. Wave's AI builds the priced estimate from what you say, type, photograph or upload, and it sits beside the whole job: notes, files, drying logs, scheduling, carrier guideline checks and exports. If you run restoration jobs, Wave was built for that.
How does Wave compare to SmartScope for large-loss claims?
SmartScope is Cotality's rules-based questionnaire for residential and commercial total losses, and it needs a roof plan, imported or hand drawn, before the questionnaire begins. Wave builds the estimate in one conversation, with short questions to fill gaps in the scope, without an aerial report or a sketch. For everyday water, fire, mold, asbestos, roofing, contents and repairs work, Wave is the faster path.
Does Wave work in Spanish or French?
Yes. Write or speak to Wave in English, Spanish or French and it replies in that language. The app's menus and labels stay in English.
Does Wave make coverage decisions?
Wave recommends a reading and names the policy section it rests on, plus what would change it. If it hasn't seen the policy, it says so and asks for it. It never decides coverage.
Wave was built by restoration operators for everyone who works the loss, on site and at the desk. If you have ever felt like the Cotality ecosystem is solving problems you don't have, you already know why Wave exists.
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