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 importer — order 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 work — HOVER 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