What "AI quoting" really means
None of these tools are a robot estimator that prices a job with no human in the loop. What they do is take the slow, repetitive part off your plate: opening the files, measuring the part, guessing the operations, looking up your rates, and laying out a draft. A person still checks the draft and hits send.
They come at it from three directions:
- Geometry-first tools read a 3D model (usually STEP) and sometimes the PDF print, recognize features, and price them with your machine rates. Paperless Parts, QuotedPart, MetronQ, CloudNC Quote Agent and Phasio work this way.
- Inbox-first tools watch your RFQ email, pull out the attachments and requirements, and draft the reply. Uptool, Setell and Liquid Quote start from the inbox.
- CAM-based estimators estimate cycle time from an actual toolpath plan. Toolpath does this inside Autodesk Fusion.
Side-by-side: what each tool reads and what it costs
| Tool | Reads | Published price | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| QuotedPart | STEP + PDF print | $199/month for the whole shop; 14-day trial | 1-20 person shops wanting formula-based quoting |
| Uptool | Email RFQs, CAD, drawings, BOMs | From $195/month; most shops $195-$495 | US shops under 100 people buried in emailed RFQs |
| Setell | Email, PDF, STEP | Free (3 AI quotes/month); $14.99-$99/month | 1-5 person shops wanting cheap quoting plus invoicing |
| CloudNC Quote Agent | CAD, PDFs, forwarded RFQ emails | Free to try; paid pricing not published | CNC shops wanting fast first-pass quotes with DFM flags |
| Liquid Quote | Email RFQs, PDF prints, BOMs | From $399/month for solo shops | Shops with a big library of past quotes |
| MetronQ | STEP, IGES, PDF, DXF | From €119/month or €5 per quote | Shops wanting an instant-quote widget on their site |
| Toolpath | 3D CAD (in Fusion) | Free API tier; shop-app pricing unknown | Fusion shops wanting estimating plus CAM help |
| Phasio | 3D CAD, drawings | Startup $330/month; Pro $880/month | Mixed CNC + 3D printing + molding shops |
| Paperless Parts | 3D CAD + PDF drawings | Custom quote (not published) | Established shops quoting lots of custom parts |
Prices are what each vendor published when we last checked; see each tool page for sources and dates.
What shops are saying
We read the recent threads so you don't have to. A few patterns keep coming up:
- Drafts get revised upward. In an August 2026 r/Machinists thread from a 10-person shop shopping for automated quoting, one reply said that once a real person looks at an automated quote, the price usually goes up. Plan on reviewing every draft.
- Drawings vs. models matters. Another reply in that thread pointed out that most tools want a STEP file, while a lot of the work they see arrives as drawings only. If most of your RFQs are PDFs, favor tools that read prints (QuotedPart, Uptool, Liquid Quote, CloudNC Quote Agent).
- History beats guessing. A few commenters said the most useful approach was matching a new job to similar jobs you've already run and quoted, then letting the estimator adjust. That's the idea behind Liquid Quote, which ingests your past won quotes.
- Set-up effort is real. In a separate r/Machinists thread, a JobBOSS² shop that added Paperless Parts said the feature detection missed hardware that was only called out on the print, not modeled. A different user replied that it takes real setup work and shines for sheet metal. Expect weeks of tuning on any tool, not minutes.
How to pick in five questions
- What do your RFQs look like? Mostly STEP files from engineers, or PDFs and phone pictures? That one answer rules out half the list.
- Where do quotes start? If everything arrives by email and things slip through the cracks, look at the inbox-first tools (see our RFQ intake category).
- What ERP do you run? Paperless Parts lists the most integrations (E2, JobBOSS, ProShop, Epicor, QuickBooks and others). QuotedPart connects to JobBOSS/JobBOSS² directly and exports CSV for the rest. Uptool and Setell sync with QuickBooks.
- Do you handle ITAR work? Ask every vendor in writing where your files are stored and processed. QuotedPart describes an ITAR vault with in-browser encryption; Uptool's pricing varies with ITAR needs.
- How many quotes a month? A flat $199 or $195 price is easy to justify for a busy one-estimator shop. If you quote a handful a month, Setell's free tier or a spreadsheet may be all you need.
How to run a fair trial
Pull five to ten jobs you've already quoted, run, and shipped. Give the same files to two tools. Compare each tool's draft to (a) what you quoted and (b) what the job actually cost once it ran. A tool that's fast but 30% off on your typical parts isn't saving you time. A tool that gets close on your bread-and-butter work is. Write down how many minutes each draft took to fix: that's the real number.
Want a narrower comparison? We put two popular options side by side in Paperless Parts vs QuotedPart and Uptool vs Setell. If price is the deciding factor, see our list of Paperless Parts alternatives, and if you'd rather sharpen your own method first, read how to quote CNC machining jobs.
Frequently asked questions
Can AI quote machining jobs accurately on its own?
Not reliably. Every tool we list keeps a human estimator in the loop, and shop owners in recent forum threads report that automated drafts usually need correcting, often upward. Treat AI quoting as a fast first draft, not a final price.
What is the cheapest AI quoting software for a small machine shop?
Among tools with published prices, Setell has a free tier (3 AI quotes a month) and paid plans from $14.99/month, but it isn't machining-specific. Machining-focused tools with public prices start around $195-$199/month (Uptool and QuotedPart).
Do I need a STEP file for AI quoting?
Many tools work best with a STEP model. QuotedPart reads STEP plus the PDF print, and inbox-first tools like Uptool, Liquid Quote and CloudNC Quote Agent accept drawings and emailed RFQs. If most of your work arrives as PDFs, test with your own drawings.
Does AI quoting software integrate with JobBOSS or QuickBooks?
Some do. Paperless Parts lists JobBOSS, E2, ProShop, QuickBooks and more; QuotedPart connects directly to JobBOSS and JobBOSS²; Liquid Quote connects to JobBOSS; Uptool and Setell sync with QuickBooks. Confirm the exact integration with the vendor before you buy.
Sources
- r/Machinists: How's your experience with automated quoting tools? (Aug 2026)
- r/Machinists: Paperless parts (Nov 2025)
- Paperless Parts integrations
- QuotedPart CNC quoting software
- Uptool pricing
- Setell pricing
Facts come from public vendor pages and the sources above, checked October 24, 2026. Prices change; confirm with the vendor. Forum comments are individual opinions. Spot an error? Tell us.