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TradePilot vs RoomScan LiDAR: Which Is Better for Contractors?

If you've ever scanned a room with your iPhone, there's a good chance you've used RoomScan LiDAR. It's one of the most popular LiDAR scanning apps on the App Store, and for good reason — it makes clean floor plans fast.

But here's the question most contractors eventually ask: "I scanned the room... now what?"

RoomScan gives you a floor plan. TradePilot gives you a floor plan AND turns it into an estimate, a proposal, and an invoice — all from the same app. That's the core difference, and it's a big one.

Here's the full breakdown.

Quick Comparison

Feature	TradePilot	RoomScan LiDAR
LiDAR Room Scanning	Yes (FieldScan)	Yes
2D Floor Plans	Yes	Yes
3D Models	No	Yes
Editable Dimensions	Yes	Limited
Fixture Placement	Yes (full library)	Basic symbols
AI Estimating	Yes (Pilot AI)	No
Invoicing	Yes	No
Scheduling	Yes	No
CRM	Yes	No
Rate Calculator	Yes	No
Proposals	Yes	No
PDF Export	Yes (with estimate)	Yes (plan only)
CAD/DXF Export	No	Yes
Xactimate Integration	No	Yes
Built For	Remodeling contractors	Anyone needing floor plans
Pricing	$29/mo (Starter)	Free + subscription

What RoomScan LiDAR Does Well

Credit where it's due — RoomScan is a solid scanning app. It's been around since 2020, has nearly 2,000 App Store reviews, and the developers at Locometric clearly know LiDAR technology. Here's what it does well:

• Multiple scan modes. RoomScan offers its own proprietary "Brick Mode" LiDAR scanning, Apple RoomPlan integration, and even a "Touch Mode" that works without LiDAR. The Brick Mode is what most pros use — it's accurate and handles complex room shapes better than RoomPlan alone.
• 3D models. RoomScan generates 3D point clouds and textured models you can share via iMessage, upload to Sketchfab, or send to an architect. If you need 3D, RoomScan does it.
• Export formats. PDF, PNG, DXF (for CAD), IFC (for BIM), Sweet Home 3D, and Xactimate/Symbility integration. If you're in insurance restoration and need to push scan data into Xactimate, RoomScan is one of the few apps that does this directly.
• Photo annotations. Take photos during the scan and they're tied to their location on the floor plan. Useful for property condition reports.

For what it is — a scanning and floor plan tool — RoomScan is one of the best on the market.

Where RoomScan Falls Short for Contractors

Here's the problem: RoomScan stops at the scan.

You walk into a bathroom, scan it in 30 seconds, and get a beautiful floor plan with dimensions. Great. Now what? You need to estimate the job. So you open a different app — or a spreadsheet — and start manually typing in the dimensions you just scanned. Then you build the estimate line by line. Then you copy it into another app to make it look like a proposal. Then you send it. Then when the job's done, you open yet another app to invoice.

That's four apps to do one job. The scan data doesn't flow anywhere. It just sits in RoomScan as a pretty floor plan that doesn't connect to the rest of your workflow.

Specifically, RoomScan doesn't have:

• Any estimating capability — not manual, not AI, nothing. The scan gives you measurements, but you have to do everything else in another tool.
• Invoicing — no way to bill the client from the same app.
• Scheduling — no calendar, no job management.
• CRM — no client database, no lead tracking.
• Proposals — no way to turn the floor plan into a document the client can approve and sign.
• Contractor-specific fixture library — RoomScan has basic symbols, but not the trade-specific fixtures (toilets, vanities, cabinets, appliances) that a remodeling contractor needs for layout planning.

RoomScan was built for anyone who needs a floor plan — real estate agents, interior designers, insurance adjusters, architects, homeowners. It's a general-purpose scanning tool. It wasn't built for the contractor workflow of scan → estimate → proposal → invoice.

What TradePilot Does Differently

Full disclosure — this is our app. But the difference is straightforward: TradePilot was built specifically for remodeling contractors, and the scan is the starting point of a workflow, not the end of one.

The scan feeds the estimate

When you scan a room with FieldScan, the dimensions don't just sit on a floor plan. They flow directly into Pilot AI for estimate generation. "Scan this bathroom" becomes "estimate this bathroom remodel" in one step. The AI uses your scanned dimensions — square footage, wall area, ceiling height — to calculate material quantities and labor hours. No retyping. No manual math.

The estimate becomes the proposal

The estimate generates a professional proposal with the floor plan attached. Line items, labor, materials, markup, payment terms, and the dimensioned layout — all in one document the client can review and sign. With RoomScan, you'd need to export the plan, paste it into a separate proposal tool, and manually build the estimate alongside it.

The proposal converts to an invoice

When the job's done, one tap converts the accepted estimate into an invoice. Same line items, same pricing, no retyping. RoomScan has no invoicing at all — you'd need QuickBooks, FreshBooks, or another app entirely.

Fixture placement for layout planning

TradePilot includes a full fixture library organized by room type — bathroom (toilets, vanities, tubs, showers), kitchen (cabinets, appliances, sinks), bedroom, and living room. Drag fixtures onto the floor plan, snap them to walls, and show the client the proposed layout right there on your phone. RoomScan has basic symbols but nothing trade-specific for remodeling work.

When RoomScan Is the Better Choice

To be fair, there are situations where RoomScan is the right tool:

• Insurance restoration. If you need Xactimate or Symbility integration for insurance claims, RoomScan has direct export to those platforms. TradePilot doesn't.
• Architectural/CAD workflows. If you need DXF or IFC exports to feed into AutoCAD, Revit, or BIM software, RoomScan supports those formats. TradePilot exports PDF floor plans, not CAD files.
• 3D modeling. If you need 3D point clouds or textured 3D models for visualization, presentations, or architectural review, RoomScan generates those. TradePilot focuses on 2D floor plans because that's what contractors use for estimating.
• You already have an estimating workflow. If you're happy with your current estimating tool and just need a better scanning app to feed it, RoomScan is a solid standalone scanner.

When TradePilot Is the Better Choice

• You're a remodeling contractor or handyman who needs the scan to feed directly into an estimate and proposal — not just sit as a standalone floor plan.
• You want one app instead of four. Scanning, estimating, invoicing, scheduling, and CRM in a single native iOS app. No juggling tools.
• You want AI estimating. Describe the project to Pilot AI and it generates a detailed estimate using your rates and markup. RoomScan has no estimating at all.
• Speed matters. You want to scan the room, build the estimate, and send the proposal before you leave the job site. TradePilot enables that workflow. With RoomScan, you're still going home to build the estimate somewhere else.
• Budget matters. One app at $29/month replaces the combination of RoomScan (subscription) + an estimating tool ($50-149/month) + an invoicing tool ($15-50/month). The math works in your favor.

The Real Question: Scanning Tool or Business Tool?

This comparison ultimately comes down to what you're trying to solve.

If your problem is "I need better floor plans," RoomScan solves that. It's a great scanning app with deep export options and a proven track record.

If your problem is "I need to get from the consultation to the signed proposal faster," RoomScan only solves the first five minutes. You still need separate tools for everything that comes after the scan — the estimate, the proposal, the follow-up, the invoice, the payment.

TradePilot solves the whole problem. The scan is step one, not the entire workflow. For remodeling contractors who are tired of juggling a scanning app, an estimating app, an invoicing app, and a calendar app, that's the difference that matters.

Your phone can scan a room in 30 seconds. The question is what happens in the 30 minutes after that.