# Unit price

*Also called: unit pricing, unit rate.*

**Definition.** A unit price is a per-unit rate — per square foot, per linear foot, per sheet, per fixture — agreed in advance so that work of unknown quantity can be priced without renegotiation.

A roofing bid might carry a lump sum for the known work plus a unit price of $85 per sheet for deck replacement, applied to however many sheets turn out to be rotten. The quantity is unknown; the rate is not.

Unit prices are the correct answer to a known unknown. They convert the most common source of change orders into a number you negotiated while other contractors were still bidding.

They also make bids more comparable: two contractors' unit rates for the same operation can be compared directly, even where the totals cannot.

## Why it matters

Agreeing unit prices before the contract is signed removes the leverage problem. The same deck repair costs one number when three contractors are competing and another when the roof is already open.

## Related terms

- [Allowance](https://quotrium.com/glossary/allowance)
- [Change order](https://quotrium.com/glossary/change-order)
- [Lump-sum bid](https://quotrium.com/glossary/lump-sum)
- [Exclusion](https://quotrium.com/glossary/exclusion)

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Source: https://quotrium.com/glossary/unit-price · Quotrium — Comparable quotes for property work