How much does ADUscale cost?

The Reality Check is free. The Feasibility & Risk Assessment is $199. For managed builds you see one fixed project price; ADUscale’s compensation is part of the project economics and is disclosed in your service agreement.

What is included in the $199 Feasibility Assessment?

You get a full zoning & lot analysis, contractor vetting shortlist, cost range for your specific lot, risk matrix, and a clear recommendation on whether to proceed.

ADUscale Pricing — Same Price as Going Direct

Section 02

What You Pay

Product 01

Reality Check

Free

A 2-minute lot eligibility + cost-band tool. You enter your California address; we run it against state ADU law, your city's local rules, and current 2026 cost data. Output: one-page report with eligibility verdict, allowed types, size envelope, top 3 risks, and recommended next step.

Time 2 minutes to submit; report delivered within 5 minutes (cached parcel data) or up to 30 minutes (live county lookup)

Best for Anyone considering an ADU. No commitment. No follow-up call unless you ask for one.

Run the Reality Check →

Product 02

Feasibility & Risk Assessment

$199

The deeper analysis. We pull your specific lot's parcel data, zoning overlays, utility records, and contractor-market conditions for your city. We deliver a written report with detailed cost model, financing-path recommendation, contractor-market read, written risk register for your project, and recommended next steps.

The one thing you pay upfront. The $199 Feasibility & Risk Assessment is the only fee you pay before the build starts. The managed build that follows costs you nothing extra — we're paid by your contractor, so your price is the same as going direct.

Time 3–5 business days from submission to delivered report

Best for Homeowners who've decided an ADU is on the table and want a real plan before talking to contractors

Feasibility & Risk Assessment details →

Product 03

Full Managed Build — Included, No Extra Fee to You

No extra cost

The complete service. Decide through final inspection sign-off. We get you one of the best contractors and the capacity to take your job, run six-source contractor verification, level the bids, set up Verified Milestone Payouts, coordinate the project, and handle post-completion warranty support.

Price: No extra cost to you — the same price as going direct. We're paid out of your contractor's existing budget, not as a markup on top of yours.

What's included

Reality Check + Feasibility & Risk Assessment guidance
We get you one of the best contractors — and the capacity to take your job
6-source contractor verification and bid-leveling
Contract review with construction attorney sign-off
Verified Milestone Payouts setup (automated Stripe rail, or optional licensed-escrow rail)
Customer portal: photo & video reports for every trade and a live project timeline
Project coordination from contract through final sign-off and certificate of occupancy
LADBS / city building department liaison
Mid-project intervention if issues arise
Post-completion warranty coordination (first 12 months)

Time 6–12 months end-to-end (matches project length)

Best for Homeowners who want a top, verified contractor plus full oversight and budget protection — at the same price as going direct

Section 03

Two Ways Homeowners Think About the Build

Profile A · 55–65

The Aging-In-Place Planner

Building an ADU for an elderly parent on a tight health-driven timeline. The question is whether the project finishes on time. A six-month delay caused by a contractor dispute is not absorbable when a parent's health is declining.

The value: A top builder with real capacity, structured verification before signing, and a single point of contact who returns calls — at no extra cost over going direct.

Profile B · 40–55

The Equity Optimizer

Building for rental income. The value is the rental-start clock. If a verified, capacity-cleared contractor and milestone-tied payments prevent one mid-project failure, or shave three months off the rental-start timeline, the math works strongly in your favor.

The value: You didn't pay a cent more than going direct to get it. And you started with a better contractor and better contract protection from day one.

Mid-page CTA · match the right product to your project

Start with the free Reality Check — we'll tell you which product is the right next step

Start with the free Reality Check, and if your lot qualifies, we will tell you which of the four products is the right next step for your specific situation.

Match the right product to your project See the full Method →

Section 04

What's Not Included in Any Engagement

We're transparent about scope boundaries.

Architectural design and engineering

Separate licensed professionals (we can recommend; we don't design).

Geotech / soils reports

Separate licensed professionals (we coordinate; we don't perform).

Construction work itself

That's the contractor (we verify and oversee; we don't build).

Property purchase decisions

We'll Reality Check a lot you're considering, but we're not a real-estate advisor.

Tax / legal advice on rental income, depreciation, etc.

Separate professionals (we'll point you to the right ones).

Construction loan origination

We'll guide the financing path, but we're not a lender or broker.

What we don't do →

Section 05

Why the Build Costs You Nothing Extra

Three structural reasons it works this way.

Reason 01

We replace the contractor's customer-acquisition channel

A good contractor already spends real money to find customers — Google ads, lead marketplaces, sales overhead. We hand him verified demand plus our software and data instead, so he pays us out of that existing budget. That's why your price doesn't change: our margin lives inside the number you'd pay anyway.

Reason 02

We're not a markup on top

The price you pay is the price of the build. We don't add a separate homeowner fee on top of it. The contractor's margin and ours both live inside the same number — the one you'd pay going direct.

Reason 03

The protection is structural, not a premium

The thing that protects your money — Verified Milestone Payouts, where funds release only after a passed inspection — costs you nothing extra on the default automated rail. California's CSLB license bond caps recovery at $25,000 total for all claims combined, under 10% of a typical $300K ADU. The milestone structure is what keeps unfunded draws out of a contractor's account in the first place.

How the build-side model works →

Section 06

Citable Factoids — Pricing

$0 Extra cost above going direct The managed build costs the homeowner nothing extra

$199 Feasibility & Risk Assessment The one upfront payment from the homeowner

Same Price as going direct We're paid by the contractor, not as a markup on your price

Free Reality Check No cost, no commitment, no follow-up call required

$25K CSLB bond cap (total) Why inspection-gated milestone payments matter more than recourse

1 in 7 Reports recommend not to build We say so clearly, before any money moves

Sources: CSLB Fast Facts License Bond 2025, California Financial Code §17000+ (DFPI), and IRS Publication 527.

Section 07

FAQ — Pricing

Why is the Reality Check free?

Because the lead is generated by trust, not by withholding the answer. If your lot doesn't qualify, the report tells you that. If it does, we give you the next-step recommendation. You decide whether to engage further. Free Reality Check is a customer-acquisition cost we accept; we'd rather have a no-pressure first interaction than a high-friction one.

How does ADUscale make money if I pay the same as going direct?

The contractor pays us out of the budget he already spends to find customers — ads, lead marketplaces, sales overhead. We replace that channel with verified demand plus our software and data, so the number you pay lands the same whether you go direct, through a marketplace, or through us. We're not a markup on top of your price.

Is the build really free for me?

The managed build adds no separate fee for you. You pay the same final price as going direct. The only thing you pay upfront is the $199 Feasibility & Risk Assessment. The optional licensed-escrow rail adds the partner's own fee (0.5–1.0% of funds held), paid directly to the licensed agent — that's a third-party cost, not ours.

What does the managed build actually buy me?

On a typical $300K California ADU: one of the best contractors in your market — with the capacity to take your job — instead of whoever happens to be free; a six-source verification framework that filters out the failure-pattern indicators behind the ATH (Anchored Tiny Homes Chapter 7 bankruptcy) and Multitaskr collapses; bid-leveling that checks whether a quote is complete and fairly priced; a contract review by construction counsel before you sign; Verified Milestone Payouts that keep unfunded draws out of contractor accounts (CSLB bond recovery is capped at $25K total for all claims combined, so structural protection matters more than legal recourse); LADBS / city liaison; and a customer portal with photo and video reports for every trade and a live project timeline. All at the same price as going direct.

What happens to the $199 if I decide an ADU isn't right for me after Feasibility?

You keep the Feasibility report. Most homeowners who decide against the project still consider the report worth the cost. It surfaces information that's hard to get elsewhere about lot eligibility, financing math, and risk profile.

Are your costs tax-deductible?

For homeowners building a rental ADU, project soft costs are typically deductible (consult your tax professional, we don't give tax advice). For homeowners building a primary-residence-type ADU (aging parent, adult child), costs are typically capitalized into the property basis. IRS Publication 527 (Residential Rental Property) is the starting point for the rental-ADU case; your CPA handles the specifics.

Will my build price change if the project goes over budget or runs long?

There's no separate ADUscale fee to change. You pay the build price, the same as going direct. If construction runs 2 months long, that doesn't add an ADUscale charge. If the project scope formally expands (you add a 2nd ADU, switch from garage conversion to new detached, etc.), the build price itself changes — that's the contractor's number, the same as it would be going direct.

Is the Verified Milestone Payouts service charged separately?

The automated rail (through Stripe's payment infrastructure) is included, no extra charge. The optional licensed-escrow rail (regulated DFPI-licensed escrow under California Financial Code §17000 et seq.) charges a 0.5–1.0% partner fee on funds held. That is a third-party fee that pays the licensed escrow agent, not ADUscale. We don't hold your money on either rail.

About the author · Yaro Korets, Founder of ADUscale

ADUscale is a California build-side ADU partner: we help homeowners secure one of the state's top contractors, expand that contractor's capacity to take the project, and protect the budget with inspection-gated milestone payments — at the same price as going direct. We don't hold the construction license, pour concrete, or frame walls. The managed build costs the homeowner nothing extra; we're paid by the contractor out of the budget he already spends to find customers, so the homeowner's price is the same as going direct. The $199 Feasibility & Risk Assessment is the one upfront thing the homeowner pays, and it is documented in the engagement agreement. The build-side structure and escrow language are reviewed by California construction-finance counsel. We are not a lender, mortgage broker, or financial advisor.

Last updated: June 2026.

ADUscale Pricing — What a California ADU Build Costs You