How to Compare Pool Quotes in Sydney (Apples for Apples)
Completed concrete pool build by Cronulla Pools, Sydney pool builders.
I know what a lot of you are doing at 11pm on the couch. You've got three pool quotes open, a glass of something, and ChatGPT in another tab, trying to work out why one says $90k and another says $140k for what looks like the exact same pool.
The short answer is that they're almost never quoting the same pool. A pool quote is really a list of promises: what's included, what's not, and what happens if something changes on site. When two quotes for the same backyard sit tens of thousands of dollars apart, the gap is nearly always hiding in what one of them left out.
I'm Kate, I co-own Cronulla Pools with my husband Matt, and I read other builders' quotes most weeks because clients send them to us and ask "what am I missing?" So here's how I'd compare them if I were you.
Why pool quotes for the same backyard can be so different
A client recently shared a quote with us (logos removed, which I appreciated) that started at around $70,000. It looked brilliant next to ours. Then we read the extras list underneath it.
Survey. Sewer peg-out. Sydney Water building plan approval. CDC approval. Concept design and 3D renders. Excavation and tip fees. Variable speed pump. Heating lines. Automation. Coping tile supply. Waterline tile supply. A concealed skimmer lid. Each one was a reasonable line item on its own, but together the extras added up to more than $30,000, and that was before pool fencing, the heater itself, or any rock.
That builder wasn't doing anything dodgy. They'd just chosen to show a lower starting number and list the rest separately. We choose to include most of it upfront, which can make our number look heavier on day one but means fewer surprises halfway through.
Neither approach is wrong. You just need to know which one you're looking at.
The things most often left out of a pool quote
These are the items I see missing or listed as "extras" most often. They aren't optional, they're the things that get you swimming:
Spoil removal (taking the dirt away, which on a decent-sized pool is a lot of trucks)
Engineering
Approvals (CDC or DA, plus Sydney Water)
Site survey and sewer peg-out
Permanent pool fencing
Heating, or just the pipework for heating with no actual heater
Coping and waterline tile supply (sometimes labour is in, tiles aren't)
Design, concept plans and 3D renders
Access constraints like hand digging, cranes or conveyors
If a quote is cheaper, the useful question isn't "why is the other one more expensive?" It's "what's missing from this one?"
Check the pool is actually the same pool
This sounds obvious but geez, it catches people out all the time. Before you compare prices, compare the basics:
Size. Is it 5 x 2.5m on one and 4.5 x 2.5m on the other? Half a metre changes the price.
Interior. Beadcrete (a render made with glass beads and quartz) and a fully tiled pool are very different costs.
Coping width. A 300mm coping and a 400mm coping with extra paving around the pool are not the same job.
Spa, benches, steps, a beach entry or a pool window.
Equipment. Heat pump or gas, filtration type, automation, a robotic cleaner, an acoustic box for the pump.
Using ChatGPT to compare pool quotes (properly)
I'm genuinely all for it. I use it to work out which health insurance actually covers anything. But the answer you get back is only as good as the question you ask it. Type "which quote is cheaper?" and you'll get a pretty average answer.
Ask it to do this instead:
List every line item in each quote side by side.
Flag anything that appears in one quote but not the other.
Check the pool dimensions, interior finish and coping width match.
List every exclusion, provisional sum (an allowance that can change) and "TBC".
Write five questions to ask each builder about what's missing.
Then bring those questions to your builders. We love it when people do this, because it means we're having a real conversation about the details instead of only chatting about two numbers on a page.
Questions to ask every pool builder about their quote
What exactly happens if you hit rock, and how is it charged?
Who arranges and pays for the survey, engineering and approvals?
Is pool fencing included, and is it temporary or permanent?
Which equipment is included, by brand?
What's a provisional sum in this quote, and how could it move?
What's your payment schedule, and what's the deposit for?
What happens after handover? (Ours includes a four-week maintenance period with a weekly technician visit and a loaned Dolphin robotic cleaner.)
How much should a concrete pool actually cost in Sydney?
Most concrete pools we build in Sydney land somewhere between $100,000 and $150,000, and some go well beyond that. As a rough example, a 6 x 3m pool with one to two metres of side access is likely to be around $150k once you factor in fencing and some extra paving. Two pools that look identical on Instagram can sit $10k to $100k apart because of access, rock, finishes, engineering and services. Every site gets quoted individually, and our full pricing guide walks through what moves the number.
Wrap up
If you've got a few quotes on the kitchen bench right now and you're not sure what you're comparing, send them through and we'll happily walk you through what's in them and what isn't, even if you end up building with someone else, because I'd much rather you made a good decision than a rushed one. Give me a call on 1300 373 706.
