Frequently asked questions

An innovative, independent way to shop for building and renovation materials. An AI agent helps you shop: describe your project or paste your list, it builds the materials list with you and compares the price of every item at the stores around your job site. You get the buying plan: where to buy what to pay the least for the whole list. Buildsavr is co-founded by Alexandre Pelletier and Simon Lafortune. See how it works.

Yes, the Free plan gives you 5 comparisons a month at no cost. For full projects, the Builder Homeowner and Builder Pro plans give you 100 and 500 comparisons a month. See pricing.

None is cheapest on everything. The cheapest store changes from one product to the next and from week to week, with flyers and regional prices. That is why we compare item by item: the buying plan tells you where to buy each product, and how much you save versus buying everything in one place.

Homeowners who renovate, people building their own house, and contractors. See our pages for homeowners, self-builders and contractors.

Yes. Buildsavr has a native connector for Claude: plug it in, and Claude searches for your materials and compares their prices across Quebec stores, with your account. Connectors for ChatGPT and Muse are coming. Meanwhile, our MCP server already works with any compatible assistant, including ChatGPT and Cursor. A free account is enough. Instructions are on the connect an AI assistant page.

The trial lasts 7 days and requires a credit card. Nothing is charged during those 7 days. At the end, unless you cancelled, the subscription starts: your card is charged for the plan and billing cycle you picked at sign-up (monthly or yearly), plus taxes. We send you a reminder email with the date and amount in the last days of the trial. One trial per account.

Go to Settings, then Manage your plan, and click "Cancel subscription". A short survey appears, but you can cancel right away without answering it. During the trial, cancelling takes effect immediately: you are not charged, and your account moves back to the Free plan with your lists and history.

At the end of the 7 days, the trial becomes a subscription unless it was cancelled, and the card is charged. If the Yearly option was selected at sign-up, a full year is charged, plus taxes. The reminder email sent before the trial ended may have landed in your spam folder. If the charge caught you off guard, write to us as soon as possible from your account’s email address: for a yearly subscription taken by mistake, on the same day we refund eleven months out of twelve, and up to 14 days we can pause or transfer it. The conditions are in our refund policy.

A monthly subscription is not refunded: it stays active until the end of the paid month. A yearly subscription is not refunded either, unless it was paid by mistake and you write to us the same day (eleven months out of twelve refunded), or within 14 days for a pause or transfer. A billing error on our side, such as a double charge or a charge after you cancelled, is refunded in full. Everything is in our refund policy.

Go to Settings, then Manage your plan, and click "Cancel subscription". A short survey appears, but you can cancel right away without answering it. Your plan stays active until the end of the paid period, then your account moves back to the Free plan, with your lists and history. The unused portion is not refunded.

Go to Settings, then Manage your plan, and pick the plan you want. You confirm the change on a Stripe page that shows the prorated amount. Your invoices are under "Manage subscription".

No. Prices shown are before taxes: GST and QST, or your province’s sales tax, are added at checkout.

We credit you back. If the price you paid in store does not match the one we showed you, email a photo of your receipt to hello@batirarabais.ca within 14 days, from your account’s address, and we put the comparisons concerned back in your account. The credit is in comparisons, not money. The conditions are in our refund policy.

Yes, on the Custom plan: business invoicing, bank transfer or Net 30. Email partenaires@batirarabais.ca to discuss it. The Builder Homeowner and Builder Pro plans are paid by credit card, through Stripe.

You can sign in with your email and password, with Google or with Apple: try the method you used to sign up first. If you forgot your password, or never chose one (for example if your account was created with a code emailed to you to see prices), click "Forgot your password?" on the sign-in page: we will send you a link to choose one. After several failed attempts, wait a few minutes. If nothing works, click "I can’t sign in" under the sign-in form: we will answer by email.

When you sign up, we send a 6-digit code to the address you entered. Check your spam folder and the spelling of your address. You can ask for a new code with "Resend the code" after a short wait. A code or link expires after a while, stated in the email: if yours has expired, ask for a new one.

Not yet. Each subscription is tied to a single account, with its own projects and its own comparison quota: we do not offer team accounts. For several people in your company to use Buildsavr, take one subscription per person. For a bigger need, email partenaires@batirarabais.ca: the Custom plan is tailored to your usage.

Go to Settings, then click "Delete your account". If you have an active subscription, cancel it first (Settings, then Manage your plan). If someone else created the account in your name, write to us from the address concerned.

For your password: on the sign-in page, click "Forgot your password?" and we will send you a link to choose a new one. If you signed up with Google or Apple, use the same button to sign in. To change your email address, write to us from the account’s current address and we will take care of it.

You add your materials list: paste it as text, or upload a photo or a PDF on a paid plan. We pick out the items and quantities, then compare prices across the stores we cover. You see where to buy each item to pay the least for the whole list, with a store-by-store shopping route.

Click "New project" in the left-hand menu (on a phone, tap "New" at the bottom of the screen). Name your project, for example "Deck 2026", enter your job site city and how far you are willing to drive. You then move on to the List step, where you add your materials.

You can paste your list as text, one item per line, in free form: for example "20 2x4x8" or "15 plywood 1/2 4x8". On a paid plan, you can also upload a photo (handwritten or printed list, a quote) or a PDF. Text is still the fastest. We do not read Excel files: copy the rows and paste them as text.

The address is used to find the stores within your radius and to plan the shopping route. Only the city is required; the street is optional. It is only sent to a supplier if you ask that supplier for a quote or an order yourself. You can change it in each project’s Location step, and set a default address for new projects in Settings.

1 comparison = 1 item compared across every store we cover. An 80-item list therefore uses 80 comparisons. Re-running the same list in the same project on the same day costs nothing extra: only the items you added count.

Free: 5 comparisons a month. Builder Homeowner ($16.99 a month): 100. Builder Pro ($79 a month): 500. Details and yearly prices are on the Pricing page.

5 comparisons a month, 1 new project a month and 5 messages to the assistant a month. Photo and PDF upload, choosing your stores and choosing your buying strategy are reserved for paid plans.

On the same date every month, not on the 1st: the day you signed up on the Free plan, your billing day on a paid plan.

If your list has more items than you have comparisons left, the comparison does not run and you are shown the plans. You can also remove items from the list, or wait for your next renewal. To change plans: Settings, then Manage your plan. Stripe prorates the change.

Yes, on paid plans. What is left at the end of the period rolls over, up to one month’s quota. For example, on Builder Homeowner (100 a month), you can keep up to 100 rolled-over comparisons on top of the month’s own. The Free plan has no rollover.

This label appears on a store’s price when it is far off the other stores’ price for the same product: it may be a different size or the wrong product matched. The price stays visible, but we leave it out of your buying plan. You will also see "Confirm in store" on a price that has not been refreshed in more than 30 days.

Every price shows the date we read it. We refresh prices regularly, and a price older than 30 days is flagged "Confirm in store". Prices are indicative: always confirm in store before a large purchase.

The major Quebec banners, such as Rona, Home Depot, Canac, Patrick Morin, BMR and Matério, plus many regional and partner retailers. The full, current list is on the Retailers page. It grows with every partnership.

No. We are an independent service, not affiliated with, endorsed or sponsored by the major banners named. All trademarks mentioned belong to their respective owners.

From several sources, and that is what makes the difference. We legally read the public prices shown on stores’ product pages, and we read their weekly flyers. Our members also fix prices themselves, by reporting a wrong price or uploading their receipt. Above all, many partner retailers send us their catalogue directly, with their prices. So Buildsavr has far more than public prices: that is what helps you find the right material at the best price.

Flyers are re-read every week, around Thursday, when stores start their new week. Regular prices are read automatically every day, and more often for lumber and panels, whose prices move fast. A price not checked in more than 30 days is flagged "Confirm in store".

In your buying plan, tap "This price looks wrong?" next to the item. We record your report and invite you to upload your receipt: we fix the price for everyone and you get a free comparison. You can also write to us with the "Wrong price" subject, giving the store, the product and the price you saw, ideally with a photo of the receipt or shelf tag. We check before changing a price.

There are a few possible reasons. For each banner, we keep the most convenient location for your job site, not every location. Your project radius is measured by road when possible: a store close as the crow flies can be further by car. A store does not show up for an item it does not sell or that we have no price for. On a paid plan, also check that the store is not unchecked in your selection. Try widening the radius, and if the store should be there, write to us with its name and address.

Write to us with the form at the bottom of this page, with the store’s name and region. We prioritize additions by demand and by whether public prices are available. If you are the retailer, write to partenaires@batirarabais.ca.

You take a photo of your receipt after a purchase. We read the prices you paid and, when we recognize the product, add them to our database. In return, you get free comparisons. Our prices get more accurate, and you get to compare more. Details are on the price-sharing program page.

1 free comparison per validated line on your receipt, credited as soon as it has been read. What you can earn in a month is capped at your plan’s monthly quota. One receipt per store per date, and the purchase must be recent.

No. We only read the store, date, items, prices and total, and ignore your name, card and contact details. A price added to our database is not tied to your name. The photo you send is kept in private storage, accessible only to you and our team.

What the service needs to work: your email address, first name, job site address, your lists and their comparisons. If you add them, your phone number, company name, photos of lists or receipts and your house plan. We never sell data. The details are in our privacy policy.

Yes. Only you can see your lists, and there is no public link to share them. They are only sent to a supplier if you ask that supplier for a quote or an order yourself. Stores only see group statistics, such as how many times a product was compared, never what is in your lists.

Yes. We follow Law 25 on the protection of personal information. You can delete your account yourself in Settings; if you have an active subscription, cancel it first. To get a copy of your data or ask a question, email simon@batirarabais.ca, our privacy officer. The details are in our privacy policy.

No analytics or advertising cookies until you click "Accept" in the banner: without your consent, our statistics run without cookies. Google Analytics and the Meta pixel only load after "Accept", and you can change your mind at any time with the "Manage cookies" link at the bottom of every page. To measure our ads, some events (sign-up, comparison, purchase) are also sent to Meta from our servers, in hashed form. See our privacy policy.

Once installed, the app opens full screen from your home screen icon, like a real app. Faster to launch in store, no browser bar, no retyping the site’s address. All your lists stay in one place.

Open buildsavr.com in Safari. Tap the Share button (the square with an arrow pointing up), scroll the menu, then tap "Add to Home Screen" and confirm with Add. The icon appears among your other apps.

Open buildsavr.com in Chrome or Edge. Tap the menu (the three dots at the top right), then "Install app" or "Add to Home screen". The icon appears among your other apps.

In Chrome or Edge, click the install icon on the right of the address bar (a small monitor with an arrow), then Install. The app opens in its own window, available from your Start menu or Dock. In Safari on a Mac, go to File, then "Add to Dock".

No. The installed app is the website in its own window: it needs a connection to show your lists and comparisons. Before heading to the store, open your buying plan and use "Print / save as PDF" to have it on hand without a signal.

On iPhone or Android, press and hold the icon, then choose Remove or Uninstall, like any app. On a computer, open the app, open the menu (the three dots), then "Uninstall". Your data stays in your account if you sign back in later.