Xactimate and Symbility — now rebranded as Cotality — are the two estimating platforms that dominate insurance restoration, and every roofer eventually asks which one to learn. This head-to-head comparison breaks down who uses each platform, how they differ in sketching, pricing, and workflow, what each costs, and gives a clear answer on where a residential roofer's training time pays off first.

Most roofers can recite "the 1/300 rule" — and most are quoting the exception, not the code. This guide sets the record straight on attic ventilation for residential roofing: what IRC R806 actually requires (the 1/150 baseline and how to earn the 1/300 reduction), how to calculate net free area in five minutes, the intake-exhaust balance that makes ventilation actually work, ridge vs. box vs. power vents, and how to scope ventilation correctly in the estimate.

Every number in your Xactimate estimate flows from one source: the price list. This guide explains how Verisk builds and updates its localized price lists, why prices change monthly (and faster after storms), how the "Completed estimate" feedback loop quietly shapes future pricing, and the practical rules every roofer should follow — from always estimating on the current list to knowing when and how to adjust a price the list gets wrong.