Software Comparison • 14 min read
Six platforms, real pricing, and a straight answer on who each one actually suits. No affiliate spin. No "everything is great". Just what works for which kind of tradie - and the gap none of them fix.
If you're skimming, here's the short version. The right tool depends on your team size, your phone, and the way you actually quote work.
Below we go through each one properly - what they actually do, what they cost, and where they fall down. We've ranked them by how well they fit a typical Australian tradie business, not how slick the marketing is.
Here's the cheat sheet. We'll dig into the detail underneath.
| Software | Starting Price | Pricing Model | Mobile | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ServiceM8 | Free / $29 USD | Per job | iOS only | Solo & small teams |
| Tradify | ~$45 AUD | Per user/mo | iOS & Android | All-rounder, mixed teams |
| Fergus | ~$35 AUD | Per user/mo | iOS & Android | Quote-heavy trades |
| Jobber | ~$39 USD | Tiered + user limits | iOS & Android | CRM-focused, NA-leaning |
| simPRO | Quote only | Per user/mo (custom) | iOS & Android | Commercial / 20+ staff |
| AroFlo | ~$54 AUD | Per user/mo | iOS & Android | Mid-size trade businesses |
Prices are indicative starting points as of May 2026. Most platforms have multiple tiers, and simPRO is quote-only so the number depends on your setup. Always check current pricing before committing.
ServiceM8 is the most popular job management app for Australian tradies, and for good reason. It was built here, the mobile experience is excellent, and there's a genuinely free tier that covers a lot of solo operators.
ServiceM8 prices in USD and charges per job, not per user. The free plan covers 30 jobs per month for 1 user. Paid plans run from $29 USD (50 jobs) up to $349 USD (1,500+ jobs). All paid plans include unlimited users, which is unusual in this market.
For a deeper look, read our full ServiceM8 review. The short version: if everyone in your business uses iPhone, it's hard to beat.
Tradify is built across the ditch in New Zealand and is the sensible default if you don't all run iPhones. It does most of what ServiceM8 does, plus it works properly on Android.
Tradify is per-user-per-month, priced in AUD for Australian customers. Starting tier is around $45 AUD per user per month, with no big differences between tiers - you mostly get the same features from day one. There's a 14-day free trial.
If you're considering Tradify but want something with smarter automation built in, read our take on the Tradify alternative landscape.
Fergus is also from New Zealand and has a serious following with plumbers, electricians, and HVAC techs who deal with a lot of estimating and variations. Their "Status Board" view is the thing their fans rave about.
Fergus runs three tiers in AUD, starting around $35 per user per month for the basic plan. Mid and top tiers add advanced quoting, timesheets, and reporting. There's a free trial.
Jobber is a Canadian platform with strong adoption in North America among lawn care, cleaning, and home services. It's available in Australia and gets the basics right, but the product is shaped around US/Canadian markets - tax, payments, and marketing features included.
Jobber is tiered with user limits. The Core plan starts around $39 USD per month for 1 user. Connect (~$119 USD) raises that to 5 users, and Grow (~$249 USD) goes to 15. Pricing is per plan, not purely per user, which can be cheaper than Tradify once you have several staff.
If you're shopping Jobber from Australia, see how it stacks up against AU-first options.
Software Picks the Job. AI Picks Up the Phone.
Whichever platform you go with, none of them answer your phone when you're under a sink. MethodisAI does - and books straight into your job management tool.
simPRO is the heavy hitter. Built in Brisbane, used heavily by mid and large commercial trade businesses, especially electrical, fire, HVAC, and security. If you've got 20 staff plus and a project manager, this is probably already on your shortlist.
simPRO is quote-only - they don't publish prices. Real-world numbers from customers tend to start around $200 AUD per user per month for smaller deployments and climb significantly with implementation fees, training, and add-on modules. Expect onboarding to take weeks, not days.
AroFlo is another Australian-built option, sitting between Tradify and simPRO. It's popular with trade businesses that have outgrown the lighter tools but don't need simPRO's complexity. Web-based with mobile apps for the field.
AroFlo Go (their lighter mobile-first plan) starts around $54 AUD per user per month. The full AroFlo plan is closer to $77 AUD per user per month and unlocks deeper inventory, project, and workflow features. Pricing is in AUD with no surprise FX exposure.
Forget the feature checklists for a minute. Three questions get you most of the way to the right tool.
If you all run iPhone, ServiceM8 is the strongest choice and the cheapest at small scale. If anyone uses Android, cross it off and look at Tradify, Fergus, or AroFlo.
Solo or 2-3 staff, ServiceM8 free or Tradify entry tier is fine. 5-15 staff, you've got the most options - Tradify, Fergus, ServiceM8, AroFlo all work. 15+ and especially commercial work, look hard at AroFlo and simPRO.
Be honest about where the bottleneck is. If quoting eats your evenings, Fergus or AroFlo. If you live in dispatch and scheduling, ServiceM8 or simPRO. If you're losing customers to slow follow-up and reviews, Jobber's CRM layer is hard to match. If your books are a mess, anything with a Xero/MYOB integration will save you.
A note on free trials:
Every tool here offers either a free plan or a free trial. Pick your top two and run them in parallel for a week with real jobs. Software demos lie. Real jobs don't. The one that's still being used after seven days is the one to keep.
Here's the awkward truth. Every tool in this comparison is excellent at the same thing: managing jobs after they've already become jobs. They quote, schedule, invoice, and chase payment.
None of them answer your phone.
When a customer calls you while you're under a sink, on a roof, or mid-bench-test, the phone rings out. They hit voicemail. They hang up and call the next tradie on Google. Your beautifully configured ServiceM8 (or Tradify, or Fergus) doesn't help, because the lead never makes it into the system.
Industry data lines up: most tradies miss 3-5 calls a week, and a decent chunk of those callers go elsewhere. At an average job value of $400-600, that's $1,500-2,500 a week walking away from a business that already has the back office sorted.
The fix isn't switching job management software. It's putting an AI receptionist in front of it. The AI answers every call 24/7, has a real conversation with the caller, captures the details, and books the job straight into ServiceM8, Tradify, Fergus or wherever via API. Your job software then runs the rest of the workflow exactly as it always has - except now it never starts at "missed call".
There's no single best job management software for tradies in 2026. ServiceM8 wins for solo iPhone-first operators. Tradify is the sensible default for mixed teams. Fergus suits quote-heavy trades. AroFlo and simPRO scale up to bigger commercial work. Jobber's CRM is great if your North American clients matter.
The bigger move - the one most tradies miss - is realising that any of these tools is only the back half of the job. Pair the right platform with an AI receptionist on the front, and you stop leaking jobs at the moment a stranger first dials your number.
That's the upgrade that pays for itself in the first month.
There is no single best - it depends on your setup. ServiceM8 is the best mobile-first option for solo tradies and small teams on iPhone. Tradify is the best all-rounder if you have Android users. Fergus suits trades that quote a lot of variations. simPRO and AroFlo are built for larger operations with 10+ staff. Jobber is most relevant if you also work in North America.
ServiceM8 has a genuinely free plan that covers up to 30 jobs per month for one user, with no time limit. For paid options, Tradify starts around $45 AUD per user per month. Fergus starts around $35 AUD per user per month for solo operators. Jobber's entry plan is around $39 USD per month. Per-job pricing (ServiceM8) is cheaper than per-user pricing once you have staff.
ServiceM8 has a stronger mobile experience and a free plan, but it is iOS only. Tradify works on both iOS and Android and uses simpler per-user pricing. If everyone on your team uses iPhone, ServiceM8 is hard to beat. If anyone runs Android, Tradify is the more practical choice.
No. Job management software like ServiceM8, Tradify, Fergus, simPRO, and AroFlo handle the work after a job is in your system - quoting, scheduling, invoicing, and payments. None of them answer ringing phones, talk to callers, or capture job details from missed calls. For that you need an AI receptionist that connects into your job management tool via API.
If you do more than 5-10 jobs a week, yes. Even solo tradies lose hours every week on paper job cards, chasing invoices, and re-typing customer details. ServiceM8 free or Tradify starter plans pay for themselves quickly through faster quoting, fewer late payments, and less admin. The real question is which one fits your phone and your workflow.
Add an AI receptionist that answers every call and books straight into ServiceM8, Tradify, Fergus, or whatever you're running. 24/7, no missed calls, no double handling.