A plumber, cleaner or handyman starting out wants the job list, the quote and the invoice in one app without a monthly bill. Jobber and Housecall Pro do not offer that: they offer a two-week trial. One of the three tools compared here is genuinely free for a solo operator, with a cap that tells you when you have outgrown it. We read each vendor's pricing page on October 27, 2026; nothing here comes from a hands-on trial.
For whom: an owner-operator or a two-person crew doing up to about 30 jobs a month. Not for: a shop with a dispatcher and several technicians; see field service software, ranked.
Free plans and trials
| Tool | Free option | Limit | First paid step |
|---|---|---|---|
| ServiceM8 | Permanent free plan | 1 user, 30 jobs a month | Starter, $29 a month: unlimited users, 50 jobs a month |
| Jobber | 14-day trial of the Grow plan, no card | Trial only | Core, $29 a month billed annually for 1 user (introductory discounts were shown for the first months) |
| Housecall Pro | 14-day trial, no card | Trial only | Basic, $59 a month billed annually for 1 user |
| Product | Published entry price | Free plan |
|---|---|---|
| ServiceM8 | $29/month for 50 jobsStarter planVendor pricing page, checked Oct 27, 2026 ↗ | Yes, 1 user and 30 jobs a month |
| Jobber | $29/month for 1 user, billed annuallyCore plan$49 billed monthly; introductory promotions shownVendor pricing page, checked Oct 27, 2026 ↗ | No |
| Housecall Pro | $59/month, billed annuallyBasic plan$79 billed monthlyVendor pricing page, checked Oct 27, 2026 ↗ | No |
Prices are the entry list prices each vendor publishes on its own US pricing page, read on Oct 27, 2026. They exclude taxes, payment processing unless stated, hardware, add-ons and negotiated discounts; a promotion appears only in the notes, labeled as one. Prices change. No vendor paid for a place or a price in this table.
ServiceM8's tiers count jobs, not people: Growing covers 150 jobs a month and Premium 500, all with unlimited users. Jobber and Housecall Pro count users: each higher plan includes more of them.
Our pick
ServiceM8 Free, for an owner-operator. It is the only permanent free plan among the three tools compared here, and its cap (30 jobs a month) is a fair measure of when the business can afford software. When you hire, its Starter plan adds unlimited users for $29 a month.
- Pick Jobber instead when the quote-to-invoice path matters more than counting jobs, and you will pay from the start: Core is $29 a month billed annually for one user. Note that its QuickBooks Online sync starts on the Connect plan, not Core.
- Use a trial, not a free plan, to test Housecall Pro if your work is call-driven and you expect to add an office person soon; its Basic plan is $59 a month billed annually.
- Who should skip free plans: a business already past 30 jobs a month, or one where two people need the app on day one.
For whether you also need accounting software, see field service software vs accounting software.
Traceable evidence
Sources for this decision
- vendorServiceM8 official product siteServiceM8 · checked Aug 5, 2026 · supports: Vendor-published product scope used to verify capabilities relevant to this buyer context: Small mobile service teams evaluating a field-first workflow. It does not prove the guide's fit verdict, configured performance, current pricing or compliance.Open source ↗
- vendorJobber official product siteJobber · checked Aug 5, 2026 · supports: Vendor-published product scope used to verify capabilities relevant to this buyer context: Small home-service teams that want a clear path from quote through job and invoice. It does not prove the guide's fit verdict, configured performance, current pricing or compliance.Open source ↗
- vendorHousecall Pro official product siteHousecall Pro · checked Aug 5, 2026 · supports: Vendor-published product scope used to verify capabilities relevant to this buyer context: Home-service shops prioritizing dispatch, customer communication, and office usability. It does not prove the guide's fit verdict, configured performance, current pricing or compliance.Open source ↗
- vendorServiceM8 pricing pageServiceM8 · checked Oct 27, 2026 · supports: ServiceM8's own pricing page as read on 2026-10-27, supporting the entry list price of its Starter plan ($29/month for 50 jobs), and a free plan (Yes, 1 user and 30 jobs a month). It does not prove the total cost for a given buyer, later price changes, promotions, negotiated discounts or taxes.Open source ↗
- vendorJobber pricing pageJobber · checked Oct 27, 2026 · supports: Jobber's own pricing page as read on 2026-10-27, supporting the entry list price of its Core plan ($29/month for 1 user, billed annually) and the page details recorded with it ($49 billed monthly; introductory promotions shown), and whether a free plan exists. It does not prove the total cost for a given buyer, later price changes, promotions, negotiated discounts or taxes.Open source ↗
- vendorHousecall Pro pricing pageHousecall Pro · checked Oct 27, 2026 · supports: Housecall Pro's own pricing page as read on 2026-10-27, supporting the entry list price of its Basic plan ($59/month, billed annually) and the page details recorded with it ($79 billed monthly), and whether a free plan exists. It does not prove the total cost for a given buyer, later price changes, promotions, negotiated discounts or taxes.Open source ↗
- vendorServiceM8 pricing page, plan limitsServiceM8 · checked Oct 27, 2026 · supports: ServiceM8's US pricing page as read on October 27, 2026: Free at no cost for one user and 30 jobs a month, Starter with unlimited users and 50 jobs a month, Growing with 150 jobs and Premium with 500 jobs, and a 14-day free trial; it does not prove fit for a given trade.Open source ↗
- vendorJobber pricing page, plan featuresJobber · checked Oct 27, 2026 · supports: Jobber's pricing page as read on October 27, 2026: a 14-day trial of the Grow plan without a card and no free plan; Core for one user, Connect for one or five users and Grow for one or ten users, each with annual, committed-monthly and monthly prices and introductory prices for the first months (Connect billed annually: 99 dollars a month for one user and 149 dollars for five after a 12-month introductory price); extra users at a monthly price each; a new-customer promotion ending October 30, 2026; and QuickBooks Online sync on Connect, Grow and Plus, not Core; it does not prove sync behavior.Open source ↗
- vendorHousecall Pro pricing page, plan featuresHousecall Pro · checked Oct 27, 2026 · supports: Housecall Pro's pricing page as read on October 27, 2026: a 14-day free trial without a card and no free plan; Basic with one user, Essentials with five users and Max with eight users, each with annual and monthly prices; additional users at a monthly price; and QuickBooks Online data import listed under Essentials and included in Max; it does not prove sync behavior.Open source ↗