TradePicked

Compare trade software, side by side

Choose a category, then put two or three tools head to head on the things that actually decide it: what they cost, whether your crew will use the app, how you get paid, and what keeps customers coming back. No sales pitch, no fluff.

Pick up to 3 to compare. Selecting a fourth replaces the oldest.

QuickBooks Payroll
Gusto
Fit & support
Ease of useHow hard it is to get a non-technical crew actually using it.
Simple if you already run QuickBooks; more menus to learn if you do not
Among the easiest to run; guided setup and payroll in a few clicks
SupportWhat owners say about reaching a human when something breaks.
Chat help around the clock; phone hours are limited, HR advisor only on Elite
Phone, chat and email on weekdays; priority help and a named rep cost extra
Pricing & terms
Starts atThe real monthly cost to get in the door, before add-ons.
Workforce (Core) $50/mo plus $6.50 per employee; Premium $88+$10, Elite $134+$12
Contractor Only $35/mo plus $6 each; Simple $49+$6, Plus $80+$12, Premium $180+$22
How pricing worksFlat tiers, per user, or per job. This decides how fast the bill grows as you add people.
Base fee plus a fee per employee, on top of the QuickBooks Online plan you pay for
Monthly base fee plus a per person fee, billed only for people you actually paid
Free trial or planCan you try it with your own jobs before paying?
Free 30 days, or take the intro discount instead; you cannot have both
No real trial, but setup is free and billing starts when you run your first payroll
ContractMonth-to-month vs a year-plus commitment you can't easily leave.
Month to month, cancel anytime, no termination fee
Month to month, cancel anytime, no annual contract
What it does
Files payroll taxesFiles and pays the payroll taxes for you, which is the whole reason to buy this.
Files federal and state taxes for you; local tax filing needs Premium or Elite
Files and pays your federal, state and local payroll taxes, plus W-2s and 1099s
Direct depositThe crew gets paid to their bank without you cutting checks.
Next-day deposit on the base plan, same-day on Premium and Elite
Standard 2 to 4 day deposit; next-day speed costs extra or needs a higher plan
1099 contractorsHandles subs and 1099s, not just W-2 employees.
Pays your 1099 crew by direct deposit; year-end 1099 e-file can cost extra
Contractor Only plan is $35/mo plus $6 per contractor, with 1099s filed for you
Multi-state payrollMatters the moment you take work across a state line.
Extra states cost about $12 a month each unless you are on the Elite plan
Simple covers one state only; crew in more states needs Plus at $80 a month
Pulls in hoursTakes crew hours from a time clock so nobody retypes a timesheet.
QuickBooks Time comes with Premium and Elite; the base plan pays extra for it
Built in on Plus and up; Simple adds it for about $6 per person a month

How to choose field service software

Almost every trade and home-service tool on this page can schedule a job, send an invoice, and take a payment. The differences that matter are quieter, and they are the ones that decide whether the software saves you time or becomes another thing to fight. Here is how to think about the comparison above, in the order that usually matters most.

Start with your crew size and how you will grow

Pricing model matters more than the headline price. Per-user tools look cheap at one truck and climb every time you hire, while flat-tier and job-count tools hold steady as the crew grows. Count the people who actually need to log in, then look at what three or eight of them will cost a year from now, not just today. This is the single biggest reason two shops the same size end up paying very different bills.

The mobile app is the whole game

Your techs live in the phone app, not the office dashboard. If it is slow, cluttered, or drops out in a basement with no signal, they will go back to paper and you will have paid for nothing. Before you commit, have an actual tech try building a job, adding photos, and taking a payment on their own phone. One tool here is Apple-only, so if your crew is on Android, check that first.

Look at how you get paid

Getting paid in the driveway beats mailing an invoice and waiting. Look for card and bank payments on the spot, good-better-best estimates so customers pick up instead of shopping around, and a QuickBooks sync if you keep your books there. Confirm whether that sync runs both directions, because a one-way sync still leaves your bookkeeper retyping expenses.

Then what keeps customers coming back

The tools that grow a shop do three quiet things well: automatic appointment and on-my-way texts that cut no-shows, review requests that fill your Google profile, and recurring service or maintenance plans that turn one-time jobs into steady monthly revenue. If memberships are central to your model, check which tier actually includes them, since this is often gated to a higher plan than the one you were quoted.

Read the contract before you sign

Month-to-month costs a little more but lets you walk away if the fit is wrong. Annual billing is cheaper once you know a tool works. The place to slow down is the enterprise end, where a 12-month minimum that auto-renews can lock you in longer than you expected. Know the cancellation window going in.

Want the human read instead of the spec sheet? Browse our head-to-head comparisons, see the alternatives shops switch to, or pick tools by your trade. For how we research and rank, and how we make money, read how we review.

Common questions

What is the cheapest field service software?

The lowest real cost usually comes from tools that do not charge per user. ServiceM8 prices by monthly job count instead of headcount, so a one-truck shop starts around $29/mo and a helper never raises the bill, and ServiceM8 has a free plan up to 30 jobs a month. Jobber Core is $29/mo but adds about $29 for each extra seat, so the cheapest option depends on how many people need to log in. Kickserv looks cheap per head at $60/mo for five users, but there is no free tier any more, so it only wins once you have a few people logging in. Watch add-ons and payment processing rates, since those are where a cheap headline price quietly grows.

What is the best field service software for a small crew or solo operator?

For a solo or a one-to-five-person crew, most owners are happiest on Jobber or Housecall Pro. Jobber is the easiest to learn and get a crew onto, with a clean quote-to-invoice flow. Housecall Pro is the stronger pick if maintenance plans and customer marketing drive your revenue. A true solo who refuses to pay per seat should look at ServiceM8, which is priced by job volume and includes unlimited users, though its full app is Apple-only.

Do I really need QuickBooks integration?

If you or your bookkeeper already run the books in QuickBooks, a real sync saves hours of retyping invoices and payments at tax time. Not all syncs are equal: some tools push data two ways (invoices, payments, and expenses), while others only push one direction, which trips up shops that track expenses closely. FieldEdge and Kickserv are known for deep QuickBooks ties including Desktop, while a few tools sync only to QuickBooks Online. If accounting matters to you, confirm the direction and what fields it covers before you commit.

How much does ServiceTitan cost?

ServiceTitan does not publish prices, which is itself a signal that it is built for larger shops. Owners report roughly $245 to $350 per tech per month, plus a $15,000 to $30,000-plus implementation fee and a 12-month minimum contract that auto-renews. For a fifteen-tech shop that is a real monthly line item, so it earns its cost only once you have the volume, the office staff, and the membership base to run it. Smaller shops almost always spend far less on a lighter tool.

Should I pick a month-to-month or an annual contract?

Month-to-month costs a little more per month but lets you leave if the tool does not fit, which matters most when you are switching software for the first time. Annual billing is usually cheaper and fine once you know a tool works for your shop. The one to watch is the enterprise end: ServiceTitan and some others use a 12-month minimum that auto-renews, so read the cancellation window before you sign.

Which field service software is easiest to use?

Owners most often call Jobber and Housecall Pro the easiest to get a non-technical crew using, with short setup and a clean mobile app. The heavier platforms like ServiceTitan trade ease for depth: they can do far more, but expect weeks of onboarding and real training before the shop is running smoothly on them. If crew adoption is your worry, favor the simpler tool, because software your techs will not use is money wasted.