ServiceM8 alternatives for sole traders and small teams in 2026

The main ServiceM8 alternatives in Australia are Tradify, Fergus, Chippie, Jobber and Ascora, and which one costs you less depends on what drives your bill: ServiceM8 charges by jobs a month, Tradify and Ascora charge for every user, and Chippie and Jobber include a set number of users in each plan. ServiceM8 still suits plenty of trade businesses, and for some of the people reading this the right move is to stay on it. This page is for the rest: a one-person business that keeps hitting the job limit, or a crew of three to ten deciding between ServiceM8 and the apps that price differently. We build Chippie, one of the five alternatives below, so weigh what we say about it accordingly. Every competitor price comes from the vendor's own pricing page and carries the date we read it, and each entry ends with the business it suits.

Why people look past ServiceM8#

ServiceM8 charges by the number of jobs you create each month, not by the number of people using it, and that is the reason most people start comparing. The Free plan covers one user and 30 jobs a month. Starter is $29 a month for 50 jobs, Growing is $79 for 150, Premium is $149 for 500 and Premium Plus is $349 for 1,500, all in AUD including GST (ServiceM8 AU pricing page, 11 October 2026). A sole trader doing 60 small jobs in a busy month moves from $29 to $79, and the jump follows the work, not the size of the business.

Some features also sit on higher plans: electronic forms and certificates, asset management and proposals need Growing or above, and job costing needs Premium. In ServiceM8's favour, every paid plan includes unlimited users, and every plan syncs with Xero, QuickBooks Online and MYOB.

Android used to be the other reason. ServiceM8 has since rebuilt its Android app, and its help centre now says it covers most of the same workflows as the iPhone app; Room Scan, drawing diagrams and editing PDFs stay iPhone-only. ServiceM8 on Android in 2026 has the full list.

What each option costs for 1, 3 and 10 people#

The arithmetic changes with headcount, because each vendor charges for something different: jobs, seats, or a plan with seats included. The table prices the same business at three sizes, using each vendor's published figures.

Tradify publishes ex GST, so add 10% before comparing it with ServiceM8: three people on Tradify come to $158 to $205 a month including GST. ServiceM8's column depends on your job count, not your headcount, which is why a busy sole trader and a quiet crew of ten can pay the same.

Staying on ServiceM8#

Staying put is the cheapest answer for a crew whose job count barely changes from month to month. Ten people sharing 140 jobs a month pay $79 on Growing, which no per-user app in the table matches. The Free plan is a real plan, not a trial, and it pays out bonus jobs when you take card payments through it. Card fees run from 1.89% plus 30c on Free down to 1.19% plus 30c on Premium Plus.

ServiceM8 also has the widest accounting choice here, with Xero, QuickBooks Online and MYOB on every plan, and a Mac and PC desktop app as well as the phone apps.

Choose to stay with ServiceM8 if your monthly job count sits comfortably inside one plan and you have more than a few people on the tools.

Tradify#

Tradify is the usual first comparison, and it charges the opposite way to ServiceM8: per user, with no limit on jobs. Lite is $48, Pro $52 and Plus $62 a seat each month, ex GST (Tradify AU pricing page, 11 October 2026). There is no free plan, only a 14-day trial.

Tiers decide a lot. Recurring jobs, job templates, timesheets, progress invoicing and quote options need Pro. Purchase orders, bulk invoicing, reporting, service reminders and the AI features need Plus. Tradify's help centre says the app does not work offline: the web console and the mobile app both need a connection. It syncs with Xero and MYOB, and the full app runs on iPhone and Android.

Choose Tradify if you are one or two people doing a high volume of jobs, so a per-job price would cost you more than a seat, and you want timesheets and progress invoicing on Pro.

Fergus#

Fergus suits a crew running longer jobs in stages. Essentials starts at $53 a month and Professional at $77 (Fergus AU pricing page, 11 October 2026); the page does not say how extra full users change those starting prices, so ask for a quote at your headcount. Timesheet-only users start at $26 a month, and contractors are $4 per user per day.

Professional is where most of the depth sits: job phases, checklists, forms, tasks, purchase orders, hazards and SWMS, and most reporting. Both plans have GPS tracking, timesheets, recurring jobs and files and photos. SMS costs $15 per 100 texts and card payments 1.95% plus 30c. No free plan; a 14-day trial with no card.

Choose Fergus if your work runs over several visits or stages and you need job phases and purchase orders more than a low monthly price.

Chippie#

Chippie is built by a Newcastle tradie family: Caleb and his father Elliott, both qualified carpenters, run their tree-felling business on it. It covers the run from quote to invoice: write the quote on site, turn it into a scheduled job, invoice from the job, and take card payments through Stripe. Recurring jobs repeat on a schedule. Xero two-way sync for contacts, invoices and payments comes with Pro and Team.

The same app runs on iPhone, Android and in a desktop browser, and jobs and quotes open and edit with no signal, then upload when it returns. Free covers one user and 20 jobs a month. Pro is $25 a month with two users, Team is $45 with four, and each user after that is $10. Paid plans have no job limit, so a busy month does not move the price.

Choose Chippie if you are a business of one to ten people who wants users included in the price and no job counter, with the same app on every phone in the crew.

Jobber#

Jobber prices in US dollars only; there is no Australian pricing page, so the AUD cost moves with the exchange rate. Core is US$49 a month for one user. Connect is US$139 for one, US$199 for five and US$299 for ten; extra users are US$29 each (Jobber pricing page, 11 October 2026). Annual prepaid plans are non-refundable.

In Australia the Xero connection is on Connect and Grow and runs one way, from Jobber into Xero (Jobber help centre, 26 October 2026). Since March 2026 the mobile app keeps working offline for job forms, visit details and time tracking.

Automated reminders, job costing, two-way SMS and custom automations sit on the higher plans.

Choose Jobber if you want those automations and are comfortable paying in US dollars.

Ascora#

Ascora is an Australian per-user app that comes in below Tradify. Essentials is $45 a user each month and Elite $59 for teams of up to 30 technicians (Ascora pricing page, 11 October 2026; GST treatment not stated). The Essentials plan lists offline mode for mobile, and every plan lists Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks.

Advanced reports, custom electronic forms, equipment management and multi-stage projects need Elite. There is no free plan; the trial runs 14 days with no card and no lock-in.

Choose Ascora if you want per-user pricing with offline mode and MYOB on the base plan, and you expect to stay under ten people.

If you are heading past ten people#

Two heavier systems come up once a crew grows. AroFlo publishes $80 per user per month with a three-user minimum, so $240 a month at least, and advertises a setup discount, which tells you a setup fee applies (AroFlo pricing page, 11 October 2026). Simpro publishes no prices, charges a setup fee for onboarding and data migration, and offers a demo instead of a self-serve trial (Simpro pricing page, 28 October 2026). Both suit a business with inventory, multi-stage projects and an office running the schedule. For one to ten people they are usually more system than the work needs.

How to choose in ten minutes#

Three numbers from your own business settle most of this, and you can work them out before opening any trial.

1. Count the people who will log in within a year, office included. Per-user apps multiply by that number; ServiceM8 ignores it; Chippie includes two or four.
2. Count the jobs you created in your busiest month this year. Over 50 puts ServiceM8 on Growing; under 20 fits Chippie's Free plan.
3. Check your accounting package. ServiceM8, Tradify and Ascora list Xero and MYOB; Chippie syncs two-way with Xero; Jobber pushes one way into Xero.

Then run one real job through your top two choices, from quote to paid invoice, on the phone you carry on site. If you are leaving, ServiceM8 lets the account owner download a full backup of clients, jobs, notes and photos before cancelling; switching from ServiceM8 covers the steps.

FAQ#

Is there a cheaper alternative to ServiceM8?#

It depends on your job count more than your team size. A sole trader under 30 jobs a month pays nothing on ServiceM8 Free. A busy sole trader over 50 jobs pays $79 on ServiceM8 Growing against $25 on Chippie Pro or $48 ex GST on Tradify Lite. A crew of ten doing 150 jobs pays $79 on ServiceM8, which is cheaper than any per-user app. Prices checked October 2026.

Does ServiceM8 work on Android?#

Yes. ServiceM8's help centre says its Android app supports most of the same workflows as the iPhone app. Room Scan, drawing diagrams, editing PDFs from attachments and in-camera photo tagging are still iPhone-only (checked October 2026).

Which ServiceM8 alternative suits a sole trader?#

If you do a lot of jobs, a plan without a job limit: Chippie Pro at $25 a month, or Tradify Lite at $48 ex GST if you want timesheets. If you do few jobs, ServiceM8 Free or Chippie Free cost nothing.

Can I take my data with me if I leave ServiceM8?#

Yes. The account owner can download a full backup as a zip from Settings > ServiceM8 Account > Download account backup, including clients, jobs, notes, photos and attachments. Client and job lists as CSV files need the Advanced Reporting Pack add-on. Once the account is cancelled the data is removed and cannot be recovered (ServiceM8 help centre, 28 October 2026).

How does ServiceM8 compare with Tradify directly?#

ServiceM8 charges by jobs and Tradify by users, so ServiceM8 is usually cheaper for a crew and Tradify can be cheaper for one busy person. Our ServiceM8 vs Tradify comparison goes through both in detail.

Prices and plan details come from each vendor's own pricing page and help centre on the dates shown. Chippie is not affiliated with any of these companies. If the users-included pricing fits your crew, Chippie's Free plan is at chippieapp.com. If one of the others fits better, use that one.