Tradify alternatives in 2026: what a 1 to 10 person business pays instead

The main Tradify alternatives in Australia are ServiceM8, Ascora, Chippie, Fergus and Jobber. Tradify bills every person who logs in, so the useful question is what the same crew would cost on each of them. The answer swings with headcount: at one person Tradify sits in the middle of the pack, and by five people it costs about $200 a month more than the cheapest option here. We build Chippie, which is one of the five alternatives below, so read our entry with that in mind. Competitor prices are from each vendor's own page, with the date we read it.

What Tradify charges, and what people leave over#

Tradify has three standard plans, each billed per user per month in AUD ex GST: Lite $48, Pro $52 and Plus $62, plus a Custom plan priced on request (Tradify AU pricing page, 11 October 2026). Jobs are unlimited on all of them. There is a 14-day trial and no free plan.

The plan you need is set by features, and then multiplied by heads. 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. A four-person crew that wants reporting pays $248 a month ex GST on Plus.

The per-user bill is what the low reviews come back to. One Trustpilot reviewer in the UK called Tradify "very expensive especially if you have more than one employee" (2 October 2024, read 28 October 2026). Two documented limits come up as well: Tradify's help centre says the app does not work offline, and scheduled appointments cannot be exported if you leave (help centre, 26 October 2026).

The cost at 1, 2, 5 and 10 people#

The table prices one business at four sizes, from each vendor's published figures. ServiceM8 depends on your monthly job count, so its cells show the two plans most crews land on.

To compare Tradify like for like with ServiceM8, add 10% GST: five people on Tradify Lite come to $264 a month. Fergus does not publish how extra full users change its starting prices, so get a written quote at your headcount before comparing it.

Staying with Tradify#

Tradify is the better buy for one busy person who wants unlimited jobs and timesheets. A sole trader creating 80 jobs a month pays $52 ex GST on Pro, where ServiceM8 would put the same workload on its $79 Growing plan. The full app runs on iPhone and Android, and it syncs with Xero and MYOB.

It also has the deepest feature list of the per-user apps here once you reach Plus: purchase orders, bulk invoicing, service reminders and its SmartRead and SmartWrite AI tools.

Choose to stay with Tradify if you are one or two people with a high job count, or you rely on Plus features that would cost more to rebuild elsewhere.

ServiceM8#

ServiceM8 is the main alternative for a crew, because it charges by jobs and gives every paid plan unlimited users. Starter is $29 a month for 50 jobs, Growing $79 for 150, Premium $149 for 500 and Premium Plus $349 for 1,500, AUD including GST; the Free plan is limited to one user and 30 jobs (ServiceM8 AU pricing page, 11 October 2026). Five people sharing 120 jobs a month pay $79, against $240 or more ex GST on Tradify.

The trade-off is the job counter. Forms, certificates and proposals need Growing, and job costing needs Premium, so a feature can move you up a plan before your job count does. Every plan syncs with Xero, QuickBooks Online and MYOB, and ServiceM8's help centre says its rebuilt Android app supports most of the iPhone app's workflows.

Choose ServiceM8 if you have three or more people and a job count that sits inside one plan most months.

Ascora#

Ascora keeps Tradify's per-user model at a lower rate. 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). Ten people on Essentials pay $450 against Tradify's $480 to $620, so the saving is real but modest.

The bigger difference is on the phone: the Essentials plan lists offline mode for mobile, which Tradify lacks. Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks are listed on every plan. Advanced reports, custom forms and multi-stage projects need Elite, and the Enterprise plan carries an implementation fee.

Choose Ascora if you like how Tradify works, want to keep paying per user, and need the app to keep working in places with no signal.

Chippie#

Chippie is built by a Newcastle tradie family: Caleb and his father Elliott, both qualified carpenters, run their tree-felling business on it. An accepted quote becomes a scheduled job, the job becomes an invoice, and clients can pay it by card through Stripe. Regular work such as a monthly mow or a quarterly gutter clean can be set up as a recurring job. On Pro and Team, contacts, invoices and payments sync both ways with Xero.

Users come with the plan rather than on top of it. Pro is $25 a month with two users and Team is $45 with four; each user after the fourth is $10, so a crew of five pays $55 and a crew of ten $105. Paid plans have no job limit, and the Free plan is for one person doing up to 20 jobs a month. The same app runs on iPhone, Android and in a browser, and jobs and quotes open and edit with no signal, then upload when it comes back.

Choose Chippie if you are adding people and want the monthly bill to grow by $10 a head rather than by a full seat, with no job counter.

Fergus#

Fergus suits a crew whose jobs run in stages over several visits. Essentials starts at $53 a month and Professional at $77 (Fergus AU pricing page, 11 October 2026), with timesheet-only users from $26 a month. Professional carries job phases, checklists, forms, purchase orders, hazards and SWMS, and most reporting.

Several running costs sit outside the plan: SMS at $15 per 100 texts, contractors at $4 per user per day, certificates at $30 to $80, and card payments at 1.95% plus 30c. There is no free plan; the trial runs 14 days with no card.

Choose Fergus if job phases and purchase orders matter more to you than a low monthly price, and you are happy to get a quote at your headcount.

Jobber#

Jobber is an option if US-dollar billing does not bother you. It has no Australian pricing page. Core is US$49 a month for one user; Connect is US$199 for up to five users and US$299 for ten; extra users are US$29 each (Jobber pricing page, 11 October 2026). Annual prepaid plans are non-refundable.

If you keep your books in Xero, note that Jobber only sends data across on Connect and Grow, in one direction, and records created before setup do not sync until edited or invoiced (Jobber help centre, 26 October 2026). Its March 2026 update lets field staff fill in forms, read visit notes and log time without a connection.

Choose Jobber if you want its automated reminders and two-way SMS on the higher plans and can live with the exchange rate moving your bill.

Before you switch off Tradify#

Moving off Tradify takes some planning, because not everything comes with you and the last bill arrives after you cancel. Jobs, quotes, invoices, customers, sites, suppliers, timesheets and price lists export as CSV files. Scheduled appointments, job notes and files, recurring job templates and forms do not export in bulk.

Tradify bills in arrears and pro rata. Cancel on the 20th and the final payment, covering the 1st to the 20th, is taken on the 7th of the next month; after cancelling, the account can no longer be opened (Tradify help centre, 26 October 2026). Switching from Tradify walks through the export order step by step.

1. Export every CSV the list allows, and screenshot the schedule for the next four weeks.

2. Save the job notes and files you need to keep, since they do not come out in bulk.

3. Run one real job in your new app, from quote to paid invoice, before you cancel.

FAQ#

What is cheaper than Tradify?#

For a crew, ServiceM8 and Chippie both cost less at three people or more: three people pay $29 or $79 on ServiceM8 depending on jobs, $45 on Chippie Team, and $144 to $186 on Tradify before GST. Ascora is cheaper per user at $45. Prices checked October 2026.

Is there a free alternative to Tradify?#

Tradify has no free plan. ServiceM8 Free covers one user and 30 jobs a month, and Chippie Free covers one user and 20 jobs a month. Both are plans you can stay on, not trials.

Which Tradify alternative works offline?#

Ascora's Essentials plan lists offline mode, Jobber's app keeps forms and visit details working offline, and in Chippie jobs and quotes open and edit with no signal. Tradify itself needs a connection.

Can I move my data out of Tradify?#

Mostly. Customers, sites, jobs, quotes, invoices and price lists export as CSV. Scheduled appointments, job notes and files, and recurring job templates do not, so copy what you need before cancelling (Tradify help centre, 26 October 2026).

How does Tradify compare with Fergus?#

Tradify prices each seat, while Fergus publishes plan starting prices of $53 and $77 and puts job phases and purchase orders on Professional. Our Tradify vs Fergus comparison covers them side by side.

Every figure comes from the vendor's own pricing page or help centre on the date shown, and Chippie is not affiliated with any of these companies. If users-included pricing suits a crew that is growing, Chippie's Free plan is at chippieapp.com. If another app on this page fits better, go with that one.