If you manage jobs on WhatsApp, scribble quotes on paper, and invoice from a kitchen table, you already know it doesn't scale. Job management software fixes this. The question is which one.
Tradify, ServiceM8, and Jobber are the three platforms UK tradespeople mention most. All three handle quoting, scheduling, invoicing, and mobile job management. But they're built differently, priced differently, and suit different types of trade business.
Here's the honest comparison.
Quick Comparison Table
| Feature | Tradify | ServiceM8 | Jobber | |---|---|---|---| | Starting price (per user/month) | £25 | £20 | £35 | | Free trial | 14 days | 14 days | 14 days | | Built for UK trades | Yes (NZ/UK native) | No (Australian) | No (Canadian) | | Quoting | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Scheduling/dispatch | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Invoicing | Yes | Yes | Yes | | On-site card payments | Via integration | Stripe integration | Stripe/Square | | GPS tracking | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Photo capture | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Compliance docs | Excellent (UK) | Basic | Good | | CIS support | Via accounting link | Via accounting link | Via accounting link | | Mobile app quality | Very good | Excellent | Good | | Xero integration | Yes | Yes | Yes | | QuickBooks integration | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Customer portal | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Route optimisation | No | No | Yes | | Best team size | 1-20 | 1-10 | 3-50+ | | UK support hours | Yes | Limited | Limited |
Pricing Breakdown (UK, April 2026)
Tradify
| Plan | Price | What you get | |---|---|---| | Lite | £25/user/month | Job management, quoting, invoicing, mobile app | | Standard | £40/user/month | Plus scheduling, timesheets, reporting | | Premium | £60/user/month | Plus advanced reporting, custom fields, priority support |
Annual billing saves roughly 15%. Tradify charges per user, so a team of 5 on Standard costs £200/month.
ServiceM8
| Plan | Price | What you get | |---|---|---| | Starter | £20/user/month | Job management, quoting, invoicing | | Growing | £35/user/month | Plus online booking, badges, email marketing | | Premium | £50/user/month | Plus advanced forms, job queues, priority support |
ServiceM8 also offers a free plan limited to basic features and a small number of jobs per month.
Jobber
| Plan | Price | What you get | |---|---|---| | Core | £35/user/month | Job management, quoting, invoicing, CRM | | Connect | £65/user/month | Plus automated follow-ups, online booking, GPS | | Grow | £85/user/month | Plus job costing, reporting, route optimisation |
Jobber's pricing is the highest of the three. The value shows at scale with larger teams.
Pricing verdict
ServiceM8 is cheapest. Tradify offers the best value for UK trades (compliance features included). Jobber is most expensive but includes features the others charge extra for or lack entirely (route optimisation, advanced CRM).
For a solo tradesperson: ServiceM8 at £20/month is the budget choice. For a small UK team: Tradify at £25-40/user is the sweet spot. For a growing operation: Jobber at £35-85/user is the investment.
Quoting and Estimating
You're in a customer's house. They want a price. You need to send it before you drive away.
Tradify
- Create quotes on-site from your phone
- Pre-built templates with line items
- Material and labour cost breakdowns
- Customer approves via email or customer portal
- Convert approved quotes to jobs in one tap
- Mark-up calculations built in
ServiceM8
- On-site quoting via mobile app
- Template library with customisable line items
- Photo attachments (photograph the job, attach to quote)
- Customer approval via email
- Convert quotes to jobs
- Simpler template system than Tradify
Jobber
- Professional quote templates
- Material, labour, and overhead line items
- Batch quoting (useful for similar jobs)
- Customer portal for approval and e-signature
- Automated follow-up on unapproved quotes
- Convert to job with scheduling in one step
Quoting verdict
Jobber's automated follow-up on unapproved quotes is a standout feature. You send a quote, and if the customer doesn't respond, Jobber chases them for you. Tradify's templates are the most trade-specific (mark-up calculations, material breakdowns). ServiceM8's photo-first approach works well for visual trades.
Scheduling and Dispatch
Tradify
- Calendar view with drag-and-drop scheduling
- Assign jobs to team members
- Real-time status updates (in progress, complete, invoiced)
- No route optimisation
- Notifications when jobs are assigned
ServiceM8
- Calendar and map view scheduling
- Drag-and-drop job assignment
- Real-time GPS tracking of team
- Badge system for job status
- No route optimisation
- Very visual dispatch board
Jobber
- Calendar, list, and map view scheduling
- Drag-and-drop with team availability overlay
- Route optimisation (Grow plan) saves driving time
- Automated dispatch notifications
- Client arrival time estimates
- Team workload balancing
Scheduling verdict
Jobber wins for teams of 5+. Route optimisation alone can save 30-60 minutes of driving per day across a team. For smaller operations (1-5 people), Tradify and ServiceM8 are perfectly adequate. ServiceM8's map view is excellent for visualising where your team is.
Invoicing and Payments
Tradify
- Generate invoices from completed jobs
- Automatic line items from quote/job
- Send via email with payment link
- Integrates with Xero and QuickBooks for accounting
- Recurring invoices for maintenance contracts
- Track payment status
ServiceM8
- Invoice from job completion
- On-site card payments via Stripe
- Send invoices via email
- Accounting integration (Xero, QuickBooks, MYOB)
- Basic recurring invoice support
- Payment tracking
Jobber
- Invoice from completed jobs
- On-site payments via Stripe and Square
- Batch invoicing (invoice multiple jobs at once)
- Automatic invoice follow-up
- Accounting integration (Xero, QuickBooks)
- Client payment portal
- Tip collection (useful for some trades)
Invoicing verdict
Jobber's batch invoicing is valuable for teams handling multiple jobs daily. ServiceM8's on-site Stripe payments are excellent for getting paid immediately after a job. Tradify's strength is in the seamless flow from quote to job to invoice with trade-specific line items.
UK Compliance and Documentation
This is where the three platforms diverge significantly.
Tradify
- Built with UK and NZ trades in mind
- Gas Safe certificate tracking and reminders
- Part P compliance documentation
- NICEIC-compatible documentation
- Water regulations compliance
- Health and safety forms
- Custom compliance templates
- UK-specific tax handling
ServiceM8
- Australian-native (not UK-specific)
- Basic form builder for compliance docs
- Can create custom templates for Gas Safe, Part P, etc.
- No pre-built UK compliance templates
- Manual setup required for UK regulations
Jobber
- Canadian-native (not UK-specific)
- Custom form builder
- Some UK compliance templates available
- Gas Safe and Part P support via custom forms
- Less comprehensive than Tradify for UK requirements
Compliance verdict
Tradify wins decisively for UK compliance. If you need Gas Safe tracking, Part P documentation, or NICEIC-compatible certificates, Tradify handles this out of the box. ServiceM8 and Jobber can be configured to handle UK compliance, but you're building templates manually rather than using pre-built ones.
For electricians and gas engineers, this alone may be the deciding factor.
Mobile App Experience
You work from a van. The mobile app is your office.
Tradify mobile
- Clean, purpose-built interface
- Full job management from phone
- Photo capture with job attachment
- Quote creation and sending
- Invoice generation
- Offline mode (syncs when back online)
- iOS and Android
- Rating: 4.5/5 on both app stores
ServiceM8 mobile
- Polished, intuitive design
- Arguably the best mobile UX of the three
- GPS tracking and navigation
- Photo and video capture
- On-site payments
- Badge system for job progress
- Offline capability
- iOS and Android
- Rating: 4.6/5 on both app stores
Jobber mobile
- Functional interface
- Full job and schedule management
- Photo capture
- Client communication
- Invoice creation
- Route navigation
- iOS and Android
- Rating: 4.4/5 on both app stores
Mobile verdict
ServiceM8 has the most polished mobile experience. It was built mobile-first, and it shows. Tradify's mobile app is excellent and more trade-specific. Jobber's app is functional but slightly less intuitive than the other two. If you spend 80% of your time on your phone and rarely touch a desktop, ServiceM8 edges ahead.
Best for Each Trade Type
Plumbers
Recommendation: Tradify
Why: Gas Safe certificate tracking, water regulations compliance, and on-site quoting with plumbing-specific templates. The compliance documentation alone saves hours of paperwork.
Runner-up: Jobber (better for larger plumbing teams with route optimisation).
Electricians
Recommendation: Tradify
Why: Part P documentation, NICEIC-compatible certificates, periodic inspection report tracking. No other platform matches Tradify's electrical compliance features.
Runner-up: ServiceM8 + dedicated ECS software for certification.
Builders and General Contractors
Recommendation: Jobber
Why: Builders manage multiple jobs, subcontractors, and sites simultaneously. Jobber's scheduling, route optimisation, and batch invoicing handle complexity better than the alternatives. The CRM features help manage repeat clients and larger projects.
Runner-up: Tradify (better UK compliance, but less robust for complex multi-site scheduling).
Landscapers and Groundworkers
Recommendation: Jobber
Why: Recurring maintenance contracts, route optimisation for regular visits, and seasonal scheduling. Jobber handles the "visit 30 gardens per week" workflow better than Tradify or ServiceM8.
Runner-up: ServiceM8 (cheaper, good mobile experience for outdoor work).
HVAC Engineers
Recommendation: Tradify
Why: Gas Safe tracking, compliance documentation, and heating system maintenance scheduling. Trade-specific templates for boiler servicing and installations.
Runner-up: Commusoft (not covered here, but worth investigating for HVAC-specific features).
Roofers
Recommendation: ServiceM8
Why: Photo-heavy documentation (before/after roof photos), simple job flow, and on-site payments. Roofers typically run simpler job workflows that don't need Tradify's compliance depth or Jobber's scheduling complexity.
Runner-up: Tradify (if you also do associated electrical or plumbing work).
Handymen and Multi-Trade
Recommendation: ServiceM8
Why: Cheapest option, works for varied job types, excellent mobile app. Handymen don't need trade-specific compliance features. ServiceM8's flexibility and simplicity suit the variety.
Runner-up: Tradify Lite at £25/month (more structured if you want to grow).
Integration Comparison
| Integration | Tradify | ServiceM8 | Jobber | |---|---|---|---| | Xero | Yes | Yes | Yes | | QuickBooks | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Stripe | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Google Calendar | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Zapier | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Mailchimp | No | Yes | Yes | | Square | No | No | Yes | | GoCardless | No | No | Yes | | Hubdoc | Via Xero | Via Xero | Via Xero |
The Honest Truth About Switching
If you're already using one of these platforms and considering switching, here's the reality:
Switching costs you 2-4 weeks of disruption. You need to migrate your customer database, job history, templates, and retrain your team. Mid-project is the worst time to switch.
The best time to switch: Between seasons, during a quiet period, or at the start of your financial year.
Data migration: All three platforms offer CSV import/export. Tradify and Jobber have dedicated migration support teams. ServiceM8's migration is more self-service.
The real question: Is the pain of switching worth the gain? If you're on ServiceM8 and need UK compliance, switching to Tradify is worth it. If you're on Tradify and just want a slightly better mobile app, it's probably not worth the disruption.
Verdict: Which Should You Choose?
Choose Tradify if:
- You're a UK-based trade (plumber, electrician, gas engineer, HVAC)
- Compliance documentation matters (Gas Safe, Part P, NICEIC)
- You want a platform built specifically for UK trades
- You have 1-20 people in your team
- You value UK-based support
Choose ServiceM8 if:
- You're a sole trader or small team (1-5 people)
- Budget is your primary concern
- You want the best mobile experience
- Your trade doesn't require heavy compliance documentation
- You're a handyman, roofer, or general maintenance operative
Choose Jobber if:
- You're growing (5-50+ people)
- Route optimisation saves you time and fuel
- You manage multiple sites or recurring maintenance contracts
- You need advanced CRM and client management
- You want batch invoicing and automated follow-ups
The simple answer: Most UK tradespeople should start with Tradify. It's built for the UK market, handles compliance, and scales from sole trader to 20-person teams. If you outgrow it, move to Jobber. If you need something cheaper and simpler, use ServiceM8.
The software choice matters less than commitment. A team that enters every job into Tradify will outperform a team that half-uses Jobber. Pick one, train your team, and use it consistently for 6 months before judging.
Related Guides
- Best Software for Plumbers UK - Detailed plumbing software comparison including Commusoft
- Best Software for Electricians UK - Electrical trade software with compliance focus
- Best Software for Roofing Companies UK - Roofing-specific job management options
- QuickBooks vs Xero for Tradespeople - Accounting software to pair with your job management platform