Is Jobber or Housecall Pro better for HVAC or plumbing?

Neither wins for every shop. Jobber is easier to price from the public page (Core $29–$49/month entry; Connect/Grow for SMS and automation) and centers Client Hub for quote approve/pay. Housecall Pro puts online booking on Basic and employee GPS plus routes on Essentials ($149–$189/month depending on annual vs monthly); Max is where recurring service plans and live-traffic route optimization sit. Run both 14-day trials on real jobs before you rewrite SOPs.

What does Workiz cost in 2026?

As of 2026-10-15, Workiz’s public pricing HTML does not print dollar amounts on the plan cards, but the vendor’s own llms.txt (linked from workiz.com) states Standard at $275/month billed annually (up to 5 users), Pro at $325/month billed annually (up to 5 users, adds Genius AI tools), and Ultimate as custom. Communications (phone) and Workiz Pay are sold separately. Confirm the live checkout quote before you buy — list prices change.

Did Housecall Pro raise prices vs older comparisons?

Yes relative to many 2025–mid-2026 roundups that still said Basic $49 and Essentials $129. Verified 2026-10-15 on housecallpro.com/pricing: Basic $79 monthly / $59 annual, Essentials $189 / $149, Max $329 / $299. Max shows *$35/mo per additional user on the plan card (8 users included). Treat third-party blogs as stale until you re-check the vendor page.

Can these FSMs replace an AI answering tool?

Only if you buy and configure the answering product each vendor sells (Jobber Receptionist add-on / Plus, Housecall Pro CSR AI / Voice, Workiz Genius Answering add-on). Many 2–6 truck shops keep a separate answering layer (Goodcall, Upfirst, Rosie, OnCrew) and use the FSM for schedule, notes, and invoices. See our answering comparison for that decision.

Is there a free trial for all three?

Yes. Jobber: 14 days (Grow features), no card. Housecall Pro: 14 days (Max feature access), no card. Workiz: 7 days, no card. None of that is a forever-free plan — export your data before a trial ends if you are still deciding.

Trades FSM Comparison — Flagship Shops

Jobber vs Housecall Pro vs Workiz: Field Service Software for Trades Shops (2026)

For a plumbing, HVAC, electrical, cleaning, or landscaping shop picking an FSM — not a desk CRM — start with how you run trucks today. Jobber publishes the clearest tier ladder (Core from $29/month billed annually) with Client Hub and two-way SMS on higher plans. Housecall Pro now starts at $59/month billed annually ($79 monthly) and puts employee GPS plus routes on Essentials, with recurring service plans and route optimization on Max. Workiz leans on-demand trades (appliance, locksmith, junk, HVAC) with team location tracking on every plan and Genius AI tools on Pro; vendor-stated annual list prices are Standard $275/month and Pro $325/month (5 users), Ultimate custom.

See Comparison Table

Side-by-Side Comparison

All three schedule jobs, invoice, take payments, and keep a client list. Tiebreakers for flagship trades shops are published price, GPS/routes, client portal, and whether AI answering is built in or an add-on. Pricing and plan names verified 2026-10-15: Jobber (getjobber.com/pricing), Housecall Pro (housecallpro.com/pricing), Workiz (workiz.com/pricing-plans and vendor llms.txt — interactive cards hide dollars in static HTML; list prices below are vendor-stated). No star ratings or fabricated review counts.

Criteria	Jobber	Housecall Pro	Workiz
Starting price (published)	Core $49/month no commitment; $29/month billed annually (1 user). Extra users $29/month each.	Basic $79/month; $59/month billed annually (1 user). Page headline: from $59/mo.	Standard $275/month billed annually (up to 5 users) per vendor llms.txt. Monthly self-serve dollars not shown on the public pricing HTML.
Plan a busy 2–6 truck shop often lands on	Connect $139/month ($99 billed annually, 1 user) or Grow $199/month ($149 billed annually) for two-way SMS and job costing	Essentials $189/month ($149 billed annually, 5 users) — routes, employee GPS, QuickBooks Online sync	Pro $325/month billed annually (up to 5 users) — Genius Leads + Genius Scheduling; Ultimate is custom
GPS / routes	Routing on the platform; GPS via Jobber activity tracking or fleet-partner devices (not a built-in phone GPS product on the pricing page)	Employee GPS tracking + Routes on Essentials; route optimization with live traffic on Max	Team location tracking included on Standard, Pro, and Ultimate (feature matrix on pricing page)
Client portal / online booking	Client Hub for approve quotes / pay invoices; online booking listed in Core key features	Online booking on Basic; customer pay and estimates/invoices from Basic	Client portal listed on the plan feature matrix; online booking / Reserve with Google called out in product docs
AI / answering (as published)	Jobber Receptionist is an add-on on Core/Connect/Grow; Plus plan copy includes AI-powered Receptionist. Jobber AI Voice for field notes listed on the feature grid.	Vendor lists “AI team members” on every plan and CSR AI / Voice / Campaigns as product areas — confirm which are included vs paid add-ons in trial	Genius Leads + Genius Scheduling on Pro+; Genius Answering, Genius Phone, and Genius Marketing sold separately as add-ons
Recurring service / memberships	Automatic payments for recurring work on higher tiers (see pricing feature grid)	Recurring Service Plans on Max (not on Basic/Essentials feature lists)	Service plans on Ultimate
Free trial	14 days on Grow features; no credit card required	14 days with Max-plan feature access; no credit card required	7 days; no credit card required
Best trade fits (honest)	HVAC, plumbing, electrical, landscaping, cleaning, pest control	HVAC, plumbing, electrical, cleaning, landscaping, roofing, handyman	Appliance repair, locksmith, junk removal, HVAC, garage door — plus broader home services
QuickBooks	QuickBooks Online sync from Connect upward (Connect feature list)	QuickBooks Online sync on Essentials and Max	QuickBooks integration listed on Standard+

Jobber

Clearest published tiers + Client Hub

HVAC, plumbing, landscaping, and cleaning shops that want transparent plan prices, a client portal for quote approve/pay, and SMS on Grow+

Core from $29/month billed annually ($49 no commitment, 1 user). Connect from $99/$139. Grow from $149/$199. Extra users $29/month. 14-day trial. Verified 2026-10-15.

Start Jobber Free Trial

Housecall Pro

Routes + employee GPS on Essentials

Home-services crews that want online booking from Basic, employee GPS and routes on Essentials, and Max for recurring service plans plus live-traffic route optimization

Basic $79/month ($59 billed annually). Essentials $189 ($149 annual, 5 users). Max $329 ($299 annual, 8 users; +$35/user on Max card). 14-day trial. Verified 2026-10-15.

Try Housecall Pro Free

Workiz

On-demand trades + Genius AI on Pro

Appliance repair, locksmith, junk removal, and HVAC shops that want team location tracking, an integrated phone stack (add-on), and Genius Leads / Genius Scheduling on Pro

Vendor llms.txt (2026-10-15): Standard $275/month annual (5 users), Pro $325/month annual (5 users + Genius AI tools), Ultimate custom. Phone and Workiz Pay sold separately. 7-day trial.

Try Workiz

Buyer Checklist Before You Commit

Do you need live phone-GPS on techs today, or is route sequencing enough?

Will homeowners approve quotes and pay in a client portal, or do you mostly text PDFs?

Are maintenance agreements (recurring service plans) a real revenue line this year?

Is missed-call answering inside the FSM worth an add-on, or will you keep Goodcall/Upfirst/Rosie/OnCrew?

How many users need seats — does per-user ($29 Jobber) vs bundled seats (HCP Essentials 5 / Workiz 5) change the bill?

Are you an on-demand trade (locksmith, appliance, junk) where Workiz already markets hard, or a scheduled HVAC/plumbing shop?

Can you run a parallel trial for one week without moving the whole schedule?

Who owns cancel/export if you leave — can you pull clients and job history to CSV before you cut over?

Frequently Asked Questions

Pick the right tool for your team

Most of these tools offer a free trial or free plan — start with the one that best matches your use case above.

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