TradesWork vs ServiceM8 (2026): job-credit pricing vs per-seat pricing

This compares our own product with ServiceM8, so read it knowing that. ServiceM8 is a well-made, long-established tool, and for a lot of small trade businesses it's the better buy. ServiceM8 facts come from its pricing page, release notes and help center, checked October 15, 2026.

The core difference is how you pay. ServiceM8 charges for jobs; TradesWork charges for techs and sales staff. ServiceM8's paid plans give you unlimited users and a monthly allowance of new jobs, from 50 jobs for $29 to 1,500 or more for $349¹. TradesWork charges per tech or sales seat and gives office seats away. For a small team, ServiceM8 is dramatically cheaper.

Where ServiceM8 is stronger

Price. ServiceM8's published plans are Free ($0, one user, 30 jobs a month), Starter $29 (50 jobs), Growing $79 (150), Premium $149 (500) and Premium Plus $349 (1,500+), with unlimited users on every paid plan¹. An accepted quote that becomes a work order doesn't use a second credit, and you get seven days of grace if you go over¹.

Job counts are examples; your volume decides your ServiceM8 plan. The gap is real at every size.

Unlimited users. Against per-user tools, TradesWork's free office seats are a real advantage. Against ServiceM8 they aren't: every paid ServiceM8 plan already has unlimited users, so apprentices, subcontractors, a bookkeeper and the owner's spouse all get a login without changing the bill¹. If your team has many people but modest job volume, ServiceM8's model is hard to beat.

The iPhone app. ServiceM8 is known for a polished native iOS app, with CarPlay showing allocated jobs and on-the-way texts². If your whole crew carries iPhones, it's a pleasure to use.

AI and automation at a low price. ServiceM8 ships AI Smart Helpers on every plan¹, and its September 2025 release added an Office Agent that proposes admin actions for you to approve or decline, a Phone Agent, Auto Routing for a staff member's day, and bulk asset import with QR code labels on site².

No lock-in. ServiceM8 has no lock-ins and pro-rates plan changes¹. TradesWork is month-to-month too, so this is a tie, but it's worth knowing neither will trap you.

Where TradesWork is stronger

Android parity and no-signal work. ServiceM8's pricing FAQ says its Android app is almost identical to iOS¹, while its 2025 release notes describe ServiceM8 Lite for Android with job, quote and invoice basics². Test it on your techs' phones. TradesWork Field has the same features on iPhone and Android, and keeps saving estimates, notes, photos, forms and time with no signal.

Memberships that run themselves. ServiceM8 has recurring jobs on every plan¹. TradesWork memberships (Pro and up) bill dues automatically, retry failed cards with an update link, bring visits due onto a list, and apply member pricing on estimates. For an HVAC or plumbing shop whose spring and fall depend on maintenance agreements, that's the difference.

Replacement selling. TradesWork builds good, better and best options from your price book on the tech's phone, with a monthly payment under each, and flags old units and repeat repairs for your comfort advisors. ServiceM8 has proposals with options and bundles¹, which are good, but aren't built around a replacement sale.

HVAC records. TradesWork keeps equipment history per unit, a refrigerant log tied to each tech's EPA 608 number, leak repair deadlines and warranty claim tracking. ServiceM8 has asset management with QR labels, which is useful, but no refrigerant log.

A busy office. TradesWork shows the caller's history, open jobs, balance and membership before you answer, gathers leads from your website, Angi, Thumbtack and referrals into one inbox, and its AI plan adds an AI receptionist for after hours, in early access.

Day to day

Office. ServiceM8 puts the job card at the center: one card holds the diary, quotes, invoices, photos, forms and messages, and the job's status moves from quote to work order to completed. It's simple to learn. TradesWork is organized around the phone and the dispatch board, with the vocabulary bigger shops use (job types, business units, campaigns), which is more to learn but scales better past ten techs.

Techs. ServiceM8 techs check in and out on the job card, which feeds time and the checkout report. TradesWork walks each visit step by step (arrive, diagnose, show options, do the work, wrap up), lets techs talk instead of type, and shows each tech what they've earned today.

Owners. ServiceM8's reports cover jobs, productivity and revenue¹. TradesWork reports show the jobs behind each number, and you can ask plain-English questions like "why was Tuesday slow?" against your own data.

Questions to ask in each trial

Ask ServiceM8: how many new jobs we create in a busy month, including quotes that never sell; which plan that puts us on in July; whether the Android app does everything our techs need; how membership-style maintenance would bill and track visits due.

Ask TradesWork: what the extra monthly cost buys us in memberships, replacement sales and office time; how our ServiceM8 clients and items come across; what happens to job history; how the AI receptionist handles after-hours calls.

Then put both side by side as a 12-month total, including add-ons, texting and card processing.

Data and leaving

Both let you leave, but in different shapes. ServiceM8's client list and job list exports come with the Advanced Reporting Pack add-on, as text-only CSV files from the Reports tab, available to the Business Owner role³. ServiceM8 also offers a full account backup for reference, which can't be imported back into ServiceM8, and it says cancelling removes all data permanently⁴. TradesWork lets the owner download every table and every photo as one ZIP, any time.

Switching from ServiceM8 to TradesWork

TradesWork doesn't have a dedicated ServiceM8 importer. What moves is through the general spreadsheet importer:

• Clients from the ServiceM8 Client List CSV, mapped on screen with a preview, each with its address.
• Materials and services from ServiceM8's Export Items file, as your price book, with a name and price per row.
• Job history stays in the archive: the Job List CSV and account backup are your record. Invoices also live in your accounting file through ServiceM8's sync.
• Cards are re-collected through a TradesWork link.

The full plan, with a timeline and costs, is in migrating from ServiceM8 to TradesWork, and each export is listed in how to export your data from ServiceM8.

Which should you choose?

ServiceM8 if you're a small team, your jobs are short and frequent, your crew is on iPhone, and you want to spend as little as possible. It's very good at that, and TradesWork won't beat it on price.

TradesWork if you're a 3 to 50 tech HVAC, plumbing or electrical shop that sells memberships and replacements, has a growing office and a mix of Android and iPhone techs, and needs refrigerant and warranty records. Run both trials on real jobs, then compare a 12-month total including add-ons and card processing.