TradesWork vs ServiceTrade (2026): an honest comparison

This is our own product compared with ServiceTrade, and the honest headline is that they're built for different businesses. ServiceTrade is a commercial service platform, especially strong for fire protection, commercial mechanical and kitchen exhaust contractors. TradesWork is built for residential-first HVAC, plumbing and electrical shops. Every ServiceTrade fact below comes from its own website, pricing page, developer page and Master Services Agreement, checked October 15, 2026.

If you're a commercial contractor, ServiceTrade is very likely the better fit, and this page will tell you why. If you're residential-first with a few commercial accounts, read on.

Where ServiceTrade is stronger

Commercial service is the core. ServiceTrade's site lists mechanical service, fire protection and life safety, commercial HVAC, electrical, refrigeration and kitchen exhaust cleaning, and says it's trusted by more than 1,300 customers.¹

Inspections and deficiencies. Every ServiceTrade suite lists deficiency capture and equipment history. The fire protection Premium suite adds integrated digital inspection and compliance workflows, compliance reporting and a Brycer integration.² TradesWork has no inspection or deficiency workflows at all. If you inspect sprinklers, alarms or hoods, stop here.

A portal for facility managers. ServiceTrade lists a customer service portal on Premium and describes self-service portals giving customers 24/7 access to service history and proposals.¹² TradesWork has a homeowner portal (requests, card updates, membership), not a multi-property portal.

Accounting breadth. ServiceTrade lists QuickBooks, Sage Intacct, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Acumatica, ComputerEase, Vista and Trimble Spectrum.¹ TradesWork works with QuickBooks Online only.

Parts, sales and projects. PartsManager covers parts forecasting, purchasing and POs; SalesManager covers estimating, proposals and sales CRM; Premium adds project management and budgets and subcontract work management.¹²

An API, with a gate. ServiceTrade has a REST API with Node, Python and PHP libraries, though developers must contact ServiceTrade and complete a review before getting an app key.³

Where TradesWork is stronger

Homeowner revenue. Memberships that bill themselves and retry failed cards, member pricing on estimates, good/better/best options with a monthly payment shown, and replacement opportunities flagged for comfort advisors. ServiceTrade's recurring features are commercial contracts.

The phone. An AI receptionist answers after hours or when you're busy, handles emergencies with safety instructions first, and books existing customers. Missed calls get a text back. Homeowner demand calls are where that pays.

Published prices. ServiceTrade says pricing is based on the size of your team, with "Request pricing" on each suite.² TradesWork publishes Essentials $79, Pro $99 and AI $139 per tech or sales seat a month billed annually, or $91, $114 and $160 month-to-month.

Contract flexibility. ServiceTrade's MSA renews for one-year terms unless your Order says otherwise (§11.a).⁴ TradesWork is month-to-month, or annual that never auto-renews at a higher price.

HVAC records and a no-signal app. A refrigerant log tied to each tech's EPA 608 number, leak deadlines and warranty claims; a tech app that keeps saving estimates, photos and forms with no signal, in English and Spanish.

Contracts and your data

ServiceTrade publishes its Master Services Agreement, which is more than many vendors do. The key clauses:⁴

• Ownership (§10.b). You are and remain the sole owner of your data. ServiceTrade may use it in aggregated or de-identified form.
• Renewal (§11.a). The agreement renews automatically for successive one-year terms unless the Order says otherwise. Non-renewal needs written notice at least 30 days before the end of the current term.
• After termination (§11.c). ServiceTrade will make your data available for download for 30 days, then may permanently delete it.

Put the renewal date and the notice deadline in your calendar. If you leave, download everything within the 30 days, or better, before your term ends.

Day to day

Office. ServiceTrade's dispatch board and map scheduler, service and job tracking and online quotes are on every suite; Enterprise adds a tech capacity planner and multi-brand, multi-region operations.² TradesWork gives you a dispatch board with a live map, smart day planning and one-tap re-planning, plus caller pop-ups and a lead inbox.

Techs. Both have iPhone and Android apps. ServiceTrade's techs capture deficiencies and equipment history on site.² TradesWork techs follow a step-by-step visit, talk instead of type, and build good/better/best options from the price book.

Owners. ServiceTrade lists in-app business insights and AI features on Premium.² TradesWork answers plain-English questions about your numbers and shows job profit and commissions.

What TradesWork can do for commercial accounts

For the residential-first shop with some commercial customers, TradesWork covers PO required, a not-to-exceed limit the invoice can't pass, net terms, multi-site service agreements with PM visit plans and SLA response hours, and consolidated monthly invoicing. It hasn't built a deficiency board, a multi-property portal, invoice approval chains or ServiceChannel work orders. See multi-location and commercial for the full list.

Questions to ask in each demo

Ask ServiceTrade:

• What's our 12-month total on Select versus Premium for our tech count, in writing?
• What does our Order say about term length, renewal and notice?
• Which roles can export customers, locations, assets, jobs and invoices, and in what format?
• How would homeowner memberships and after-hours calls work for our residential customers?

Ask TradesWork:

• How do our commercial customers' POs, not-to-exceed limits and net terms show up on the invoice?
• How do multi-site service agreements generate visits and bill?
• What do we do for a customer who wants a deficiency report? (Today, TradesWork can't produce one.)

Switching from ServiceTrade to TradesWork

For a commercial-first contractor, we'd advise against it. For a residential-first shop, TradesWork has no ServiceTrade importer; customers with locations and a price list come across through the "Another system or a spreadsheet" importer, and jobs, assets, inspections and invoices stay in your archive. ServiceTrade's own integration guide shows a job list export ("Export to Spreadsheet", then "Jobs"),⁵ but its help center isn't public. See how to export data from ServiceTrade and the ServiceTrade to TradesWork migration guide.

Which should you choose?

ServiceTrade if you're a commercial mechanical, fire protection, life safety or kitchen exhaust contractor, or you need inspections, deficiencies, a facility manager portal or construction accounting.

TradesWork if you're a residential-first HVAC, plumbing or electrical shop of 3 to 50 techs selling memberships and replacements to homeowners, on QuickBooks Online, with commercial accounts that need terms and agreements rather than inspections.

Also compare TradesWork vs BuildOps and TradesWork vs ServiceTitan, and score your shortlist with the field service software scorecard.