Joist alternatives

Invoice Fly

Good fit for: Contractors and freelancers who set their own prices and want simple estimates and invoices plus time and expense tracking

Price: $8.99 a week or $98.99 a year; 3-day free trial

A phone-first estimate and invoice app with a web app. Estimates come from your saved items and markups, clients e-sign from a link, and estimates convert to invoices. Its e-signature page says its AI can generate an estimate. Payments run through your own Stripe or PayPal account. It adds automatic follow-ups and overdue reminders, recurring invoices, time tracking, an expense tracker with receipt scanning and reports. ^{[8][9][10][11][12][13][14]}

Compared with Joist: Invoice Fly lists one plan with every feature, at $8.99 a week or $98.99 a year, where Joist steps up through four monthly tiers from $10. Both build estimates from your own saved items, and both describe AI that can draft an estimate. Invoice Fly runs payments through your own Stripe or PayPal account at that account’s rates and lists client time tracking; Joist lists its own payment rates, tap to pay in person and, on its Run plan, job scheduling. ^{[8][10][11][12][14][2][3][4][7]}

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Contractor+

Good fit for: Contractors who want to start free and grow into CRM, scheduling and project management

Price: Free plan; Pro $49 a month, or $29 a month on the annual plan

A contractor business platform with a free plan of up to 5 estimates or invoices a month. From Pro, Estimatic AI drafts estimates from a description, photos, blueprints or another quote, priced from your cost book, supplier prices and a labor-rate index, using AI credits. Contracts and e-signatures also start on Pro. ^{[15][16][17][18]}

Compared with Joist: Contractor+ has a free plan capped at 5 estimates or invoices a month; Joist’s pricing page says its own free plan is no longer available. Contractor+’s Estimatic AI, from the Pro plan at $49 a month billed monthly, can price drafts from your cost book, supplier prices and a labor-rate index, and e-signatures and scheduling also start on Pro. Joist lists AI drafting and e-signatures on every plan, from $10 a month. ^{[15][16][17][18][2][4][5]}

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Housecall Pro

Good fit for: Home-service companies that book, schedule and dispatch techs

Price: From $79 a month billed monthly, or $59 a month billed annually; 14-day free trial

Field service software with online booking, scheduling and dispatch on every plan, and estimates priced from a price book that can start from Profit Rhino’s ready-made one. Customers approve and e-sign estimates from their phone or email, with optional deposits and progress invoicing. Online invoice payments are 2.99% and bank payments 1%. ^{[19][20][21][22][23][24]}

Compared with Joist: Housecall Pro is field service software built around booking, scheduling and dispatch, which come on every plan from $79 a month billed monthly. Estimates are priced from a price book you can import or start from a ready-made one, and online invoice payments cost 2.99%. Joist’s plans start at $10 a month; it prices from your own saved items and lists scheduling on its Run plan. ^{[19][20][25][24][2][3]}

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Invoice Simple

Good fit for: Solo operators and small businesses who price their own work and send a handful of invoices a month

Price: From $6.99 a month (up to 3 invoices); unlimited at $21.99; 14-day trial of Premium

An invoicing and estimating app on iOS, Android and web, with plans set by how many invoices you send. Estimates convert to invoices; client signatures and deposits are on Premium. It takes cards, ACH, PayPal, Venmo and Stripe Tap to Pay; US Stripe card fees are 3.49% + 49¢. Bookkeeping and an AI Receptionist are paid add-ons in the US and Canada. ^{[26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33]}

Compared with Joist: Invoice Simple also sells monthly tiers, set by how many invoices you send, from $6.99 for 3 to $21.99 for unlimited. It keeps client signatures and deposits for Premium, where Joist has signatures on every plan. US card fees match Joist at 3.49% + 49¢, and both draft invoices from a typed or spoken prompt and sell an AI receptionist as an add-on. ^{[26][31][29][33][5][2][7][4]}

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Jobber

Good fit for: Home-service businesses running crews and recurring work

Price: From $49 a month with no commitment, less on a one-year commitment or billed annually; 14-day free trial

Field service software for scheduling, quotes, invoices and payments, with QuickBooks Online and Xero sync on Connect and higher plans. Clients approve quotes in a client hub, can draw or type a signature and pay a deposit as they approve. Progress invoicing is on every plan. Card payments are 2.9% + 30¢ and ACH is 1%. ^{[34][35][36][37]}

Compared with Joist: Jobber is field service software for crews and recurring work, with scheduling, route planning and online booking, from $49 a month with no commitment. Its card rate is 2.9% + 30¢ against Joist’s 3.49% + 49¢, and it syncs with QuickBooks Online and Xero. Joist’s plans start at $10 a month, and it lists job scheduling on its Run plan. ^{[35][34][7][2]}

BuildWell vs Jobber →

BuildWell

Good fit for: Contractors who want each estimate priced from local store prices and wages, then signed and paid

Price: $7.99 a week or $79.99 a year; 3-day free trial

Describe a job by voice, text, photos or a floor plan; the AI picks the work and quantities, and prices come from stores near the job and BLS wages plus your overhead and markup. Clients sign on their phone, estimates become invoices with deposits and progress payments, and card or bank payments go through Stripe at cost. iPhone, Android and web; English or Spanish. Not a scheduling, CRM, time-tracking or accounting tool. ^{[38][39][40][41][42][43]}

Compared with Joist: BuildWell is one plan at $7.99 a week or $79.99 a year, and its AI plans each estimate while prices come from stores near the job and local wages, where Joist prices from your saved items. Card payments cost Stripe’s 2.9% + 30¢ with no BuildWell fee. Unlike Joist, BuildWell doesn’t schedule jobs or sync with QuickBooks, and it has no monthly plan. ^{[38][39][42][3][2]}