Jobber vs Joist: In-Depth Comparison Guide for Field Service Teams in 2026
See the detailed comparison for Jobber vs Joist, including features, integrations, pricing, and user ratings. Choose the right one for your field service needs.
Feb 3, 2026
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Jobber and Joist are great for field service management (FSM), but not in the same way. Based on our research, each tool solves different use cases.
Jobber is best for early-stage companies that need core FSM features, such as scheduling, invoicing, and reporting, but it can get expensive as you scale. Joist is best for solo contractors and small trade teams who want to send estimates/invoices and collect online payments.
In this article, we’ll compare Jobber vs. Joist by discussing key features, pricing, and user experiences.
We’ll also introduce an alternative, FieldPulse, an adaptable FSM software built to scale with your business without the rigid limitations or high costs.
Jobber vs. Joist at a Glance
Jobber gives you a basic core setup built to reduce paperwork and operational bottlenecks for home service businesses. Joist is more focused on helping solo contractors simplify estimating, invoicing, and payment collection from a single platform.
Here’s a quick comparison of how they differ:
Criteria Jobber Joist Verdict Best for small teams that need an all-in-one, yet simple, FSM Best for solo contractors who are just starting out and only want to build professional estimates/invoices and get paid faster Key features Scheduling and dispatching, booking portal, CRM, quoting, invoicing, payments, and reporting Estimating, invoicing, client management, homeowner financing, and collecting payments Ease of use ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Customization options Customizable workflows, but requires an upgrade to high-tier plans Allows custom estimate and invoice templates Pricing Starts at $39/user/month Starts at $8/month for up to 5 invoices/estimates
Jobber Overview
Jobber is a field service management software built for small to mid-sized businesses and contractors. It serves home service trades like HVAC, handyman, plumbing, electrical, and landscaping.
Jobber is praised for its simple setup and intuitive interface, but it can be expensive for smaller teams.
Read more: Jobber Alternatives
Jobber Key Features
Here are the key features of Jobber:
- Scheduling: Plan jobs on a calendar and keep your team’s workload organized with clear job details and time slots.
- Dispatching: Assign the right technician to the right job and keep schedules moving when changes happen during the day.
- Quotes & estimates: Build professional quotes, send them to customers for review, and track approvals to speed up close rates.
- Invoicing: Create and send invoices quickly after work is completed, with tools to reduce delays in billing.
- Payments: Let customers pay online and help your team collect payments faster with fewer follow-ups.
- Client relationship management (CRM): Store customer details, job history, notes, and communication in one place for repeatable service.
- Customer communication: Send reminders, updates, and follow-ups so customers stay informed without manual chasing.
- Online booking: Offer a booking option that lets customers request work online and reduces back-and-forth.
- Reporting and analytics: Review business performance with built-in reporting across jobs, revenue, and client activity.
- Integrations: Connect Jobber with other tools (like accounting and marketing apps) to keep data in sync.
Jobber Pricing
Jobber offers the following pricing plans:
- Core – $39/month for 1 user
- Connect – $169/month for up to 5 users
- Grow – $349/month for up to 10 users
- Plus – $599/month for up to 15 users
Jobber Rating
- 4.5 stars on G2
- 4.5 stars on Capterra
Joist Overview
Joist is an estimating and invoicing software for solo contractors and small teams that need mobile-friendly features.
Users like Joist for its professional estimate creation and easy-to-use interface. But many find it too limiting for growing contractors that need a comprehensive field service solution.
Joist Key Features
Here are the key features of Joist:
- Estimate creation: Generates professional estimates with line items, deposits, and job photos on the spot.
- Invoices: Creates invoices from estimates in minutes with complete details to keep billing simple.
- Digital signatures: Allow techs to collect digital signatures from customers on the job site for instant approval.
- Professional document branding: Offers logo and attachments like photos or contracts to build professional estimates and invoices.
- Online payments: Allows credit cards, eChecks, and other online payments directly through your estimates and invoices.
- Homeowner financing: Offers third-party financing to clients at checkout to help them afford larger jobs for higher conversion rates.
- QuickBooks Online integration: Syncs estimates, invoices, and payments with QuickBooks Online for bookkeeping.
- Client management: Stores customer contact info and job documents in one place for easier reference and repeat business.
- Work order creation: Generates shareable work orders tied to estimates or invoices to keep team and client details aligned.
- Change orders: Send change orders for invoice updates and capture customer approval/signature before work continues.
- Sales reporting: Track metrics like revenue snapshots, estimate win rate, and invoiced volume.
Joist Pricing
Joist offers three pricing plans:
- Basics – $8 for up to 5 invoices/estimates.
- Pro – $15 for unlimited invoices/estimates.
- Elite – $32 for unlimited invoices/estimates.
Joist Rating
- 4.1 stars on G2
- 4.1 stars on Capterra
Jobber vs Joist: Pricing Comparison
Here’s a price comparison table between Jobber and Joist:
Software Plans Free Trial Starting Price What’s Included Jobber Core, Connect, Grow, Plus 14-day free trial $39/user/month Essential features plus onboarding and premium support Joist Basics, Pro, Elite 2-month free trial $8/month for 5 invoices/estimates Basic features, online payments, and third-party financing options
Jobber vs. Joist: Feature-by-Feature Comparison
Now that you know how Jobber and Joist differ in terms of features and functionality, here’s a feature-by-feature comparison:
Scheduling and Dispatching
Jobbers offers drag-and-drop scheduling, GPS tracking, and route optimization to help you dispatch technicians more efficiently. Joist doesn’t offer any built-in scheduling or dispatching tools.
Quoting and Estimating
Both platforms let you build professional estimates with line-level item details. Jobber standardizes quoting with a built-in pricebook. Joist allows you to reuse saved templates with deposits, markups, and contracts for common jobs, but you need to enter pricing yourself.
Invoicing
Both platforms support one-click invoicing from estimates and automatically populate details in professional templates. Jobber also offers batch and milestone-based invoicing.
Payments
Both provide online payments via credit cards and ACH, so customers can pay directly from an invoice/estimate link. Jobber also offers Tap to Pay/card reader, refunds, and tipping options, while Joist includes PayPal support.
Progress Billing
Jobber lets you create a separate invoice for each milestone tied to the job. This works well for tracking revenue, annual rate aging, and payments.
Joist lets you add a milestone-based payment schedule (and request deposits) directly on an estimate or invoice. The clients pay set amounts at different stages, but without creating separate invoices for each milestone.
Financing Options
Both platforms offer financing options to customers via third-party partnerships, attached to the estimate or quote.
Joist also offers a built-in business financing option to help you (business owner) borrow funds to afford materials, payroll, equipment, or unexpected costs. The platform provides clear fee terms, flexible repayment, and doesn’t require lengthy traditional loan applications.
Customer Management
Jobber offers a built-in CRM with detailed client profiles, job history, communication history, and lead tracking. Joist provides basic client management tools to store customer information against invoices.
Customer Communication
Jobber lets you send text messages and emails to customers, along with automated follow-up reminders. Joist doesn’t offer built-in communication tools. It only notifies you when a customer opens an email and views or signs an estimate/invoice.
Inventory Management
Jobber centralizes materials on a searchable dashboard, so teams can view, track, and manage stock levels to keep technicians equipped. Joist doesn't offer inventory tracking or management; you can only add material costs on an estimate and invoice manually.
Service Contracts
Both platforms let you create service contracts, including terms and conditions, warranty information, and work schedules. Jobber ties service contracts with your job workflows, so it's more suited for larger and recurring home service projects. Joist only lets you add contracts to an estimate/invoice.
Integrations
Jobber provides a dedicated App Marketplace to connect with a broad set of third-party apps. Joist only integrates with QuickBooks Online to sync invoice and payment data.
Mobile Accessibility
Joist is a mobile-first platform that allows contractors to create/send estimates and invoices, collect online payments, and capture client signatures on-site.
Jobber’s mobile app lets technicians view job schedules, build quotes, send invoices, collect payments, add job notes, and view customer profiles. It’s more suitable for complex jobs and projects.
Customization
Jobber offers deeper customization of records and documents through reusable quote templates and custom fields. Joist lets you customize estimates and invoices for branding and reusable project templates.
FieldPulse: An All-in-One FSM Alternative to Jobber vs. Joist
FieldPulse is field service management software for small to mid-sized teams (SMBs) with 5–200+ employees.
Our platform is built for commercial, residential, and franchise trades like HVAC , electrical , plumbing , garage door , appliance repair , and AV installation .
As a Jobber and Joist alternative, FieldPulse adjusts to your workflows, from scheduling to reporting. It offers enterprise-grade tools at an affordable price, so you can run your business smoothly and scale confidently.
Here’s how FieldPulse features help you automate and manage your field service operations:
Automated Scheduling and Dispatch to Book More Jobs Faster
Many Jobber users complain that the scheduling tools offer limited features to manage schedules. This forces you to adjust your daily workflows to the software, instead of the other way around.
FieldPulse’s scheduling and dispatching software gives you more flexibility and adapts to your workflow. It allows you to manage all your jobs from a single dashboard. When a customer calls, you can add job details directly to the system and assign a technician using the drag-and-drop scheduling tool.
You can also view, manage, and track schedules on FieldPulse from multiple calendar views to see relevant information at a glance. Each schedule slot opens to the assigned technician, job details, customer information, and notes.
Your technician sees all assigned jobs without requiring back-and-forth communication, along with the same job details via the FieldPulse mobile app.
FieldPulse also makes it easier to track and send the right technicians to the right job based on their availability, skill set, and job history.
In case of an emergency call, FieldPulse shows you map-based availability of technicians so you can see their live location to dispatch technicians. This helps you respond faster, win more jobs, and stand out against your competitors.
Custom Workflows to Standardize Job Stages
FieldPulse offers custom workflows to maintain service quality and structure at every stage of the job. This helps you assign jobs to new technicians more confidently. You can set workflows by service type, such as repair, installation, and inspection.
Your technicians can mark every job stage as they complete it on the mobile app, while office teams can track the progress in real-time.
FieldPulse also lets you add custom forms/checklists with custom fields in the same job workflow, so technicians can follow the right instructions.
For example, an electrician is required to complete the pre-install inspection before beginning the installation process. The technician will complete the checklist and fill in the details, so you have the complete information about the service and warranty.
Book a demo to see how FieldPulse helped Stewart Electrical Contracting add 4+ jobs weekly.
Build Accurate Estimates to Protect Profit Margin
Joist users complain that the platform offers limited estimating features for complex jobs, which increases admin work as you book more jobs.
FieldPulse estimate and invoice software allows you to build professional quotes and link them directly with your job, so you can speed up approvals and get paid faster.
The built-in pricebook lets you add flat prices for service types, materials, and labor costs. You can also create custom categories for recurring services to speed up the quoting process.
When a customer requests an estimate, a technician can inspect the site, open a pre-built template, and quickly build the quote by selecting items from the pricebook. They can add quantities, apply markups, and send the finished estimate straight to the customer’s email.
The customer receives a clear, itemized breakdown of costs, which helps set expectations and reduce back-and-forth.
You can also include multiple options in the estimate, like good/better/best packages, so customers can choose upgrades on the spot, helping you upsell and improve your margins.
As a Jobber and Joist alternative, FieldPulse’s estimating software also offers:
- Line item bundles: Save groups of commonly used items and add them to an estimate/invoice in one step.
- Line item groupings: Group items under a section header with a grouped price and optionally hide individual line items from the customer view.
- Formula-based quantities: Use measurement formulas to auto-calculate quantities while building estimates.
- Labor line items (for costing): Add labor as a dedicated labor/service line item to track labor properly.
- Reusable templates: Use pre-built estimate/invoice templates and reuse them across jobs.
Once the estimate is approved, the technician can start the job without any delays.
Invoicing to Get Paid Faster
FieldPulse lets you create and send professional invoices directly within the platform. You can build custom templates with terms, branding, and details to fit your business needs.
After job completion, you can convert the approved estimate into an invoice with a single click. Our software auto-populates the line items and totals from the estimate into the template, so you can send it to the customer.
Jobber users complain that the platform prevents invoices from automatically pulling only uninvoiced expenses on long-term recurring billing cycles. This forces them to track billed vs. unbilled items manually.
FieldPulse supports progress billing for long-term projects. You can invoice in stages as work moves forward.
The software records deposits and partial payments against the same invoice, and also updates the remaining balance. This helps you invoice more accurately and keep the payment history in one place.
Payment Processor to Collect Bills On the Job
Jobber users complain that its payment account setup takes too long and lacks clear instructions, while Joist users say the platform requires you update payments manually.
FieldPulse Payments allows you to collect payments via credit cards or ACH directly from the job site.
You can accept payments in multiple ways:
Email Online Payment Request Link
You can email a customer an online payment request along with their FieldPulse estimate or invoice, letting them pay online by card or ACH.
When they pay, FieldPulse creates a payment record under that invoice, and you can view payment history from the invoice’s Payments section.
Take Payments On-Site
Technicians can enter the customer’s card details on the FieldPulse mobile app. The software will process, collect the payment, and update the invoice status in real-time.
All payments are recorded against the related invoice to keep a payment history for future reference. You can also generate payment reports by method, team member, and customer based on the payment data.
FieldPulse Financing Options
FieldPulse supports customer financing through built-in integrations, so you can offer payment plans.
Customers can apply for financing directly through Acorn Finance , Wisetack , and Trinity without you handling sensitive financial information. These financing options help customers move forward on larger projects by spreading payments over time.
FieldPulse offers a range of loan amounts and terms, depending on the provider. This makes financing flexible for different job sizes and customer needs.
- Acorn Finance: Offers loans from 12+ lenders with financing options from $1,000 to $100,000 for 2 to 12 year terms, with APRs (annual percentage rate) as low as 6.99%.
- Wisetack: Provides loans for up to $500 to $25,000 for 3 to 60 months terms, with APRs 0% to 39.5%.
FieldPulse also offers business funding through FieldPulse Capital . This gives contractors access to funding to help manage cash flow, cover expenses, or invest in growth. You can access these offers directly inside the platform if you meet the eligibility criteria.
Inventory Management to Manage Stock Levels and Bill Materials Accurately
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Many Jobber users complain that the platform lacks inventory tracking and doesn’t provide material list sheets, which makes it hard to bill more accurately.
FieldPulse provides inventory management with real-time visibility across trucks, warehouses, and job sites. It centralizes stock levels, usage, and costs in one dashboard, making it easier to track your inventory more accurately .
Each inventory item is directly linked to your job. When you assign a material to a specific job, the software automatically updates the stock level in real-time. You can also track the material’s location via barcode scanning.
With FieldPulse, you can also set minimum stock levels to trigger automated low-stock alerts. It also creates automated purchase orders with your preferred supplier for reordering and notifies your team when the items are restocked.
Unlike Joist, which requires you to enter material costs manually, FieldPulse connects inventory to billing to bill parts accurately. You can add inventory items to estimates and invoices from a shared catalog. You can also format material charges on invoices by grouping items or hiding unit costs.
This level of control and visibility helps you forecast your inventory needs, improve job cost, and increase profitability over time.
Built-In CRM And Communication to Retain Customers
Many Joist users complain that the platform lacks CRM features.
FieldPulse offers built-in CRM and communication tools to help you manage your customer relationships. Our software centralizes all customer information, including contact information, job history, invoices, payments, and notes.
The CRM is integrated with your job management to keep everything organized.
You can add notes to capture preferences, special instructions, or past issues. When a customer calls again, your team can see the full history and help them right away.
FieldPulse also keeps customer communication in one place. Your team can view emails, calls, and messages in a single hub. The system also alerts you when a customer replies.
You can also set up automated follow-ups after the job ends. FieldPulse supports post-job check-ins, maintenance reminders, and review requests. These messages help you bring customers back for repeat work.
Maintenance Agreements for Long-Term Projects
Jobber users complain that the platform doesn’t properly support maintenance agreements for certain industries like HVAC . This adds complexity and slows down service contract management.
FieldPulse helps manage service contracts and maintenance agreements for long-term projects by keeping contracts, schedules, and customer details connected in one system.
Here’s how our software simplifies managing service contracts:
- Agreement creation: Add a title, link a customer, set status, choose a start date, and add an optional end date.
- Service schedule: Set service frequency and view which months include service visits.
- Pre-saved templates: Save agreements as templates and import them to create new contracts faster.
- Standardized visits: Attach a job template to each occurrence to keep tasks and notes consistent.
- Job creation method: Create jobs manually or auto-create jobs using your selected template.
- Recurring billing: Turn on recurring billing, set billing frequency, and set price per bill with an annual total.
- Automated reminders: Send automatic service reminder emails to customers and selected team members.
- Notes and visibility: Store internal agreement notes and auto-insert job notes into new job records.
- Asset linking: Attach agreements to asset records and unlink assets when equipment changes.
- Contracts and e-signatures: Create contracts, email them to customers, and track signature status.
- Reporting: Build maintenance agreement reports by customer, frequency, billing frequency, status, and annual fee.
For example, if you’re a commercial HVAC contractor, you can create an annual tune-up agreement for each customer and set visits for spring and fall. FieldPulse auto-creates the upcoming job records using a standard service template, and you can schedule them when the calendar opens up.
You can also set recurring billing and automatic reminders, so customers get notified before each visit and payments stay consistent.
Dashboards and Reporting to Improve Job Profitability
Many Jobber users complain that the platform lacks custom reports and metrics that matter to their business.
FieldPulse offers advanced dashboard and reporting tools to give you clear visibility into jobs, schedules, technicians, invoices, and payments.
You can configure widgets on the Pulse dashboard based on what metrics matter to you. Whenever you log in, the dashboard will show you a quick overview of your field service data, organized into infographics. You can also adjust the dashboard based on your role.
For example, a business owner might want to know job profitability, technician utilization, or retention rate. A dispatcher might prioritize the daily schedule, open work orders, or overdue invoices .
FieldPulse also gives you raw data reporting. You can filter out reports by jobs, invoices, payments, timesheets, projects, maintenance agreements, assets, customers, purchase orders, inventory, and item usage.
This helps you identify your metrics, improve profit margin, and forecast job costs more efficiently.
FieldPulse Mobile App for Technicians On The Field
The FieldPulse mobile app helps technicians manage the full workday from the field. They can view daily schedules, update job status, review job details, add notes, generate invoices, and collect payments on-site.
Technicians can also open the customer profile to see contact details, job history, and notes. This gives them the context they need to deliver consistent service.
When the office team makes changes or updates to a job, the technician receives automated notifications in real-time. This keeps both teams aligned and reduces follow-up calls, missed details, and last-minute confusion.
FieldPulse Integrations
FieldPulse supports integrations with multiple financing, HR, marketing, sales, and accounting platforms.
Our software also supports Open API for custom apps and tools. Our customer support team helps you deploy your existing systems with FieldPulse.
FieldPulse integrations include:
- Accounting software: QuickBooks Online , QuickBooks Desktop, Xero, and MYOB.
- Supplier networks: The Granite Group , City Electric Supply , Reece (US & ANZ), Winsupply, and Costbook.
- Marketing tools: NiceJob , HighLevel , and Marketing 360 .
FieldPulse Pricing
FieldPulse offers three pricing plans: Essentials, Professional, and Enterprise. You can contact our team for a custom quote.
FieldPulse Rating
- 4.7 stars on G2
- 4.6 stars on Capterra
Comparison Table: Jobber vs Joist vs FieldPulse
Software Best for User experience Customization Reporting Jobber Small to mid-sized teams that need a simple FSM solution Easy to use; quick to onboard, and mobile-friendly for day-to-day operations Rule-based workflows, client communications, and basic automation, but less flexible for tailored solutions Basic operational reporting, but BI-style custom reporting may be limited without exports/integrations Joist Solo operators and small crews that want to build estimates/invoices faster Simple and fast, requires minimal setup; great for on-the-spot estimates in the field Custom invoice templates, branding, line items, basic options, but it’s not designed for complex workflows Basic invoice/estimate tracking and simple summaries FieldPulse Small to mid-sized service businesses with 5–200+ employees that want an all-in-one FSM Easy to use and intuitive interface, feature depth, and quick onboarding setup Custom workflows, templates, operational settings, and configurable for ops-heavy teams Configurable dashboards and custom data reporting tools to track specific field ops metrics that matter
Jobber vs Joist: Which Software Wins in 2026?
Jobber is best for small to mid-sized teams that need a simpler setup with a beginner-friendly interface. It offers scheduling and dispatching, quoting, invoicing, payments, reporting, and integrations with business tools.
Joist is suitable for solo contractors and small teams who only need estimating and invoice software. It offers estimate creation, one-click invoicing, professional templates, financing options, and basic CRM.
FieldPulse: The Go-To Alternative to Jobber vs Joist for Field Service Teams in 2026
FieldPulse is the best field service management software for SMBs that manage 5–200+ employees and need an all-in-one solution to manage their entire workflow. It offers field service features like scheduling, dispatching, invoicing, custom workflows, CRM, inventory management, financing options, and custom reporting tools.
With FieldPulse, you can manage your schedules, jobs, technicians, invoices, and payments from a single dashboard. Its mobile app connects your field and office teams to keep everything organized.
Unlike basic setups or rigid systems, FieldPulse adapts to your workflows, giving you flexibility, transparency, and controls to run your business your way.
Book a demo to learn why field service teams prefer our software over Jobber and Joist.
