Tradify vs Fergus vs ServiceM8: which job app suits your trade business?

If you’re moving your quotes, jobs and invoices off paper, three names come up again and again in New Zealand: Tradify, Fergus and ServiceM8. They all do the core job well. The right one depends on how your business works and how it’s priced.

At a glance

	Tradify	Fergus	ServiceM8
Founded in	New Zealand	New Zealand	Australia
Pricing model	Per user, per month	Plans by feature level	By jobs per month, unlimited users
Free option	14-day trial	Trial / demo	Free plan for one user
Standout strength	Simple and quick to learn	Job costing and supplier integrations	Polished app, service and maintenance work
Accounting	Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks	Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks	Xero, MYOB and others
Best for	Sole traders and small teams	Growing plumbing and electrical businesses	High-volume service work

All three cover quoting, scheduling, job tracking, photos, timesheets, invoicing and a mobile app for your team.

Choose Tradify if…

• You want the easiest learning curve for you and your staff
• You’re a sole trader or a small team
• You do a mix of small jobs and quoted work

Read our full Tradify guide

Choose Fergus if…

• You’re a plumbing, gas or electrical business with lots of materials on each job
• You want to know your real profit on every job
• You want trade supplier invoices and price lists flowing in automatically

Read our full Fergus guide

Choose ServiceM8 if…

• You do lots of service and maintenance jobs
• You have a team and don’t want to pay per user
• You’re solo and want to start on a free plan

Read our full ServiceM8 guide

Working out the real cost

Because the pricing models differ, compare them on your own numbers:

• Per-user pricing (Tradify) suits small teams. The cost grows as you hire.
• Job-based pricing (ServiceM8) suits bigger teams doing a steady number of jobs. The cost grows with job volume.
• Plan-based pricing (Fergus) depends on the features you need.

Grab your staff count and your average jobs per month, then check each app’s current NZ pricing page.

How to decide in a month

1. Shortlist two apps based on the table above.
2. Run real jobs through each one’s trial for a week or two, from quote to invoice.
3. Connect each to Xero during the trial, since that connection is where much of the time saving is.
4. Ask your team which one they’d actually use. The best app is the one that gets used.

What about the bigger players?

If you run large, staged building projects, look at NextMinute. Bigger businesses with complex service operations may also look at AroFlo or simPRO. They’re more powerful, with more setup involved.

For the bigger picture of every tool a trade business uses, see The software every NZ trade business needs.

Readysite isn’t affiliated with any of these companies. Features and pricing change, so check each website for the latest.