Field Service Scheduling and Dispatch Software Compared on Price

Field service scheduling software puts each job on a shared calendar or dispatch board, assigns it to a technician and sends the details to that technician’s phone. The plan you need, and so the price, can depend on whether you also want the software to plan each technician’s route. Jobber includes route optimization from Connect; Housecall Pro includes it on Max.

Where a vendor keeps route optimization for a later plan than dispatch, the whole subscription moves up to that plan, not just the dispatcher’s seat. So this page prices two plans for each vendor: the cheapest whose page lists scheduling and dispatch, and the cheapest that lists route optimization as well. The answer box above sets out both for a team of ten, and the cost tables below give both at three team sizes.

GPS tracking, online booking and two-way texting are also often kept for a higher plan or sold as an add-on. Each vendor’s entry lists its plan for them, and the section on routing, GPS, booking and texting explains what each vendor means by them and what costs extra. HVAC and plumbing firms should note that Housecall Pro shows them a separate price list, in its own row of each table. This page covers dispatch software for trade businesses, not appointment-booking or staff-rota apps.

Scheduling and dispatch software prices compared

Scheduling and dispatch software prices, ordered by the yearly cost for a mid-size team

Vendor in cost order	Starting price	Mid-size team, per year 8 technicians, 2 office	Mid-size team, with route optimization per year	Who it suits (our summary)
1 Service Fusion	$208 a month for unlimited users, billed annually Published Publication note	$2,496 a year, billed annually Published Publication note on Starter	No plan lists route optimization	HVAC, plumbing, electrical, garage door and appliance repair businesses that want scheduling, invoicing, payments and GPS tracking in one product.
2 Jobber	$29 a month for 1 user, billed annually Published	$2,748 a year, billed annually Published Sources disagree on Connect	$2,748 a year, billed annually Published Sources disagree on Connect	Owner-operators and service teams of up to 15 users who want to see and buy a plan without talking to sales.
3 Housecall Pro, general pricing	$59 a month for 1 user, billed annually Published	$4,428 a year, billed annually Published on Max	$4,428 a year, billed annually Published on Max	Owner-operators and small home service teams of up to 5 users who want to see prices and sign up without a sales call; Basic (1 user) and Essentials (5 users) can be bought directly, while Max (8 users included, more can be added) is sold through a demo.
Housecall Pro, HVAC, plumbing and electrical pricing	$79 a month for 1 user, billing term not stated Published	$9,588 a year, billing term not stated Published on Essentials or Max (same cost)	$9,588 a year, billing term not stated Published on Max	—
4 BuildOps	Not published	Not published	No plan lists route optimization	Commercial specialty contractors that run both service work and construction projects and want one system for both.
5 FieldEdge	Not published	Not published	No plan lists route optimization	Established HVAC, plumbing and electrical contractors running several trucks, especially those that use QuickBooks Online or Desktop.
6 FieldPulse	Not published	Not published	No plan lists route optimization	Trade businesses of about 5 to 100 employees, which FieldPulse says covers most of its customers; its electrical page addresses electrical contractors of up to about 200.
7 ServiceM8	No monthly fee for 1 user Published Covers up to 30 new jobs a month 85 83 88	Not published Not costed: priced by number of new jobs a month	Not published Not costed: priced by number of new jobs a month	Teams that want automatic route ordering for each technician's day without paying more for it.
8 ServiceTitan	Not published	Not published	No plan lists route optimization	Established trade businesses with several technicians and office staff, especially HVAC, plumbing and electrical shops.
9 ServiceTrade	Not checked		Not checked	Commercial fire protection, life safety and mechanical service contractors.
10 Workiz	$275 a month for 5 users, billed annually Published Publication note	Not published	No plan lists route optimization	Home service businesses that take much of their work by phone and want calls, texts, call recording and AI answering in the same system as their jobs.

How each cost is worked out: 12 times the monthly price of the cheapest plan whose page lists scheduling and dispatch and that allows that many users (a small team is 2 technicians and 1 office user, a mid-size team 8 and 2, a large team 25 and 5), on that plan's cheapest published billing term. That plan may not include every other feature you need. One-off fees are not included; each vendor's pricing page lists them.

Cheapest plan that includes scheduling and dispatch: each starting price and cost is for a plan whose page lists scheduling and dispatch; the last cost column also needs route optimization. A vendor with no such plan shows "No plan lists scheduling and dispatch", or "Not checked" when we have not recorded scheduling and dispatch for its plans, and is left out of the ranges and counts.

Starting price is the lowest plan price on the billing term the vendor's pricing page shows first. "Who it suits" is our summary of the vendor's own material. The bar under each published mid-size cost shows it against the highest one in the column; it measures cost, not quality.

Notes on these figures

1. Service Fusion Starter: Publication note: In Service Fusion's pricing page code, which lists slightly different plan contents from the visible page; the page showed no prices in a browser when last checked.
2. Jobber Connect: Sources disagree. Jobber's pricing page sells Connect at set prices for up to 15 users, but its help article says the plan supports up to 5 users. We use the pricing page; check with Jobber before relying on a larger team on this plan. (sources: getjobber.com/pricing, help.getjobber.com/en/articles/the-connect-plan)
3. Workiz Standard: Publication note: Stated in Workiz's file for AI tools; its pricing page shows Request pricing.

Where the routing column reads “No plan lists route optimization”, the vendor may still describe or sell something like it on other pages; its entry’s routing line and the routing section below say what. The full price index lists every plan of every vendor we track, including plans that are not the cheapest for any team size.

The scheduling and dispatch vendors in brief

What scheduling software costs a team of three, ten or thirty

Costs are worked out as described under the first cost table.

Yearly cost at three team sizes, on the cheapest plan with scheduling and dispatch, and with route optimization too

Vendor	3 users Small team: 2 technicians, 1 office		10 users Mid-size team: 8 technicians, 2 office		30 users Large team: 25 technicians, 5 office
	With scheduling and dispatch	Also with route optimization	With scheduling and dispatch	Also with route optimization	With scheduling and dispatch	Also with route optimization
Service Fusion	$2,496 a year Published Publication note Starter, billed annually	No plan lists route optimization	$2,496 a year Published Publication note Starter, billed annually	No plan lists route optimization	$2,496 a year Published Publication note Starter, billed annually	No plan lists route optimization
Jobber	$1,788 a year Published Connect, billed annually	$1,788 a year Published Connect, billed annually	$2,748 a year Published Sources disagree Connect, billed annually	$2,748 a year Published Sources disagree Connect, billed annually	Not published	Not published
Housecall Pro, general pricing	$1,788 a year Published Essentials, billed annually	$3,588 a year Published Max, billed annually	$4,428 a year Published Max, billed annually	$4,428 a year Published Max, billed annually	$12,828 a year Published Max, billed annually	$12,828 a year Published Max, billed annually
Housecall Pro, HVAC, plumbing and electrical pricing	$3,588 a year Published Essentials, billing term not stated	$7,788 a year Published Max, billing term not stated	$9,588 a year Published Essentials or Max (same cost), billing term not stated	$9,588 a year Published Max, billing term not stated	$27,588 a year Published Max, billing term not stated	$27,588 a year Published Max, billing term not stated
BuildOps	Not published	No plan lists route optimization	Not published	No plan lists route optimization	Not published	No plan lists route optimization
FieldEdge	Not published	No plan lists route optimization	Not published	No plan lists route optimization	Not published	No plan lists route optimization
FieldPulse	Not published	No plan lists route optimization	Not published	No plan lists route optimization	Not published	No plan lists route optimization
ServiceM8	Not published Not costed: priced by number of new jobs a month	Not published Not costed: priced by number of new jobs a month	Not published Not costed: priced by number of new jobs a month	Not published Not costed: priced by number of new jobs a month	Not published Not costed: priced by number of new jobs a month	Not published Not costed: priced by number of new jobs a month
ServiceTitan	Not published	No plan lists route optimization	Not published	No plan lists route optimization	Not published	No plan lists route optimization
ServiceTrade	Not checked
Workiz	$3,300 a year Published Publication note Standard, billed annually	No plan lists route optimization	Not published	No plan lists route optimization	Not published	No plan lists route optimization

Each cost is for the cheapest plan whose page lists the feature in its column (the second column needs route optimization as well as scheduling and dispatch). One-off fees are not included; each vendor's pricing page lists them.

Read each pair of columns together. The first is the cheapest plan whose page lists scheduling and dispatch; the second is the cheapest that also lists route optimization. Where both name the same plan, routing comes with the plan the team already needs. Where they differ, the gap between them is what automatic routing costs that team for a year. Neither column allows for GPS tracking, online booking or two-way texting, so check the plan named under each figure against the next section.

Service Fusion’s figure does not change with team size because its plans cover unlimited users (pricing page). Jobber’s published price points do not reach the large team, so its large-team cells read Not published (pricing page). Housecall Pro’s general Basic and Essentials plans each include a set number of users, so its mid-size and large teams are priced on Max (pricing page). ServiceM8’s cells read Not published for a different reason: it prices each plan by the new jobs created in a month, with unlimited users on every paid plan, so team size does not set its price (pricing page). To compare it, count the new jobs your team opens in a typical month and match that to the job allowances on its pricing page. Only its top plan charges for jobs above the allowance; on the others, going over leads to a prompt to upgrade after a short grace period (pricing page). For HVAC and plumbing firms on Housecall Pro’s trade price list, Jobber costs less at 3 users: $1,788 a year, billed annually (published price), against $3,588 a year, billing term not stated (published price) for Housecall Pro.

Which plan you need for routing, GPS, booking and texting

Each vendor’s entry above lists the plan on which it includes these four features, and the features table at the end of the page lines them up. This section covers what those lines can’t show: what each vendor means by the feature, and what it charges on top. “Not listed” means the plan pages do not mention a feature, not that the product lacks it.

Route optimization

Route optimization here means the software orders a day’s stops itself. Housecall Pro’s help says its version reorders a technician’s scheduled jobs for the day to cut total driving time (help article). On its new schedule, Jobber’s works on “anytime” visits, the ones with no set start or end time: it orders them by driving distance for one team member, a group or the whole team at once, and can keep the first and last visit where they are (help article). An admin runs it from Jobber’s website, and the technicians’ app then shows the new order. ServiceM8’s Auto Routing takes the jobs already booked for one staff member and puts that day in order (help article). FieldPulse’s current tool has the dispatcher click jobs in the order to run them, after which it sets the times (help article); its feature roadmap lists a tool that plans the whole team’s day, unscheduled jobs included, as in progress.

ServiceTitan and BuildOps describe something related. ServiceTitan’s Dispatch Pro assigns technicians with drive time in mind, and its settings can cap a technician’s drive time between appointments (routing settings), but its help pages do not describe it ordering a day’s stops (Dispatch Pro help). BuildOps’s Fleet+ sends the closest technician (Fleet+ page). Workiz and FieldEdge both advertise route optimization on their own pages (Workiz route planning, FieldEdge scheduling and dispatching), but neither page names the plan that includes it. If routing is the reason you are buying, ask each vendor to show it on the plan it is quoting, and ask whether it plans one technician at a time or the whole team.

GPS tracking

There are two kinds: locating technicians through the app on their phones, and tracking vehicles with a device in each truck, which usually means hardware and a per-vehicle charge. The features table does not separate them, so if you need to know where the vans are, not just the phones, look for the vehicle add-on or partner named in each entry. ServiceTitan includes GPS tracking on every plan; FieldPulse lists it (Last known phone location; live vehicle tracking is the Fleet Tracking add-on).

Where vehicle tracking is extra, the terms differ. Service Fusion bills its plug-in units per unit for the subscription term and gives no refund for units removed early (help article). ServiceTitan’s Fleet Pro may involve buying or leasing GPS hardware (terms of use). Housecall Pro publishes its per-vehicle price, given in its entry above.

Online booking

Online booking lets customers request or book a slot from your website or a link, which then lands on the dispatch board.

Service Fusion’s booking runs through its customer web portal, where requests wait for the office to confirm them (help article). FieldEdge’s runs through its Consumer Management Portal, which has no published price where it is an add-on (pricing page). ServiceTitan’s comes with Scheduling Pro, sold separately below Max, as its entry explains.

Two-way texting

Two-way texting keeps “running late” and “on my way” conversations with the customer in the job record instead of on a technician’s personal phone. Jobber includes two-way texting from Grow; Workiz sells it as an add-on.

FieldPulse’s own texts are one-way unless you add Engage, its phone system (help article). FieldEdge’s two-way texting comes with MarketingEdge, which has no published price where it is an add-on (pricing page).

Timesheets and the customer portal

Two more rows of the features table sit at either end of the dispatch board: the hours technicians log once they are sent, and what customers can see without phoning the office.

Timesheets

The time a technician records feeds payroll and job costing, so it matters how much of it the software captures without being asked. ServiceTitan says drive time, vendor runs and time on the job are recorded on technicians’ timesheets automatically (timesheet page). BuildOps’s app logs hours and breaks with a location tag on each entry (mobile app page). Jobber’s team members clock in and out from the app (help article), and FieldPulse’s timesheets also track lunch breaks (help article). Service Fusion works out labor time on a job from the status a technician sets (help article), and Workiz’s mobile app page mentions timesheets (mobile app page); neither names the plans that include them, which is why their cells read Not listed. ServiceM8’s pricing page lists automatic time tracking and timesheet export (pricing page). If you pay technicians by the hour, ask whether travel between jobs is logged as work time without the technician doing anything.

Customer portal

A portal answers the “when is my technician coming?” call before it reaches the dispatcher. Jobber’s client hub lets clients check appointment details, approve quotes and pay invoices (pricing page). FieldEdge’s Consumer Management Portal lets customers request appointments as well as pay invoices and accept quotes (portal page), and FieldPulse’s lets them review their jobs, estimates and invoices (help article). Service Fusion’s own help articles disagree on which plans can add its portal: one says any package, another says Plus is needed (portal help, add-ons help), so confirm it on the plan you are quoted. ServiceM8 lists no client login; clients get links to their quotes and a live statement of outstanding invoices instead (pricing page). In a demo, ask to see what a customer sees after a job has been rescheduled.

Questions to ask in a scheduling and dispatch demo

Plan pages say which tools a plan has, not how they behave on a busy day. In a demo, ask the vendor to show you these on the plan it is quoting:

• An urgent call on a full day. Drop it onto a technician’s schedule and watch what happens to the jobs after it, and whether customers already booked are told the technician will be late.
• Routing. Whether it orders one technician’s stops or the whole team’s, whether it uses live traffic, and whether the dispatcher can lock a job to a time before it reorders the rest.
• The technician’s side. How a schedule change reaches the phone, and what the app shows with no signal.
• Seats. Whether dispatchers and office staff need a paid login, and whether a technician who only uses the app counts as a user. At ServiceM8, ask instead how jobs are counted, since its plans are set by new jobs a month.
• Work that spans days. How maintenance visits are booked months ahead, and how a job that runs over two days is split on the board.

How we chose and ordered these vendors

What drives the cost of scheduling and dispatch software

Who needs a login. Dispatchers and office staff usually count as users, as well as technicians. Jobber (pricing page) and Housecall Pro’s Max plan (pricing page) charge for each user beyond those included, Service Fusion charges one flat price for unlimited users, and ServiceTitan prices per technician by quote (ServiceTitan pricing page). ServiceM8’s paid plans have unlimited users and are priced by new jobs a month instead (pricing page).

Job volume. At ServiceM8 a busy month, not a new hire, moves you up a plan. Each plan carries a monthly allowance of new jobs, so a shop that runs many short jobs can outgrow its plan with a small team (pricing page).

The plan with the routing. On per-user plans, moving up a plan for route optimization or two-way texting raises the price for every user, not just the dispatcher. The routing columns of the cost tables show that step for each vendor whose plan pages list route optimization.

Trucks, not people. Vehicle GPS is charged per vehicle or per device where a price is given, and some vendors need a partner’s hardware, such as Jobber’s FleetSharp devices. A ten-person team with eight vans pays for eight devices.

Products sold on top. ServiceTitan’s Dispatch Pro and Scheduling Pro (below Max) and Workiz’s Genius Phone are subscriptions on top of the plan, and none has a published price.

Seats you cannot drop. FieldPulse does not reduce the seats billed when you remove users (terms of service), and BuildOps treats the user count in its order as a minimum for the term (terms of service). If your technician count swings with the season, size the contract for the quiet months.

Our methodology explains how the team sizes and yearly figures are worked out.

HVAC and plumbing scheduling and dispatch

The same software runs HVAC and plumbing dispatch. Two kinds of work test it differently: maintenance visits booked months ahead, and emergency calls squeezed into a full day.

HVAC scheduling: maintenance visits

Maintenance agreements fill the calendar months ahead, so check how each vendor schedules the visits. Jobber’s HVAC page says it schedules future maintenance visits as recurring jobs and sends reminders when service is due. FieldPulse’s maintenance agreements set visit schedules and renewal reminders, and its help article says they are part of the subscription. On its HVAC, plumbing and electrical plans, Housecall Pro includes service agreements and memberships from Essentials (an add-on on Basic); Workiz includes them on Ultimate.

Housecall Pro’s HVAC price list is in its own row of both cost tables above. Our HVAC software comparison covers HVAC-specific needs such as equipment records and flat-rate pricebooks.

Plumbing dispatch: emergency calls

FieldPulse’s plumbing dispatch page has dispatchers drag emergency calls to the top of the schedule. Workiz’s job scheduling page says automatic messages can tell customers already booked that the technician will be late. FieldEdge’s scheduling and dispatching page describes reassigning jobs when emergencies come up.

An emergency call is where routing and dispatch meet: if the software has ordered the day by drive time, ask to see the dispatcher run it again after squeezing the call in. Plumbing businesses get the same Housecall Pro trade price list as HVAC firms (plumbing page), in the same row of the tables.

Is there free scheduling software for plumbers or HVAC firms?

ServiceM8 has one. Its Free plan covers one user and a monthly allowance of new jobs, and each card payment taken through ServiceM8 earns an extra job that month (free plan page). That fits a plumber or HVAC technician working alone; a second person means a paid plan, since the Free plan is the only one that limits users (pricing page). Of the others, the pricing pages of Jobber, Housecall Pro, Service Fusion and Workiz list no free plan, and the rest sell by quote. Some offer a free trial instead:

• Jobber: 14-day free trial with access to the Grow plan's features and no credit card required. Add-ons cannot be bought during the trial. 24 25
• Housecall Pro: 14-day free trial with full access to Max plan features and no credit card needed to start. A trial with no payment method closes on its own after 14 days. 50 42
• Workiz: 7-day free trial with no credit card required, started by signing up on the Workiz website. 116 117
• ServiceM8: its paid plans can be tried free first, with every feature open and no card required (free plan page).

Each of these trials opens the features of the plan the vendor picks, which may not be the one you would pay for, so a tool you come to rely on during the trial may sit on a later plan. Before you count on it, look the tool up in the features table below, and for routing in the second column of the cost table, and compare the plan named there with the plan in your quote.

Searches for free scheduling software for plumbers mostly turn up appointment-booking and staff-scheduling apps. They take bookings or plan shifts but do not dispatch jobs to technicians in the field, and we have not researched them, so we do not name or price them here.