Guide
Housecall Pro is a big suite with a big-suite price shape: one user on Basic, then a $110 step. Here is what a small crew can run instead, and what each choice gives up.
Housecall Pro's plans (checked November 2026): Basic at $59 yearly billing / $79 monthly for one user; Essentials at $149 / $189 for up to 5 users; MAX above that, with trade-specific pricing that can run higher for HVAC and plumbing teams. The catch for a growing crew is the gap between the first two: there is no cheap second seat. Person two means Essentials, and on monthly billing that is a $110 step.
| Option | Cost for a 2–5 person crew | QuickBooks | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| DayBoard | $36 flat | CSV export | Crews who want the board, reminders and card pay links without tiers |
| Kickserv | $60 flat (5 users) | Live sync | Crews who need sync and want off suite pricing |
| Jobber | $128+ (2 people) | Live sync (Connect+) | Crews who genuinely want the other big suite |
| ServiceM8 | $29–149 by job count | Live sync | Low-volume crews; strong on iPhone |
Housecall Pro's higher tiers carry things DayBoard does not have and does not plan to fake: a consumer booking page, GPS, a price book, marketing tools. If your business runs on those, the honest move is Essentials or a suite that includes them — priced with open eyes, using the table above. If your week is really a board, job sheets, quotes and invoices, you are paying suite rent for rooms you never enter.
Most often the shape of the pricing: Basic holds one user, and the plan that adds people and QuickBooks sync (Essentials) costs $149–189 — a $110 step on monthly billing for a crew that grew by one person. Add-on fees and support fights fill the 2026 review pages after that.
For the board-plus-invoices core: DayBoard at $36 flat (no sync, export instead) or Kickserv at $60 with sync included. ServiceM8 suits very low job volumes. Jobber is the other big suite, priced like one.
No. Sync starts at Essentials. Basic also leaves out routes, the price book and GPS — the features land a tier or two up.
For your whole crew — up to 5 people. No tiers, no per-person charges, no job cap. Or $349 a year and be done with it.