ServiceM8 vs Tradify vs Fergus: pricing compared
ServiceM8, Tradify and Fergus are job-management tools: quoting, scheduling, invoicing and dispatch for your team. None of them are built to bring in new customers from Google or your website. ServiceM8 is the exception on booking: it has a real customer-facing booking widget built in. Tradify and Fergus don't. All three are worth running alongside a tool that handles the customer-facing side.
Prices below are from each company's own Australian pricing pages, checked 28 September 2026. Check current prices before you sign up, since plans and prices change.
ServiceM8
| Plan | Per month | Included | Booking widget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 1 user, 30 jobs a month | Yes |
| Starter | $29 | Unlimited users, 50 jobs a month | Yes |
| Growing | $79 | Unlimited users, 150 jobs a month | Yes |
| Premium | $149 | Unlimited users, 500 jobs a month | Yes |
| Premium Plus | $349 | Unlimited users, 1,500+ jobs a month | Yes |
Unlimited users on every plan: ServiceM8 charges by job volume, not headcount. It includes an online booking feature that shows customers your services, an instant quote and available times, factoring in staff schedules and travel time, with an optional deposit. A 14-day trial needs no card, and there's no lock-in contract.
Tradify
| Plan | Per user, per month | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| Lite | $48 | Job management, scheduling, quoting and invoicing, Xero/MYOB/QuickBooks sync |
| Pro | $52 | + custom branding, enquiry forms, job photos, recurring jobs, progress invoicing |
| Plus | $62 | + AI tools, purchase orders, bulk invoicing, reporting |
Tradify prices per user with no unlimited-user tier, so cost climbs with headcount. It has enquiry forms for capturing leads and lets customers accept or decline quotes online, but no live-availability booking page: a customer can't pick a time slot themselves. A 14-day trial is available, month to month with no lock-in contract.
Fergus
| Plan | From, per month | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| Essentials | $53 | Quoting, job cards, timesheets, calendar, invoicing, payments |
| Professional | $77 | + checklists, forms, job phases, purchase orders, hazard/SWMS tools |
| Enterprise (10+) | Custom | Everything in Professional, for larger teams |
The listed price covers a limited seat allocation; extra field staff cost roughly $26 a user a month more. Fergus has no customer-facing booking widget on its marketing pages. A 14-day trial needs no card, with a discount for paying yearly.
Where a booking tool fits in
All three help you run the job once it exists: quote it, schedule it, invoice it. None of them, except ServiceM8's own widget, give a customer searching for you on Google a way to book without calling. That's a different job: getting found, and turning that into a confirmed time on your calendar, before the work ever reaches your job-management tool.
- If you use Tradify or Fergus: neither gives customers a way to book online. A separate booking page fills that gap, and you still enter the job into Tradify or Fergus once it lands.
- If you use ServiceM8: its booking widget covers online booking well for straightforward jobs. A separate tool is worth it if you want two-way texting, automatic reminders and review requests, or an after-hours phone assistant alongside it, since ServiceM8's plans are built around job management first.
None of the three currently show a Google Business Profile or Reserve with Google booking integration on their own pages, so getting a customer from a Google search straight into a booking is a separate piece either way.
What tradies say
On Capterra, ServiceM8 sits around 4.5 out of 5 from 300+ reviews, Tradify around 4.6 to 4.7, and Fergus around 4.6 from 150+ reviews (checked 28 September 2026). Common complaints: ServiceM8 users mention support response times; Tradify users note per-user cost adding up for bigger teams; Fergus users mention slower support escalations. These are individual reviews, not a controlled study.
TapBook's place in this
TapBook is a booking page and inbox, not a job-management tool. It sits in front of whichever one you use: a customer books from your Google profile, your website, or a text after a missed call, and the job lands in your TapBook inbox with reminders, review requests and after-hours answering handled automatically. Moving that booking into ServiceM8, Tradify or Fergus for the actual job is still a manual step today. See how it works.
Questions
Which of ServiceM8, Tradify and Fergus has online booking?
ServiceM8 has a built-in customer-facing booking widget. Tradify has enquiry forms but no live booking page, and Fergus has no customer-facing booking feature.
Does Tradify or Fergus charge per user?
Tradify prices per user with no unlimited-user tier, so cost rises with headcount. Fergus's listed price covers a limited seat allocation, with extra field staff billed separately.
Is ServiceM8, Tradify or Fergus free?
ServiceM8 has a free tier for one user and 30 jobs a month. Tradify and Fergus don't, though both offer a 14-day trial.